TVSquad

I'm not sure why anyone, at this point, hasn't seen the first episode of AMC's Mad Men yet (anyone who wants to see it, that is). The entire first season is up on iTunes, AMC reran the show after the first run, and the DVDs have been out for a couple of weeks now, so there have been a lot of different ways for newbies and fans alike to get caught up on the show if they're interested enough. And now there's another way: AMC has made the first episode available for free on its site.

If you become hooked on the show after watching this first episode (of course you will!), check out AMC on July 20. They're going to have a marathon of the entire first season starting at noon. The second season starts the following Sunday, July 27, on it's new night, Sunday at 10pm.

(After you watch chapter 1 after the jump, click here for chapters 2 and 3.)

I mentioned in my review of the first Mad Men episode that the show makes me want to start smoking and drinking a lot. Now I have another reason to take up smoking (or should I say return as I did smoke for one summer as a teen): I got the two new collectible lighters yesterday.

They're both pretty damn cool and look a lot like the limited edition, lighter-shaped DVD set for the first season of the show. The limited edition lighter features the full Mad Men logo (the title and the back of the man's head and arm) and is numbered (only 1000 were made). It comes in a nice black case. The regular lighter is metal and features the Mad Men title (without the pic of the man) on the bottom of the front.

AMC is spending $25 million to promote the second season of the show (commercials, print ads, promotional products, tie-ins, etc), which premieres on July 27, and I'm all for spending that kind of money if it gets me cool collectibles like this. Now I have to go get a few cartons of Lucky Strikes and a couple of really nice suits. (Check back on July 21 as we'll be giving away some Mad Men goodies like the DVDs and one of these lighters, so you can start smoking too.)

Since today marks the release of the first season DVD set for Mad Men, I thought I'd pass this little bit of news on to fans of the show: they're holding a contest and the winner gets a walk-on role on the show!

Now, this isn't one of those easy "send an e-mail" or "mail in a coupon" type of contest. You're gonna have to work a little bit for this one. You have to go to the link above and print out a monologue from the show and film yourself doing it. Then you upload the video to AMC's web site. The winner gets a walk-on in a future episode and a free trip to Los Angeles.

As the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences tries to whittle the submissions down to actual nominees, it's interesting to take a look at who has made it to the semifinals. It's not a nomination, but it's one step away. Today comes word of the finalists for best comedy actress and best supporting drama actor. There are some surprises.

Chief among those for me is Sarah Silverman. I honestly hadn't even considered her in the running. I'm not much of a fan, but I do like that she is being considered for the simple fact that the base the nominees are drawn from can always use some expansion. And if she is the most surprising inclusion, the most surprising snub just might be Teri Hatcher. Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross, and Felicity Huffman all made the cut, but not Hatcher. Ouch. The rest of the finalists, and the supporting actors from a drama, after the jump.

What's there to say about Mad Men that hasn't already been said? The show is beyond brilliant is every single way - acting, direction, writing, music, set design - and this DVD set contains all 13 episodes from the first season. So while it's tempting to go back and review the episodes themselves, I've already done that. So let's concentrate on the features and extras and commentaries and all of the other goodies. It's mostly well put together set, but there is one thing that's rather disappointing.

There's a fantastic story in yesterday's New York Times Magazine about AMC's Mad Men. It's actually the cover story (you don't see many cover stories in the NYT Mag about a TV show) and is one of the best articles I've read about a TV show in a very long time.

Besides interviewing creator/producer/writer Matthew Weiner at length, writer Alex Witchel also sits in on auditioning sessions and script meetings for the second season, interviews advertising icons (George Lois, Jerry Della Femina, William Bernbach) about the show, and gets choice quotes from cast members such as Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Elisabeth Moss, and January Jones. It's a beautifully written piece, really getting behind the scenes of the show, and includes this great paragraph to explain the show quite nicely.

Given that you've made the wise choice to visit tvsquad.com, I feel pretty safe jumping to the conclusion that you are a fan of television. With that in mind, you should really enjoy the round table Hollywood Reporter recently put together with Damon Lindelof (Lost), Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies), David Shore (House), Matthew Weiner (Mad Men), and Craig Thomas (How I Met Your Mother).

The group got together to talk about a number of different topics. Among them, the strike and what could be the cause of the lowered numbers as shows came back. They also share some amusing examples of they hypocrisy that is network standards and practices. The Emmys come up as well, with the group sharing their thoughts about who is deserving of consideration. It all makes for an interesting look behind the scenes and is definitely worth your click. And if all that isn't enough, the story also includes a video where Damon Lindelof manages to reference both Nash Bridges and Remington Steele. Who can pass up Nash Bridges?

Every show seems to be on a time-jump jag lately. Lost, of course, and even Desperate Housewives jumped five years into the future in its season finale. Now you can add Mad Men to the list.

OK, so they're not jumping several years, but creator Matthew Weiner discloses that when the show returns for its second season on July 27 (now on Sunday nights), the show will pick up at some point in the future. Weiner won't say when, exactly, but it could be anywhere from a few months to a year. So expect some changes in the way characters interact. For example, now that Betty knows about Don's womanizing, that changes their relationship.

AMC has announced that the critically-acclaimed drama Mad Men will return for a second season on July 27, in its new Sunday at 10pm time slot. This moves it away from another hit cable show, Burn Notice, which is staying in its Thursday at 10 time slot, but puts it up against Lifetime's Army Wives (and, for the record, network shows like ABC's Brothers & Sisters)

I don't really see this as a bad thing. People record and watch shows at all different times now, and besides, a lot of hip cable shows have been successful on Sunday nights (The Sopranos, Deadwood, etc). AMC will also have a marathon of the first season's 13 episodes on July 20.

In other news, a soundtrack from the show will be released on June 22, and the first season DVDs will be in stores on July 1.

What do you think of the move?

[via TV Tattle]

As we wind down the 2007/2008 television season, some are already starting to turn their attentions to the Emmy awards. The Hollywood Reporter has a good article breaking down the categories and the front runners for nominations. Although, it's a four pager, and if that annoys you, you can hit up the print version.

There's a nice bit of spin right off the top as Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences' chairman and CEO John Shaffner says, "The audience is coming back to scripted television!" He goes on to add, "It seems like viewers missed it during the strike. The quality in primetime has never been better. It's so amazing and great that it seems unfair to have to hold a contest." Really John? I guess we give him points for enthusiasm, but all of those articles I've seen about ratings being down across the board sing a different tune. More on the prospective Emmys, after the jump.

So here we are at the end of another television season. We're all exhausted from watching all of the finales, whether it was American Idol or The Office or Grey's Anatomy or Desperate Housewives (there's still one biggie left to come next week: Lost!), and we're ready to take the summer off and enjoy cheeseburgers and the beach and fireworks and road trips, making sure we don't turn on our televisions unless it's for the news or maybe some daily soaps.

Of course, television doesn't really work that way anymore. There is no complete summer hiatus on the networks anymore. They all have reality shows and new scripted shows too, both network and cable. Here are the four shows that I'm most looking forward to watching this summer, and - God help me - there's one reality show in the mix.

(S01E13) "Who knows why people do what they do?" - Don

True story: About 20 years ago, I worked with a woman who was overweight. She wasn't feeling well one day - I think she had an upset stomach - so she left work and went to the doctor. She found out that she was 8 months pregnant. Not a month or two months, but about a month before the baby was due.

I thought of that tonight after watching the season finale of Mad Men. So many things answered and so many doors left open for a second season...

(S01E12) "Fire him if you want. But I'd keep an eye on him. You never know how loyalty is born." Cooper, to Don, about Pete.

I don't think I'm giving anything away when I tell you that at the end of this episode, Kennedy wins. But it's not really about that anyway, despite the title. The first half of the ep is all about the election and the different pairings we see at the Sterling Cooper all night party - Harry and Hildy, Ken and a secretary, even Sal and Joan, though not in the way you might think - but the second half finally explains what the deep, dark secret is in the past of Don Draper.

And the secret is...

(S01E11) "I saw this one where the husband gets this girl pregnant, so he kills her ... you don't want to be that woman." - Rachel's sister, about Rachel's affair with Don.

Several episodes ago, after the episode where Don/Dick was reunited with his younger step-brother Adam, we all wondered if Adam would reappear. Had we seen the last of him? Would he cause more trouble for Don? Would he show up in the season-ending cliffhanger? Those questions were answered in the very first minute of tonight's episode, as Adam gives the hotel clerk a package to mail to Don and then promptly goes to his room and hangs himself.

I was not expecting that.

(S01E10)

"Remember Don...when God closes a door, he opens a dress." - Roger Sterling

I'm having a real hard time trying to figure out if Roger Sterling is just misguided or an out and out sleazeball. He's married and has a daughter he desperately wants to understand, but at the same time he's having an affair with Joan and also tries to boff any cute girl that might come into the office. Or, in the case of tonight's episode, two girls that come into the office. Twins, to be exact, that he chose for a new ad campaign. He even asks them to kiss at each other at one point. Joan's going through that too, with her best friend Carol coming on to her as well, telling her she's been in love with her since college. All of the Mad Men episodes seem to have a theme, and tonight's seems to be "girl on girl action!"