The Americans - The Complete Season One

With Russia declaring war on the gay community, it's great to remember the days when the Soviets were Enemy #1. But in all seriousness, "The Americans: The Complete First Season" is a thought-provoking series about sleeper KGB sleeper agents hiding in the United States. With Cold War fears behind us, it's a huge twist to follow two enemies of the state as they try to take down America from within.

"The Americans" is a great piece of 1980s nostalgia blended with high stakes spy suspense. Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys break from their previous roles to play a ruthless couple. They also play different "characters" as they assume false identities to commit missions to undermine the government.

The season set has a decent amount of special features. "Executive Order 2579: Exposing the Americans" tells the story of the origin of the series. Creator Joe Weisberg actually was a CIA officer, and brings a lot of authentic experience to the series. He does overtake the special features. "Perfecting the Art of Espionage" and "Ingenuity Over Technology" focus on the specifics of covert ops in an age before computers. It is fascinating to think that so few series have the luxury to not have to incorporate major technology. The bulk of the featurettes discuss the authenticity of the plot points and outrageous spy shockers. We get it: These things happened in real life.

The remaining features are a little dry. There is commentary on "The Colonel," which is by Weisberg, Joel Fields, and Noah Emmerich. Sadly, it's lacking series leads Russell and Rhys. The gag reel is also pretty dry. However, it is interesting to see Margo Martindale and her chemistry with Russell. The nicest features are the deleted scenes that add some bonus moments to a show with such sharp turns.

The series is entertaining and well-shot so having the resolution of Blu-ray is worth it. However, the special features do not offer an inherent value proposition. Fans of this series will enjoy the series.

"The Americans: The Complete First Season"
Blu-Ray
$59.99
www.foxconnect.com