Mad Men

I had actually thought it was digital from the start.

The first season looked the most filmlike to me in HD, afterwards it looked less so. I've only seen S5 on broadcast, so I couldn't tell.

To be honest, I never noticed a switch in the look (except between the pilot and the main series) so that's a sign of a great DOP.

I actually thought the pilot was film and the rest was in digital until someone told me otherwise.

It does help that the switch was done with the same DOP who's worked long enough on the show to figure it out, so you'd never notice it. Apparently they would have switched in S4, but he decided to shoot with film again because he thought that would be his last opportunity before finally switching over. The times, they are a changing.

Season 6 most likely begins around Christmastime, 1967.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Yeah, I've looked elsewhere for MM discussion, and people seem to be watching another show. It's not about the 60's, it's a drama that is informed by the era.

Which is definitely for the best as I find most works that try to be ABOUT the Sixties come off hopelessly unrealistic, stereotypical and misrepresentative. Becayse in a lot of ways they become about how we want to remember the Sixties and not about how it really was. Its all 1967-69 stuff about how the peace-loving hippies saved the world for blacks and stopped the war using the power of rock music and acid, while those in power were old evil squares who didnt understand.

I think we are only getting a more objective view with Mad Men now because the hippies of that era who grew into entertainmebt profeasionals arent making the show, and Weiner isnt interested in repeating their self-aggrandizing myths.

The characters of Mad Men are white collar professionals -- the great cultural changes will affect the outskirts of their lives but ultimately much of what the show is about still works today -- what it is really about, not the stylish surface trappings.

I love the people who hold Betty to the standards of a '00s helicopter parent

Vesper wrote:

I love the people who hold Betty to the standards of a '00s helicopter parent

Christ, the way my dad and stepmom manage my sisters. Scheduled activities like various sports, and of course a ton of church bullshit too. When I was a kid I went outside to play with the kids in my neighborhood. Now it's a scheduled activity for kids to play with other kids and it's all indoors.

I'll say it again, for the first several seasons of the show a lot of women hated Betty because she is prettier than they are and she had Don.

Sal had a line about Jackie Kennedy. Paraphrased: "I think women will hate her. She's like their better looking sister who married the handsome senator, and now she gets to live in the White House. Hell, I'm practically jealous."

WTF happened with the door man? He's lying there dying, and... did it cut to a flash back? I'm gonna get it on iTunes and I'll see what happened. Adverts really mess with this show. Speaking of commercials, that Johnny Walker ad with Hendricks should be aired with every show on TV.

Don is banging Linda Cardellini? Nice! I didn't even recognize her until late in the show, in the fondue (hello 70's) scene. And her husband was on CRAPRICA.

Not sure if it's '67 or '68. Roger mentioned Don Ho, and I got it mixed up with that guy on HAWAII FIVE-O, and thought it was '68 (when that show started). It's probably '67.

I enjoy Bob Benson (or whatever his name is).

What else... MAD MEN is always blur to me on the first view. I've got to rewatch it to absorb it all, but I liked what I saw. The show is a slow burn, so this is like the opening movement of the season.

One note: The hair is getting gnarly.

Christmastime1967, ending on New Years Day 1968.

A great start, although the Betty subplot, like many Betty subplots, felt forced. Like they really wanted to talk about the disillusionist of the hippies as the Summer of Love turned to the Winter of '67, and obviously it would take a lot of hoops to jump through to get that to be relevant to any of the characters, so it landed on Betty because they had nothing else to do.

Also I'm not sure I get what's going on with Betty's hair colour. Are we to understand that Betty's natural colour is brunette, due to the reference by the hippy to her hair being "bottled"? Like, did she dye her hair brown or restore her original colour? Because we've already seen that her mother was blond and her family is "Nordic", so it made a lot of sense for her to be naturally blond (and January Jones is too, right?) So I'm little confused as to what that is all about and why that's in there.

The Don stuff is excellent, although I was a little disappointed that the Sheridan storyline wasn't resolved in the Two Hours this episode got, especially since it seemed like he was nearing a breakthrough by the end. But I did like it, and the Dante voice-over at the beginning was especially effective.

Some of the time-jumping editing technique was a little jarring, as the whole episode felt a little broken up by the constant cuts between characters and storylines that as the series goes on are less and less related. Of course, partially that feeling may have been because I'm not used to watching Mad Men live with advertisement interruptions.

Although that Johnnie Walker ad at least made up for the disappointing lack of Joan. Ugh, and that staircase! It's so ridiculous. As are everyone's new late 60s haircuts. And I mean all of the men -- except Don, who is just Don.

But on the whole, great episode. Especially Peggy, who is BECOMING WHAT SHE HATES THE MOST (or LOVES the most?? Peggy's relationship with Don is quite... complex).

New Confident Ken is awesome. I frakkin hate Bob Benson, but I love the other characters reactions to him -- Don wants no part of it, sees him for what he is, Pete loves it because of course Pete would love someone kissing his ass, and Ken is a BOSS and shuts him down.

I like the staircase, and I dig the second level. And who ever the older secretary is up there. An interesting look.

As for Betty. Maybe he was just saying it looks bottled. I can't imagine she's really that dark. They did make Jones look pretty beat up in this episode.

I like the feeling that Don is somehow falling behind. He really feels behind the curve the whole episode, especially in that Hindenburg of a pitch.

Eager to see how things play out. As a premiere, I think I like it better than S5's, but this show always requires a rewatch. I like that it isn't wrapped up in a bow for the viewer. You're thrown into the story and it's your job to figure out what has changed and who people are.

I'm working on a film with two people who have never seen the show, and I mentioned several time this afternoon. I only mention it because I think one of them may have tuned in, and I can't imagine how confused he must have been.

Loving that Peggy turned to Don, especially with that lack of humor. There's a lot of mortality going on with this, will be interesting to see that play out throughout the season. Also, is this so far the episode with the most Rog zingers? They just kept on coming and coming. The "roll yourself over here" one killed me.

The third episode of the season is "To Have and To Hold". That's also the name of show Megan's on.

Also, Betty's F***IN' nuts. What's with the rape shit?

And Abe should be renamed Ape. These people are on the cusp of the worst of the early 70's with a vengeance.

Thnking back to S1, it's more of a world away than ever. We've gone from stylish to gnarly.

Looking forward to the mustard yellow and ice cream colored suits, especially if Pete wears them, thinking he's hot shit.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

WTF happened with the door man? He's lying there dying, and... did it cut to a flash back? I'm gonna get it on iTunes and I'll see what happened. Adverts really mess with this show. Speaking of commercials, that Johnny Walker ad with Hendricks should be aired with every show on TV.

It was a flashback. Megan was in entirely different outfit.

They approach him, ask if he's feeling better, CUT he collapses, Megan is in different clothes, the doc comes, CUT BACK and we're back to them arrive from their vacation and he says he's much better now. So yeah, flashback.

But the whole first half of the episode was very disorienting like that.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

I like the feeling that Don is somehow falling behind. He really feels behind the curve the whole episode, especially in that Hindenburg of a pitch.

Yeah, that was actually really cool. Because the show's usual schtick has been that something in Don's personal life deeply affects him and then inspires an amazing pitch. But now Don's personal revelations are coming from a darker and more mature place that really advertising does not want to go to. Like when he's confused that the implication of suicide could be a bad thing. The subtext that perhaps Don has a death wish. It's the hobo thing again -- he just wants to escape and get away.

And while I on the one hand totally got what Don was going for, I also immediately thought suicide. I don't think I would have if not for OHMSS though, so I thought it was funny that it was a movie that brought it up here too.

I've got the encore showing on. So weird to see the detective from CRAPRICA on this. I guess he's Nash on BLOOD & CHROME, but I've not seen that.

But I hope Linda Cardellini stays around.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

The White Tuxedo wrote:

I like the feeling that Don is somehow falling behind. He really feels behind the curve the whole episode, especially in that Hindenburg of a pitch.

Yeah, that was actually really cool. Because the show's usual schtick has been that something in Don's personal life deeply affects him and then inspires an amazing pitch. But now Don's personal revelations are coming from a darker and more mature place that really advertising does not want to go to. Like when he's confused that the implication of suicide could be a bad thing. The subtext that perhaps Don has a death wish. It's the hobo thing again -- he just wants to escape and get away.

And while I on the one hand totally got what Don was going for, I also immediately thought suicide. I don't think I would have if not for OHMSS though, so I thought it was funny that it was a movie that brought it up here too.

I also thought of suicide. It looked the edge of a rooftop to me. Bet there's symbolism 'n shit.



Also, I thought Harry getting a boner for Roger's daughter was funny. What a dope.

Damn, AMC is running it again. Maybe I'll just watch it. I ws gonna put on the HEAT commentary as I watched that last night.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Also, I thought Harry getting a boner for Roger's daughter was funny. What a dope.

Poor dumb Harry. What is it with Harrys?

The White Tuxedo wrote:

I've got the encore showing on. So weird to see the detective from CRAPRICA on this. I guess he's Nash on BLOOD & CHROME, but I've not seen that.

THAT'S WHERE I RECOGNIZED HIM FROM!!!

Python wrote:

The White Tuxedo wrote:

Also, I thought Harry getting a boner for Roger's daughter was funny. What a dope.

Poor dumb Harry. What is it with Harrys?

He's hairier/Harryer than ever.

Gotta say, I really miss Lane.

Bob Benson might be interesting. Guy's snooping for a raise.

Python wrote:

Gotta say, I really miss Lane.

I didn't think of him until after the episode aired. I don't miss him, I'm ruthless like that. As much as I love Jared Harris.

Now someone get him a Moriarty show.

Love Don's green suit.

A little too obviously.

I am looking forward to more Pete. He only had a few lines this episode but it was an interesting new dynamic:

This is a Pete with enough power at the agency (a whole floor of account guys) that he doesn't need to play Don's game anymore. He calls Don on all his BS in the open, he's not putting up with that guy.