TVSquad

(S02E05) "This is America. Pick a job and become the person who does it." - Bobbie, to Don

Is there any other show on TV right now that packs so much stuff into one episode? So many revelations, so many character developments, so many nuances? People who only have the attention span for music videos have complained that "nothing ever happens" on Mad Men, but I say that more happens in an episode of this show than three or four of most other shows on the air right now.

This episode was amazing. Not only did we get the background story on one of the big mysteries of the first season (if this was Lost the message boards would be going crazy right now), we got to see a different side of a few characters and the very welcome (if quick) return of an old favorite. Though I wonder how her new situation will affect Don in the upcoming episodes.

Mad Men is that rare show that is damn near perfect. Of course, I say "near" perfect though I can't figure out what fault the show has. Everything, from the acting to the writing to the direction to the set design to the music to the costumes - is so well done. Heck, even the secondary characters are drawn in a way you hardly ever see on a television drama.

OK, it is perfect.

Rich Sommer plays Harry Crane, the Sterling Cooper ad exec with the glasses and bow tie. The character is so well written and Sommer plays him so well. You know guys like Harry, whether it's 1960 or 2008. He's the nice, married guy with glasses, but he's not so nice that he isn't above joining in on the sexist talk with his buddies and drinking too much.

Rich was nice enough to talk to me via e-mail while he was filming the second season of the show, which debuts this Sunday (new day) at 10pm on AMC.

I posted on Friday about the craziness that was the Flanvention. After it was canceled at the last minute, fans sprung into action and organized their own little shindig. And based on reports about what happened, it sounds like it was a pretty amazing substitute for the originally planned affair.

It turns out that not only did most of the scheduled guests turn up for the impromptu gathering, but they managed to get even more people from the whedonverse in the mix as well. Fans made their way to Claire Kramer's restaurant, La Cantina, where the guest list included Nathan Fillion, Ron Glass, Morena Baccarin (pictured), Michael Fairman, Mark Sheppard, Jonathan Woodward, Yan Feldman, Christina Hendricks, Claire Kramer, James Leary, Camden Toy, Michael Muhney, and Greg Edmonson. That's an impressive list.

Of course, while a good time was had, it's not the end of the story. The strange dealings of event planer Booster Entertainment continue. The website that mysteriously disappeared with the announcement of the cancellation has popped up again. Kind of, they are getting hammered by people looking for answers, so it's very slow when it does load. At this point the big questions everyone is asking are: Where did the money go? And where are the refunds? It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.