"Mad Men" on AMC (US) - (Spoilers Within)

[scotrace]

I actually made the very first post on Mad Men...

You were second. But I folded it into this one anyway.

I think the four threads I found are all accounted for now.

I just started watching this yesterday when Tivo caught two in one day. So I've seen episodes 5 & 6. It drags at times and the male actors really are pretty flat, though I suspect the producers intend it that way. More "modern" types appear more three dimensional (the jobless beatnik in the poetry bar). They want us to believe everyone was horribly repressed - especially the poor saps fumbling with their fedoras and overcoats.

I like the show - have to go pick up the first four episodes from iTunes. The thing for me is... well. This show presses a lot of memory buttons.

There's something about the women's styles of that time. Wow. And Christina Hendricks.

Holy Smoke.

 

[dhermann1]

I haven't caught the show yet, but obviously I'm gonna have to. This article is in today's NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/23/fashion/23MAD.html?em&ex=1188100800&en=6143f97056d7b59b&ei=5087
Having been 13 in 1960, it's an era I remember well. And I must say, I've been working hard to think of that era as cool, style wise. It's always that era that you left behind that is hardest to see as cool in retrospect, and the one just before you were born that you think of as cool. The comments posted so far are very interesting.
As I have often said, the only way to truly understand to craziness of the 60's is to understand the era directly leading to it.

 

[dostacos]

they hyped it so much I got totally turned off the program.

 

[Tomasso]

they hyped it so much I got totally turned off the program.

Sometimes the hype is well deserved.

 

[scotrace]

Now I've seen them all so far. Amazing attention to tiny details.


So... uh. How to ask this?

The, uh, nightgowns that all the ladies in the series wear to bed... uh... does anyone still make anything like that?

 

[$ally]

I find it hard to relate to the characters. Peggy is the only one with a soul on that show. It seems written with the intent of saying, "Gosh, weren't our (grand) parents idiots?". Too much male bashing for me. Aside from that, I do like the clever, quick-witted side of the writing. The things that make me tune in are the close-ups on cool vintage items, the detail of the sets, etc. So glad to see a program trying so hard to be period accurate. The dialog writing and character development will probably improve as they go along.

 

[$ally]

The, uh, nightgowns that all the ladies in the series wear to bed... uh... does anyone still make anything like that?

Yes, but probably not in your size.

 

[scotrace]

Wisecare.

 

[ShortClara]

I really enjoy the mood, pace, and quietness of this show. I do feel everyone is biting their tongue all the time, and I think it's interesting. I don't think it's male bashing really - the show is mostly about men and the women who love them, and I find our main man Don to be very watchable, even in his silences and broodings. He doesn't behave well, but I feel he's looking for meaning (in all the wrong places?) and not finding it.

His wife is interesting, too, and I see in her smiles and moments of capitulating to him and not speaking up things that I do with my own husband. Not to say I'm in a dysfunctional relationship or married to a Don Draper (I'm not) but I think we all do that in relationships and I find it thought provoking. What is she not saying? What do I not say? What does my husband not say to me? It's fascinating!

I think they are all behaving in the way they think they ought, in the idealistic world in which they live, and they realize it's not real and can't be, but they try, because everyone else seems to be right, even though they are not. Did that make sense? lol

I look forward to this show every week - I really like it.

 

[KittyT]

As recently as 2004, a very prominent bank in Chile's capital had an "unspoken" rule: every floor of its corporate headquarters had to have at least two naturally blonde young secretaries. This, in a country where nearly everyone has dark hair and eyes. Oh, and resumes must be accompanied by a photo of your face -- no matter what kind of work you're applying for. Unattractive or overweight receptionists don't tend to get hired.
[/COLOR]

This is the case in many countries, not just several latino ones. It's very commonplace in Korea, which is why rates of plastic surgery there are so high. You can't even get hired as a secretary in Korea unless you have a height that most Koreans just aren't naturally able to attain. Many girls have their shin bones broken and pulled apart so that they grown back together longer, and this is just one of many horrifying examples of this trend.

 

[KittyT]

I just started watching this show last night when my boyfriend was watching episodes 2 and 3 on On Demand. I do not keep up with tv and normally don't watch, unless it's PBS or the History Channel, so I did not have a chance to get turned off by the hype. I have been pretty anti-tv for many years.

And despite that, I am enjoying this series. I appreciate the accuracy of the clothing and all of the little details that have not been ignored. For example, in episode 3 when Don is opening beer cans in the garage and they don't have tab tops and he uses a church key opener on a string. These types of little details really make a big difference.

The initial episodes we've been watching have been a little slow, but the man and I have been appreciating the long, slowly drawn out tension that they seem to be able to build. This may be in issue for some modern audiences, but as someone who appreciates that slower movement in many older movies, I don't have a problem with it. I know he is looking forward to seeing where they take the political angle of this series, and I am more interested in seeing how everyone's interpersonal relationships develop.

The one thing that I really dislike about this show is what a jerk Don is. In order for me to be drawn into a show or a movie, I have to care emotionally about what happens or feel some sort of rapport with some of the characters, or at the very least *like* them. I find Don despicable and I think if there's anything that would turn me off to this show, it would be a growing apathy over what happens to him.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I have to agree that Don as presented is an odd choice for a protagonist (or maybe antihero?) He may appear to be a great guy on the surface - house in the suburbs, great wife and kids, important position at the agency, Korean war vet. But he's got a mistress, another about-to-be-girlfriend, and a whole previous life under a different name! Secrets and lies...

Of course, that's the point. And the whole falling-off-the-skyscraper title sequence now makes sense - I suspect that "Don's" web of lies is going to collapse as the series progresses, and he'll be the one taking the fall.

I find the show fascinating and gorgeous to look at, even though I still think some of it is a bit overdone for effect. The revelation of Roger and Joan's affair this week was great - it makes total sense that the junior partner and office manager would be involved, given the politics of this office.

And even if I didn't like the show so much, it was worth it just to see Christina Hendricks (Joan) in that red dress! Yowza...

 

[KittyT]

I suspect that "Don's" web of lies is going to collapse as the series progresses, and he'll be the one taking the fall.

Yes, that is my guess also. I'm sure his character, and all of these characters for that matter, was carefully constructed. That's pretty much a necessity given how much importance is placed in this series on what's going on under the surface.

The revelation of Roger and Joan's affair this week was great - it makes total sense that the junior partner and office manager would be involved, given the politics of this office.

Hey, watch it with the spoilers! Oh whatever, I knew this already. It's in her character synopsis on the website.

And even if I didn't like the show so much, it was worth it just to see Christina Hendricks (Joan) in that red dress! Yowza...

I am really appreciating seeing a gal who has a curvy vintage figure playing a character who is a sexy and smart young woman. All of the women are beautiful, but I think she is the one with the biggest sexual aura, and it's nice to see someone with a feminine figure being portrayed as such.

 

[ShortClara]

I am really appreciating seeing a gal who has a curvy vintage figure playing a character who is a sexy and smart young woman. All of the women are beautiful, but I think she is the one with the biggest sexual aura, and it's nice to see someone with a feminine figure being portrayed as such.

Yes, I am enjoying that very much as well! Wow, real live curves instead of bones sticking out - what will they think of next?

 

[KittyT]

Yes, I am enjoying that very much as well! Wow, real live curves instead of bones sticking out - what will they think of next?

Yes, and she doesn't hide them under frumpy clothing, but flaunts them by sporting wiggle dresses

I wonder who's doing the costuming for this series?

 

[scotrace]

Agreed

That is one of the many little details about this series that makes it watchable - the women look like Real Humans and have actual shapes. Very, uhm... Holy Smoke.

 

[$ally]

Wisecare.

So sorry, it's just what I do.

 

[RedHotRidinHood]

That is one of the many little details about this series that makes it watchable - the women look like Real Humans and have actual shapes. Very, uhm... Holy Smoke.

You know it-she is a hottie and no doubt about it! fftopic: And yes, they kind of make those nightgowns nowadays, but you have to go to Frederick's or someplace like that to find the really good ones. I have a beautiful vintage peignoir set similar to Betty's made by a company called Intime'. They do exist-you just have to hunt them up.

I like Don, because even though he is a heel in some ways, he truly loves his children and his wife, and I think he is limited in how he can show it, mostly because of (I think) the way he was raised and things he experienced. He's a complicated person to be sure. I think he is trying to strike a balance between what society expects of him and what he thinks he wants to do, even though he believes in nothing around him. It's funny-I don't like the mistress character at all; she seems kind of plastic to me, even though she is supposed to be so bohemian. My beau says she is Don's muse... Rachel I really like because she is very real, and trying to make it as a woman in a man's world. I am glad that she is not just jumping into bed with Don right away. Poor Betty...she loves her kids and Don, which I respect, but an emptier woman I have never seen. She doesn't even know it fully either, why she feels so unhappy. She's been programmed to act, think, feel and be a certain way, and doesn't understand why she feels so unfulfilled. "Feminine Mystique", anyone?

I cringe every time I see the people smoking around their kids...and remember that my mother did the same when I was growing up! It is a wonder any of us made it. lol

 

[$ally]

Yeah, Rachel is an intriguing character, isn't she? She's dealing with racism, bigotry and misogyny gracefully. The actress is great.
I can't stand the Don guy. I'm surprised by how many viewers like him. He is selfish, manipulative, steals ideas of coworkers because he can't think of his own, lies, cheats, etc. He has no scruples. His wife Betty is empty (I agree), mindless, jealous, and catty. Yuck to that couple. Love to hate them.
The clerical staff are much more fun. Joan is a clever survivor, but Peggy is the bright one with morals and self-respect. I like that dynamic. I'm rooting for Miss Olsen all the way. Sal the closet gay is an interesting character too. All the ad men are portrayed as such supremist asp holes (not profanity, referring to where a snake lives).
Kudos on using cars and furnishings earlier than 1960 in scenes outside the office! Most people couldn't afford to buy the latest of everything that came out. Seems very realistic to me.
Anyway, Mad Men is being called "Desperate Housewives for men".

 

[scotrace]

... but Peggy is the bright one with morals and self-respect...

But she hopped into bed with the first co-worker who knocked on her door - on the eve of his wedding... with her roommate at home and awake.


I like that Peggy is multi-dimensional, finding her way in a very ruthless environment. She, herself, is quietly ruthless. She'll end up running the place. Kind of odd that they make her so "I'm from Kansas" acting, when she is from Brooklyn.