Angus Forbes
One of the Regulars
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- 261
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- Raleigh, NC, USA
No, no, no. He simply is a handsome schmuck, signifying nothing, put forth to attract eyes to TV ads.
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Why Don Draper IS Lounge
- Thread starter koopkooper
- Start date
No, no, no. He simply is a handsome schmuck, signifying nothing, put forth to attract eyes to TV ads.
Feraud
Bartender
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- 17,188
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- Hardlucksville, NY
Well said. Draper is a misanthropic creep who stole another man's identity! Hardly a guy to epitomize the '60s Lounge scene.
I may be in a minority here but I couldn't get past a couple of seasons of the show. It's struck me as a period soap opera. Nasty people leading nasty lives.
Angus Forbes
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 261
- Location
- Raleigh, NC, USA
Who are the good guys? Seems like just about every character is a schmuck.
ThesFlishThngs
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,007
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- Oklahoma City
I had a friend go on and on about "Mad Men", telling me how funny it was. Not sure what I expected, but when I finally tried to sit through an episode (season 2 or 3, I'm not sure), it just didn't do it for me. Of course, I'm much more a between-the-wars kinda gal rather than mid-century, so maybe that was it. Anyway, I never got into it, and now that the cable's gone, it's one more thing I don't have to bother not to watch. 
Brad Bowers
I'll Lock Up
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- 4,187
Feraud
Bartender
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- 17,188
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- Hardlucksville, NY
Mad Men seems to have its moments but everyone is so unlikeable I couldn't find a reason to want to know more about these characters.
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- Portage, Wis.
I've watched almost every episode to date and while Draper has many, many flaws, there's good in him. There's not a lot of good, but it's there. I don't agree with the fact that he stole an identity, but he loved Anna very much. He may not know how to handle his kids, but he loves them.
He's a fast and loose ad-man from Madison Avenue, so he'll always be scummy to a degree. He emits a certain level of 'cool' through his confidence and the fact that he can pull off a suit, formalwear, leisurewear, or anything else. He's got a bit of Dean Martin edge to him. I think he's a well-done television character, more complex than many we see today.
He's a fast and loose ad-man from Madison Avenue, so he'll always be scummy to a degree. He emits a certain level of 'cool' through his confidence and the fact that he can pull off a suit, formalwear, leisurewear, or anything else. He's got a bit of Dean Martin edge to him. I think he's a well-done television character, more complex than many we see today.
- Messages
- 10,181
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- Pasadena, CA
I actually remember that! Awesome. One root beer coming up!
- Messages
- 10,181
- Location
- Pasadena, CA
We watched the first two then quit. Couldn't stand it any longer. Clothing and sets and cars were the only things of value...I had a friend go on and on about "Mad Men", telling me how funny it was. Not sure what I expected, but when I finally tried to sit through an episode (season 2 or 3, I'm not sure), it just didn't do it for me. Of course, I'm much more a between-the-wars kinda gal rather than mid-century, so maybe that was it. Anyway, I never got into it, and now that the cable's gone, it's one more thing I don't have to bother not to watch.
LizzieMaine
Bartender
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I tried to watch an episode after all the talk about it on the Lounge, but it struck me as way too much self-satisfied "Oh wow lookit all the smoking and drinking and butt-pinching in the fifties" exaggeration to be bothered with.
Spitfire
I'll Lock Up
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- 5,078
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- Copenhagen, Denmark.
I find that Madmen is a cool show - because everybody is so unlikeable, egocentric, sexist and what have you. Almost like the real world.
Looking SO much forward to the new episodes, which still hasn't been aired over here.
Looking SO much forward to the new episodes, which still hasn't been aired over here.
- Messages
- 10,181
- Location
- Pasadena, CA
I'll take Justified or Downton Abbey. For fun I like Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. At least those shows all have likable characters, along with the creeps!
Flat Foot Floey
My Mail is Forwarded Here
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- 3,220
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Drappa
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,141
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- Hampshire, UK
I absolutely love Mad Men now, but also struggled through the first few episodes. There is a lot of character development and between the lines storytelling which most other shows lack I find. It gets even better once one reads the blog on Mad Men fashion by Tom & Lorenzo, and the significance of colours or styles in the wardrobes. Some of it I have to watch twice to catch everything, but I do think it is a great show.
Edward
Bartender
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- 25,116
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- London, UK
I found the show entertaining, what little of it I have seen. Don Draper, however, is a vile little misogynist, and insofar as there is any reality to his ilk, one of the "vintage" things best left dead and buried in the past. I'm more than happy to be selective in what I do and don't adopt from that era, thanks!
Draper may show signs of eventually being redeemable, but he is a character I will never admire - at best, I can only pity him.
Draper may show signs of eventually being redeemable, but he is a character I will never admire - at best, I can only pity him.
And this too. Season 1 of Mad Men is worth watching, the other seasons less so... 3 and 4 were pretty hard to slog through.
But I do keep going back to my Jeeves and Wooster box set!
Fletch
I'll Lock Up
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I can't stand Mad Men. It's too reverent to its characters and to its own lens, or gloss, on the past. The drama is stilted, the characters unlikable and uninteresting, and the pacing and dialog heavy. As far as I can tell from people I know who lived and worked in that era, it bears about as much resemblance to their experience as Burton and Taylor did to Antony and Cleopatra.
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Feraud
Bartender
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- 17,188
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- Hardlucksville, NY
Money well spent!
scottyrocks
I'll Lock Up
- Messages
- 9,178
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- Isle of Langerhan, NY
It wasn't until post 13 that I knew this was about Mad Men, mainly because I have never seen the show.
I like retro shows, but the 60s stuff never agrees with me. That's probably why I've never seen it.
And what's with all the asterisks?
I like retro shows, but the 60s stuff never agrees with me. That's probably why I've never seen it.
And what's with all the asterisks?
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I love the show - partly for the warts and all showing of the era (which admittedly, I did not exist in). When people in the earlier decades scorned the excess and moral depravity of NYC, I think Mad Men shows you what they were disgusted by. Not everything of yesteryear is Sheriff Andy Taylor and Floyd the Barber.
