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Post by Robert C. on Jul 24, 2008 3:30:10 GMT
Anyone watch? Season 2 starts Sunday. I've only caught a few episodes but can't wait to dive into season 2.
More to come....
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Post by Mike Sullivan on Jul 24, 2008 4:45:13 GMT
I loved Season 1. I bought it on a whim a few days ago and have to say that I haven't seen anything this brilliant on television in a while. It's so well written and the cast is pitch perfect. Don Drapper is one of the great characters in television history.
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Post by Robert C. on Jul 27, 2008 21:58:59 GMT
SEASON 2 STARTS TONIGHT!!!Set in New York City, Mad Men takes place in the 1960s at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on New York City's Madison Avenue and centers on Don Draper, a high-level advertising executive, and the people in his life in and out of the office. It also depicts the changing social mores of 1960s America.
Mad Men has received considerable critical acclaim and won two awards at the 2007 Golden Globes, for Best Television Series—Drama, and Best Actor in a Television Series—Drama for Jon Hamm. The show will have a third season airing sometime in 2009.
Mad Men depicts the society and culture of the early 1960s, highlighting cigarette smoking, drinking (alcoholic beverages), sexism, and racial bias as examples of how that era, not so long ago, was so radically different from the present.[4][5] Smoking, more common in 1960 than it is now, is featured throughout the series; almost every character can be seen smoking multiple times in the course of one episode.[4] In the pilot, representatives of Lucky Strike cigarettes come to Sterling Cooper looking for a new advertising campaign in the wake of a Reader's Digest report that smoking will lead to various health issues including lung cancer.[6] The show presents a culture where men who are engaged or married freely partake in sexual relationships with other women. The series also observes advertising as a corporate outlet for creativity for mainstream, middle-class, young, white men. The main character, Don Draper, observes at one point about Sterling-Cooper, "This place has more failed artists and intellectuals than the Third Reich."[7] Along with each of these examples, however, there are hints of the future and the radical changes of the later 1960s; Betty's anxiety, the Beats Draper discovers through Midge, even talk about how smoking is bad for health (usually dismissed or ignored). Characters also see stirrings of change in the ad industry itself, with the Volkswagen Beetle's "Think Small" ad campaign mentioned and dismissed by many at Sterling Cooper.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Men
Even if you haven't seen much of the show it's pretty easy to dive into. I actually haven't seen all of the episodes myself, but I have a pretty good idea about the show. The characters, like many ppl in America at the time, are aboard a sinking ship of sorts; it's the early sixties (preceding the hippie movement) with the threat of Nuclear War constantly looming. The employees at Sterling Cooper are representing the Tobacco companies as well as the Nixon vs. Kennedy campaign (something that seemed like a sure bet early on), and of course you have the infidelity, alcoholism and chain smoking. Occasionally mixed in with the dialogue is a "smoker's-cough," foreshadowing their almost certain death to lung cancer. Don Draper, the show's protagonist, is one of television's all-time greatest characters, IMO. the head of the creative team at Sterling Cooper, Don is in charge of leading his the company into the changing times of the 60's. He's a Korean War veteran, whom we find out at the end of season 1 was actually responsible for an officer's death due to his negligence. That officer's name...was Don Draper. "Dick," switched identification tags with Draper and assumed his name, cutting off contact with his family and creating a new life for himself. He received the Purple Heart and this gross mis-justice of his pal's death is something that haunts "Don". One of the weaselly up and comers in the firm discovers Don's true identity and tries to use it to extort him. Don is a mystery man, by intent. He struggles with infidelity like most of the men in the office, but unlike some of the others he certainly has a conscious about it, and is in fact quite in love with one of his mistresses. More than once he's confided to her about his feeling of emptiness and his woeful pessimism about the world that surrounds him, and even considered running away with her during the time of his extortion. He's the one character who knows "the ship" is sinking, and we hope he'll get off in time. His wife Betty is one of my favorite character developments on the show, but I don't see any way they'll reconcile their marriage. Don is always "working," even on holidays, as is the "custom" of many working men during this time period; send the wife and kids on vacation and stay and "work" on your mistress. Betty is a typical naive trophy-wife, the all-american "suzy-homemaker" spawned from the 50's and is unaware of the true machinations of the world, but eventually realizes Don is in fact cheating on her, and begins to have a very Tony Soprano like epiphany in life. One of the stranger scenes from season one was in the final episode, when Betty sees Glen, an 11 yr old neighbor who she'd baby-sat as a favor, in the passenger seat alone outside a grocery store. Glen is a strange kid, and had once asked Betty for a lock of her hair to which Betty eventually obliged him, much to the chagrin of his mother. Betty and Glen had a very close (albeit strange) connection. Glen's mom confronted Betty in public about the hair incident and Betty proceeded to slap the shit out of her. :lol: Thus when Betty tries to speak to Glen at the Grocery store he tells her that he's not supposed to talk to her. Betty tells him she's "so sad" and that he's the only one she can confide in, and asks him what's going to happen to her. The two clasp hands as Betty breaks into tears...and this was really the pinnacle scene of the show that blew me away, never seen anything quite like it. The actor playing Glen is actually the son of show creater, Matt Weiner. Don is the head of the creative team, but often seeks the help of Peggy, his secretary. In the final episode of season 1, Don, on a whim of sorts, promotes her to junior copy editor. I haven't seen everything, but in the last episode the newly anointed junior copy editor goes to the doctor the day of her promotion due to stomach pains, discovering that she's about to give birth. Apparently she had been in self denial the entire time, and will naturally have to give up the baby b/c a single woman with a child in the workplace at this time in America is quite taboo, of course. We assume the baby belongs to the same douche-bag (who is married) that tried to extort Don. Things will get VERY interesting this season... =/ So, that's where season 2 begins tonight at 9 p.m Est. I haven't completed season 1 so feel free to correct my mistakes...
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Post by Robert C. on Jul 28, 2008 0:21:49 GMT
One of the stranger scenes from season one was in the final episode, when Betty sees Glen, an 11 yr old neighbor who she'd baby-sat as a favor, in the passenger seat alone outside a grocery store. Glen is a strange kid, and had once asked Betty for a lock of her hair to which Betty eventually obliged him, much to the chagrin of his mother. Betty and Glen had a very close (albeit strange) connection. Glen's mom confronted Betty in public about the hair incident and Betty proceeded to slap the shit out of her. :lol: Thus when Betty tries to speak to Glen at the Grocery store he tells her that he's not supposed to talk to her. Betty tells him she's "so sad" and that he's the only one she can confide in, and asks him what's going to happen to her. The two clasp hands as Betty breaks into tears...and this was really the pinnacle scene of the show that blew me away, never seen anything quite like it. The actor playing Glen is actually the son of show creater, Matt Weiner. Sweeet, on youtube: MAD MEN - "I wish I was older" 1.13www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7ov7STa_Ik
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Kino
Published writer
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Post by Kino on Jul 31, 2008 21:05:36 GMT
Easily the best American drama series since The Wire ended.
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Post by Robert C. on Aug 3, 2008 22:35:20 GMT
I especially enjoy studying all of the cognitive and psychological processes involved in advertising/marketing through this show and Don Draper. He's a brilliantly written character.
In episode 1 of season 2 the firm decides to go younger and so Don has to interview a bunch of 60's newbs, including a beatnik type gay couple, acting as a 'corporation' who comes as a package deal of sorts. The two are not actually married (of course) so their corporate status represents their legal right to be together - very fascinating stuff.
Oh, and the office got their first Xerox copy machine, which produced a rather humorous scene in which everyone naturally wants to xerox their faces, butts, etc. The historical setting of this show in the early 60's is the most fascinating time in America's history.
Episode 2 tonight. Still waiting to see when/if they address Peggy's baby, which really wasn't touched on at all during the first episode. I'm not sure if the audience even knows for sure what she did with the child, I think we're just left to assume she gave it up.
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Kino
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Post by Kino on Aug 5, 2008 19:38:52 GMT
Easily the best American drama series since The Wire ended. If we can count miniseries, then I'll say scratch my previous statement and call Generation Kill the best American drama series since The Wire ended. Mad Men comes in second; first if we discount miniseries.
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Post by svsg on Aug 11, 2008 18:37:07 GMT
I saw this for the first time yesterday. Is it still worthwhile starting from this point or is the first season mandatory watching? As far as grabbing my interest goes, "The wire" did that just from watching one episode. This show is yet to have that effect on me.
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Post by Mike Sullivan on Aug 11, 2008 20:44:35 GMT
First season really will help you understand Don and Betty Drapper and the whole folks at Sterling, Cooper.
This is a show that shows deep character evolution but it comes through time. It isn't high drama or very tense. It's about people and the personas they put up during the Kennedy era. You can't see the evolution unless you've seen the first season.
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Kino
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Post by Kino on Aug 11, 2008 23:14:29 GMT
I saw this for the first time yesterday. Is it still worthwhile starting from this point or is the first season mandatory watching? As far as grabbing my interest goes, "The wire" did that just from watching one episode. This show is yet to have that effect on me. I think you should stop watching Season 2, and start from the beginning of Season 1. You'll get better perspective of the thematic material and characters. I love the show's rhythm which is a turn-off to many people. I can see it taking a couple of episodes to hook in people.
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Kino
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Post by Kino on Aug 11, 2008 23:18:01 GMT
Capo, I don't know if you've started watching, but did you know that Matthew Weiner (The Sopranos) is Mad Men's creator and one of its writers?
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Post by Robert C. on Aug 25, 2008 22:30:06 GMT
Last night's episode was insane. We found that Don is the only one privy to Peggy's little secret.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on Aug 25, 2008 23:37:52 GMT
Capo, I don't know if you've started watching, but did you know that Matthew Weiner (The Sopranos) is Mad Men's creator and one of its writers? I didn't know that. I know very little about this show. A friend at uni raves about it.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on Aug 26, 2008 0:43:45 GMT
I watched the first two episodes of Season 1 when it originally aired. At the time, it didn't really do much for me, and really felt like a show overtly aware of history, and used that to fuel a lot of humor. For instance, one character was talking about copying a document (I think), and said something along the lines of, "Wouldn't it be great if there was a little machine that could....." That kind of humor seemed cheap.
But...it seemed like there were interesting things developing within some of the characters and their storylines (a lot of talk about the upcoming election between Kennedy and Nixon, which looked like it was going somewhere).
However, because of all the recent praise and the clip that Robert posted, I've added the first season to Netflix.
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Post by Mike Sullivan on Aug 26, 2008 0:50:09 GMT
highly recommended, Omar. It's the finest dramatic series on American television.
I sat through the first season in two sittings. It's like heroin. Don Drapper is one of the most enigmatic characters in television. It's truly a great look at it's times and is aware of the history but it's also a great look at people and the personas they assume to appear normal in the cookie-cutter Kennedy era.
I can't wait to see how it progresses into the third season.
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Post by Robert C. on Aug 26, 2008 3:35:43 GMT
At the time, it didn't really do much for me, and really felt like a show overtly aware of history, and used that to fuel a lot of humor. For instance, one character was talking about copying a document (I think), and said something along the lines of, "Wouldn't it be great if there was a little machine that could....." That kind of humor seemed cheap. That's a good point. I'm glad you brought that up. The copy machine was invented in the early 60's, this show is in 1962. Given the nature of their business Sterling Cooper naturally would have been one of the first in the world to get a copy machine, which they do, and the office goes ape-shit. No one had ever seen anything like it before. This show is an amazing window into that time in history. Some of the humor (the Xerox machine), might seem cheap and contrived, and I suppose it is in a sense, but Peggy mentions how at the firm they use 'contrasting' colors, like it's some major fucking breakthrough. I've been quite surprised to learn just how different things really were in those days. Life then was three black and white channels on TV with crappy reception, or better yet, how about a lack of access to bank funds, i.e - Don getting stuck in jail with no way to pay his bail via credit card or whatever, and having to call Peggy at 3 in the morning b/c he doesn't want to call his wife! Sticking to that point, one of the best characters on this show is a minor role, a comedian named Jimmy Wages, and Jimmy is the kind of comedian that "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog" is emulating. These 'Insult' comedians from the 50's who were all about one liner put downs, and of course they're drunk 24/7 b/c their entire life is search of a laugh. I mean, the guy can't talk without including puns or crafty witty replies to EVERYTHING. Anyway, Jimmy (who's like a Humphrey Bogart look-alike, very common in those days) is doing a commercial for Sterling when the very over-weight wife of one of the big execs walks into the recording studio... And all a sudden, drunk Jimmy just starts doing a routine about how fat this chick is! It came as natural to him as breathing, he didn't really see anything wrong with it ( Someone alert the media, I think we've located Geppetto). And that's probably a pretty accurate portrayal of these drunken one liner insult comics from the 50's. People were just incredibly naive about shit in those days, obviously. Like doctors smoking in the hospital, I can't even imagine that sort of thing but our parents and grandparents remember it well. It's weird.
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Kino
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Post by Kino on Oct 30, 2008 17:56:11 GMT
Get on it, folks. It's great, great, great stuff.
SVSG, if Kima's relationship storyline is possibly your favorite storyline of The Wire, I'd say Mad Men is much more your cup of tea. It has the qualities you look for and in large quantities - lots of relationships, big on theme. Relationships. Theme. Relationships. Theme. !!
Omar, about the cheap humor. I don't think it's cheap. It's very real to me. Like, we do the exact/similar things today. We marveled at the size of cell phones 8 years ago. They're even smaller today. If we traveled in time, I'd say we'd catch ourselves saying and acting like how the people in Mad Men in that example you cite.
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Post by svsg on Oct 30, 2008 19:26:06 GMT
SVSG, if Kima's relationship storyline is possibly your favorite storyline of The Wire, I'd say Mad Men is much more your cup of tea. It has the qualities you look for and in large quantities - lots of relationships, big on theme. Relationships. Theme. Relationships. Theme. !! You are a good salesman Kino. Your product has been sold ;D I'll populate my Netflix queue soon.
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Kino
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Post by Kino on Oct 30, 2008 19:44:44 GMT
Above when you said you saw your first MM episode, I assume it was from the second season? If so, yeah, it's not a good idea to start there. Start from the beginning because you're missing a whole lot of character nuance. It has a slower rhythm than The Wire so I can see it taking some people a handful of episodes before being pulled in.
Seriously. Bump it to the top of your queue. I'll paraphrase the series' creator, "Mad Men is about the conflicting desires in the American male and the ones who are destroyed by it - the women." Identity is one of if not the key theme, too. I'd be seriously surprised and shocked that if by Season 1's end you don't love the series' look into relationships.
I'm too lazy to browse The Sopranos thread, but were you a viewer of it? I'm asking because of the Tony-Carmela storyline.
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Post by svsg on Oct 30, 2008 19:50:48 GMT
Yeah, I just saw one episode from season 2.
I have been meaning to watch Sopranos for a long time (thought I have watched a few episodes here and there).And also Six feet under. But just for the sake of currentness, I'll probably check out Mad Men first, because I can follow it up with real time viewing on AMC. Luckily I have the channel available, lol
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