mad men

[OnlyNonStranger]

Two hour premier! Sweet!

[chairmenmeow47]

i started a re-watch last night.

[mmsk123]

Me too, chairmenmeow47.

[paulb]

Just ran through all 4 seasons over the course of a few weeks. WOW! Incredible show! I could not imagine having to wait from Oct 2010 until now to continue the story. I wonder what the writers will come up with.

[Miroir Noir]

I think this is pretty right on: http://www.vulture.com/2012/03/what-...men-great.html (Season 4 spoilers for people who haven't watched)

I love the '60s setting, and enjoy how the series both reinforces and subverts the cultural understanding of the era. But what makes the series succeed so tremendously is its slow-burn, intense focus on character. In focusing on the cultural, political, historical, and sociological wallpaper of the '60s, too many critics and viewers miss that like The Sopranos before it, the real strength of Mad Men is its far more timeless appreciation for psychology.

[chairmenmeow47]

so very true! after re-watching, i love how cool joan is anytime she is confronted with a problem.

[Miroir Noir]

Season 5 will apparently start in

the later half of 1966, about a year after Season 4 would have ended in fall of 1965.

Spoiler source.

[Originalbob]

I think this is pretty right on: http://www.vulture.com/2012/03/what-...men-great.html (Season 4 spoilers for people who haven't watched)

I love the '60s setting, and enjoy how the series both reinforces and subverts the cultural understanding of the era. But what makes the series succeed so tremendously is its slow-burn, intense focus on character. In focusing on the cultural, political, historical, and sociological wallpaper of the '60s, too many critics and viewers miss that like The Sopranos before it, the real strength of Mad Men is its far more timeless appreciation for psychology.

In other words, you're welcome for being forced to watch it for payment of my devotion to Breaking Bad, which is slow moving thus far.

[Miroir Noir]

Naturally.

[shermanoaksyo]

The focus of the new season is supposedly civil rights/race riots.

OK, whatever. I just hope there is a lot of shit that happens to the ad men that is crazy/funny.

[Miroir Noir]

1966 was the "long, hot summer" of the Civil Rights movement. Violent, crazy race riots, and a white conservative reaction that makes our recent tea party era look polite in comparison. Some absolutely fascinating history; Rick Perlstein covers it in breathless detail in Nixonland. I doubt the season will focus on it per se, but as cultural tapestry, it will be as unavoidable as the Missile Crisis or the JFK assassination or "Satisfaction" were in earlier seasons.

[Originalbob]

I'm so fucking thrilled for Sunday. Hopefully I can get these FedEx assholes to give up my dress and make a shit load of finger foods and classic cocktails!
Wish me luck for getting this dress out of their grimy paws.
ava-dress-jade-green(1).jpg

[TallGuyCM]

I can FINALLY say that I'm now caught up and can join the convo in here.

[TallGuyCM]

Good, not great, episode tonight. Although it's really hard to follow up the second half of season 4, that's the pinnacle the show's reached so far imho.

[fiopadp7791]

She can clean in her underwear anytime... holy god... hawt...

But yeah... the episode as a whole was solid Nothing world-beating, but solid.

[captncrzy]

Kind of meh on the premier. I know it'll pick up.

Did anyone else hope that Megan would fall over the wall on her balcony? I think I actually yelled "fall, bitch!"

[motionnn77]

The episode was ok, but I feel it's just setting the tone for the season. I would expand on this, but there would be too many spoilers.

[Miroir Noir]

I think a lot of the "meh" factor with the first ep is simply a result of having to cram in a lot of narrative detail for the re-boot after the long absence. A few interesting details for me (spoilers follow):

* Pete is now living Don's Cheeveresque suburban life from the beginning of the series. This probably won't end well. Also, interesting to see him openly challenge, and then purposely fuck with Roger Sterling. Roger has been losing his edge since the beginning of the series, but at this point he's fast becoming a dinosaur marked for extinction.
* Surprised that Peggy is still with the journalist (I'm going to have to remember his name now). I applaud this, but only insofar as he is allowed to be a character, and not merely a device to introduce "hey look, the '60s!" current events issues for various cast members to respond to. A lesser series would use him for just that; I don't think Mad Men will.
* I love that Bert Cooper is still around.
* Don and Megan. Wow. There is a lot to unpack from that first episode alone: the plot revelations (most shocking for me: she knows about Dick Whitman), the psychosexual and power dynamic aspects of their relationship, the office politics. I can't imagine that this ends well, but man will it be spectacular. Two things that stuck with me: Sally Draper gazing at Megan's naked back in her father's bed, and Roger and Jane (complete with Roger's horrible speech) haunting over the birthday proceedings as a horrible ghost of the future.

[HandBanana]

It's Mad Men. They play the long game.
I wasnt expecting anything major in the first episode and as alway with this show, there's always far more going on in the subtext.
Here's another brilliant Vulture recap...

http://www.vulture.com/2012/03/mad-m...ttle-kiss.html

[Miroir Noir]

Get "Zou Bisou Bisou" on vinyl and iTunes. Seriously.

[casey]

[TallGuyCM]

The episode was ok, but I feel it's just setting the tone for the season. I would expand on this, but there would be too many spoilers.

motionnn77 - the suprefan of the Mad Men thread

[Courtney]

Haaaa.

I have to say, I don't really love Mad Men so much these days. Maybe I never did love it, but I just got suckered in with the clothing and furniture and Don's brooding good looks.

What I do love a lot these days is Californication. Hank Moody is like the anti-Don Draper, and I appreciate it.

[SoccerRyot]

I am late in joining this great thread but glad to make it. I agree that Mad Men premieres are always slow on purpose. And that's ok, because they will build to other things from here.

Interesting that Don revealed Dick Whitman to Megan. On the one hand, I feel like that's good. OTOH, well, I don't have anything for the other hand right now, but I feel like, even though she has accepted it, we have yet to see how the consequences play out.

But something that stood out about Megan and made me think File that for the future: That little scene at the party where Megan, Don, and Megan's friend were chatting and the reveal that Megan had not necessarily been the best waitress, but that she had managed to get the best tips. And then there was her friend saying that Megan is an actress, plus Megan's reaction, and Don's surprise at this new info. So while not a red flag, it just had a “take note” vibe.

Later, when it got to the Megan Cleans The Apartment In Her Underwear Scene Because She Is Pissed At Don, I thought we were going to see some kind of payoff to the earlier party scene. But then it just turned into a pouting/tantrum, power play sex scene and I realized this isn’t the payoff for that.

Holy shit, Roger and Pete. It's all fun and games until someone is gonna get hurt.

Oh yeah, and I like how Roger noted that Harry is always up to something in the conversation in Roger's office.

Because this is my first time posting in this thread, I am going to cut and paste something I had commented on in another forum regarding Harry near the end of Season Four:

Harry Crane has been acting differently this season and because he was featured talking about his Hollywood trips a couple of times, I began to suspect that he was possibly having an affair with someone out there, or that he was thinking about making a transition to work out there (especially after Joey made that comment that if he'd thought Harry was gay, that he would have interpreted Harry's gestures as a come on). But the story lines never seemed to elaborate much more. Until he was all over Carolyn Jones in this ep. Then I thought for sure we were going to learn that he was stepping out on his wife. But nothing came of it. Hmm. I did crack up over Joyce's expression and her hustling Carolyn out. So if the guy isn't stepping out on his wife, why the change in behavior this season?

So like I said earlier, I like how Roger noted that Harry is always up to something.

While Roger can make me laugh with his zingers, I was annoyed with him for the Equal Opportunity Employer advertisement/joke. I remember thinking to myself, The public doesn’t know it’s a joke! What happens if people start applying, jackass? And when all of the people showed up the next day in the reception of SCDP, I thought, Well, motherfucker, the joke is on you, now.

Megan did have really good hair this ep, though. And I want to live in the fabulous new Draper apartment.

[shermanoaksyo]

It was not very good. A lot of silly soapy drama with the civil rights stuff thrown on for a pastiche of seriousness.

[MusicIsMyBoyfriend]

Love this.

[OnlyNonStranger]

I finally watched the newest episode and thought it was pretty good. There is definitely a lot to build upon. Also I found myself really liking Pete's secretary. Was she around last season? I don't remember her.

[rskapcat]

I was kind of obsessed with Pete's secretary...glad I'm not the only one. She has an interesting face.



And mrow:

[Somewhat Damaged]

Good episode last night. I loved the irony of Betty getting fat and finishing her daughter's unfinished ice cream at the end of the show just a couple of seasons removed from having given the girl shit for being heavy.

[Miroir Noir]

Definitely a good episode. I loved the Ginsberg kid, especially the reveal of his home life. They are handling the "holy shit, the '60s are really coming now" aspect very well, so far. The Rolling Stones backstage sequence was great; has the series ever made Don Draper look like a square, or worse yet, a narc, before? When he took on the counterculture early in the series, he attacked them not with conservatism, but with existential detachment. Now? He's the guy telling kids not much older than his daughter that he's "concerned about them" while he's on a fruitless mission to conscript their idols into hawking beans and ketchup for the establishment.

Also, more Harry Crane getting baked and eating at White Castle, please.