Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted November 1, 2007 http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/ I'm going to guess nobody else watched this show, as I haven't seen any comments on it. The season finished up a few weeks ago, and AMC is replaying the run starting tonight. The show has already been picked up for a 2nd season, so don't be concerned that it'll be a waste of time investing interest in the show. If you've been underwhelmed w/ the big networks' new fall shows, do yourself a favor and check out Mad Men. It has justifiably been getting buzz as the best new show of the season. The Setting: In 1960, advertising agencies were an all-powerful influence on the masses. Personal and professional manipulation and sexual exploits defined the workplace and closed the deals. The high profile Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency created advertising campaigns – from cigarettes to political candidates -- better than anyone. It was a time of great ferment. Women had barely begun to come into their own. Librium and birth control were on the move. Ethics in the workplace, smoke-free environments, sexual harassment and ethnic diversity were workshops of the future. The Premise: The series depicts the sexual exploits and social mores of this most innovative yet ruthless profession, while taking an unflinching look at the ad-men who shaped the hopes and dreams of Americans on a daily basis. The Players: The series revolves around the conflicted world of Don Draper (Hamm), the biggest ad man (and ladies man) in the business, and his colleagues at the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency. As Don makes the plays in the boardroom and the bedroom, he struggles to stay a step ahead of the rapidly changing times and the young executives nipping at his heels. The series also depicts authentically the roles of men and women in this era while exploring the true human nature beneath the guise of 1960 traditional family values. What else? Lots of drinking, lots of smoking, (extramarital) sex, practically every main character harboring a secret (the payoff to Don Draper's secret is AWESOME), "male chauvinism" galore, and a smoking hot redhead. Check the show out, I guarantee you'll be hooked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperJerk 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2008 Come on, people! This is one of the best shows on TV! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2008 This show is phenomenal. I started watching this season and totally got hooked. I'm now working my way through the Season 1 DVD set. Highest recommendation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted September 29, 2008 You're gonna love the payoff to the big storyline. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CuddlyKnife 0 Report post Posted September 30, 2008 this show is interesting Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted October 24, 2008 Hey, Cheech, did you finish off S1 yet? Also, Jon Hamm is hosting SNL this Saturday. It'll be interesting to see if they do a Mad Men parody (Casey Wilson as Joan Holloway!). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. S£im Citrus 0 Report post Posted October 24, 2008 I have difficulty relating to the premise, but I find there to be two very good reasons for watching this show: Christina Hendricks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted October 24, 2008 Hey, Cheech, did you finish off S1 yet? Yes I did, and it was amazing. Thankfully I finished S1 and figured out the whole "Don Draper" thing before he went off to LA in Season 2. I think I would have been really fucking lost. Someone in my office had already given away the payoff to the Peggy/Pete storyline before I saw it, but it was still brilliant watching it come about. This is, without a doubt, may favorite show on television. From the characters to the style, everything is done perfectly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2008 How awesome was it when Pete barged into Cooper's office to rat out Don, only to have Cooper say "Mr. Campbell, who cares?" (that was the payoff I was referencing above)? I almost fell out of my seat watching that scene. "The Wheel" was such an awesome cap off to a great season. (And you know that Peggy's baby is Pete's, right?) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperJerk 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2008 'Mad Men' flying high -- except in the ratings Story Highlights AMC original series "Mad Men" references seem to be everywhere Ratings for the show are continually low with only 1.5 million weekly viewers "Mad Men" was crowned best drama at this year's Emmy Awards Expert says show's phenomenon is well-deserved LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- "Mad Men" draws a slice of viewers as slender as Don Draper's 1960s neckties, yet the TV drama unquestionably is all the rage. There was a "Mad Men"-themed category last week on "Jeopardy!" along with an online game. A "Mad Men" homage is tucked like a fancy chocolate treat into the November 2 Halloween episode of "The Simpsons." Fashion designer Michael Kors cited "Mad Men" as an inspiration. The show's beautifully retro-styled stars are on magazine covers. A "Mad Men" DVD was spotted at the elbow of Barack Obama aboard his campaign plane. Jon Hamm, who stars as New York ad man Draper, was picked to host NBC's "Saturday Night Live" this weekend, the night before the AMC series concludes its second season (10 p.m. EDT Sunday). And, no small point, "Mad Men" was crowned best drama at this year's Emmy Awards, the first basic cable show to claim top series honors. Shy of being pumped into the water supply, "Mad Men" is everywhere -- except on most people's TV sets. About 1.5 million U.S. viewers tune in weekly, with another half-million watching later on DVRs. That compares with the 19 million-plus audience for last week's No. 1 program, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" on CBS. Doesn't matter. It's "Mad Men" that's permeating the zeitgeist. "It's been great. It's been amazing. Do you have a theory about why it is?" asks series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner, sounding both delighted and overwhelmed. "It's hard to break out from basic cable. ... I had no foresight I would get articles sent to me from friends where it's become an adjective, or involved in the presidential election," Weiner said. "And there's the rest of it: 'Why don't we dress that way? Why don't people have better manners?' " So how does a period drama -- albeit a really cool one with a great-looking cast -- end up being so influential? Let's check with an expert for answers (caution: references to both "elite" and "intellectual" follow). It's a recurring phenomenon, said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. "It happens in literature all the time," Thompson said. "Everyone knows about Herman Melville's 'Moby-Dick,' but a tiny percentage of the population has read it. But we all know about it and it's highly influential in American literature." Television isn't exempt. Consider the 1987-91 drama "thirtysomething," which never attained hit ratings but influenced fashion, language and the look of commercials. Or "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," which Thompson calls an important part of the civic conversation despite its small audience. "You get one of those programs that grip the elite intellectual minority, the people that are writing and about talking about culture, and the influence extends a lot further than the actual audience would indicate," he said. In the case of "Mad Men," it's deserved: Thompson calls the show "brilliant" and a gift to television (both here and abroad, where it's widely distributed). Al Jean, executive producer of Fox's "The Simpsons," pronounces himself a "Mad Men" devotee. "My wife and I were huge 'Sopranos' fans," Jean said, citing the HBO show that Weiner wrote for. "When 'The Sopranos' ended, we were really jonesing for a show like that." It was Jean's inspiration to adapt the animated title sequence of "Mad Men" for a segment of The Simpsons" annual Halloween trilogy titled "How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising." In the drama's opening, a sleek, silhouetted figure (presumably Draper) carries a briefcase into his high-rise office and then is seen tumbling in free-fall past images of ads and slogans ("Enjoy the best America has to offer"). "The Simpsons" version plays to the haunting theme music of "Mad Men." A rotund, lunchbox-carrying figure, undoubtedly Homer Simpson, enters a living room and then floats past windows bearing Springfield-centric displays that include a Duff Beer ad. The long-running animated show always is laden with pop culture references but, says Jean, only those with heft. "We want to make sure that when people watch these shows 10 years in the future" they'll get the joke, Jean said. He's convinced "Mad Men" will be "well-remembered. It's just a great show." Rewarding followers, AMC's drama has become even more dramatically and emotionally rich in its second season as its vibrant characters push against self-imposed and social limits. Meanwhile, the world quivers with approaching change. "Mad Men," which started in 1960, fast-fowarded in season two to 1962, the year that Marilyn Monroe died (the secretarial pool at the Sterling Cooper agency was in tears) and nuclear destruction loomed. When he planned the season and its finale, Weiner decided it was "going to be about the end of the world," a theme he knew would echo with viewers even before the economic crisis hit. But "Mad Men" is more than social commentary; it's a dazzling and intimate chronicle of specific lives and a visual tour de force. "If you're lucky, (a show) resonates on more than one level. If it's just, `I wish I could dress like that, 'I hate Pete Campbell,' 'Jon Hamm is so handsome,' " that's OK, Weiner said. "I'd love to have people welcome it on any level they want to." All they have to do is watch. http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/24/m...ref=mpstoryview Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperJerk 0 Report post Posted October 27, 2008 Anyone care to speculate on the 1000 unanswered questioned left after tonight's season finale? Or did anyone even watch? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted October 27, 2008 Anyone care to speculate on the 1000 unanswered questioned left after tonight's season finale? Or did anyone even watch? Oh, I definitely watched. Great episode all around, as they managed to tie up most of Season 2 while at the same time opening a huge can of worms for next year. I am curious as to where they take the Peggy/Pete deal. Not sure that I see Duck as president, either. And Betty having anonymous sex in a bar? WTF? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperJerk 0 Report post Posted October 27, 2008 Unanswered questions I have... Since Betty told Don, I assume she's keeping the baby and staying married? Shouldn't Pete and Trudy somehow adopt Pete and Peggy's son? Since it was a merger, does that mean the 4 partners still own part of the company, just a smaller portion...wouldn't that make Draper (even as a minority shareholder) still part of the company, even if he isn't head of creative? Is Duck finished, and if so, who will be the new president? TUNE IN...8 MONTHS FROM NOW, JERKS!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted October 27, 2008 Unanswered questions I have... Since Betty told Don, I assume she's keeping the baby and staying married? I thought that the note she left with Joan indicated that she was taking Don back for good. Season 3 will probably pick up in 1964 (I've heard that each season is spread out two years) with child already born. Not sure what the anonymous sex was about. Perhaps it was her way of getting back at Don, or maybe an indication that we don't know her character that well yet. Shouldn't Pete and Trudy somehow adopt Pete and Peggy's son? Hadn't though about that. That could be a good way to go, but I was thinking that it might lead to Pete leaving his wife. Lots of possibilities here. Since it was a merger, does that mean the 4 partners still own part of the company, just a smaller portion...wouldn't that make Draper (even as a minority shareholder) still part of the company, even if he isn't head of creative? Is Duck finished, and if so, who will be the new president? They sold their ownership shares to the London company. I think they'll all stay around in management positions, but have no real authority in decision making. Duck will start as president, but I think he gets canned quickly for his drinking issues. Maybe Don takes over at that point? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spaceman Spiff 0 Report post Posted November 3, 2008 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SuperJerk 0 Report post Posted November 4, 2008 I love that one of the ad men that apporoaches Homer looked just like Roger Sterling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
