Posts with tag MadMen
Posted Nov 22nd 2008 1:00PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
As we all prepare for the holidays, including lots of football, turkey, the Macy's parade, the tree in Rockefeller Center and umpteen viewings of
A Christmas Story (I can never get enough of Ralphie's quest for the Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle), it's a good time to pause and reflect for a moment about all that I'm grateful for...on TV, that is.
I'd like to give thanks to...
Neil Patrick Harris
It's not just how awesome he is as Barney on
How I Met Your Mother, although that's quite awesome. It's also
Dr. Horrible which proved to me that he really should do a musical, 'cause he's great. NPH also made me laugh with his Old Spice commercials and was wonderful in an episode of
Dinner: Impossible (from 2007, but I saw a rerun). Is there anything he can't do? Believe me, he is already legen -- wait for it -- dary.
Continue reading What Allison is thankful for
Posted Oct 29th 2008 9:55AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Reality-Free, Mad Men
Among the Hollywood industry insider columnists, Nikki Finke's hit rate is pretty high, so it's troubling to read a report from her about the acrimonious contract negotiations between Lionsgate and
Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner. It's gotten so bad that Finke is reporting that Lionsgate is calling around looking for
someone to replace Weiner as show-runner.
As everyone else in the industry is saying: What the hell?
Mad Men just finished its second season with record ratings. It's the first basic cable show to win an Emmy for Best Drama, and Weiner is the show's heart and soul. Believe me when I tell you that it's his vision and attention to detail that you see in every scene. Weiner gave critics a tour of the sets during the July TCAs, and he was able to speak about the look and feel of the show as easily as he was able to talk about the stories and characters. I can't imagine anyone else running the show, even if it's someone that's already on staff.
Continue reading What the hell? Lionsgate calling around for a new Mad Men show-runner
Posted Oct 27th 2008 2:38PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Programming, Reality-Free
For CBS, tradition and consistency are the keystones for success. So while CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves talked about a few new projects in an interview with
TV Week, he also shared the news that the network will be booking
more Survivor and The Amazing Race editions in the seasons to come.
To this I say, hooray! Especially for
The Amazing Race. There's a reason this show has won the Emmy so many times. The current race has been terrific.
Survivor seems to be having a bounce back season, as well.
I was turned off to the last couple of seasons -- China was a drag -- but I'm enjoying the current contest. Anytime an antagonist like Ace emerges, that's good TV to me.
Continue reading CBS is sticking with winners, looking for new ones
Posted Oct 27th 2008 10:04AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S02E13) In 1962, President Kennedy threatened to fire the missiles of October, facing down with Russia over the nuclear launch sites in Cuba. On last night's season finale of
Mad Men, creator Matthew Weiner actually pulled the trigger and set off a few carefully aimed rockets guaranteed to alter the future of the series. It was a stunning climax to the second season and if you were hoping for some big twists, you got them.
With little fanfare, Don came back from California. He appeared at the riding club where Betty's breath was seemingly taken away by the sight of him. No explanation. No excuses. And with a new sense of power, Betty wasn't ready to welcome him home.
Continue reading Mad Men: Meditations in an Emergency (season finale)
Posted Oct 26th 2008 12:15PM by Annie Wu
Filed under: OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S34E06) I'm not one of the hardcore
Mad Men fans out there, but from what I've seen, the show is slick as hell. Never would I have expected Don Draper to be so funny, so I was absolutely thrilled that Jon Hamm did such a beautiful job hosting. He and Anne Hathaway have been stand-out hosts this season, and hopefully they'll be back for more, if only to show other hosts that it is entirely possible to read from cue cards with some degree of naturalism. Actually, some players could take notes, too. Mr. Hamm even managed to do some impressions without making me cringe out of my seat, which was a super-extra-bonus. It was a strange night, certainly, what with the Fingers in Butts and
Amy Poehler being MIA to have her baby (I hope the baby will have Amy's eyes and Will Arnett's voice), but Mr. Hamm's performance managed to carry the show and help everyone deliver a solid episode.
Continue reading Saturday Night Live: Jon Hamm/Coldplay - VIDEOS
Posted Oct 21st 2008 11:35AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free, Mad Men
As Bob wrote the other day, AMC has given the Emmy-award winning drama series
Mad Men a pick up for a third season. No shock, but that future will be greatly dependent on re-signing Matthew Weiner to continue as the show's creator. Imagining
Mad Men without Weiner at the helm is like Sterling Cooper without Don Draper as creative director!
However, while we're waiting to hear that Weiner's signed on the dotted line, the news today has me even more nervous.
Jon Hamm and John Slattery have yet to renegotiate their contracts, which means the stars of
Mad Men could be done with next week's season finale.
I don't believe that's going to happen, but Roger Friedman floated the possibility out there. He even suggests that Jon Hamm's star has risen so high, so fast that he could be the next George Clooney. Clooney, you'll remember, parlayed a few seasons of
ER into a movie career (although there was more to it than that).
Continue reading Is the future of Mad Men in doubt?
Posted Oct 21st 2008 8:00AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Contests and Giveaways, Reality-Free, Mad Men
On this Tuesday morning, we've got two copies of
Mad Men - Season One on DVD for two lucky, random commenters.
But that's not all: In honor of
Mad Men's second season finale on AMC this Sunday night, we are giving away
bonus prizes with each DVD set:
- The first place winner will win a DVD along with a Mad Men-branded business card case and a $50 American Express Gift card.
- The second place winner will win a DVD along with a copy of the Mad Man soundtrack.
To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, October 24 simply telling us why you'd like to own this DVD set
. As always, we'll randomly choose two winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
- To enter, leave a confirmed comment below stating why you'd like to own the Mad Men Season One DVD set.
- The comment must be left before October 24, 2008 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
- You may enter only once.
- Two winners will be selected in a random drawing.
- The first winner chosen will receive a Mad Men - Season One DVD (valued at $49.98), a Mad Men-branded business card case (valued at $15) and a $50 American Express gift card.
- The second winner chosen will receive a a Mad Men - Season One DVD (valued at $49.98) and a copy of Mad Men: Music From the Series Vol. 1 on compact disc (valued at $17.98).
- Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
Click
here for complete Official Rules.
Posted Oct 20th 2008 9:57AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S02E12)"Stop lying. You've been caught." - Anna Draper to Dick Whitman
If Don were ten years older and this was 1972 instead of 1962, we'd be saying that Don Draper is going through a mid-life crisis. After spending last week contemplating a new future with the jet set, or at least getting the offer of a hobo-existence without the worries of finances or fidelity, Don was compelled to look back before making a choice. That phone call at the end of
The Jet Set was to the real Mrs. Draper.
Back home, meanwhile, Betty is again faced with having to grow up. Between her father's decline, Don's disappearance and her rebukes of Arthur and Glenn, Betts has been forced to be more than she's been in the past. Sally's latest stunt shouldn't be a shock considering that she's snuck a drink earlier this season and clearly idolizes everything her father does.
Sally blames Betty for Don's absence, and Betty realizes that pain she's been feeling is just as acute for her child and she does something human about it -- she gives Sally the boots to cushion the blow of the truth that Daddy may not be coming back.
Continue reading Mad Men: The Mountain King
Posted Oct 13th 2008 8:49AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S02E11) Roger is starting anew and Jane is the nectar of life, his rebirth. Is Roger grasping for Jane because subconsciously he knows he blew it with Joan? He's ready to sacrifice everything for her, including a chunk of his fortune. "This is the life I was meant to have," he says. I love George the lawyer telling him the cost: "Think of all the good things in life, then cut them in half."
Don is in paradise. Sun, exotic music, a vision of a woman that looks like Betty, but she passes right by him. The devil appears in the form of Willy, the viscount. He's actually pimping out his daughter Joy, although we don't know he's her father till much later. Joy offers Don a way out, a beautiful life traveling to beautiful places, freedom at an epic scale, including the fact that she's not possessive. "You can have anyone you want," she tells him.
Continue reading Mad Men: The Jet Set
Posted Oct 6th 2008 9:29AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S02E10) This seemed an oddly structured episode, with the emphasis more on Betty than Don, with a splash of Pete and Kinsey thrown in. The idea that life was simpler in the old days, should anyone still think that adage applies, is disproved with every hour of
Mad Men that unfolds.
For Betty, the impending death of her father has shaken her to the core. A series of strokes has led to dementia and when Don accompanies Betty to visit him in her childhood home, she has to come to grips with not only the fact that he's slipping away, but also be reminded that nearly every vestige of her mother has also gone.
Continue reading Mad Men: The Inheritance
Posted Oct 5th 2008 1:07PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
AMC has done pretty well for itself of late with the critically acclaimed series
Broken Trail, Mad Men and
Breaking Bad. I'm also hopefully optimistic that they will do a good job with their mini-series remake of
The Prisoner. Because of this established pedigree, I am incredibly excited to hear that
AMC is developing a series based on Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars novel. With Terry Goodkind's
The Sword of Truth series already coming to television, it looks like someone in TV land has been raiding my library. Oh there are so many more good sci-fi and fantasy series to develop. Feel free to stop by any time!
The article indicates the series is based on Robinson's 1992 novel of the same name, but I hope they take it a step further and look to his expanded
Mars trilogy. That way they can have several seasons of stories to tell. I guess, though, with the bigger story covering a couple of centuries there could be some casting problems. Hell, overhaul the entire cast every few seasons.
ER does it and it's been on the air for almost fifteen years.
Continue reading AMC develping Robinson's Red Mars for series
Posted Oct 1st 2008 8:41AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Ratings, Reality-Free
Did you see
Mad Men recently? As part of Harry's creating a TV division at the Sterling Cooper ad agency, he was made responsible for screening scripts of TV fare so that the content pleased/satisfied/supported the advertisers' desires. Interestingly, it was Joan -- the office manager/head secretary -- who was given the scripts to read and her main focus of
As the World Turns.
She became completely engrossed in the 1962 Oakdale story in which a character came to from a coma with a new personality. Her enthusiasm for the soap story convinced the advertisers to back
As the World Turns rather than
Love of Life, another CBS soap at the time.
Mad Men was historically accurate about
As the World Turns. It was the top-rated soap opera for 20 years -- 1958-1978 -- and in 1962 (the year in which
Mad Men is currently set),
ATWT had increased its share from 47.7 to 53.7 in just a year. It was the soap on the rise and over half all TVs on in daytime were watching this CBS soap.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: SOAPnet's boom and a Mad Men memory
Posted Sep 6th 2008 11:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E13) The summer's officially over on
Swingtown, marked by Tom's Labor Day clambake at the shore, which turned out to also be a key party.
Now that the first season of the show has come to an end, it's clear that while they explored hot topics like open marriage, wife-swapping and group sex, the essence of the show was not titillation or a guide page by page through
The Joys of Sex. Swingtown was about the characters, three families and the changing times in 1976.
Questions, questions. Will Tom and Trina keep the baby? The Deckers are the open marriage couple and they've enjoyed the freedom to swing. But how amazing is it that they are the marriage that's in synch! They actually talk things out and share what they're thinking. You can't say that about the Thompsons and Millers.
Continue reading Swingtown: Take it to the Limit (season finale)
Posted Aug 30th 2008 11:26AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S01E12) "Do you think we closed Pandora's box?" -- Tom to Trina, after Janet's birthday party
You knew this was going to be an episode fraught with revelations when the strains of Carly Simon singing "No Secrets" played over the opening scene. Perfect song to comment on the surprises to come, as
Swingtown climbs toward the big season one climax next week.
The show is getting tantalizing terrific. It's not that I'm enamored with all the characters, but they've all become interesting to me. Even Ricky's struggle to come to terms with his best friend falling in love with the girl next door and leaving behind their buddy-buddy relationship, was surprisingly meaningful to me. The scene where Janet advised Ricky to show B.J. how important his friendship was to him was wonderful. His hugging Mom like that was so true; Janet is a tough mother, but she's the embodiment of love and support and Ricky needed his mommy in that moment.
Continue reading Swingtown: Surprise
Posted Aug 26th 2008 10:22AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
All right, let me say this up front and without equivocation: if CBS picks up
Flashpoint and cancels
Swingtown, I'm going to be ticked off. I'm not down on
Flashpoint.
As Jane wrote, Flashpoint is a good show. No
24, but solid procedural entertainment. However, when I read that
Canada's CTV has renewed up north and sources say that CBS is close to doing the same, I immediately got my back up.
Why should
Flashpoint get a break while an interesting, quirky and outside-the-box drama like
Swingtown may not? It's disheartening to me that
CBS is searching for a cable network to take Swingtown, while a "safe" crime show like
Flashpoint doesn't have that concern.
Continue reading The chances for a Flashpoint pickup are good
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