Mad Men

[Bobaganoosh]

The latest episode was fantastic. Loved Betty's dad, loved Glen running away to the Drapers' playhouse, loved the awkward conversation between Betty and Helen, plus we get a Freedom Riders plot line? Awesome.

[forgetiheardthat]

The immeasurable amount of douche that Pete managed to pump into his one liner when he walked into the room with his mom and brother was truly astounding. Great episode.

[nathansmart]

gosh I hate everyone in this show

[daveunfun]

gosh I hate everyone in this show

I agree, and it's the problem that I've had with the show lately. It's just been so bleak that I'm not getting anything out of it.

I'm certain that there are going to be some big plot twists that make it all worth it in the end (Sterling and/or Cooper dying? Pete and/or Kinsey getting fired?), but I really don't care about any of these characters besides Draper. Which is a feat by the writers in itself I suppose. But everyone on the show is petty and unhappy. Is this the whole point? And also are we supposed to make parallels to our lives now? Yes, we get it, men are insecure even though they always act tough and women are held down by the men. Is this all this show wants to be?

I can see how it is like 'The Wire' in that everyone seems to be getting fucked by their institutions, but at least in The Wire people rebelled against that and tried to make a stand. They TRIED to make their lives meaningful and truthful. In Mad Men, everyone just tries hard to look good on the outside and fuck the rest.

I still love the show, mostly because Jon Hamm is so great, but they are starting to lose me...

[daveunfun]

Holy shit, Jon Hamm is on Never Not Funny this week.

[megalope]

Hey ... sort of off-topic, but I thought it might get overlooked elsewhere. I just sent out this email but anybody in the LA area is welcome. PM me with your email address if you're interested and I'll forward any pertinent emails to you.

Hi! I just had a brilliant idea but I can't do it without your help.

I'm trying to get a group together to dress up like Mad Men and go to the WeHo Halloween parade. It would be SO AWESOME.

Here's a list of characters:

Don Draper
Roger Sterling
Pete Campbell
Betty Draper
Joan Holloway
Peggy Olson -- Megan
Paul Kinsey
Ken Cosgrove
Harry Crane
Salvatore Romano
Bertram Cooper
Herman 'Duck' Phillips
Freddy Rumsen
Father Gill
Trudy Campbell
Francine Hanson
Rachel Menken
Midge Daniels
Helen Bishop

I put my name next to Peggy. Feel free to pick one. Let's make this happen, kids.

[nathansmart]

Well, I still care about them but I'm also willing to turn on them in two seconds. For instance, I hate Pete for the way he treats his family, but when he goes in there and drops bombs on his mom, I was completely rooting for him! And then two seconds later, I hate him again. Same with everyone on the show. When Don gave Roger the, "Are you done?" look in his office I was rooting for him so much, but then I hate him immediately because he won't come clean with his wife. I think the only characters that I've been truly rooting for (with only minor distaste) are Peggy and Harry (the television head).

But I like that - because for some reason, I really love revenge in a television series (probably because I don't approve of it in real life) and this show is full of it.

[ericluxury]

I don't hate any of the characters on the show.

In season one, I dispised Pete Campbell, but now that we've seen and gotten to know him so much, I feel like I empathize with him too much to blame him. .

Also, how can anyone hate Harry Crane?

[nathansmart]

I was so disappointed in him at first when he cheated but he was the only one who was repentant and I now I really like him.

[dan telfer]

I like when they focus on Pete's family. He's completely unlikeable in the office, but his family is so shitty to him that I down with him being an asshole there. Not his wife, but his parents. It was pretty awesome when he crushed his dick mom like that.

A little nervous about Pete and Don in LA. Might want to kill Pete again.

[isoS]

It's weird, but the question of likeability doesn't cross my mind watching this show. To me it's like visiting another world, and I'm just fascinated by every aspect of it, including (maybe especially) the characters' behavior. I think the period and the setting take judgment out of the equation for me -- I take it at face value as how the inhabitants of this world act. You get a pretty wide spectrum of behavior, so it's not like "everyone cheats" or "everyone smokes." And like the Sopranos, I feel like the characters always ring true even when their behavior might be surprising or contradictory -- that's what people are like in life, and it's what makes characters rich and engrossing. Everyone has their inner conflicts, and you want to see if these conflicts can be reconciled.

[nathansmart]

you're wrong

[nathansmart]

I take it back, I agree

[dan telfer]

I find myself constantly striving to look at the show like that. It's not easy. The show does an amazing job of trying to transport you to that time and place, I definitely give it that. But as much as I LOVE the gorgeous costume and set work, I'm used to relying on dialogue and plot to rope me in, and the dialogue and plot is so realistic that I get a little impatient. My problem, not the shows.

And I have to cut the show some slack for bringing back no less than 3 major plot points from Season 1 that I thought had gone by the wayside all in this last episode. I am a little confused though- how much time passed between Season 1 and 2? I thought it was a year or two, but some stuff in this last episode made it seem like a matter of a few months.

[crlygrl]

It was 15 months I believe.

[Jouster]

crlygrl's right. Out of curiousity, what's the stuff you refer to?

[scamboogah]

The kid who plays Glen is named 'Martin Holden Weiner'.

If you had the last name Weiner and the middle name Holden, would you ever use your full name?

I guess he's better off than his brother Jerkin hardonis...

[TimBuktu]

I'm 4 episodes from being caught up, thread I am trying really hard not to read.

[isoS]

I wonder if it's Matt Weiner's son.

[dan telfer]

crlygrl's right. Out of curiousity, what's the stuff you refer to?

I thought Glen and his mother in particular were never coming back, but also some of Betty's parent issues and other minor things all seemed to trickle out.