FOT Forum

The Best Show on WFMU => Dear Tom => Topic started by: Spike on August 01, 2008, 12:44:05 PM

Title: MAD MEN
Post by: Spike on August 01, 2008, 12:44:05 PM
I never watched this MAD MEN, even though I like the time period it is set in. I watch quality programs like THE GUIDING LIGHT and AS THE WORLD TURNS. 
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: erika on August 01, 2008, 01:23:49 PM
oh Spike.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Days of Se7en on August 02, 2008, 06:59:26 PM
Personally I'd like to see a character modeled after Spike show up on Mad Men, maybe as one of Midge's beatnik friends.  Don Draper could have a relationship with this character much like Tom has with Spike.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: chrisfoll577 on August 02, 2008, 10:19:51 PM
Spike's gradually quickening ascent to 50 posts is frightening me.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Fido on August 05, 2008, 01:40:26 PM
Spike, it's pretty much your era, right?  Wasn't it set in the tail end of the doo-wop era?

Which reminds me, how is doo-wop not considered an ethnic slur?
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: gastronongrata on August 26, 2008, 12:36:28 AM
I also, have never seen the show. Well, I watched five minutes of it and had to shut it off. I used to be a copywriter in advertising and that period of the business is the reason I got into it, lots of drinking, good creative got sold and all that. But when you get down to it, the advertising industry is much different these days and the good old days I'm sure that are portrayed in that show would entice me too much. I am weak.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Phantom Hugger on August 26, 2008, 01:34:48 AM
Every time I go to the 'video' store Mad Men is out, maybe Spike can do a season recap so I can tell if it's worth it.

I'm beginning to think, now that Wire, Rome,  Deadwood, Sopranos is over people are just scrambling to fill the void.


Spike?
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: derkins on August 26, 2008, 02:06:14 AM
this show rules.  nuff said
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: daveB from Oakland on August 26, 2008, 02:52:43 AM
Every time I go to the 'video' store Mad Men is out, maybe Spike can do a season recap so I can tell if it's worth it.

I'm beginning to think that now that Wire, Rome,  Deadwood, Sopranos is over people are just scrambling to fill the void.
Spike?

Let's start a petition to have Spike doing a commentary track on the Mad Men DVDs ... You never know, stranger things have happened.






(Actually, I'm not sure if anything that strange has ever happened).
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: namethebats on August 26, 2008, 06:37:40 PM
I support any show that can pull off a moment like this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjINQVu0NRc[/youtube]
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Joe Rogaine on August 26, 2008, 06:46:45 PM
What about these moments?

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Me9V37FPNe8&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Me9V37FPNe8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Stan on August 27, 2008, 10:31:48 PM
Every time I go to the 'video' store Mad Men is out, maybe Spike can do a season recap so I can tell if it's worth it.

I'm beginning to think, now that Wire, Rome,  Deadwood, Sopranos is over people are just scrambling to fill the void.


Spike?

 You can watch every episode here:

http://so.tudou.com/isearch.do?kw=mad+men&cid=&time=&sort=&high=0&display=album&page=3 (http://so.tudou.com/isearch.do?kw=mad+men&cid=&time=&sort=&high=0&display=album&page=3)

 Or use this link if you can't read Mandarin:

http://search.surfthechannel.com/page/search.html?str_stand=mad+men&pagein=1&skin=3&show=television&button=Go%21 (http://search.surfthechannel.com/page/search.html?str_stand=mad+men&pagein=1&skin=3&show=television&button=Go%21)
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: masterofsparks on August 30, 2008, 09:46:55 PM
I'm finally watching season 1 on DVD. Good lord is this the most depressing TV show I've EVER seen. I'm not a person who needs things to be happy (I like Hubert Selby Jr books, OK?), but I'm watching these episodes, looking for anything resembling even a crumb of happiness in any of these characters' lives. Nothing but abject doom.

I'm not necessarily saying I don't like it. It's just exhausting to watch.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Denim Gremlin on August 30, 2008, 11:03:05 PM
i just finished season 1

i'm really loving this show.

but i have to agree with MOS it can be really fucking bleak at times
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Jennifer on August 30, 2008, 11:29:44 PM
I'm finally watching season 1 on DVD. Good lord is this the most depressing TV show I've EVER seen. I'm not a person who needs things to be happy (I like Hubert Selby Jr books, OK?), but I'm watching these episodes, looking for anything resembling even a crumb of happiness in any of these characters' lives. Nothing but abject doom.

I'm not necessarily saying I don't like it. It's just exhausting to watch.

Hmmm...first I heard a lot of good things about this show, but lately I've been hearing the opposite. I just asked my friend if she had seen it and she quit a few episodes in because "it was really misogynistic." And my aunt can't watch it because it makes her want to start smoking again.

I just got the first disc, so we'll see how it goes. I used to be a copywriter many years ago and "abject doom" pretty much sums up my time at the agency. So maybe I can relate.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Jouster on August 31, 2008, 01:30:20 AM
Hmmm...first I heard a lot of good things about this show, but lately I've been hearing the opposite. I just asked my friend if she had seen it and she quit a few episodes in because "it was really misogynistic."

My girlfriend said the same thing, actually, but she watched them anyway and tells me she doesn't feel that way anymore.  I think maybe she confused the viewpoint of the show with the viewpoint of certain characters, or maybe the creators weren't good at separating the two in the early going.  I'm comfortable saying it's not a misogynistic show.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Denim Gremlin on August 31, 2008, 02:23:43 AM
saying the show is misogynistic is like saying it's selling lucky strikes.

this stuff is there but it's not what the show's about at all.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: masterofsparks on August 31, 2008, 10:29:09 AM
saying the show is misogynistic is like saying it's selling lucky strikes.

this stuff is there but it's not what the show's about at all.

Well said. The male characters are definitely misogynists but since most of them are reprehensible human beings, it's not as if the show encourages or condones their actions.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: yesno on August 31, 2008, 11:46:50 AM
And my aunt can't watch it because it makes her want to start smoking again.

In reality the actors are all smoking herbal cigarettes.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: cutout on August 31, 2008, 01:12:49 PM
I sometimes feel the writers want us to know that the show is happening in the 1960s and that Things Were Different Then.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Susannah on August 31, 2008, 05:56:27 PM
There was a pretty insightful piece on the show and its creator in the NY Times Magazine not too long ago:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/magazine/22madmen-t.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=mad%20men&st=cse&oref=slogin

I think the article makes the point, and I agree with it, that the series captures beautifully a group of people on the brink of their own obsolescence.  They're all slightly aware of it too, and change subtly and gradually.  They're in the post-Kinsey, pre-Betty Friedan/pill/sexual revolution window; still making sense of postwar prosperity while Vietnam, the civil rights movement and everything else we're sick of hearing our baby boomer parents reminisce about loom on the horizon.*  There are lots of movies about this era ("Far From Heaven" comes to mind in particular), but setting it in the advertising world is particularly savvy--the characters are figuring out ways to package an era that will completely change their status quo.

*I'm kind of kidding about this, but also kind of not.

I thought the season finale set piece with the Kodak slide carousel was stunning, though--all the more poignant because my school just threw away a closetful of them to make room for the already-obsolete digital Proxima projectors that have since been replaced by interactive SmartBoards.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Joe Rogaine on September 02, 2008, 01:07:59 AM
Found this

Open Letter To Matthew Weiner & The Staff Of Mad Men
You should never use anachronistic music.

You’re better than that.

Using modern music takes us out of the show. Mad Men excels at demonstrating the perverseness of the culture using real artifacts from the time. No later indie rock or punk song will ever be as subversive or weird as ACTUAL MUSIC FROM 1962 which sounds so weird and alien and uncool to us.


Using “Lollipops And Roses” to close the episode the other week was brilliant. Not only did it stick in my head for days, I only now just learned that it won a Grammy.


“Lollipops and Roses” (1962, Grammy Award, Best Pop Male Performance)


See? Stuff like that is brilliant. So much more brilliant than a Decemberists song that takes me out of the narrative and into some dorm room from the past. There was one episode last season that ended with “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and it was SO WRONG because we all know that album came out in 1963 and it was only still 1960.


Again, it just opened a gap in the fantasy world that annoys me because I am nitpicky and will sit around thinking about things like this. You’re better than that. Stick to accurate songs of the period. Those songs are just SO FUCKING WEIRD.


Also Mad Men has been reminding me of Twin Peaks a little bit. Not just because of the creepiness of “oldies station” culture. All these long ambiguous takes that could mean LITERALLY ANYTHING. Not that I’m complaining. It’s great. Those are just my notes. CARRY ON.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Sarah on September 02, 2008, 09:56:18 AM
I'm enjoying Mad Men much more this season, but it frequently puzzles me.  I was glad to learn from that NYT article that Weiner is indeed being deliberately oblique, obscure, allusive, what you will, so I at least know now that it's not just a matter of my being dense.  Not entirely, anyhow.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Chris L on September 02, 2008, 10:22:03 AM
I'm enjoying Mad Men much more this season, but it frequently puzzles me.  I was glad to learn from that NYT article that Weiner is indeed being deliberately oblique, obscure, allusive, what you will, so I at least know now that it's not just a matter of my being dense.  Not entirely, anyhow.

I agree.   Weiner is really harking back to the Sopranos' oblique, character-driven storytelling style this year and expertly pulling it off.  The Decemberists song briefly took me out of the episode this week as well but I'm all for unusual touches like that.   They just might want to avoid any episode-length dream sequences. 

 
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Wes on September 02, 2008, 11:10:34 AM
Quote
Also Mad Men has been reminding me of Twin Peaks a little bit.
Pete Campbell either has been to the Black Lodge or will end up there.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Chris L on September 02, 2008, 11:32:07 AM
Quote
Also Mad Men has been reminding me of Twin Peaks a little bit.
Pete Campbell either has been to the Black Lodge or will end up there.

I think his idea of an "office dog" would go over much better there. 

Speaking of Pete, it was considerate it of him to give that blonde his business card, just in case he knocked her up as well. 
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Sarah on September 02, 2008, 11:37:15 AM
Even after all this time, there are moments when I expect Pete to show his true colors as Conor.  Then he'd really get whiney.

Another note:  Betty is one hell of a scary mother.  Don in dad mode is a softie by comparison.  In real life, those children would be d-o-o-m-e-d.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: buffcoat on September 02, 2008, 02:16:19 PM
to show his true colors as Conor.  Then he'd really get whiney.

One of the worst characters in television history.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Sarah on September 02, 2008, 02:18:30 PM
Hence my concern.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: B_Buster on September 02, 2008, 03:46:25 PM
i just finished season 1

i'm really loving this show.

but i have to agree with MOS it can be really fucking bleak at times

I think it's wildly overrated. It's bleak because all the characters are creeps. In Season 1 all of the men were creeps, in Season 2 it turns out that all the women are creeps, too.

I have no idea why I'm still watching. Oh yeah, Joan Holloway, who turns out to be a big ol' racist!
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: erika on September 02, 2008, 03:58:24 PM
Hey, whaddya want from an ad agency in Manhattan? I'm sure not much has changed in 40 years...
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: B_Buster on September 02, 2008, 04:11:13 PM
The ironic "humor" bugs me. Every time a character makes an attempt at humor, it's most likely sexist or racist (and, of course, it's not funny). It feels very forced to me. This may be the most humorless show I've ever seen (and after John from Cincinnati, that's saying something!).
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: yesno on September 02, 2008, 04:13:44 PM
cooper is funny.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Chris L on September 02, 2008, 04:18:39 PM
The ironic "humor" bugs me. Every time a character makes an attempt at humor, it's most likely sexist or racist (and, of course, it's not funny). It feels very forced to me. This may be the most humorless show I've ever seen (and after John from Cincinnati, that's saying something!).

I find the humor has gotten less winking and more subtle as the series has progressed.  You may not care for it but the show is far from humorless.   In fact, any more non-sequiter gags like the Mozart zipper and they really will start drifting into Twin Peaks territory. 
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: B_Buster on September 02, 2008, 04:19:36 PM
I forgot when Pete described a fight with his wife as a "donnybrook." That was a riot! I almost fell off my chair!
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: B_Buster on September 02, 2008, 04:28:22 PM
I find the humor has gotten less winking and more subtle as the series has progressed.  You may not care for it but the show is far from humorless.   In fact, any more non-sequiter gags like the Mozart zipper and they really will start drifting into Twin Peaks territory. 

I'll give you the Mozart zipper, Chris. That really stood out against the norm.

Also, didn't Bobbie and Don's car crash smack of Tony and Adriana's similarly inconvenient car accident?
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Chris L on September 02, 2008, 04:35:48 PM
I find the humor has gotten less winking and more subtle as the series has progressed.  You may not care for it but the show is far from humorless.   In fact, any more non-sequiter gags like the Mozart zipper and they really will start drifting into Twin Peaks territory. 

I'll give you the Mozart zipper, Chris. That really stood out against the norm.

Also, didn't Bobbie and Don's car crash smack of Tony and Adriana's similarly inconvenient car accident?


Yes, it did.   I don't care for Bobbie.  She seems like a rehash of Tony Soprano's mistresses.   She's been a catalyst for interesting scenes with other characters though. 

And I find there's usually a funny Pete moment in every episode. 
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: erika on September 02, 2008, 04:39:27 PM
I think they're slowly trying to show what Betty and Don's substance abuse is doing to them... The more Betty drinks, the shorter her temper gets, and Don is slipping up more and more lately...

There were also the references to Don's daughter's growing relationship with alcohol. Making the drinks, getting drunk at the office, etc.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: AllisonLeGnome on September 03, 2008, 02:02:27 AM
I really like the show but I do feel like there are a few too many "Haha! Look at how different things were and how stupid people were back then!" moments. They're needed to some extent to set the period but they're unnecessarily overemphasized.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: masterofsparks on September 03, 2008, 06:30:31 AM
I really like the show but I do feel like there are a few too many "Haha! Look at how different things were and how stupid people were back then!" moments. They're needed to some extent to set the period but they're unnecessarily overemphasized.

There were a lot of those (too many, I think) in the first couple of episodes but it seems like they've backed off as the show has found its own footing.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Nicksy on September 19, 2008, 04:30:20 AM
The ironic "humor" bugs me. Every time a character makes an attempt at humor, it's most likely sexist or racist (and, of course, it's not funny). It feels very forced to me. This may be the most humorless show I've ever seen (and after John from Cincinnati, that's saying something!).

That is blasphemy! They are both highly polished shows with 'darkness under the surface' but Mad Men is just a Soap Opera; Twin Peaks blows it out of the water in every regard.

I find the humor has gotten less winking and more subtle as the series has progressed.  You may not care for it but the show is far from humorless.   In fact, any more non-sequiter gags like the Mozart zipper and they really will start drifting into Twin Peaks territory. 
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Chris L on September 19, 2008, 08:58:16 AM
The ironic "humor" bugs me. Every time a character makes an attempt at humor, it's most likely sexist or racist (and, of course, it's not funny). It feels very forced to me. This may be the most humorless show I've ever seen (and after John from Cincinnati, that's saying something!).
I find the humor has gotten less winking and more subtle as the series has progressed.  You may not care for it but the show is far from humorless.   In fact, any more non-sequiter gags like the Mozart zipper and they really will start drifting into Twin Peaks territory. 

That is blasphemy! They are both highly polished shows with 'darkness under the surface' but Mad Men is just a Soap Opera; Twin Peaks blows it out of the water in every regard.

The blogger quoted on page 2 originally made the Twin Peaks comparison, but I don't actually think the two shows are alike except for that one joke I mentioned.   Nor does TP blow MM out of the water.  Mad Men is hitting its stride this year while Twin Peaks' second season was mostly a free fall, except for the episodes where its sole creative visionary was at the helm (which are some of the greatest episodes ever made). 

Meanwhile, I submit Mad Men Illustrated (http://www.flickr.com/photos/nobodyssweetheart/sets/72157606178887453/detail) for consideration. 
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: colonel panic on September 19, 2008, 12:14:21 PM
Thanks for the illustration link!

(http://lh6.ggpht.com/todbot/SNPOUZlRnYI/AAAAAAAAAfM/NCTsjeZuT8Q/betty.jpg)

The above scene was so creepy. But now the kid is becoming likable so I'm all thrown off. I'm only at episode 2 of season 2 so maybe he does more awesome creepy stuff later on.

I like the show. But, as a sidebar, I'm attracted to the advertising aspect of it, too. The ad campaigns are real so that's cool as I'm a comm major.

But I'm really hoping Cooper actually introduces Draper to Ayn Rand. I got giddy when Cooper said he was going to do that.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: B_Buster on September 19, 2008, 12:55:22 PM
For the record, I have enjoyed a couple scenes in the last couple episodes: Jimmy Barrett calling Draper "garbage" and the priest rocking out at the end of last week's episode. I still think it's overrated, but those scenes were special.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Nicksy on September 19, 2008, 07:51:36 PM
There's definitely a few really incredible scenes, but they are bookended by long stretches of boring boring soap drama. Except for Joan Holloway.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: jbissell on September 21, 2008, 11:03:08 PM
So Mad Men wins best drama series but Jon Hamm gets no love? I'm confused.

At least 30 Rock won everything else...
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: jamesp on September 22, 2008, 11:38:12 PM
I think the show is really picking up at this point. It's no Sopranos or Wire but it's still probably the best drama on TV.

And while Jon Hamm's loss was a huge surprise, I'm glad Bryan Cranston finally got a win. I may be in the minority, but I like Breaking Bad and I think he's the best part about it.

And how about Christina Hendricks on the red carpet?

(http://theblemish.com/images/2008/09/christina-hendricks-emmys.jpg)
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: jbissell on September 22, 2008, 11:48:07 PM

And while Jon Hamm's loss was a huge surprise, I'm glad Bryan Cranston finally got a win. I may be in the minority, but I like Breaking Bad and I think he's the best part about it.


Agreed. I was surprised he won since they had such a short season.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: buffcoat on April 24, 2015, 09:38:01 PM
This is going to end soon. I cannot help but be haunted by the way it was described from the future:

Don Draper stands alone. He speaks to the room.

"I am an *ad* man," he says. He turns to the camera. "I am a *MAD* Man."

Fade to black.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Crusherkc on April 29, 2015, 12:39:25 PM
The entire series has been a prequel to the AMC's new show The Man in the Grey Flannel Parachute where we follow D.B. Cooper aka Don Draper aka Dick Whitman on his adventures after skyjacking a plane.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/04/16/don_draper_to_become_d_b_cooper_in_mad_men_finale_a_skyjacking_expert_weighs.html (http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/04/16/don_draper_to_become_d_b_cooper_in_mad_men_finale_a_skyjacking_expert_weighs.html)
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Joe Rogaine on May 15, 2015, 05:35:00 PM
The entire series has been a prequel to the AMC's new show The Man in the Grey Flannel Parachute where we follow D.B. Cooper aka Don Draper aka Dick Whitman on his adventures after skyjacking a plane.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/04/16/don_draper_to_become_d_b_cooper_in_mad_men_finale_a_skyjacking_expert_weighs.html (http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/04/16/don_draper_to_become_d_b_cooper_in_mad_men_finale_a_skyjacking_expert_weighs.html)


Don is obviously going to jail for his war crimes, that or this show is going to end like Office Space.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: buffcoat on May 17, 2015, 10:28:29 AM
this show is going to end like Office Space.

Given all the other alternatives, I'd take this.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Joe Rogaine on May 17, 2015, 02:27:32 PM
this show is going to end like Office Space.

Given all the other alternatives, I'd take this.

I was half joking, but I would be fine with it too. I'm probably going to be happy with anything they choose though.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Joe Rogaine on May 17, 2015, 11:20:40 PM
Spoiler Alert! Don probably becomes the bass player for The Source Family.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: buffcoat on May 17, 2015, 11:41:58 PM
Congratulations to a special FOT and THE breakout star of the final episode of Mad Men. I'll observe a 24-hour spoiler warning before I name names.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: fonpr on May 18, 2015, 08:12:24 AM
Congratulations to a special FOT and THE breakout star of the final episode of Mad Men. I'll observe a 24-hour spoiler warning before I name names.
Jason?
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: buffcoat on May 18, 2015, 11:06:37 AM
Congratulations to a special FOT and THE breakout star of the final episode of Mad Men. I'll observe a 24-hour spoiler warning before I name names.
Jason?

Jason who? So, no. But this person IS friends ("friends"?) with an FP FOT named Jason.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Denim Gremlin on May 18, 2015, 12:32:48 PM
Congratulations to a special FOT and THE breakout star of the final episode of Mad Men. I'll observe a 24-hour spoiler warning before I name names.

as I was watching the episode and they ended up at that weird hippie place I said"I bet [name redacted] is in these scenes" and then he was! I was just joking but he was perfect to play that type of character.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: buffcoat on May 18, 2015, 03:44:55 PM
In the first, quick pan of that scene, I said "holy cow that's [name redacted]!" but I was still kind of amazed that it was actually him - and that he got to speak! And be, uh, [redacted].

I had never seen nor heard of him until about three weeks ago. Now I've seen both of his [redacted] with [name #2 redacted]. He's a funny guy.
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: Joe Rogaine on May 18, 2015, 03:46:40 PM
In the first, quick pan of that scene, I said "holy cow that's [name redacted]!" but I was still kind of amazed that it was actually him - and that he got to speak! And be, uh, [redacted].

I had never seen nor heard of him until about three weeks ago. Now I've seen both of his [redacted] with [name #2 redacted]. He's a funny guy.

Everybody knows that ding, was Don's idea for Plato's Retreat right?
Title: Re: MAD MEN
Post by: JesseFromVegas on May 20, 2015, 06:49:46 PM
My headcanon for Gelman being there is that he was his character from Eagleheart and that means that Mad Men and Eagleheart take place in the same universe