Mad Men

What a great show. Sure it moves a little slow at times, but i don't think it ever really drags.

I was turned on to this show just two weeks ago (i don't have cable.....just a 50" Plasma and a Blue-ray player). I just watched the entire first season (in 2 days), I am hooked.

One cool thing (about the DVDs) was the behind the scenes stuff. A lot of the production crew came over from the Sopranos....which explains top-notch production value.

I had to skim over some of the posts....since I won't be able to check out season 2 until it gets released (however, this show is almost good enough to get cable again.......but I do like my Blue-ray cave).
 
Wow. The last 2 episodes have been pretty amazing.



SPOILER WARNING!!!!!




Starting last week with Don's past finally being revealed to his wife, to the JFK assassination its been a one two punch of brilliance. Jon Hamm's performance when he finally had to spill the beans to his wife, culminating with his breakdown when speaking of his brother committing suicide was note perfect. The way the whole assassination of Kennedy unfolded last night was equally devastating. I had seen many films and docs about his death, but seeing it play out through the eyes of characters I'd come to know so well really made me feel what it must of been like that day. And then after all that Betty finally tells Don she doesn't love him! Maybe Don will be the one to take a dive off the roof of Sterling Cooper, as some have speculated is what the opening title graphics portend.
 
Oh yeah, the JFK stuff was very good. I was so impressed that they really were able to crystallize everyone's character with their reactions to the tragedy nice work. Of course, that episode was directed by Barbet Schroeder. he ain't no slouch.
 
Wow. Freaking excellent finale for season 3.

"Well then, happy Christmas."

and

"I'm tired. Peggy, get me some coffee."

"No."
 
During the scene in which Don let Sal go, I was instantly reminded of the moments preceding Michael's murder of Snoop on "The Wire". Such insouciance! Snoop knew what was going to happen in the SUV, yet he made no attempt to escape or even argue, simply shrugging his shoulders. Sal, too, barely offered a fraction of the defense he could have. Of course, Don had been ready for this ever since the fire alarm at the hotel.
 
Yeah, this finale took me completely by surprise.

SPOLIERS

Didn't expect them to go that way with the Sterling Cooper Agency. And I really expected them to drag out Betty and Don's crappy marriage forever. Will be interesting to see how things develop next season. I'm betting Betty will still be miserable and Don will be happier than ever.
 
Yeah, that was an interesting article. A show like Mad Men is going to be held to a high standard.

I'm excited for the premiere tonight.
 
Tonight didn't disappoint. A full year has passed and everything (and nothing) has changed. SCDP is so very claustrophobic compared to the old agency. The whole place is one narrow hallway - such a stark contrast to the bullpen at the old house.

Seeing Draper eject a potential client from the conference - er, conversation room - was really liberating. I've felt that same way more than once.

Love this show. So much.
 
Best season so far? Discuss.

IMO, it's less soap opera BS this year, and more shop talk. Working in advertising, I could watch this s**t all day.


Seeing Draper eject a potential client from the conference - er, conversation room - was really liberating. I've felt that same way more than once.
Click to expand...

An enthusiastic +1
 
Deepfocus88 said:
Best season so far? Discuss.

IMO, it's less soap opera BS this year, and more shop talk. Working in advertising, I could watch this s**t all day.




An enthusiastic +1
Click to expand...

I still say Season 1 was tops. Just a flawless slow reveal of Don Draper's past. This season started slow but the last two episode have been great. John Slattery should direct more episodes.
 
There's been some complaining that the series is less in touch with the 60s than the media gives them credit for. Last night's ep., The Rejected (and season three in general), did a great job of painting the increasing generational divide between the older SCDP staffers and people like Peggy, who is beginning to skew toward the younger characters.

To me, Don is starting to become less relevant - and that's going to come as very big news to everyone, no matter how assertive he is. That Joan gives him an old woman to replace a not-so-discretely departing Allison really drives home that Don isn't going to get away with everything he might have in 1962.

SCDP belongs to the newly-minted partners, but they're all more accountable than they were working at SC.

I'm hooked and the dynamics are only getting more interesting. Finally, the opening credits are beginning to mesh with the content of the show itself. And Don is truly the one who's falling.
 
Erik Olson said:
There's been some complaining that the series is less in touch with the 60s than the media gives them credit for. Last night's ep., The Rejected (and season three in general), did a great job of painting the increasing generational divide between the older SCDP staffers and people like Peggy, who is beginning to skew toward the younger characters.

To me, Don is starting to become less relevant - and that's going to come as very big news to everyone, no matter how assertive he is.
Click to expand...

Mmm, not so sure. He stood up to the market research woman who wanted to go with the "women just want to get married" campaign for Pond's. He gets that a younger generation of self empowered women are coming of age and knows he has to sell to them to stay relevant. In his case it's perhaps wish fulfillment, because that's the type of woman he wants now, not an immature girl like Betty who just wanted a Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet. Note that in previous seasons he mostly cheated on Betty with women who were more self possessed.
 
Well, in 301, we see Don shunned by a stunning Betty look-alike in the back of a cab. She's "heard that trick before" when he asks to walk her to the door. In the meantime, he is in the wilderness at home. He is becoming a stranger in his own home where another man has taken everything he once had - save for the advertising career he treats with cavalier abandon.

It's a precarious situation for Draper. The head-shrinker research analyst, Faye, isn't out the door just yet. She might be his nemesis or his next conquest. My bet is both. He likes a strong woman more than a pushover and Faye might just be slapping a little sense into him in 305 or 306.
 
I'm just saying I don't think he's going to be left behind by the times. That's Freddy Rumsen. Don has always shown a capacity to adapt. All his conflicts with clients this season are because they are still stuck in a 50's mentality and Don is struggling for something more modern.
 
Erik Olson said:
Last night's ep., The Rejected (and season three in general), did a great job of painting the increasing generational divide between the older SCDP staffers and people like Peggy, who is beginning to skew toward the younger characters.
Click to expand...

Great point, I really took notice of that this week. The scene where Peggy got in the elevator was great.
 
What was the ending to episode 4 about? The old man asking his wife "Did you get pears? Did you get pears?" and her eventually answering "We'll discuss it inside." I'm sure it means something. But I'm not smart enough to decipher.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top