Not Quite Great Books: a TV podcast

117. The Americans 6x1, "Dead Hand"

We are back, Arkadii is SO back, and it is time to embark on the final season of The Americans here on Not Great Quite Books! For the first episode, "Dead Hand," Danielle and John accept the season premiere's invitation to consider all things art: the arts of spying, how spying may prevent one from appreciating art, the art of national identity, and much more. In unsurprising but nonetheless engaging developments, Danielle is still highly suspicious of Renee in the Dossier, and has pronounced Season 6 Tragedy SZN (proffering Ajax this time around) in The Cave, while John has much to say about The Sadboi Summit of 1987. The episode's creative deployment of 1980s bangers, Soviet Film Club, and saturation in the politics of 1987 round things out.  Did Danielle and John convince themselves to start a travel agency, use an Ancient Greek word for its name, and seek brand deals for it? We think you already know the answer to this one.  -- Music by Lesfm [https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/] from Pixabay

116. The Americans Season 6 Preview

Danielle and John are BACK* from their long espionage sojourns and reunited to preview The Americans Season 6. Having both rewatched the S5 finale, they note their surprises and ideas upon this revisiting, before talking through what the show asks of its viewers and what Danielle expects, predicts, and wants heading into Season 6.       *"we are SO back" reserved for the actual start of S6 episodes Season 6 episodes coming your way in 2026.  -- Music by Lesfm [https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/] from Pixabay

Americans Season 6 coverage coming in the new year!

If you can't wait for [redacted] and [redacted] and the dramatic [redacted] of our beloved [redacted], never fear, we'll be back in early 2026 to begin our coverage of The Americans, Season 6 (the last one!).

115. Derry Girls Series 2, Episode 5 "The Prom" & Episode 6 "The President"

Set up for fancy listening devices as Regan and John navigate intersubjective lessons for the characters of Derry Girls and for themselves while they dive into the Series 2 finale. What do the girls learn about themselves through moments of conflict, and when do they stay stuck in joke-delivery-machine status? Do you really gotta hand it to Bill Clinton? Will John and Regan's respective takes on the show so far and on what they want out Series 3 be predictable?  Much like being a Derry Girl, being a loyal NQGB listener is a feckin' state of mind (but do like, subscribe, and download).  -- Music by Lesfm [https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/] from Pixabay

114. Derry Girls Series 2, Episode 3 "The Concert" & Episode 4 "The Curse"

The titular girls go through coming of age rites of passage both holy and profane, sneaking away to an escapade-laden concert in Belfast and navigating one wedding and a pot-scone-fueled wake. And yet, your hosts are split on these episodes and the series as a whole as one of them (guess who) concern trolls whether these are characters or props delivering jokes and shenanigans. Regan and John are united, however, in their interest in the travellers, gratefulness of The Cranberries drops, appreciation of Da Gerry, and having been too goody two-shoes as teens to pull off Derry girls-level deception and subterfuge. Plus, Sister Michael outside of school, twice! -- Music by Lesfm [https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/] from Pixabay