Okay. You got me. This piece will be totally biased. But totally biased as it may, I’ll present you some valid points. I’m not a TV scholar, or a TV geek. I haven’t seen every show on America or will claim to be a person of excellent taste when it comes to network or cable programming. What I can tell you is that I’m a lover of entertainment, and deep down inside I believe that all of us want to be entertained. Which brings me to my first point, ‘The Americans’ is more entertaining, than ‘Homeland’.
Yes, I’ve watched all of ‘Homeland’ and I have to tell you, at times, it was boring. Yes, “The Americans” has only showed us the first season, and usually, the first season of every TV show is the best season. But ‘Homeland’ had its best episodes in season 2 particularly the first 3-4 episodes, but it went downhill from there. I could still remember the day I saw those episodes. I was rushing to go on Facebook to talk to my friend who was watching the show. I was telling my friend that “I can’t believe I’m seeing this, this has to be one of the greatest moments for the show”. Since I was so impressed, I ended up asking myself, what could they do to top that? The answer was they couldn’t, they simply ran out of gas.
I am confident to say that all the episodes in ‘The Americans’ was consistent. Others was better, the pilot and the finale, but none of the episodes in between were boring. I won’t bore you too much with the technical stuff. I’ll just say this, times I yawned watching ‘Homeland’ – a lot, times I yawned watching ‘The Americans’ – zero.
‘Homeland’ is also close to my heart. As a fan, I always believed that ‘Homeland’ could be the next big thing, bigger that it has ever become. But with their reckless disregard for fact checking, all of the serious blunders, and the big things they decided to put into the plot that was just so improbable to happen, it let me down. I was disappointed, I was looking for a show to fill that hole in my heart and then I saw ‘The Americans’ and it was the best new show, and the best ever in that season. Take that ‘Homeland’ and your scene where Brody texts the Abu Nazir, and that time when the Vice-President dies from a hacked pace maker, and that time where CIA offices are bombed. I don’t need that anymore, ‘The Americans’ has clocks that can hear everything you say and tiny cameras that can be placed as “evidence”, yes they’re low-tech, but at least they’re plausible.
From the get go, everybody was comparing these two shows. Not me. Yes, they both delved in espionage, but their key plots are so different, both are clever, but very different. So next time someone says that ‘The Americans’ is like ‘Homeland’ tell them that it’s not, because ‘The Americans’ is so much better.
I think parents should know that The Americans is as much about the moral complications of married relationships as it is about political espionage, so it’s a better fit for adults and mature teens. Sexual content isn’t constant, but when it pops up things can get pretty steamy, with suggested nudity and implied intercourse (including oral sex) that leaves little to the imagination. There’s also unbleeped swearing and occasional social drinking and smoking, although characters rarely drink to excess.
I totally agree with the writer. I have watched all 3 seasons of Homeland and I am actually getting tired of it. It seems like it’s been an eternity since the season 3 finale. I thought the show got canceled. So I was surprised to see that it got nominated yet again. I was bothered by that because The Americans is such a fresh perspective and storyline. It is by far better than Mad Men and Homeland.
Hi Mandy! If you have an advanced copy of Homeland season 3, can I borrow it? Hehe, season 3 of Homeland will be out this September. But thanks for agreeing with me, Homeland really became boring and a pain to watch. I still have hope for them though! 🙂
I know why someone wants to borrow the Homeland DVD set…to use it as a paper weight. If I see one more nomination for Homeland or Mad Men next awards season, I’m going to puke. These shows are on the verge of jumping the shark. I remember it took those dinosaurs who submit nomination votes years before they stopped nominating Desperate Housewives. I call them molasses because their mentality moves slower than mold spores.
Hahaha, your comment made me lol Alfred!
I was really into the first and second seasons of Homeland, but I have to say that by the time Season 3 premiered, I watched it without the same anticipation that I had for the previous two seasons. The good thing is that the TV industry has gotten so competitive that quality shows are continually being rolled out. And The Americans happens to be the next big thing.
I read your blog and the comments left about how boring Homeland got but yet they cancel good shows like CSI New York and keep this trash. I understand that there are a lot of CSI shows but to cancel the best one and leave stuff like Homeland on TV to haunt people is beyond explanation to me. Keep up the good work and keep posting, this is great stuff.
I like The Americans much more now than Homeland. I got tired of Homeland, not completely, but I do not enjoy it nearly as much as I did the first two seasons. I was riveted every episode during those first couple of seasons, but there seemed to be something missing in season 3. I guess that is inevitable for all but a very rare few TV shows. The Americans is new and so we are all intrigued. Let’s see how they keep up the interest level in season 2.
Yep, shows tend to do that. Some people who watch ‘Dexter’ were also inspired to, lets just say, draw some blood.
I have tried watching the Americans before and just can’t get into it. Homeland I watched for a season and liked it but got burnt out on it rather quickly. You have a great post here and you have done a great job with all the information given to you. I will try Americans again this season sense it wasn’t dropped but I don’t see it being any different really.
Thanks, and give it another try, The Americans is really good! 🙂
I wouldn’t say that Americans was better than Homeland but it was just as good that is for sure. You have done a great job on this post and I look forward to the new season of Americans this fall. Homeland was canceled correct? Do you know why they cancel good shows that do well and keep the shows that push some kind of agenda?
Hi Jamie, thanks for the comment. Homeland isn’t canceled yet, but in my opinion it should be. Hehe. As for your question, when shows push some kind of Agenda, they have a target market. I may not agree with them but at least they have the balls to make a stand by having their own agenda.
The Americans was something I didn’t think would work as a show but it did better than what I thought it would. You have done a great post and I think the more you post like this the more people are going to watch it this season. I can’t believe that more people didn’t watch the homeland though because it really wasn’t that bad.
Thanks Danny! Homeland is a good show, but it went downhill during the last episodes of the 2nd season. I do hope they make it good again.
Homeland is full of flaws, you have the CIA discussing strategy over a Skype connection and an Al Qaeda leader with a servant as a congressman but chooses to use him to do dumb shit. After a few episodes into season 2, I couldn’t take anymore of Carries crying and Danas painfully annoying presence so im giving the americans a try.