Monday, August 24, 2009

Mad Men Blog – Season 3, Episode 2

I usually leave my personal life out my TV blogs, but this new blog has always been a bit more self-serving than before. Point being: I was so tired last night that I am not sure if that was a filler episode or I just missed a brilliant piece of art because my brain was working at 35%. It’s worth noting that I watched all of season 1 on DVD, and season 2 was mix of Internet, DVR, and live as I scrambled to catch up after finishing S1. S2 had started before I finished S1, so I always had more supply than I could handle. Filler episodes are tough to spot when you are doing all you can to catch up to real time.

Also, as most of you know, I am much less ‘critic’ and much more ‘connoisseur’. I have no understanding of the technical aspects of making television and movies. I don’t even really get the creative process of film. I am a creative person (as far as my interests, not talent) and relatively intellectual, so I can generally distinguish between what is good and what is bad. I think people care about what I say because I can be unpretentious (The OC, and Gossip Girl being the best examples of great television with very little identifiable ‘art’), while at the same time be snobby when it come to what is ‘cool’. I get away with Gossip Girl because it is so ‘uncool’ (and maybe even juvenile and/or feminine) that you have to respect me for admitting my love for such drivel. At the same time I have little to no interest in LCD (least common denominator) crap such as most of reality TV, any ABC sitcom since I stopped watching TGIF, or ‘Two and a Half Men’. In music terms: I can’t get enough Lady Gaga, and I will never understand the appeal of Nickleback. I never want to be a man of the people, just a man of the cool people. Some of you are just too snobby or too technical. I try and find my space in the balance.

What’ the point of that diatribe? I don’t criticize much when it comes to the shows I like. Friends seasons 7-10 just happened. Smart people hate those seasons, I loved every second. There is nothing to criticize, that was just what my buddies did for those 4 years. Maybe it wasn’t as interesting as what they did for the first 6, but hey, we all get a little boring as we get older. Exception: occasionally my brain just can’t take it, so certain things just never happened. OC season 3 being the best example. That was a 3 season show as far as I am concerned. When I watch it, I go season 1, 2, 4 and have a great time. I don’t even own season 3. How could I? It never happened.

I will not criticize Mad Men. It just so happened that this week’s episode involved 2 story lines that I never like but understand, and 1 of my favorite characters acting a little annoying. Those 3 things happen all of the time, and I am fine with it, but they have never all happened in one episode before:

1: Betty’s dad/family. It needs to happen, I just don’t particularly enjoy it. Maybe that’s the point. It makes me uncomfortable and annoyed, so it helps me further understand Don. He spends his life being brilliant and then he has to just sit there and deal with this shit. I loved the mafia-style scene with William (Betty’s brother) near the end though. Don had enough, and that was just the way it was gonna be. That was cool.

2. Rodger dealing with his wife/daughter. I love it when Rodger is on screen, but I care very little about what makes him tick. All I care about is how he relates to Don. I really could care less about whether his mistress is invited to his daughter’s wedding. Again, not being critical of the writers. Just saying I don’t care. If I was in the office I would pretend like I had a meeting to avoid being involved in any discussion about those events.

3. What was Peggy doing? She seemed a little too catty. I get the whole ‘we are selling to women not men thing’ but hasn’t Don already established the ‘women want to be the woman men want’ counter argument? I like when Peggy stands up for herself and plays devil’s advocate, but she is usually either right, or she learns a lesson. (Remember when she said ‘sex sells’ and Don swatted that away? She learned from that experience). But today reminded me too much of Pete last week; just a bit whiney.

Other than that we had more British-American tension which was fine and dandy. Pete was quiet this week other than some Ken-Pete showdown foreshadowing at the top of the show. Peggy got some strange. Don was cool twice (as mentioned above and in getting MSG folks back). I’m sure there was something deep in the maypole scene at the end that I was just too tired to catch.

I loved final scene when Peggy walks into Don’s office and it’s business as usual. That summed up the episode for me: we dealt with a whole lot of bullshit this week, it wasn’t all pleasant or enjoyable, but let’s get back to business. And I love the Don-Peggy dynamic and it was nice to that is clicking along smoothly despite her off week.

See ya next week.

P.s. there has been some concern that I was going all Mad Men with my blog. I will post some juicy personal stuff sometime this week. It’s just been a hella-busy month. I’m back.

2 comments:

  1. I was planning an all-out assault on Peggy but have to give you credit for at least acknowledging how annoying she was. So you saved humanity from my rage.

    Congrats.

    But I do have to give the quick mini-rant: You gotta understand that Ann-Margaret in "Bye Bye Birdie" gave me first ever... um... warm feeling when I was a kid so I loved that they used it in the ep.

    The fact that Peggy just didn't GET IT infuriated me and actually helped me understand her better. I always thought she was just a feminist bitch but now I get that she's a feminist bitch that's just jealous because she's ugly and doesn't understand how to be attractive (physically and as a human being).

    I can live with that.

    Her make out scene with Pete Campbell's high school senior brother (he was lying about being in college - he was 18 if he was a day) was BRUTAL and ruined any chance of romance in the Mahler house after the show (it was the anti-Mad Men moment). Seriously, I felt so NOT IN THE MOOD after that scene that I just went to bed.

    Thanks again Peggy.

    - Don was awesome in this ep - showed his creative side with the MSG guy and showed his "I just don't care, this is how it's going to be" power with the bro-in-law.

    I was trembling for five minutes after that scene just imagining what it would be like to be talked to like that and just know you HAVE to do what he said.

    Insanity.

    - I think I'm turning more and more into Roger Sterling on a daily basis. In the scene where he was in the British guy's office, I kept thinking about wanting to try on the suit of armor and of course, Roger had to take it to the next level and ask if he could get "three sheets and try it on".

    My boy.

    If I was him, I would use his daughter's petulance as an excuse to not go to the wedding at all (I've already told Sum she will be representing us solo at any kid's graduation). They're giving you an out Rog! Take it - just be done with those women all together.

    Playa's got to play. Can't keep a good man down.

    - Betty's dad terrifies me. After he felt up his own daughter last season, he feels like a time bomb at all time. I was sick to my stomach with the adults left him in the TV room with the kids. I thought for sure we were going to hear a scream and they would find him trying to eat one of the kid's arms or something. And at the daughter's school maypole thing, I thought for SURE we were going to see him peeing on a tree or something.

    He makes me nervous on every level. Hope we resolve this soon because I can't handle him lurking around.

    - Def agree with Paulie, it was a filler ep but the thing I love about Mad Men is that the characters are always developing. You might not get a payoff for a while, but personalities are always being refined for later purposes.

    Brilliant.

    - PS, it was good to see Betty love Don again, even if it was just for a fleeting glance.

    Josh

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  2. Glad you were on the same page as me for the most part. I just could never get comfortable with as much of Becky's dad as we had to deal with. It wore me out. By the end I was exhausted.

    I was probably too easy on Peggy, but I thought maybe I was just tired and cranky and missed something. Still not sure, what her deal was. Maybe she was just simply being a jealous 'a hate that she's prettier than me and there is nothing I can do about it' girl. Never thought her as particularly feminist (she doesn't seem to care at all about the advancement of other women), or bitchy (can you be naive and bitchy?), but maybe her success is getting to her. Hope she gets it together.

    Speaking of missing something, the Rodger armor scene was classic! Thanks for pointing that out. I was bummed about a Rodger-free ep, but I had totally forgotten about that. CLASSIC Rodger. Irreverence is probably the perfect word for him. Good pick-up.

    For the first time in a while I am not sure what is 'pending'. Maybe that is a good thing. Tuning in next week just because I love the show, not becasue I want to see how something plays out.

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