Forgive me but I am going to wax 'artsy fartsy' and if this has been discussed in an earlier thread please direct me there. I'm new here.

Verfremdungseffekt!!! That's what it is about the characterizations that has me so weirded out. How very Brechtian of Matt Weiner and company. "MadMen" is the new "Mother courage and her Children" writ large on the modern battle field of American Commercialism.

Except for Jon Hamm, the actors line deliveries are all 'not quite natural'. They are just a little stilted, a bit pat almost lyrical. Again except for Hamm their acting/facial expressions are subtle, deft variations of classic daytime drama characterizations. I can't relate to these characters even though I want to because they are not of this world. I root for many of the characters because of the situations they are in but I can't empathize with them because they feel like they are slightly out of phase with reality.

The plot and dialog on the other hand, are so logical, so believable, so natural as to be compelling. I have to watch the show. I have to find out what happens next.

The tension between reality and unreality creates an empty gulf in my gut that isn't directly related to the plot line or the characters stories. The gulf is me, in my living room experiencing a life devoid of meaning and that life is separate from "MadMen" or me. Ahhh! This is the lesson.
But Don Draper comes across as very natural in 90% of his scenes. And he has everything a red blooded American boy wants (looks, money, influence, women, women, women) He seems to be on a quest for truth in his life. I could relate to him and want to be like him if he weren't so Fraking miserable and filled with self loathing so often. Again I can't connect but for a totally different reason. Is Don Draper Mother Courage? Is there a scene where Don has a "silent scream"?

MW, keep up the good work, you write and I will watch. Also, I don't know who to thank, but I enjoy the absence of the complainers, and Im sure Lily's email has calmed down considerably.

Suggestions? Complaints? A great show should not be a wish-list for fans of that show. Either it's doing what it's doing right, and we should leave it alone, or it's not giving us what we want and we should watch a different show that does.

MadMen is not a "write-your-own-ending" book for kids. It's a complex opus of M.W.'s creation and mind, one ten years in the making and I think that means that he knows what he's doing and needs no advice from those of us who've never written for television or if we did, couldn't possibly match such amazing, Emmy-winning work.

Where it's going is entirely up to him. He's just allowed us to come along for the ride and I, for one, am grateful. I'd no more tell him he was going in a wrong direction or suggest another route then I would distract someone in the driver's seat who was concentrating on taking me on a marvelous tour of a fantastic new landscape.

Racy, is your computer (or mind) stuck on this subject? This is the fourth time you've posted this. MM is Weiner's show - watch it and enjoy it or change your channel. Enough already!!!

How do you get this blog to register an entry?

I'm not complaining or wishing for anything more than an intelligent discussion of MM's considerable dramatic value. Has anyone here read or seen 'Mother Courage" or any Brecht? Placing MW and his team in the ranks of a Bertolt Brecht is an extreme compliment.

@WoodButcher...it ain't easy!
I can offer a couple of suggestions:

Refresh the page before you post...wait
(Use F5 or the refresh button at the top of your browser page.)
Then post...wait

Refresh the page again...wait

Sometimes you post will register right away, but if the board is busy, it may take a long time.

And once in a while your post will join a couple of mine out in cyberspace. (The operative word is W A I T)
Good luck!

WoodButcher, your comment regarding the way the actors, except Jon Hamm, deliver their lines seems not quite natural, makes sense to me. I've noticed it in the women, more than the men, though. I can't give you an example, but sometimes on the third watching of an episode, I listen more than watch and I hear the same inflections or emphasis in Betty's delivery and Jennifer's or some of the background characters.

The sound of the dialogue between Peggy and her roommate seemed the same way - like they were coached to have this kind of delivery. I don't know if this is intentional on the actors' part.

The only Brecht I'm familiar with is Three Penny Opera which is not a good example since it's mostly music. But I find your insight and comments interesting.

look fivemiles to nowhere...follow your own advice, please - if you don't like a post, pass it up.

I am more than certain Mathew Weiner will give this thread the attention it deserves.

Betty's acting is superb. She fits the women of the early 60's to a tee! And women today can relate to her. I have a sister-in-law from Michigan who has the same voice inflections and mannerisms. Except she's brunette. Same chin, too.

As a joke at the end of every season, they should have one episode called "The Blogger Idiot Jubilee"; an episode written by us idiots on the computer.

Here is the first scene: Don and Betty are making passionate love (heavy breathing)

Betty: "Ohhhh Don....Ohhhhhh Don....We really need that ceiling fan replaced......" :)

Can't wait for the final episode. Best show on TV