TVSquad

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.

Tomorrow's edition of The New York Times Magazine has an interesting profile of Meredith Vieira, who's about a month away from taking the Today anchor chair vacated by Katie Couric. In the article, written by Lisa Belkin, we get a picture of Vieira that isn't far off from what she showed on The View for nine years; a little goofy, dedicated to her work, but very family-oriented. That devotion to her husband, suffering from multiple sclerosis, and her three children is most of the reason why she left 60 Minutes fifteen years ago and turned down every high-profile news gig since. The article also goes into what made her change her mind when NBC came calling earlier this year.

But what I find the most intriguing part of the article is how inquisitive she is with some fellow pet store customers (she was buying a scratching post for her new kittens). It's the same inquisitiveness and curiosity that I see every time I watch her on Millionaire. For that reason, and the fact that she's going to let things fly that Katie never would, I'm really looking forward to seeing her with Matt, Ann, and Al this fall.

The New York Times Magazine has a regular feature called Domains, where they take a look at a famous person's home and ask them a series of questions. This week: Alias/Lost creator and Mission: Impossible 3 director J. J. Abrams.

Abrams explains why Rod Serling is his personal hero (mine too), what he keeps in his refrigerator at all times, hobbies he does with his kids, his obsession with boxes and Macs, his writing routine, what talent he wishes he had, even his favorite sandwich (turkey, cranberry sauce ...and cole slaw?!) Lots of interesting stuff in here.