It was the shriek heard ’round the world…
…from fans of FX’s “The Americans,” at least.
Well-intentioned TV auds who set their DVRs for last night’s broadcast of the frosh drama were in for a rude surprise when the final seven minutes of the episode were cut off. The episode, titled “Safe House,” aired from 10:00 to 11:07 p.m., but DVRs — such creatures of habit, you know — triggered the end of their recordings at 11 p.m.
Given that the serialized drama boasts sticky plot turns, those seven minutes were crucial for the viewing experience — and, well, not there.
Oops.
FX flack John Solberg was apologetic over the tech mishap: “The error is regrettable and I apologize to all the loyal fans of ‘The Americans’ who were cheated out of the full viewing experience of one of the most important episodes so far this season.”
Net has since made the episode available on FXNetworks.com, and heeded a gentle warning that next week’s episode will end at 11:03 p.m. (Have fun wrangling that recording with your remote!)
All fine and dandy now on the FX front, but maybe, just maybe, the TV gods upstairs were on to something, in an era where digital numbers leave net execs shaking their fists at ratings.
“Emphasize live-viewing!” the gods bellowed from a bygone era, and DVRs across the country — for once — readily obeyed.
