jellymoff
Ensouled Vampire
Claimer of Funn[Mo0:0]
Posts: 1,174
|
Mad Men
Jul 14, 2008 18:10:48 GMT -5
Post by jellymoff on Jul 14, 2008 18:10:48 GMT -5
I just started watching Season 1 of Mad Men. There had been a lot of hype surrouding this show so when I found it On Demand I thought I would check it out. So far, really impressive. Jon Hamm won the Best Actor Golden Globe and it won for Best Drama. As an added bonus, Vincent Kartheiser is on of the stars and I like him! He is perfectly slimy and a little pitiful. I've been sucked in and hope to catch up before Season 2 starts. Anyone watching this show?
|
|
|
Mad Men
Jul 14, 2008 18:27:36 GMT -5
Post by buffysmglover on Jul 14, 2008 18:27:36 GMT -5
I watched most of Season One when it aired, and I LOVED it. The DVD is now out, so I'll be glad to have that soon.
|
|
|
Mad Men
Jul 15, 2008 19:33:43 GMT -5
Post by Wyndam on Jul 15, 2008 19:33:43 GMT -5
I'll be checking this show out soon. Looks fantastic!
|
|
|
Mad Men
Oct 26, 2009 15:47:06 GMT -5
Post by Emmie on Oct 26, 2009 15:47:06 GMT -5
*resurrects the thread of this AWESOME show* I'm a fan! *joins the club* After watching each episode, I go to Alan Sepinwall's blog to read his reviews. Most of the time, I agree with much of his interpretation. But one line in his review for last night's episode, "The Gypsy and the Hobo," felt so completely wrong to me and how I'd interpreted the story: Or, if not mature, then secure - as in, maybe he really does think Jane is The One, does love her enough to not cheat on her (as opposed to just being afraid of getting caught), and has genuinely been looking all his life for someone just as carefree as himself. - Alan Sepinwall on "The Gypsy and the Hobo" "This woman is important to me." - Roger, "The Gypsy and The Hobo" I think that quote says it all. Roger references Jane as an easy excuse to disentangle him from Annabelle's clutches, essentially hiding behind his marriage, but in other interactions, we see him lighting up at Joan's call, resurrecting his nickname "Joanie" for her, devoting his time and delighting in being able to help her. Just as she is "important to [him]", he's happy to know that she thinks of him and that he can be important to her. It's rare for Roger to feel needed and we see how much he's come to value being needed recently (Guy's appearance threatening to make him irrelevant was the nightmare vision of his future that reawakened his need for relevance). He was talking about Joan being the love of his life, loved and lost, not Jane. I think the significance can be shown in the way Roger treats Annabelle in the first meeting, before Joan calls him asking for help, and then when he meets up with her again. When he set the dinner "meeting," he seemed eager to stroll down memory lane with Annabelle and perhaps have some fun. Yet after Joan, he acts caustic to Annabelle, resentful of the way she ended things. Before Joan's call, he was the carefree playboy looking for fun. After Joan, he'd leveled out to this moment of honesty with his emotions and his history with this old flame. Then you have the lines, "this woman is important to me," and that he likes being on Joan's mind. The setting of the late-night call is also special - after the failed dinner, does Roger go home to his wife who he loves so dearly? No, he goes to the office and works ( works!), calling buddies to line up a job for Joanie. When Roger uses Jane as an excuse to untangle himself from Annabelle (happily married, this girl is different, the newlywed stage) and you hear him say "this girl is different," does anyone honestly believe that he means Jane? Would anyone call Jane different? We've seen Roger telling people it's different this time, desperate to convince them and himself, but that's just an illusion he's clinging to because he so desperately wants to be happy. Roger's good at spinning lines too but we see through his humor and sense of irony that he's able to call a spade a spade, that he's very perceptive of the differences between reality and the face one presents to the world - he might say Jane is different, but he knows Joan is different. Just as we, the audience, know Joan is different, that she's special. I think it's always been clear that Roger views Joan as "different," a cut above the rest, special because he never has been able to control her and when she defies him, that seems to only make him more fond and admiring of her. She sets the tune and he likes that, the way she plays the game and, in fact, makes it him play her game. I think his disappointment in her settling down and marrying the doctor was very much rooted in seeing her giving up the game, kowtowing to society's demand that a woman marry and settle down - he loved the way she defied convention, that she was her own person. It was seeing the quality he most admired in her tossed aside. Roger/Jane/Joan/Annabelle seemed to also be paralleling Don/Betty/Suzanne/Anna. Both Roger and Don have hard-to-define emotional attachments to their wives that revolve around her being their ideal notion of a partner. Both men have women (Joan for Roger, Suzanne or Midge or other affairs Don has had) with whom they share more passionate encounters that reflect equality; these relationships are less about illusions of ideals than they are about people connecting and genuinely enjoying each other's company. Finally, both men have women in their pasts who've shaped who they are today (both Roger and Don have adopted personas, the Playboy vs. the Mountain King, covering who they are emotionally underneath, though of course Don's is the more pervasive illusion). Annabelle was the birth of Playboy Roger, while Anna helped resurrect and solidify Don's borrowed identity (she gave him the divorce, her acknowledgment of him as Don removed the greatest obstacle to his facade). When both women are revealed, the men are forced into a place of honesty. Roger acknowledges the truth about his history with Annabelle, that she was never "the one" for him. Instead of reigniting their affair as any good playboy would do without a second thought, he devotes his time and energies to Joan who is "important to [him]," who needs his help and he likes being needed by her, more so than he likes being needed by Annabelle to rescue her company. When Anna is revealed, her discovery forces the Betty/Don confrontation and the real man underneath the Don Draper facade comes to light. Both women helped build the facade and when the women behind the men are revealed, the facade topples like a house of cards. The reveal of Annabelle added another layer that brings Roger and Don closer together as brothers, mirrors of each other - and considering how similar they are in how they approach the world, it only makes the divide between them more layered. One final thought. Is the title "The Gypsy and the Hobo" meant to only reference Don? Or could it also be about the facade that Roger sheds here - both gypsy and hobo connote the image of the wanderer, but gypsy also includes the idea of a freer type of love and sexuality. The wandering eye as well as the wandering spirit. That's something both Roger and Don share - affairs outside their marriage - and it's something both men reject in this episode when they drop their facades, instead returning to their homes. Interesting to note that for Roger, his "home" is the office of Sterling Cooper. This show. My god, this show. The relationships are so complex and intertwining and reflective. Love love love. And finally, this moment made me cheer out loud, "Yes yes yes!" What did everyone else think of this episode? And does anyone want to join the Roger/Joan club with me? And I desperately need a Mad Men icon - anyone know of some good fan artists out there?
|
|
|
Mad Men
Oct 27, 2009 1:23:30 GMT -5
Post by Wyndam on Oct 27, 2009 1:23:30 GMT -5
I thought the newest episode may have been the best yet. The Betty/Don scene? Holy cow. That was easily my favorite sequence on the show yet. And Emmie, I completely agree with your Roger/Joan thoughts. As soon as Roger referenced "The One" I immediately had a Michael Bluth moment from Arrested Development ("Her?"). Given the very little screen time we have seen with Jane, and couple that with the great scenes Joan and Roger have had, plus the fact that he was so happy to hear from her and help her out, it was pretty clear.
But back to Don and Betty, I am still floored at how amazing those scenes were. Betty never disappoints me, and I loved the way she confronted Don. The lawyer told her to just work it out, which she kept shaking her head "no." She wanted the lawyer to tell her to confront him, and she did it anyway. It is always great to see Don's mask dissolve and those around him see who he really is (Re: a coward). He dropped his cigarette for crying out loud. Don Draper of Sterling Cooper just doesn't do that. Dick Whitman sure does though, and it was great to see him again. Plus we can't ignore that during all of this his mistress is outside in his car waiting for him. Brilliant stuff. I love it when all of Don's different sides come crashing down together. I can't wait to see how the season ends over the next two weeks.
Oh, and January Jones better win an Emmy next year. Looooong overdue.
|
|
|
Mad Men
Oct 27, 2009 1:26:33 GMT -5
Post by VampSlayer on Oct 27, 2009 1:26:33 GMT -5
I watched the first season, and the first few episodes of season two within a few days. I then took a break, and tried to finish the show to catch up... I couldn't. It just lost my interest for some reason! I loved it, and then all that love went away somewhere...
|
|
|
Mad Men
Oct 27, 2009 2:29:20 GMT -5
Post by Emmie on Oct 27, 2009 2:29:20 GMT -5
VampSlayer, I had a similar problem getting into the show at the very beginning. Wyndam kept telling me how great it was, but I couldn't get past the first few episodes. Then I tried again and I read Alan Sepinwall's blog reviews after each episode. It really helped me to become invested in the relationships on the show by reading other people's interpretations. Eventually, I was able to stay hooked on my own. Wyndam - yes totally agree! January Jones was amazing and knowing that Suzanne was in the car the whole time, just WOW. It was an amazing episode. I can't wait for the finale but I'm also dreading it because then it'll be a long wait till Season 4. Here's an awesome GIF by anyohyeb: And this header art by anyohyeb is also amazing: And I loved this GIF from Season 2:
|
|
|
Mad Men
Oct 27, 2009 2:41:59 GMT -5
Post by Wyndam on Oct 27, 2009 2:41:59 GMT -5
That's one of my favorite Betty scenes. I made a banner set of it a while back.
|
|
|
Mad Men
Oct 27, 2009 2:44:05 GMT -5
Post by Emmie on Oct 27, 2009 2:44:05 GMT -5
Really? You should post it here. I wanna see!
|
|
|
Mad Men
Oct 31, 2009 0:33:09 GMT -5
Post by VampSlayer on Oct 31, 2009 0:33:09 GMT -5
I'll try to finish the second season, and catch up for the finale of season 3! The show really has brilliant writing, it's just not the usual stuff I watch. Wasn't there another thread about this show? I remember posting some stuff about this before somewhere...
|
|
|
Post by buffyfan21 on Nov 2, 2009 0:24:02 GMT -5
Currently watching S1 of Mad Men. Just got finished with ep 7. I had started watching it a while back but only got through the first two or three episodes before giving up on it. Recently, at the recommendation of a friend, I decided to give it another whirl, I find that I am enjoying it. Yeah it starts out a little slow, but it is actually a pretty good show. I have a feeling it gets even better later on though, so I'm gonna try to stick with it. I should probably stay out of this thread though so I don't get spoiled.
|
|
|
Mad Men
May 4, 2010 17:57:42 GMT -5
Post by VampSlayer on May 4, 2010 17:57:42 GMT -5
I actually am caught up! ;D Bought Season Three on DVD, and watched it all. A M A Z I N G. Betty and Joan are my favorites, for sure. Cannot wait for Season Four to air, which is in the middle of July, I believe. As I posted in the other Mad Men Thread. Really excited for Season Four! ;D My favorite episodes so far have to be: 1. The Grown-Ups, S3 EP12 2. Shut the Door. Have a Seat, S3 EP13 3. Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency, S3 EP6 4. The Inheritance, S2 EP10 5. The Gypsy and the Hobo, S3 EP11 Those are the ones off the top of my head. So glad Betty and Don are over with; At least I hope, for good. She deserves way better than him. I wasn't sure how I'd like Henry/Betty, but I ended up liking it way more than Betty/Don. P.S. : Duck and Peggy + Sex = Gross
|
|
|
Mad Men
May 4, 2010 18:12:01 GMT -5
Post by Wyndam on May 4, 2010 18:12:01 GMT -5
I dunno, I see bad things in the future for Betty and Henry. Him telling her that she didn't need any money from Don, and could rely on him was a HUGE red flag. I have a feeling that Betty and Don will really miss each other before Season 4 ends.
|
|
|
Mad Men
Jun 11, 2010 14:44:37 GMT -5
Post by VampSlayer on Jun 11, 2010 14:44:37 GMT -5
|
|
|
Mad Men
Jun 12, 2010 19:34:14 GMT -5
Post by lightandmagic on Jun 12, 2010 19:34:14 GMT -5
Man just reading Emmie's giant post makes me so excited for Season 4! Just another couple months. I kinda hate myself for the way I watched, I watched like all three seasons over the period of a week or so (it was a great excuse to not study for exams!) and now I remember a lot of the details about it and aside from a couple key episodes (The Gypsy and the Hobo and Shut the Door, Have a Seat) none of them really standout from each other. One day I will have to watch them over again, except much much slower.
|
|
|
Mad Men
Jul 27, 2010 12:07:11 GMT -5
Post by VampSlayer on Jul 27, 2010 12:07:11 GMT -5
Well, the Season Four premiere was good. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would though. Still, a good start for this season.
|
|
|
Mad Men
Aug 2, 2010 22:50:55 GMT -5
Post by Wyndam on Aug 2, 2010 22:50:55 GMT -5
God I love this show so much.
"Christmas Only Comes But Once a Year" was one heck of a jarring episode.
I think its something of a miracle that the show has maintained the level of excitement and uncertainty I had going into this season. Mad Men's inclination towards warping its audience's expectations and predictions has always been one of the joys of watching the show, and the theme of upheaval this year has truly exaggerated that level of surprise and depth.
I've always been more fascinated by the "Dick Whitman" side to Don, and Dick is out in full force this season. In fact, it almost feels weird calling him Don at this point. "Pathetic" was the perfect word to describe Don in this episode, especially after what he did to Allison.
I really had no idea what to expect from Don this season, after losing his family, especially after he rode out on a high in last seasons finale. The past year hasn't been good to him, and it will be interesting to see how much respect he has at the end of the season. Being a brilliant Creative Director can only get you so far, especially when your agency is half the size, you aren't producing new clients, and your employees are calling you pathetic.
So happy this show is back! And nutjob Glen is back as well!
|
|
|
Post by VampSlayer on Aug 5, 2010 3:07:32 GMT -5
I liked this second episode much more. Two things that have had me down so far: 1. I really was excited to see the gang working in a hotel suite. And I was so shocked to see that they weren't in this season. I forgot that there was a time skip between each season. Shame on me. 2. Betty has done 0% of anything so far. T.T I love her so much. And the only thing this season has done for her is make her look like a bitch towards Don. January is an amazing actress, and needs more to do. I'm she will be given it, in time, though. Done with the bad. Now, overall, I really liked this episode. Glen was in it, and gosh I hate him. x) And I felt so bad for Allison. Did anyone else notice that Joan wore the 'present' dress to the party?
|
|
|
Mad Men
Aug 10, 2010 4:35:48 GMT -5
Post by VampSlayer on Aug 10, 2010 4:35:48 GMT -5
The newest episode was really good. Pretty sad, actually. Poor Anna... And as much as I'm liking Don this season, I think the show is trying to trick me into forgetting his not-so-likable side. I mean, he did cheat on his wife for years, and still denies it. I need some Betty goodness! Also, Joan was great in this episode. I LOVED her confronting Lane about the roses. One of my favorite Joanie moments.
|
|
jellymoff
Ensouled Vampire
Claimer of Funn[Mo0:0]
Posts: 1,174
|
Mad Men
Sept 8, 2010 8:08:35 GMT -5
Post by jellymoff on Sept 8, 2010 8:08:35 GMT -5
Loving Danny Strong. That is all.
|
|