Mad Men

[Goldfoot]

The Emmy-winning juggernaut that got AMC rolling on this hot streak of shows. At first I wasn't interested because nothing about an ad agency seemed all that compelling to me. After the first two seasons aired, I decided to check it out and see what all the fuss was about. At first the story was pretty boring, but the acting was pretty good and I decided to see where it was going. At the end of season 2, I finally found things to start leaning toward the interesting side. I watched 3 while it aired, and that was the season where things really started to pique my interest. It was like all the character development from the first two seasons FINALLY started to pay off and shit was finally going down. I quite enjoyed season 3 and was really interested to see what would happen after the finale, but was disappointed with they way they continued into season 4. Spoiler: They just skipped over the whole setting up a new agency part and picked up after they had a new building and plenty of clients. Season 4 had some really great episodes and I'm now looking forward to the new season, which is supposed to start in March.

I just read something interesting from Weiner. Spoiler: The show is only going to go on 7 seasons and he wants to end it in the present with Don being like 84. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I'm sure I can't really decide until it happens.

[Mantra]

I got a little ways into season one (maybe half way or so) and lost interest. The acting was great, and I usually enjoy slow-paced shows, but I found the whole premise of the story to be incredibly banal.

I just don't get what people find appealing about this show.

[Corvus T. Cosmonaut]

I would imagine such people watched more than the first six or seven episodes of the first season.

[littlemonkey613]

Season 4 was by far my favorite, which makes sense since Peggy Olson is my favorite character. I love everything about this show. March is too far o.o

[Mantra]

I would imagine such people watched more than the first six or seven episodes of the first season.

Yeah, I know. I just had a hard time sticking with it without understanding what the payoff was supposed to be. Not that I'm looking for plot spoilers. I mean in a more general sense, I don't completely understand what people find so compelling about these stories.

Anyway, my roommate said he wants to check this out, so I'll probably join him and see if it clicks with me this time around.

[Corvus T. Cosmonaut]

What do you want the 'payoff' to be? What is the show supposed to do for you?

[laci]

Watched the first three seasons, totally loved the whole thing. I really need to see the new episodes, right?

[Hula]

Yeah, I know. I just had a hard time sticking with it without understanding what the payoff was supposed to be. Not that I'm looking for plot spoilers. I mean in a more general sense, I don't completely understand what people find so compelling about these stories.

The same reason people like watching TV shows set in contemporary times dealing with people's day-to-day lives, I guess? Are you the sort that prefers action or sci-fi?

It's not much different from watching a show like Six Feet Under or Brothers & Sisters.

[Harry Seaward]

It was pretty interesting I guess. It kept me interested enough to watch all 4 seasons in a few days, so it must have something going for it because I have the attention span of...

[Goldfoot]

Yeah, I know. I just had a hard time sticking with it without understanding what the payoff was supposed to be. Not that I'm looking for plot spoilers. I mean in a more general sense, I don't completely understand what people find so compelling about these stories.

Well, for me it has to do with the characters. Like I said, the idea of an ad agency didn't seem interesting to me, and the day to day business there isn't that gripping. If you stick with it and get to know the characters, it becomes pretty interesting as their stories go on. Even though the dealings of the ad agency aren't particularly engaging to me, the way the characters handle things and interact with each other is entertaining.

[Mantra]

What do you want the 'payoff' to be? What is the show supposed to do for you?

I don't have any preconceived notion of what the payoff is supposed to be. I guess I just had a hard time understanding what's appealing about the concept. I would watch it and start to get kind of bored and think "What do people find so interesting about this? am I missing something?"

The same reason people like watching TV shows set in contemporary times dealing with people's day-to-day lives, I guess? Are you the sort that prefers action or sci-fi?

No, not really. I've been on a television binge lately, since I finally have time to watch a series now that I graduated from college. I watched The Wire and Breaking Bad, and I decided to try this one out since a lot of people seem to like it a lot, but it just didn't work for me.

Well, for me it has to do with the characters. Like I said, the idea of an ad agency didn't seem interesting to me, and the day to day business there isn't that gripping. If you stick with it and get to know the characters, it becomes pretty interesting as their stories go on. Even though the dealings of the ad agency aren't particularly engaging to me, the way the characters handle things and interact with each other is entertaining.

Cool. I'll give it another shot. Your feelings about the ad agency not being very gripping are similar to how I felt, so if you still managed to find the show engaging, maybe I will too.

[dlb]

I really fell in love with this show and can't wait for season 5!
Having worked in advertising for quite some time I can definately realte to some things here and there, so the advertising stuff that is shown really sticks with me and I think they did a great job so far incorporating the different campaigns and products into the story lines (think Lucky Strike and Glowcoat) with Draper/Hamm breathing life into these ideas and concepts. I just love it when he's presenting a new idea to his clients.
Other than that the style really appeals to me and the overall depiction of people lifing their lives. And while some things are pretty exaggerated such as Don's love life (he's been dating like 10 different women in season 4 alone? c'mon.) I still find myself coming back to it and wanting to see more. I even bought the book from Jerry Della Famina on which the show is based on, but I haven't gotten around to read it yet. I don't know, I just really like to seep into this show and I'm curious where the producers will take the characters, especially after last seaon's final two episodes.

[littlemonkey613]

I got a little ways into season one (maybe half way or so) and lost interest. The acting was great, and I usually enjoy slow-paced shows, but I found the whole premise of the story to be incredibly banal.

I just don't get what people find appealing about this show.

Mmm A lot of people go into this show looking for epic plotting like Breaking Bad and The Wire, but this just isn't that type of show. That's also why its my favorite. It's really character driven. Their development is slow and subtle but it really is satisfying to watch, at least for me. You'll be surprised how much you missed in those first few episodes if you go back and re watch it after your done with all 4 seasons, if you choose to do so. It's really quite incredible. These are some of the most well rounded characters I've ever had the pleasure of watching, and I've never gotten such a kick out of such small details. I've watched it like 3 times now and I still pick up on things I missed from the first season. It's just really cool making judgements about characters and thinking you know them , then taking back all your thoughts because you didn't quite understand where they came from.

But yeah all the entertainment in this show comes from how characters interact with one another. The story never picks-up, but its not meant to. The pace and tone are pretty deliberate.

[chris]

The show is very character driven, and it does an incredible job of that. But for me, the real draw is the history. The point in time in which the series is set is, I think, very deliberate. It really represents the high point of the "American century". 20 years after the U.S. won World War II, in which that generation (represented by Roger Sterling) has reached the height of power, they're still riding that economic wave and living it so lavishly that it borders on ridiculous, at least compared to the present day. They're job is to schmooze and come up with slogans to sell shit at a time when everybody's buying. It's like the height of power for the white male American, but the show has hinted at so many of the tumultuous changes of the late that 60s that are just on the precipice (female empowerment, sexual freedom, divorce, drugs, Vietnam, music, the rise of large corporations, socialism vs. capitalism, and so on). The end is clearly at hand for Sterling in the show, and certainly all these issues weigh heavily on Draper. I've never really read any interviews with Matt Weiner about the show, but the setting is so deliberate, I can't help but think that that is what he's trying to get across, to portray the crest of the wave, so to speak. And because the show is so character driven, you can't help but feel compassion (or contempt, depending on the character) with regards to how all these larger societal aspects will affect them. Watch one of those washed out corporate knock-offs like Pan-Am and you'll see that's what's missing. The imitation is NOT flattering.

One of my favorite quotes from the show which really sums things up:
Crab Colson: Oh, it had nothing to do with Kennedy. Still, all that vigor disappeared when he found out he couldn’t get anything done. It’s Versailles. Jackie smiling all over the world, he’s chasing starlets.
Don Draper: Everybody’s happy.
Crab: I’m building a bomb shelter.
(from Season 2, Episode 6 "Maidenform")

[Goldfoot]

You'll be surprised how much you missed in those first few episodes if you go back and re watch it after your done with all 4 seasons, if you choose to do so.

Like Spoiler: Salvatore being gay. They hint at this in the very first episode, but I don't recall when it's actually revealed. I rewatched some of Season 1 when I was at a friends over the summer and you are right, it is really neat to pick up on little things you didn't notice before. I'm probably going to do a full rewatch before the show comes back in March. How about The Suitcase? Wow.

[littlemonkey613]

Like Spoiler: Salvatore being gay. How about The Suitcase? Wow.

I'm re-watching the series with my mom because she has never seen it before. We are almost at The Suitcase, and I cannot wait. I can barely think of a better hour of Television, the writing is just so amazing.

[Pemulis]

The new poster is fucking rad:

[littlemonkey613]

I literally cannot wait for March 25th.

[orestes]

I got a little ways into season one (maybe half way or so) and lost interest. The acting was great, and I usually enjoy slow-paced shows, but I found the whole premise of the story to be incredibly banal.

I just don't get what people find appealing about this show.

If the Kodak Carousel scene doesn't draw you in, then I don't know what will.

[Hula]

I literally cannot wait for March 25th.

Every time I see someone watching episodes on Get Glue or whatever, I flip out and think it's the new season. Turns out they're just watching old ones in the run-up :/

I really hope this season is good. It always feels like things falter a little when they've had such a long break, and as great as Mad Men is it has a lot of potential to flag if the writers don't consistently hit the right note. With such long-running story arcs, it's not the sort of thing where they can move on from a dud plotline within a few episodes.

[icklekitty]

The new poster is fucking rad:

Mad Men being promoted with CMNF imagery?


Oh boy, I'd better stock up on tissues.

[chris]

So excited to see what point in time they start this season: 1966? 1967? 1968? I'm salivating at the possibilities.

[orestes]

I would assume 1967 since the series is set in two-year intervals.

[richardp]

I could never get into Mad Men nearly as much as everyone else, I mean I really liked it, but I didn't LOVE it. But, maybe since it's been off the air for so long, I don't know, but I'm super excited to see it come back.

[chris]

Hmm, 1967: Vietnam, Israeli War, race riots. Someone needs to go to the Summer of Love for sure. Don Draper is like the thinking man's Forrest Gump. I hope it doesn't last long with the horse-teeth secretary.

[icklekitty]

I could never get into Mad Men nearly as much as everyone else, I mean I really liked it, but I didn't LOVE it. But, maybe since it's been off the air for so long, I don't know, but I'm super excited to see it come back.

Try watching it with the sound off.

[orestes]

Zoo be zoo be zoo!

[ltrandazzo]

Again, Don Draper is a fucking moron. Megan is excellent.

[orestes]

Did you catch the Dick Whitman bit?

[ltrandazzo]

Yarp. Amy and I were looking at each other and wondering when that happened. Very interesting stuff.