Mad Men: The Other Woman

Last week's episode left us wanting more scenes with Don and Joan.  The bonding between the two characters at the bar revealed the better side of Don.  He respects and cares about Joan, and I think that was a little unexpected.  Especially since we haven't really seen them together since the lawn mower episode. Don also knows when he wouldn't be enough for a woman, like Joan.  She sees right through him and intimidates him.  In the end, he's the only one who stands up for her, and he seeks her out to tell her this. 

Pete is a conniving asshole for letting Joan think that all the partners were on board with the arrangement for her to sleep with the Jaguar executive to win the account.  They could have won it on creative alone.  Because Don finally has returned to work.  Don's talent is why we fell in love with this show, going back to the first season with the Kodak Carousel campaign.  He is a genius.  He's becoming out of touch, and Ginsberg is the young, hungry creative talent.  The Jaguar campaign is Ginsberg's idea, but Don's presentation was out of this world.

It is too bad how Don is treating Peggy.  I would have resign on the spot if my boss threw money in my face.  I do not know how she didn't cry.  I also don't know how she got through her resignation speech or how she didn't take more money to stay with SCDP.  As we all know in real life, the grass isn't always greener.  I am interested in seeing how this plays out for Peggy.  I don't think she made the right decision.

Until next week, only two episodes left.  I can't wait to read Tom and Lorenzo's article on the wardrobe.  I now notice what the characters are wearing, and what message is being conveyed.  Megan is dressing and acting more and more like a petulant child.  When Joan agreed to the arrangement for Jaguar she was in a solid brown dress, by accepting the arrangement had she essentially become emotionally is dead.

And yes we all want Greg to die in Vietnam, please let this happen Matt Weiner!

Mad Men: Tom and Lorenzo

Tom and Lorenzo regularly blow my mind.  Maureen Ryan recommended their website in a podcast, and I have been hooked ever since.  They are also from Philadelphia.  I love the hometown connection.

http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/2012/04/mad-style-far-away-places.html

It is definitely worth the read!

Mad Men: Far Away Places Hit Home

Smart audiences!

Mad Men’s Far Away Places episode blew my mind. 

I don’t want to get into the deconstruction of the show.  I know movie and television nerds may see my excitement about the format twists as overkill.  Perhaps it’s an obvious use of the drug altering both the characters’ and audiences’ perception, but let’s not lose sight of the very important thing about that twist.  This is a cable drama that has followed a generally safe narrative for 5 seasons.  This episode was more like a David Lynch disregard for audience expectations.  

Let’s contrast this to the prevalence that exists in television today to recap and eat away precious minutes of a block.  I get it, you want to grab the channel surfers, you don’t want people to forget the story line, and you don’t actually want to shoot that much content.  However, let’s look at the advantage of skipping hand-holding the audience. So much rich and intriguing story can be presented and you can take your time getting artful visuals that set this medium apart!

Mad Men used, not a new format, it’s as old as literature itself to tell a story from multiple character perspectives, but they took us on a trip (an LSD trip) with out having to explain explicitly we were going there.  The quick cuts in time and spot-on visuals only enhanced the utter amazing base this show is built upon.

If this season was lacking in interesting character development – Joan and Peter being strictly pitiful, Peggy being socially awkward, Don being extremely boring  – this episode single handedly redeemed everything.  Roger Sterling!!!

Good Old War

As a proud Philadelphian,  I was excited to see Good Old War on Conan last night.  I wanted to pass long the video.  I really loved that Conan went over and had a conversation with them afterwards.  I am glad to see some local talent getting recognized on national tv.

Aaron Sorkin: Enough Said

West Wing, Studio 60, and the upcoming Newsroom.  Truth be told, I still wish for a snow day/blizzard when I can sit around my apartment and watch West Wing.  My dvr would be filled with episodes that were on syndication on Bravo.  We just need President Bartlett to run our nation.
I even liked Studio 60.  I downloaded the whole season on iTunes while I was living abroad.  It wasn't a waste of money at all, and I kept some of the episodes when I was making room on my old computer.

I am super excited for Newsroom.  I cannot wait to watch the shows, to see the writing. I even signed up for HBO for Game of Thrones, True Blood, Life's Too Short, and some documentaries I want to watch. I look forward to writing about Newsroom for all of you, and I hope you are eagerly awaiting Sorkin's return to tv.