This week, the papers suggest how to achieve the Mad Men look in your wardrobe, in your home and on your menu, while Vincent Kartheiser confesses to crying at the weddings of fellow cast members.
Elisabeth Moss' wedding to Saturday Night Live's Fred Armisen, a chat with Abigail Spencer (who plays Suzanne Farrell) and fresh fall fashion advice from Matt Weiner's son Arlo are among the talking points in the papers this week. Where to begin?
• On the same note, the Nov. 8 issue of TV Guide
(no link) has a profile of Moss. In it, Jon Hamm is quoted as saying: "I was along for Fred and Lizzie's first date, and I felt very 'big brother' that night. Still do."
• The same issue of TV Guide mentions Betty's confrontation with Don in its Watercooler section.
Since these lists were compiled by creator Matthew Weiner, producer Scott Hornbacher, composer David Carbonara and music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas among others, they actually provide you with fresh insight and a knowing nod: Patsy Cline's "Too Many Secrets" is on Betty's list; "I'll Be Seeing You," by Liberace is on Sal's. Other stars of a bygone era include Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald and The Platters.
The playlists (which each contain five songs) are now available on iTunes. The Season 3 DVD set will also include a special insert with tracks and downloads.
This week, the cultural impact of the show hits a high with four references in the New York Times on everything from advertising to automobiles. Also, reviews of Episode 10, "The Color Blue" and Betty's big discovery.
• The New York Times ran an op-ed piece this weekend about the show's appeal during tough economic times. "To a generation beaten down by skyrocketing unemployment, plunging retirement savings and mounting home foreclosures, 'Mad Men' offers the schadenfreude-filled message that their predecessors were equally unhappy..."
Photos of January Jones in GQ, coverage of Christina Hendricks's wedding, and info about Janie Bryant's collaboration with Brooks Brothers were all big in the papers this week... Not to mention this week's recaps of Episode 309. Read on to hear more about a cover girl and a blushing bride. But first: Two items of note for Maddicts in NYC:
Anxious to look more like the guys of Sterling Cooper? Brooks Brothers and Janie Bryant are making that possible. From Mon., Oct. 19 through Sun., Nov. 8 (the night of the finale), you'll be able to stop into select Brooks Brothers locations for a Bryant-designed limited edition, 1960s-era suit.
Inspired by the suits of Don and Roger, this gray two-button number is made from gray sharkskin fabric, and hand-finished. It features narrow lapels, diagonal pockets and side vents -- About the only thing missing is the drinking glass. The suit, priced at $998, will be available at the following Brooks Brothers locations:
Don Draper has always held sway over Maddicts. But the extent of this fictional ad man's influence goes much, much further: To wit, the just-released results of an AskMen.com survey reveal Don Draper to be the most influential man of 2009.
"Men are seeking the stability of tradition in the masculine qualities that they imagine their fathers and grandfathers to have had," says James Bassil, AskMen's editor-in-chief. "The character of Don Draper brings all these traits together, and in doing so speaks directly to the modern man. He's a man whose time has come."
The site's fourth annual poll includes honorees from fields such as entertainment, politics and sports. Sterling Cooper's creative head nudged out sprinter Usain Bolt, President Barack Obama (last year's winner), Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and American Idol producer Simon Cowell.
Besides recaps of the eyebrow-raising Episode 7, there are some new profiles of cast members, not to mention a cover story in this month's LA Confidential.
• The LA Times concurs: "The pacing of Sunday's show was a return to some of the energy that imbued the first two episodes." So does the San Francisco Chronicle: "it was a textbook example of real brilliance, of how to capture the dark essence of main characters..."
What if the folks at Sterling Cooper didn't keep their emotions all bottled up inside? Sesame Street's new parody of Mad Men depicts just that, and teaches a thing or two about feelings at the same time, when Mr. Draper and his team (of "sycophants") tackle the Happy Honey Bear pitch. We haven't been this choked up since Don's Kodak Carousel campaign.
