january jones-related stories
Posted Nov 4th 2009 8:02AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free, Mad Men
The assassination of JFK on
Sunday's episode of Mad Men may have been the catalyst for Betty Draper's "awakening," but it's been a long time coming.
Here comes my rant: I, for one, am sick and tired of seeing the women in this show get walked all over! I know it's the way things were back then, but the times they are a changin', so I'm hoping we'll get to see more women stand up and take charge of their lives.
I was cheering when Betty stood up to her lying, cheating, skank of a husband Don and told him she didn't love him anymore. Bonus points for driving off to meet your lover, Betty. Hopefully, he won't cheat on you.
Now if Joan would leave her loser fiance who raped her at the office and then went about his business like nothing happened -- that'd be the icing on this women's movement cake. I'd say that she and Roger Sterling belong together, but she's too good for him.
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 12:52AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S03E12) "The whole country's drinking." - Pete,
to Trudy
When Joel talked to
Mad Men creator and writer Matthew Weiner last month, he wouldn't say when or how the show would deal with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. We all knew it was coming, since
last week's episode was set on Halloween, but I actually thought it would happen in the season finale. But they addressed it tonight.
They say November 22, 1963 is the day America changed, and I would say that the lives of the people in and around Sterling Cooper changed too, in various ways and for various reasons.
Continue reading Review: Mad Men - The Grown-Ups
Posted Oct 21st 2009 10:29AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free, Mad Men
So ... Betty Draper is starting to get an inkling of Don's dark and secret past on
Mad Men. In
Sunday's episode, she found the box with all his secret things. Really, you'd think he would keep it in a safety deposit box or something. You can't just leave that stuff lying around the house, even in a locked desk drawer. Someone's bound to find it, just as Betty did.
My question is what will Betty do with this important information? She' s already been stung by Don's affairs, and now she's got
this to contend with.
Continue reading What will Betty Draper do?
Posted Oct 7th 2009 9:29AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free, Mad Men
For all of their problems and dalliances,
Mad Men's Don and Betty Draper are one sexy couple. Sunday's episode, "
Souvenir," was another stellar offering, and one of my favorite scenes was when Don and Betty pretended to be strangers in Rome, then went back to their room and made sweet love.
It made me swoon, not just because they're two really handsome people (her beehive-type hairdo was something else), but also because I felt like I was part of the whole deception involving the Italian guys at the cafe. Very fun.
And this, after Betty accepted a kiss from Henry Francis after the courtroom scene. She's such a cold fish with these things, and I have to wonder if she's just doing it to get back at Don for his affairs. She doesn't seem to enjoy the attention of other men. She doesn't seem to enjoy much of anything.
Bob likened it to Revolutionary Road, and I quite agree. And it's no wonder Sally has repressed anger issues. She comes by it honestly.
Posted Oct 5th 2009 2:50AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S03E08) "You don't kiss boys, boys kiss you." - Betty, to Sally
I think my favorite episodes of
Mad Men are the ones that have a nice balance of Draper household drama and Sterling Cooper advertising drama. It seemed that this episode was going to tilt a lot - too much - towards the former, but about 20 minutes in, both worlds came together in unexpected ways -- Betty going on the business trip to Rome with Don and Pete running into ... well, someone at the department store. We'll talk about that more after the jump.
Continue reading Mad Men: Souvenir
Posted Oct 1st 2009 6:33PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Celebrities, Reality-Free, Mad Men
In
last Sunday's episode of Mad Men, Betty Draper tried to use the knowledge that someone in the Governor's office liked her to save a neighborhood park. I'm sure he wanted more than just that, but it hasn't gone any further (yet). The other day, January Jones (who plays Betty) went to Capitol Hill to get involved in politics for real, advocating for sharks.
In this picture, Jones meets with Senator John McCain. In the caption to the pic, McCain says that he's a huge fan of
Mad Men. I think that's one thing Democrats and Republicans can agree on. Someone in the comments says it's Grandpa Gene's ghost. Ha!
Posted Sep 28th 2009 12:30AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S03E07) "Maybe I was late because I was with my family reading the Bible." - Don, to Conrad Hilton
I've never understood why some people say they can't get into
Mad Men (or they watch the show and think the same thing) because "nothing ever happens." I think a lot of stuff happens in every episode, but a lot of it is done with silences and not something more intense. But even the people who think that the show is too "slow" will have to admit that like last week's episode, this episode had a ton of character development, mystery, and plot twists.
Continue reading Mad Men: Seven Twenty Three
Posted Sep 17th 2009 4:35PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Celebrities, Talk Show, Ratings, Reality-Free, Mad Men
Does it seem like somebody lit a fire under Oprah Winfrey? It seems like it to me. Her new season commenced this week with
the Whitney Houston two-parter, she's off to Central Park for tomorrow show which will relaunch Oprah's Book Club, and on Monday
Oprah's doing a flashback to the 1960's with Mad Men's Jon Hamm and January Jones as guests.
Continue reading What's gotten into Oprah?
Posted Sep 7th 2009 12:48AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S01E04) "He has no idea how confused America is going to be about that J. - Don, about jai alai
In the late 80s, when I was doing sales and marketing for a national music magazine, the staff played a joke on one of the new salespeople. We had to get a certain number of sales per day and she wasn't having any luck, so I called her phone and pretended to be a customer. I think I told her I was going to buy thousands of dollars worth of magazines. Looking back now it was an immature, cruel thing to do, but I thought of that during tonight's scene with the Sterling Cooper gang calling "Margaret" and pretending to be a potential roommate. People are such jerks.
But this episode was mostly about what happened to Gene...
Continue reading Mad Men: The Arrangements
Posted Aug 24th 2009 12:28AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S03E02) "If you don't like what's being said, change the conversation." - DonWhat love
isn't in ruins on
Mad Men? We have Betty knowing all about Don's affairs, Betty's dad dealing with his girlfriend leaving him (and more), Joan with someone who raped her, Roger with new young love Jane but still dealing with his ex-wife and perhaps longing for Joan, and Peggy looking for love at a bar (with a guy who looks like Pete!). Even the Don/Roger bromance seems to be on shaky ground.
The only people who seem to be at the start of love are Roger's daughter and her fiancee' Brooks. But their wedding is scheduled for November 23, 1963. Something tells me that's going to be a problem, too.
Continue reading Mad Men: Love Among The Ruins
Posted Aug 17th 2009 7:13PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Reality-Free, Mad Men
Having a British company take over Sterling Cooper is a rather brilliant move. It gives the show a new focus, a new tension in the office (and out of the office too). In this clip from next week's
Mad Men episode "Love Among The Ruins," Don and Betty go out to dinner with Lane and his wife.
Such a well-written two minutes. It's like you know everything about these four from this one scene.
Posted Aug 16th 2009 10:03AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Web, Reality-Free, Mad Men
Hey, did you hear
Mad Men's third season debuts tonight at 10 on AMC? Actually, when the show is this good, I don't mind the hype.
To prepare for the third season, here are some more web goodies for you (in addition to
avatars,
sneak peeks and
recaps).
The New York Times has an article on the
cocktails of the Mad Men era, and if you want to make some of your own AMC has the
drink recipes. AMC also has a
Which Mad Man Are You? quiz. Or how about buying
some of the era's items for your house?
There are also several interviews to read before the premiere, including
Jon Hamm (
here too),
Christina Hendricks,
Elisabeth Moss, and
Vincent Kartheiser.
Oh, something from the other night, after the jump...
Continue reading One more big post about Mad Men before tonight's season premiere
Posted Aug 14th 2009 2:00PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Reality-Free, Mad Men
Earlier today, Joel gave you an
early look at season three of Mad Men. We're not sure what exactly to expect from the new season, but we know what happened in season two. If you haven't seen season two for some reason, or just need a quick refresher before Sunday's season premiere, here's a recap of the entire season in four minutes.
Posted Aug 9th 2009 4:15PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: TV on DVD, OpEd, Reality-Free, Mad Men, Jane After Dark
First of all, I have to say that I'm terribly distracted at the moment, because my daughter is watching
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even though
I just watched it a few months ago, I wouldn't mind watching the entire series again from start to finish. But, alas, there are other things in my stack o' DVDs, so I'll have to be content with hearing it in the background while I work. She just watched the first two eps, and I had totally forgotten that Darla showed up in the very first episode. Interesting. Anyways...
I'll get back to
The Wire -- I still have season five to watch -- but this week's
Jane After Dark is all about
Mad Men. Sometimes I fall deeply and madly in love with a TV show, and that's how it is with AMC's love letter to the 1960s. I raced through season one right after it was released on DVD, but stupidly waited for season two on DVD. I bought it last week and watched the entire season, devouring it like a hearty tenderloin that's perfectly cooked, so I'd be caught up for the season three premiere on August 16. If you haven't watched season two yet, spoilers follow after the jump...
Continue reading Jane After Dark: Mad Men, season two - Meditations on a stylish TV show
Posted Jul 29th 2009 2:02PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free, Mad Men
I'm not going to lie to you: Pretty much my whole life right now is leading up to the Mad Men season 3 premiere on August 16. I'm so excited, I'm practically vibrating. You can judge me if you want, but I'm perfectly fine with my priorities.
Anyway, like the rest of the internet, I have been salivating for any Mad Men morsel that AMC deigns to share with the unwashed masses. So, yes. I was super-psyched about the water-logged Don Draper promo poster that came out a few weeks ago, and yes, I totally Mad Men'd myself.
So obviously, I was ridiculously excited to see that Zap2It had a whole crop of new Mad Men promo photos. Jon Hamm! January Jones! Christina Hendricks! John Slattery! There may be a chance that there's a more conventionally good-looking cast out there, but I defy you to find a sexier cast on television. Seriously. If you have any suggestions, I welcome them, because I cannot imagine anything you would actually come up with that would beat the power, glory, and pure sexiness of Mad Men.
Next Page >
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Ask TV Squad: Ghost Whisperer and more!
The TV Squad Podcast: Bill Scheft of The Late Show, Cake Boss, Mad Men and more
