Season 3 starts Aug 16 on AMC. I love this show. A set-in-the-sixties soap opera with plenty of romance, sex and drama. Great suspense and period authenticity. Not to mention a very tall, dark and handsome leading man. It's the women's stories that intrigue me most.
It's a great insight into the generation of the 50s and 60s and so well written, IMO. Anyone else?
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'Mad Men' is one of my top three favourite tv shows!!
ReplyDeleteI also love 'Dexter' and I can't get enough of 'The Sopranos', even though that show ended a while ago.
M.
I would love to watch Mad Men but I confess to being the type of person that needs to watch a show from the beginning. So many shows now follow a bit of a "soap opera" format - you miss out on the nuances of the characters when you jump in halfway. I remember the original Law and Order - no connection whatsoever from one episode to the next. I loved that series (when Sam Waterston was the DA).
ReplyDeleteI actually just ordered Season 2 today of Bones -- I jumped in the middle of season 2 and by Season 3 my hubby was hooked on the show. Now there is an interesting love dynamic. Seely and Bones are like a modern day Spencer and Hepburn (IMHO) with enough humour thrown in to make the show very watchable (again IMHO). After getting through the last 2 seasons we decided we needed to see how this all formed and enjoyed Season 1 through last winter.
Is Mad Men ok to jump in halfway?
Hi Joanne,
ReplyDeleteMad Men is definitely one you need to see from the beginning. Too much history for you to jump in at Season 3. You can rent the previous seasons, but obviously that would be time consuming. Careful though, you might get hooked once you start!
I stumbled on to it after Season 1 had aired and was in reruns. I coincidently tuned in for episode 1. I loved it so much I immediately called my local video store and ran over and picked up the entire season. Watched all of it over that weekend and then followed Season 2 live. Can't wait for the new season now!
I really don't watch much TV, but my two regular shows are Mad Men and Dancing with the Stars. When the last DWTS ended, I had nothing on for Monday nights and that's how I ended up watching the bachelorette. And now I am talking to you and this fine group of romantics. And that's a Good Thing, as Martha Stewart would say. :)
M,
ReplyDeleteI am addicted to Dexter!
LOVE. IT.
I have not watched either....but, now I will.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll have to quit my job and become a professional movie/series watcher.
Nashie, dear, my fellow 'Dexter' addict:
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful writing! What a perfect anti-hero Dexter is! What wonderfully nuanced character development! And my favourite: that jaunty Miami latin music accompanying the darkest of scenes!
To everyone who hasn't seen 'Dexter': it is one where you must watch the first and subsequent seasons in order to get the full effect. I heartily recommend renting the old seasons on DVD before you tune in to the current season -- when does it start, Nash?
There are also books -- as the series is based on a book character. "Darkly Dreaming Dexter", I believe?
Enjoy!
M.
Leen,
ReplyDeleteI have spent my life trying to figure out how to quit my job and become a professional movie/series watcher... with a little reading, gardening, cooking, wine drinking and frequent shoe shopping included.
At one time I thought that might come with the title of Wife, but I realized I was confusing myself with Cinderella.
Hi hear Dexter is wonderful but I don't get Showtime. Anyone know if repeats are on another network? Sometimes that happens a year later, but I'd love to see it.
ReplyDeleteAnn said:
ReplyDelete"I have spent my life trying to figure out how to quit my job and become a professional movie/series watcher... with a little reading, gardening, cooking, wine drinking and frequent shoe shopping included.
At one time I thought that might come with the title of Wife, but I realized I was confusing myself with Cinderella."
Marianna replies:
LOVED THAT, Anne!! Well put! Should you ever find such a posting, may I please serve as your humble (unpaid) assistant? I figure the job perks will far outweigh any salaried remunerations...
Oh and Sheri: If you don't get the channel which carries "Dexter", you can always rent entire seasons' DVD's while waiting for the next instalment.
M.
Article and short video on "Mad Men":
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/popvox/archive/2009/07/30/behind-the-scenes-of-mad-men-season-three.aspx
Another one, from Vanity Fair: article and video of a fantastic photo shoot.
ReplyDeleteFor you, Ann!
M.
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2009/08/video-behind-the-scenes-at-annie-leibovitzs-mad-men-shoot.html
THANKS SO MUCH Mariana!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the VF piece and Annie Leibovitz's photos are gorgeous. I was contemplating renting Season 2 and re-watching before Aug 16, just to be up to speed. My memory is so bad these days - menopause brain apparently. I have decided now that I am definitely going to do that. It will mean 13 episodes in one week but I think I can do it! There is so much detail and subtleness in every scene, I always catch something more the second time round.
I missed the Sopranos somehow, although I heard it was excellent. Just didn't want to start part way thru. Like Joanne, I hate not seeing the beginning. I may attempt to catch up on Dexter though. Once winter is here, I won't mind being in my basement where my TV is, but I really have only been watching the Bachelorette in the past while.
I'd be great to share Mad Men thoughts with you - we may need Nadya to set up another blog! YIKES! I don't want to join the AMC site. I like my friends here too much and a girl only has so much time.
Anyway, thanks again. It's a relief to forget about Jillian/Ed, although I am thankful for them bringing all of you into my world.
A
Hi Ann,
ReplyDeleteSorry about misspelling your name (I inadvertently added the extra "e" in an earlier post).
You are quite right: Mad Men is so nuanced that with repeated viewings one catches little things previously unnoticed.
The Sopranos is also a work of television art. Brilliant writing, complex characters (not at all 'stock' or 'black and white' / good or evil) and plenty of violence (not my style usually) except not a second of it is gratuitous.
You'd easily have a winter's worth of DVD viewing if you started watching all the seasons of The Sopranos. I do heartily recommend it, though. Not hard to see why they always swept the Emmys each year.
Does anyone remember another show from a few years ago called "Six Feet Under"? Also brilliant and one of my favourites. Long gone, though.
It would appear that Jillian has not yet kicked Ed to the curb. I wonder how much of it is her own refusal to see, versus the nefarious involvement of Mike Fleiss.
I expect they will not be celebrating their first Christmas together. Perhaps, instead, she will celebrate Hannukah??? Actually, I can't see Reid wanting her now. I think that every passing day must see him more over his love for her.
Anyway, a toast to you, as you settle in to watch 13 episodes of "Mad Men" in one week!!
I will be away on my cruise and will have to wait to watch the season's premiere episode when I get back. Thank goodness for DVR's!
M.
M and Sheri,
ReplyDeleteI also don't get Showtime so I have had to watch the seasons as they come out on DVD. I have watched through season 3. As far as I know, four seasons have been shown thus far (could be wrong here).
Sheri - You should definitely try and rent the seasons. As M said, the writing is down-right fabulous. You will love it I'm sure!
I made the mistake of watching one snippet of Dexter. Then I read the Mad Men articles. It's feeling very much like when I tumbled headlong in The West Wing...nutso.
ReplyDeleteStaving off the temptation of another addiction,
Leen
Marianna,
ReplyDeleteI do remember Six Feet Under. I watched the first season and then somehow missed a bunch and then didn't want to go back and pick it up. I must have had a life back then! But I loved it too. I think it was really ground breaking TV in it's time and has opened the door for shows like Mad Men and Dexter (obviously Dexter is one of the actors from it). I loved his brother in that show. What has he been up to since I wonder? And the actress who played the mother was fantastic. I saw her recently on something, now can't remember what. See what I mean about menopause brain... sigh.
I will think of you on your cruise. You must tell us all about it when you return. Hey, if they have internet aboard, perhaps you can Muse as you Cruise!
I am still shaking my head about the latest with Jill/Ed and the other women. I will gather my thoughts and post something soon.
Leen,
ReplyDeleteTake the leap of faith and dive into Mad Men. Would we steer you wrong? I would so love to have your reactions and hear your eloquent words on a show that is so much more worthy. It may be fiction, but it so much more real than what we've been subjected to with Fleiss. IMO
I was born in 1958 and was a child in the period portrayed in Mad Men. I have one foot in the pre-women's-lib generation and one foot in the post. I would be very intrigued to hear your thoughts as a younger woman, about the way life was for women of that era. You might be shocked to see what a man's world it really was and how much things have changed. And not changed too. As your groom says, "Men are dogs" and Mad Men won't make you think other wise.
If you are considering it, please go back and watch from the beginning. You won't regret it.
Speaking of Women's Lib... who else has read the Feminine Mystique?
Ann
My, my, you all have me VERY intrigued! After reading all this I guess my next Netflix order will be Season 1 of Mad Men. It will obviously take me a while to catch up to the new season 4 starting soon.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe those of us who haven't seen Mad Men before can make a pact to watch 1 or 2 episodes a week and we can all discuss them as we watch them. That way, in a year at most, we'll have caught up to those who have been watching it regularly.
It sounds intriguing and like it contains plenty of fodder for our discussions about male/female roles and how they actually function. I know that supposedly the western world has changed quite a bit in those areas, but I often wonder. I think women far too often fall back into ancient roles, and men are far too happy to promote that. I mean; just look at the Jill/Ed debacle! As so many have pointed out on this blog (most poignantly, Kelly Luv) women everywhere are still sabotaging ourselves even though we supposedly don't need to. It would be very interesting to watch a show that explores where a lot of those old ideas originated from within our consciousness or that of our parents.
Good recommendation!
Nadya
Nadya, so nice to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteI hope you do explore MadMen and just so you know, there are only 2 seasons to catch up on. Each is 13 episodes, of less than an hour each. Hopefully it's not as daunting as you might have anticipated. Season 3 starts live next Sunday.
A
I haven't seen Mad Men or the other shows listed here. In fact, we haven't watched much TV at all for years. We didn't have cable for a couple years and now that we do, we generally watch movies. The Bachelorette was the one show that we watched regularly. Even then, one or both of us had to watch it online after the fact. Our schedules are too unpredictable for regular TV watching. We did get hooked by Heroes; we watched the first two seasons through the Play It Now feature on Netflix.
ReplyDeleteAs Nadya indicated, we will start watching Mad Men rentals, given the unanimous acclaim of the watchers here.
Ann, because of your question, I can finally contribute to this thread. I did read The Feminine Mystique in college. It was quite the rage 30-plus years ago. I wonder how it would read now. As you say, so much has changed and yet so much remained the same.
The book did open my eyes to the extent that most careers were restricted for women. I grew up thinking that the problem was largely relegated to the past. The feminist movement was in full swing by the time of my adolescence and I figured everything that needed to change, would. I also thought as much about the Civil Rights movement. I was a naïve idealist back then.
The book was written well before I read it. I wasn't sure how much still applied. I still can't be sure how much applies now. I constantly read about the Glass Ceiling. The statistic that is typically given as proof of its existence is the small proportion of women in top offices in corporate America. But is this because women can't reach that level or because they choose not to? Is it really a good thing to be a corporate shark?
We have women among the top ranks of the corporations I've worked in. They tend to be as ambitious, demanding, aggressive and backbiting as their male colleagues. In the current culture, they have to be that way to go so far. Warm, kind and nurturing women or men don't usually become corporate leaders. I see this statistic as a skewed measurement of the progress of women.
I think this statistic also explains much of the disparity of average pay between men and women. The grotesquely huge salaries of many men throw off the average and render the number meaningless. For example, the average salary of Americans rose between 2001 and 2008. However, the salaries for something like 95% of Americans actually decreased in that time. The salaries of the top few percent increased 10-fold, and that dragged up the average.
There are notably more women than men at universities. The last I read, the percentage of women, blacks and Hispanics in the medical profession continues to rise each year. We are not at parity, of course, but it makes me question the usual assertions about the degree and reason for the current inequalities.
I ask all of you women: from recent personal experience is that Glass Ceiling still a major barrier? Or can women penetrate it if they are willing to make the personal and moral sacrifices that men make to penetrate it?
Jim
Okay, you all did it to me. I also read an article in EW mag this weekend, then I saw a marathon of Mad Men today, so I set my DVR and started watching them this afternoon. I think it's season 2 and not 1, but that's okay. I hope to get through all of them by tomorrow (have half day off), so I can start watching the new season. I think it's starts next week, right?
ReplyDeleteFor Dexter I'll have to rent the DVDs, but that also sounds like a fun show to watch.
Sheri,
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear how you enjoy Mad Men. If you have questions about what happened in Season 1, let me know and I'll try and fill in the blanks for you.
I am nearly through my review of Season 2 which I rented. The DVD's have "Special Features" and one of those is a review of the feminist movement in the 60's. Fascinating. Also a great piece on the fashion and style of the era and a timeline of the historical events of the 60's.
Let us know your thoughts!
Ann
Jim,
ReplyDeleteI am sure you are the only man I know who has even heard of the Feminine Mystique, let alone read it!
I too read it many years ago, in my early 20's. I was at that time, a very insecure young woman, looking for answers about my role in life. I wanted to be married and raise a family, but also to be independent. It would be interesting to go back and reread now. I have been independent, but because I had to be. I never found a man who was willing to commit to sharing a life together.
As for the Glass Ceiling, I am more about the Glass Slipper and waiting for Prince Charming. I do believe it still exists. (The ceiling, not the prince). In my experience in the corporate world, I have seen a few women in senior executive positions and I agree with your assessment of them as not the nurturing types. I think women can penetrate that barrier, but agree they have to be willing to sacrifice a lot to do it.
I mentioned the book in reference to Mad Men, as the show encompasses so many of the parallel issues of the era. The civil rights movement, the influence of both John and Jackie Kennedy, the Cuban missile crisis, Marilyn Munroe, as well as changes in the church. It touches on western attitudes towards the environment and health. Everyone smokes and drinks like fish! The roles of both men and women were evolving rapidly. The advent of the birth control pill had a lot to do with it.
The environment of an ad agency is the perfect setting to explore all these themes. As now, the media is a reflection of the times. Betty Freidan devoted a portion of her book to the way in which advertising was used to subjugate women in those days. Through the lives of these characters we are exposed to the historical and monumental shifts in society that took place in the decade of the 60's. It shows how much things have changed and yet how little, in many ways.
Our basic values as humans are unaltered. We all search for love, acceptance and a purpose and are still struggling with issues of equality and fairness. Not to mention world peace.
I look forward to more discussions with you and others about our gender roles. I am not feeling very intellectual today. I am once again struggling to maintain my independence, as I wait to hear if I got the job I interviewed for last Friday. I will be distracting myself with the final two episodes of Season 2 tonight with fingers crossed I get that phone call tomorrow.
Ann
Well I finally finished watching all the Mad Men episodes I recorded. And, yes, I'm hooked. Can't wait for the new season to start. I think it's party the era, the nostalgic music and the characters. You love them, you despise them, but you can't stop watching them.
ReplyDeleteI was house/dogsitting last night and noticed that MM premiered last night (it wasn't set on my home DVR) so I recorded it on my friend's DVR and will watch it tonight. And now I'm going to set the DVR to record the season.
Thanks for turning me on to such a terrific show!