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Talk is a public forum where you can ask questions and share your commentary with fellow Mad Men fans.
Talk: Mad Men: February 2011
The New Girl -- It's the Return of the Cabrons!!!
Okay so its New Girl Episode 5 Season 2 and here's the recap
Pete and Trudy visit a fertility doctor. Trudy wants a baby but Pete still is one.
Joannie's gettin' hitched (but she's marrying a real Cabron)
Don continues with his reckless behavior drinking with Bobbie (but oh wait Rachel Menken is a Katz!!)
Don is BUSTED for drunk driving with Bobbie Barrett in the passenger seat. Peggy saves his hide (otherwise the show would have been called "Cell Block Don" )
Introducing Jane Siegel (blech!)
Peggy has a house guest who wants to know more about her relationship with Don and Peggy.
Peggy gets some well needed advice from Bobbie and not to underestimate her worth.
Betty has no idea what her hubby is up to when he returns during the odd hours of the night... is he in the mafia, is he a bank robber oh well "just as long as we live in Ossning.. and betty gets to ride her horses" all is well.
A Sad Confession
I am SO desperate for something to watch on Sunday night that I ...well...I've actually been tuning in to Big Love. Yes, the show, written by a bulldozer, jumps the shark every ten minutes and is completely unbelievable, not to mention often unintentionally funny. Yes. That's what I'm watching.
How I mourn the plot development, the pacing, the nuances, the excellent writing of MM! I miss the complexity of the characters, the social issues, the set design and costumes.
Here I am, starving for the prime rib of mm and all I have is the old baloney of Big love. Sad, indeed.
Grammar was better then, than in the show.
I've only recently been introduced to "Mad Men" through watching the DVDs of past seasons, and I'm loving it. Although there are minor errors (coffee, not milk, was the "universal antidote" to drunkenness), I'm amazed at how well they have recreated the period of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
There is one ongoing mistake that drive me crazy, though: the constant misuse of lay/laying instead of the (correct) lie/lying. Confusing "lay" with "lie" has always occurred among the lower socioeconomic classes, but having lived through the 1950s and 1960s myself as a middle class New Yorker, I can tell you that just wasn't the case among the upper and middle classes of that period. People who said "I'm going to lay down" or "she's laying down" were easily and almost universally recognized as having bad grammar. And this mistake occurs constantly in Mad Men. I think I've heard the correct version ("I was lying down") only once in the show.
Since I listen to the (excellent) commentaries on the DVDs after watching every episode, I suspect the culprit is the writer, Matthew Weiner. He consistently uses "lay" when he means "lie" in his commentaries, which, since he is the writer, probably explains why that mistake is made in the lines of almost all the actors. Sometimes it really interferes with my "suspension of disbelief" necessary for believing I'm really watching that era.
I suppose most of today's audience won't notice this, since that particular grammatical mistake runs rampant through society today, but it bothers me because I'm older and I remember the way it was.
JOIN THE QUOTE GAME VOLUME 15
Okay, we are up to Volume 15. Who would have thought we could keep going on this game? Transfer your unsolved quotes/songs over here.
Maybe Kinsey will be teaching the course
Camden County College in New Jersey will offer a Mad Men course this spring through the Camden County Civic Society Starting March 9th. Will Kinsey be appearing? One can only wish..
here's the article from the South Jersey Local News
http://www.southjerseylocalnews.com/articles/2011/02/24/record_breeze/news/doc4d667eb4a616c008046875.txt
Season 5 sneak preview sneak peak (sort of)
Okay so here is what I found on Season 5 a sneak peak of "the Wheels" check it out
http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2010/09/mad-men-spoilers-season-5-episode-1-the-wheels-part-2/
Mad Men season 5?
Did Mad Men end? I can;t find out if it is over or not, I don't hear anything about it coming back. So is it over?
Negro Travel Guide
I thought this was an interesting (though sad) story about a "survival" (or maybe survival) guide for Negroes traveling in the South. Not sure if Harry Belafonte was ever attached to the publication.
Another article regarding Mad Men.
In defense of Mad Men:
http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/02/in-defense-of-mad-men/71549/
New Digs
I'm doing a little redecorating around my house, and it has me thinking about new homes (respectively, of course) for Don and Betty.
Some scenarios:
Don and Megan: Let's assume Don and Megan marry. Or they are "engaged" for a long time. Megan convinces him to move out of the incredibly depressing hole in the Village. They'll move into one of those low-ceilinged postwar white boxes with sliding glass doors onto a terrace. Kind of like the apartments you'd see in 1960s Doris Day movies. Modern furniture, modern art, but Don's office will contain remnants of his "past life," whether Megan likes them or not.
Lots of the latest toys and gadgets for when Sally, Bobby and Gene visit. There will be a sleek wet bar, and its supplies will gradually start disappearing when Sally starts "experimenting" with different concoctions.
Betty and Henry: Not so sure on this one, as Henry's financial situation is somewhat murky. I suppose they could be living in a staid brick Colonial or a faux Tudor. Betty will, somewhat unconsciously, decorate the home so it is not at all dissimilar from the one in Ossining. There will be lots of reminders of her life with Don around the house, and Henry will insist they be put away or discarded. Bets will refuse.
Given the state of her marriage, Betty's fainting sofa might be relegated to the basement. Sally and Bobby's rooms would be rather spartan, as they seem like prime candidates for boarding school.
A curve ball I'd like to throw: Since Henry is involved in the 1968 election year, he defers moving into a new home, and has Betty and the kids move in with his mother. Now THAT would be fun!
Your thoughts?
On Demand releases?
Is the release of episodes as sporadic everywhere as it is here (BrightHouse, Florida)? Season One was fairly regular, one a week on Mondays, and leaving four or five available simultaneously. Season Two, however, started with 201 one week, nothing the following week, then 203. Still waiting for 202, nothing yesterday, and all but 201 and 203 still available on demand. Frustrating, to say the least. I contacted BH, but they said it was AMC's decision. Called them, left a message, no response. How do we get them on the ball?!
Three Sundays - Deja Vu and Comments
Its Episode 4 from Season 2, And here is a recap
Peggy in Church -- She takes a break from sitting through the service (Anita says she's hung over and can smell the liquor on her)
Don and Betty at home with the kids. Bobby's fibbing about messing with record player annoys Betty (kids it appear, are an accessory to be seen and not heard).
Bobbie Barrett visits Don in the office she says she wants to sell a new show "Grin and Barrett". Contestants get made fun of by Jimmy a la Candid Camera (what? you mean I get to be verbally abused for free in front of all of America to see??) Bleck!
Hey Kenny is a pimp - who knew?? (Roger thinks that's great by the way!)
Father Gil takes an interest in Peggy (something tells me he already knows about the baby she gave up)
Bobby burns his mouth on the griddle he needs to go to the emergency room with Betty)
Sally gets to go with her Daddy to work!.
American Airlines is a big client.
Sally discusses "big ones" with Joan which she will have one day (?)
Don wants the ad to look like 1963- whatever that looks like (whatever that means?)
The Secretarial evil eye watch out Peggy -- hope you don't get sick with that dinner.
Anita is jealous of baby sister Peggy, at confession she says that Peggy causes her mother so much pain and does what she wants, seduced a married man had a baby out of wedlock (yadda yadda yadda cue the violins)
American Airlines shows up but they are not moving to a new agency. Don is peeeeved! Let the Duck and Don wars begin..
Back home Bobby knocks over Sally's glass of milk with his toy robot. Betty yells at Don (do something) and he throws the toy against the wall.
Archie Whitman was mean liked ham and ate candy that smelled like violets (Bobby tells Don we need to get you a new Daddy).
Father Gill gives Peggy a blue egg after the Easter
Service - For the little one he says
JOIN THE QUOTE GAME VOLUME 13
OK, skipping from 12 to 14 is a missed opp. There are scads of titles that relate to the number thirteen. Welcome all who are brave enough to enter!
JOIN THE QUOTE GAME VOLUME 14
Notice that I've skipped Volume 13 as racy is supersticious. Now, a new tack, we are going to allow songs along with quotes to name the movie.
What's your wish list for this talk forum?
Just wondering what you all would like to see added or changed in this forum before the next season's rush starts. I would like to have html options, even the limited ones that you find on email. And maybe even a chat room.
And if anyone here also visits other AMCtv talk forums, are they all the same? When MadMen talk forum initiates a change, do the others also?
This question is from me as a member, not me as a moderator or in any capacity asking on behalf of AMCtv
The value of Draper?
Here is a question to ponder.. What does Don do? Peggy, Stan (back in the day Sal), Freddy Rumsen, and Paul (back in the day) do most of the leg work.. but what does Don do? We know that Roger's role in the agency by season 4 is becoming obsolete and unnecessary (Pete and Ken's stock are rising) but what about Don? Without Peggy to prop him up professionally, does he have a relevance in the office apart from his reputation? With the world changing around him will his creative vision have any relevance? the last pitch he gave for the American Cancer Society was horrible and irrelevant and out of touch. Meanwhile Peggy was able to put together an impressive pitch to Topaz. Sure Peggy had the unfair advantage of knowing and using her product. But from a sales point Don's pitch was mediocre.. thoughts?
The Benefactor: Remember, Recap, Release
Sounds like a mantra but no its time to recap the last episode now featured on demand... and now here were the developments
Don takes an extended lunch... In a Movie Theater (when does this dude work? is he dodging 10th grade geometry class? -- which makes me think perhaps another thread is needed -- does Don rely too much on his intuition or does the man work hard or does he rely on his staff to do it all?? Me thinks its the latter)
Meet the Barretts - Jimmy -- "Cabron Elf" Barett - insults Mrs. Schilling of UTZ (thus proving the man has the personality of a mosquito)
Freddy Drunk as a a skunk -- can't hold his liquor but a scolding from Ken? come on?
Speaking of Mr. Haircut he makes more cheddar than Harry? Harry tells his wife but she tells him to make more money honey.. (I likes the old Harry the one with reverance and perhaps fear of his wife not the slimey blow out tanned Harry who eats Salad for lunch). He gets the promotion though..
Bye Bye Lois - she got fired because she could not lie for her boss. Roger: "Where were you?" (Truth: Bruting at the Movies on your dime, Silver Hair) Lie: "At the printers". Should have told Lois!, not as quick on her feet like Peggy or Joan (don't worry there's a tractor in your future missy). Isn't it weird that when Joan asks Don what kind of secretary does he want - ( a Miss Olson type Joan asks?) His response "No I want someone who wants the job" Hello ! No one wants that job! the one job they want is to be is the next Mrs. Draper! -- Jane Siegel (Mrs. Sterling #2), Allison, and Megan.
Betty likes to ride the horses and Arthur Case likes Betty (He doesn't like horses though)
Don throws himself into his work (really)
Is it common practice to wash your mouth with dishwashing detergent or does Bobbi Barrett have extra bad breath?
Dinner at Lutesse -- Don and Bobbi Barett (Bleck..)
The ride back Betty crying in the car saying she wants to be part of Don's life "we make a good team" (little do we know that Don's idea of team is not doubles but rather a football team (with subs included)
Thoughts?
January Jones predicts Don & Betty's inevitable affair in 'Mad Men' Season 5
...
"Now we'll both be married to different people," she says. "So we'll have an affair with each other."
Ludicrous? Yes, but we guess it would sort of make sense. Don and Betty did declare a bit of an armistice in the Season 4 finale, sharing a drink in their former kitchen. And since Betty has been careening towards Joan Crawford territory, a biblical reconciliation with the ex could soften her up.
...
http://bit.ly/gvhcVI
Don Draper will have long hair in season 5
... Okay, I lied. But it got your attention, didn't it?
I saw a Yahoo! blog post about Jon Hamm pre-Mad Men, with a video of some of his work. He had long hair! Its kind of weird because I only associate Jon Hamm with his Mad Men hairstyle. Even in The Town, it wasn't too different from his Dick Whitman appearance. Check out this video and post your thoughts.. could Draper pull this look off if season 5 picked up in 1967?
http://tv.yahoo.com/blog/before-mad-men-jon-hamm-was-a-longhaired-chatterbox--2394
An Apology from Madison Avenue Woman...
While I enjoy reading viewpoints that differ from mine, I see that many of my fellow Maddicts find it upsetting. Therefore, I will no longer post articles written by those who have a negative and/or an alternative view of Mad Men.
Today, I read an article about my favorite TV critic, Alan Sepinwall. Alan first started writing recaps/commentaries of TV shows, as an unpaid college student. At that time, he wrote about NYPD Blue, one of my top ten TV shows of all time. When NYPD Blue ended, I continued to follow Alan's TV blogs. Alan went on to write about The Sopranos episodes. Eventually, Alan gained employment as a TV critic at The New Jersey Star-Ledger. His internet site was titled, "What's Alan Watching?" Alan is now writing for HitFix.
Alan only writes about the TV shows that he personally likes and watches on a weekly basis. Mad Men is one of these shows. I personally have absolute trust in Alan's choice of TV shows, and have chosen to watch many series, based on Alan's recommendation. Friday Night Lights is one example of such a show. I would never have tuned into this show, but for Alan's high opinion of it. Likewise, when my husband started watching The Wire, I was not able to get into it. However, because Alan views this show as one of the best all time TV shows, I gave it another chance. I am so glad that I did so. This show is, quite possibly, the best TV show ever produced. And David Simon did not sell out. Simon ended the show when he had no more to say. It has been said that another chapter could have been done about the Hispanic influx in Baltimore. However, David Simon felt that he didn't know enough about this topic. He quit while he was ahead, and the public still wanted more. Yes, I have always been a big fan of Mad Men, as well as of Matthew Weiner. However, Matt Weiner's statement about Mad Men going "on and on", has soured me a little. That, along with my realization that a major error was made in the back story of Mad Men, has given me a more realistic opinion of Mad Men.
While I will always love Mad Men, and Mad Men will always have a special place in my heart, I no longer view Mad Men as an epic novel, but rather a very well done melodrama.
JOIN THE QUOTE GAME VOLUME 12
Don't forget to bring your unsolved quotes from Vol. 11 over here.
Dr. House meets Mad Men...
Leningrad -- Dr. House (S08E01)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXPa6b2nIoQ
episode 1 "From Russia with love"
next episode 2 - "Housemania"
episode 3 - "House moment"
episode 4 - "Everybody loves"
Mad Men looks at its world from a "child's-eye perspective"
An article by Joshua Rothman of The Boston Globe that explains the controversial article written by Daniel Mendelsohn of The New York Review of Books:
Songs Played at Don and Megan's Wedding in 1967
If Don and Megan are married in 1967, here are a few songs dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Don Draper from the gang at SCDP:
A Little Bit of You, A Little Bit of Me - Roger and Joan
I've Been Lonely Too Long - Lane Price
I Think We're Alone Now - Harry and Hildy
Respect - Peggy Olson
I Take It Back - Faye Miller
On a Carousel - Duck Phillips
How Can I Be Sure - Don to Megan
Silence is Golden - Pete Campbell
She'd Rather Be With Me - Ken Cosgrove
Let's Live For Today - Megan to Don
California Nights - Joy
There's A Kind of Hush - Sal Romano
Reflections - Rachel Menken-Katz
Love is Here and Now You're Gone - Betty Draper-Francis
Pleasant Valley Sunday - Father Gill
Tell It Like It Is - Bert and Alice Cooper
What songs would you dedicate?
CLOSING OUT SEASON ONE
I thought it might make sense to close out S1 with any other comments we may have on "Nixon vs. Kennedy"
(an episode I surely will stay mum on!) and also to have the opportunity to raise questions and/or comments on the greatly admired "The Wheel". This winter is dragging on and on, and I figured variety is the spice of life so...... let's bounce around a bit and have even more fun!
OT- Hope the weather has toned down in your neck of the woods (it has on the Eastern coast) and you are all seeing the light at the end of this tunnel which feels great.
And .racy , I'll take this chance to let you know you are the best as well at creating that kinda sunny feeling too!
So here I go...I'll post something believe it or not in "The Wheel" that always confused me. It is the first time I have to say Peggy was .......can't even think of the right word! I just know it felt weird....
Wedding gifts for Don and Megan from family, friends, et al
It's never too earlier to think about an appropriate gift.
Period gifts only, 1965-70 (in case it's a long engagement).
Mad Men fan art from comic book artists
Hey there. My studio's sketchblog has been doing weekly art challenges and this week's theme was Mad Men. Take a look! http://periscopestudio.tumblr.com/tagged/Mad_Men
Notices for Elisabeth Moss in "The Childrens' Hour"?
The official opening for "The Childrens' Hour" was on 9 February, London time, and I'm a little surprised that someone from AMC hasn't yet produced an article about the first-night notices (particularly for "our Peggy").
From what I can see on the UK papers' sites, the biggest news seems to be divided between the assertion of some critics that the play itself is showing its age (i.e., lesbianism, whether real or imagined, is no longer scandalous), and the observation that a new star may have been discovered in the person of Byrony Hannah, who plays the deceitful Mary whose lies end up destroying the two lead characters.
So far, the notices I have read for Elisabeth seem to be uniformly positive, occasionally very much so.
It's possible (though not certain) that the play will relocate to New York after it finishes its London run at the end of April.
Don's Wedding
I wonder if Don will really get married next season?c
JOIN THE QUOTE GAME VOLUME 11
Hoping you Maddicts want to continue with this game. I wonder if we could go on until our Mad Men comes back!
Kramer vs. Draper (what would Don do?)
Just watching a fav film of mine on TMC "Kramer vs, Kramer" and had a thought wasn't Season 4 a tad bit of Draper vs. Kramer (Draper-Francis vs. Kramer). The Dustin Hoffman Character like Don is in advertising. However Betty did not get up and leave he kids (like Meryl Streep's character did. I guess the only similarities between the two was that both felt suffocated by their marriage. Any other similarities?. Okay so the film takes place in 1979, but I see a few parallels.
Interview with Michael Gladis (Paul Kinsey)
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/02/mad_mens_michael_gladis_on_his.html?mid=agenda--20110208
Jared Harris scared the hell out of me last night!
The actor who plays Lane price portrayed a charismatic and very slick serial killer who developed a cult following (literally) while in prison. Pryce prides himself on being an actor rather than a movie star and you could really see it in that role: he was unnervingly creepy. I guess the obvious comparison would be to Hannibal Lector but I the performance reminded me more of Brian Cox portrayal of Hannibal in Michael Mann's 80's 'Manhunter' (one "n" in the movie), which is a version of the novel 'Red Dragon'. It is also quite good and shouldn't be overlooked because of the success of the Oscar winning movie. Where Hopkins mad doctor had an almost imperial bearing Cox and Pryce took on much more subtle façade only to show their true natures later.
William Petersen is also in "Manunter" and does an extraordinary job paying the criminal profiler who worked with Hannibal before Clarice Starling - the movie is really about his character. This was when Peterson could act even without benefit of sunglasses.
More Loose Ends, Unanswereded questions.....
I thought TipsM's idea was so fantastic, that I have continued it as a place to put more random stuff.
Below is the likely aricle which from "he who cannot be named" probably drew his information. It is very long (10 pgs.) but is a wealth of information about MW and MM.
There will be some things in here that will surprise you, and some you will be pleased to see you already figured out. It dates back to 2008, but although it is old- it gives us perspectives that could happen - only if MW's wife approves! (LOL) Hope you enjoy reading...,
and learning more from the master himself.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/magazine/22madmen-t.html
Clever Mad Men ad Down Under
The series begins airing in Australia this month. Check out the ad that was created to promote it!
http://www.slashfilm.com/potd-clever-mad-men-skyscraper-advertisement/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+slashfilm+%28%2FFilm%29&utm_content=FaceBook
Which one is Mitch? - to find out watch "For those who think young"
Yes this was a question asked previously. in for those who think young, He is the one in the conference room ( smaller build compared to Harry and Paul but not as thin as Pete) who answers the question when the guys ask about Peggy's weight loss "he says Draper knocked her up" thus starting the Don got Peggy pregnant rumors.
AMCtv looking for Moderators for Mad Men talk forum
http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/2011/01/talk-forum-moderator.php
Season 1 Episode 11 Indian Summer
It's October, Betty gets a visit from an air conditioning salesman, Peggy gets her first presentation with the rejuvenator. Roger has his second heart attack . . and more
Dan Bishop Wins Production Design Award
On Saturday evening (February 5) I attended the Art Directors Guild awards.
Dan Bishop won again for his production design of Mad Men.
JOIN THE QUOTE GAME, VOLUME 10
There's still a lot of movies to quote from. Have fun and join us. Move the unsolved ones over here.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR HARRY!
Here's wishing a Happy 33rd Birthday (a few days late! oops) to Rich Somer whose birthday was February 2.
Hope it was a great day, "Harry"!
Looking forward to seeing you in S5!
An Alternative View of Mad Men
I highly recommend TipsiM's topic, "Clearinghouse of loose ends and unanswered questions".
Buried in this topic, is a post by Lorna Moir regarding The New York Review of Books article
entitled "The Mad Men Account" by Daniel Mendelsohn:
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/feb/24/mad-men-account/?page=1
This is an extremely well written article with an alternative view of Mad Men. Mendelsohn's view is that Mad Men is a "soap opera decked out in high-end clothes". He states that Men Men is "essentially, the stuff of soap opera: abortions, secret pregnancies, extramarital affairs, office romances, and of course dire family secrets; what is supposed to give it its higher cultural resonance is the historical element. When people talk about the show, they talk (if they're not talking about the clothes and furniture) about the special perspective its historical setting creates--the graphic picture that it is able to paint of the attitudes of an earlier time, attitudes likely to make us uncomfortable or outraged today. An unwanted pregnancy, after all, had different implications in 1960 than it does in 2011."
Mendelsohn states that "the greatest part of the audience for Mad Men is made up not, as you might have imagined at one point, by people of the generation it depicts--people who were in their twenties and thirties and forties in the 1960s, and are now in their sixties and seventies and eighties--but by viewers in their forties and early fifties today, which is to say of an age with those characters' children. The point of identification is, in the end, not Don but Sally, not Betty but Glen: the watching, hopeful, and so often disillusioned children who would grow up to be this program's audience, watching their younger selves watch their parents screw up".
It's Me Again
This is just a note to acknowledge all the Maddicts who responded to my thread about the weather. The snow has stopped and the gale force winds have dropped to a gentle, although still frigid, breeze. We, like Lavender Haze, have drifts practically up to the roof top in places. It won't melt any time soon as the temperature is going down, down, down tonight to Arctic levels. Oh, well, as my brother says, it is winter in Illinois.....what else should we expect, right? The really good news is that the power has thus far stayed on in my little neck of the woods, although others have not been so lucky. I do worry about those folks without the power, and wish I could invite them over to spend a warm night, but I can't get to them and they can't get to my house.
For some unknown and apparently unfixable reason, I am unable to post comments....I can post a thread and I can use the "Like" button, but I cannot post a comment....even on my own Thread. How annoying, right? I wanted to explain why I have not been posting for weeks. I still get great enjoyment from reading all your comments, however, and even though I do not jump in to the conversations, I am present in spirit. I love this site and have since Season One. It is surprising how painful it is not to be able to provide a comment on the witty remarks and thoughtful posts of my fellow Maddicts.
My blog today: What would Don Draper do?
Go to the link to see it with pictures http://saraegoodman.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-would-don-draper-do-scratch-that.html
Sara*ndipity
What would Don Draper do? Scratch that, what would a NINJA do?
My parents recently discovered that the best way to watch television shows is to wait until they're about six seasons in and then buy the first five seasons and watch them in a row without commercials.
Which also means that my parents are now shut-ins who haven't left their house in six months except to forage for more complete seasons of Dexter, Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory, and Gossip Girl (don't ask. Trust me).
At first, I found this amusing. Then sad. Then amusing again. Then sadder. And then horrifying.
Because my parents tried to lure me into their shut-in, complete-seasons-of-television-watching lifestyle by offering me the dvds when they were done with them. And as they dangled free shows in front of me like a carrot in front of a horse, it dawned on me that this is how cults begin.
But I fell for it anyway, because free stuff is free stuff. And until my book takes off, I'm poor. In fact, because I buy so many pairs of shoes, I'm SO poor that I can't even afford the whole word "poor." I'm just po'. Which means that my shopping addiction has even cost me my ability to speak proper English. I'm three more pairs of shoes away from just being p'.
So primarily to keep myself from thinking about shopping, I started watching Dexter.
Three days later, I had seen every episode. Some of them twice.
Four days later, I was caught up to the current season of 30 Rock. (I'd never seen an episode before that. Too many shows are on Thursday nights to dvr them all, so I stuck with the ones I was already watching. Plus I used to have a life. Now I have Liz Lemon. It's a fair trade.)
And I'm now working my way through Mad Men.
However, I encountered a major problem.
My parents are ALSO working their way through Mad Men. And I'm caught up to where they are. And they don't want to let me watch the third season before they do. Which is COMPLETELY unfair. I mean, yes, they paid for the dvds, but they're not chronic insomniacs like I am and therefore waste precious hours that they could spend watching Mad Men sleeping. Which I think makes them fair-weather fans and therefore they should forfeit their right to the third season until I've watched it. And besides, what am I supposed to do when I can't sleep if I can't find out who Don Draper is going to be sleeping with in the next episode?
So I asked myself, what would Don Draper do in this situation?
Which wasn't all that helpful. He'd steal someone's identity, then lie for twenty years, and then cheat on his wife with someone new once a week, all while drinking an old fashioned, smoking a cigarette, and coming up with the perfect campaign for a new Sterling Cooper client.
That wasn't going to get me any dvds.
So I asked myself, what would Betty Draper do?
That wasn't very helpful either. I drank a lot of wine, chain smoked six packs of cigarettes, and tried to look the other way. Then I snapped and broke a chair.
No dvds in that strategy.
What would Peggy do? Well she'd be really frumpy, then get really fat, then turn out to be pregnant and not tell anyone for two years.
No thanks.
Joan would work her feminine wiles, but I'm 100 percent sure that that wouldn't work on my PARENTS. And it'd be beyond icky if it did.
So even Joan failed me.
Then I wised up and realized that acting like a character from Mad Men wasn't going to get me any closer to season three.
So I asked myself, what would a ninja do?
Jackpot.
I spent the next three days learning martial arts on demand (seriously, they have EVERYTHING on demand these days. I took a break from my training montage and learned how to make crème brulee, change a tire, and churn Amish-style butter, all courtesy of on demand programming). Then I dressed in all black, painted my face black, dyed Rosie's fur black, and snuck over to my parents' house in the dead of night.
Once there, I climbed up onto the roof and lowered myself down the chimney Mission Impossible style to steal the dvds.
Maybe I should have just let myself in the front door. I mean, I do have a key. Or maybe I shouldn't have brought the Mission Impossible theme music with me. Or it could have been because I brought Rosie and apparently schnauzers don't like being dyed black then lowered down a chimney in the middle of the night, even when they're highly trained ninja schnauzers.
But whatever it was that I screwed up, somehow my parents figured out that they were being robbed, which resulted in my dad chasing me through the house in his underwear with a baseball bat until he realized that it was me. Not a pretty sight.
Of course, when he realized that it was me coming to steal the third season of Mad Men, he woke my mom up, she grabbed an axe, and then they BOTH chased me while brandishing weapons.
And as I learned the hard way, apparently learning to be a ninja from on demand television does NOT actually prepare you for combat with deadly weapon-wielding parents who are defending a complete season of Mad Men.
My parents won that round.
But I didn't give up. Oh no. I'm no quitter.
They thought it was the snow last week that knocked out their electricity. I'm not saying that I went over there with a pair of wire cutters. I'm just not saying that I DIDN'T go over there with a pair of wire cutters.
No, not really. I had nothing to do with the epic failure that is Pepco. They managed that all on their own.
What really happened is my dad went out of town and my mom wasn't going to watch the third season without him, so I convinced her to let me borrow it on the condition that I return it by the time my dad comes home.
Which means if I don't get through another two discs by tomorrow night, my parents are going to launch an attack that's going to make the situation in Egypt right now look mild. We're talking cutting off the whole country's internet, looting, extreme political unrest, the works.
Hell, they'll probably make the biblical problems in Egypt look mild, complete with rivers turning to blood, locusts, frogs, cattle disease, slaying of the first born, and (horror of all horrors) the destruction of my entire shoe collection.
In other words, I'm potentially endangering the free world by taking a break from watching Mad Men to write this. See how dedicated I am to you? Feel special.
And I get to go through this all again when season four comes out on dvd. Which leaves me a few months to perfect my ninja skills. This time, I WILL defeat my parents in the epic battle. But until then, it's back to Mad Men.
Shh. It's starting.
PETITION TO BRING BACK MAD MEN IN 2011!
The prolonged negotiations between Lionsgate and AMC threaten to put off the next season of Mad Men to 2012.
If you can't wait that long for the return of Don Draper, please sign this petition urging that Season 5 Mad Men air this year!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/mm_s5/
Whatever happened to....
I don't know if its the cold weather, anticipation for Season 5 (just sign a contract already!!) or ts all this nostalgia.. Season 1, and now Season 2 airing on Demand.
We have the Mad Men Yearbook but here is another game - what ever happened to? Simply name a character who did not quite make it to Season 4 and imagine what happened to them since. We know what happened to Midge and Smitty but what about some of the other characters ... here goes
Paul Kinsey - after a year at McCann Erickson our Mr. Kinsey decided to try his hand at writing the great American Novel. To support himself, Mr. Kinsey teaches High School at PS 106 in Manhattan.
To All My Maddict Friends
Hope you are all tucked in safe and warm.....here in central Illinois we are experiencing quite the blizzard. I can't see the house across the street for all the blowing snow. Wish I could turn on the TV and watch a Mad Men marathon to take my mind off the weather. I am praying the power does not go off.
The news and weather stations have been talking about this storm since the weekend, predicting record breaking snow fall from Oklahoma to the NorthEast. From what I am seeing out our window, it looks like they were not exagerating. What is the view from your windows, dear friends? Lavender Haze, are you snowed in down there in Oklahoma?
1967
I predict the new season will be forced to jump ahead into the late 60s, to 1967. Simply because if they aren't going to air S5 until 2012, the kids are going to mature more and that will have to be reflected in the show. Starting off in 1967 will also set MW up to have the show end in 1968-69, if he pursues a sixth season.
Jumping ahead raises some interesting questions:
Is Bert Cooper going to be alive? We can assume he was born in the late 1880s, so he must be getting up there.
Will Glenn be cruising around looking for Sally?
Will Betty and Henry still be together?
Will the firm still be called Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce? Will it be in the same office? Perhaps they will have a real second floor.
I hope we see Roger stick out an empty glass with ice and say "Beam me up, Scottie."
I think I may have a new favorite month.
http://www.imdb.com/features/oscars/2011/gallery/11_sag_arrivals-rm1510114560
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4076897536/nm0005064
