Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow

In its original American broadcast, "Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow" was seen by an estimated 0.82 million household viewers with a 0.2 in the 18-49 demographics. This means that 0.2 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.^[3] This was a 12% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.93 million household viewers with a 0.3 in the 18-49 demographics.^[4]

"Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow" received critical acclaim. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 100% approval rating for the episode, based on 16 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Welcome comic relief, plot developments leaving the central characters' future further in doubt, and an appearance by Margo Martindale make 'Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow' an integral transitional episode."^[5]

Erik Adams of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "'Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow' is more than its last eight minutes. It's also The Americans episode that gives the most serious consideration to extracting the Jennings from Falls Church."^[6]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "When the fourth season premiered, the Glanders vial in the tobacco tin sure seemed like an apt metaphor for all that was happening in Philip and Elizabeth's life. In 'Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow,' the sample appears to break open, at least enough to infect Gabriel, while at the same time it feels like the plague of their secret is finally getting ready to open up and destroy everything around them."^[7] Anthony Breznican of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "This episode is all about the way we project a future for ourselves, existing in possibilities, imagining destinations, and then slamming face-first into the inescapable present."^[8]

Mike Hale of The New York Times wrote, "Has there ever been a television character as hard to kill off as Pastor Tim of The Americans? On Wednesday night, for the second week in a row, his ticket was ready to be punched. But once again he was saved at the last minute — saved by, of all things, the glanders virus, which appears to have escaped its bottle, infected Gabriel and forced Elizabeth and Philip into an informal quarantine."^[9] Genevieve Koski of Vulture gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "As with the Jennings, Nina is facing down a terrifying unknown. But unlike them, she doesn't seem to have any plan to escape that terrifying unknown. Even a bad plan is better than no plan at all, right?"^[10]

Ben Travers of IndieWire gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "If Paige sought solace from Pastor Tim, it's certainly plausible to imagine Henry sharing his concerns with Stan. So, one way or another, Mama and Papa Jennings need to get home soon."^[11] Matt Brennan of Slant Magazine wrote, "With 'Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow,' The Americans examines the transformation of such high ideals into imperfect realities."^[12]

Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The Americans is one of those aforementioned superior pieces of art and in 'Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow' it commits some alchemy of its own. As if The Americans needed another literary device to prove its excellence, the show takes four tickets to Disney World and turns them into a death sentence for two innocent people."^[13] Amy Amatangelo of Paste gave the episode a 9.6 out of 10 and wrote, "EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, a slight variation of the episode title. As Philip and Elizabeth contemplate visiting the community of tomorrow, everyone's future is bleak."^[14]

• "Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow" at IMDb