It’s hard to get me to shut up about Mad Men, I know. Here’s yet another article that hits the nail on the head as to why YOU NEED TO WATCH IT UGGHHH I WISH I COULD RUB MY FACE ALL OVER THIS SHOW:
It’s the layers and complexity and detail that make Mad Men truly special. It also makes it hard to get into, and can be hard to follow for someone who isn’t a devout viewer. The show can be slow and there’s a lot to take in and get through, but the payoff is one of the most captivating stories on television.
20th May 2012
Notes: 1
Mad Men’s characters are more true to life than any others on TV because they’re so random, inscrutable, and mysterious, and because there’s no propulsive generic master narrative (the building of a gangster coalition, the completion of a stretch of railroad track, the creation of an innovative drug cartel) on which to string their decisions, revelations, and misfortunes. People do things and have things done to them while history rolls invisibly forward. Some of the show’s plot twists are out-of-nowhere melodramatic, and Weiner has a flair for turning subtext into text (while every major character commits deceptions and struggles with identity issues, Don is literally an impostor). But calling Mad Men a high-toned soap opera isn’t accurate, because when soap characters announce their motivations and analyze their impulses, we’re usually supposed to take whatever they say at face value. On Mad Men, explanatory speeches and dream sequences tend to muddy motivation rather than clarify it.
I hope I don’t show up on some kind of list for saying this, but Bobcat Goldthwait’s new film “God Bless America” looks like my wet dream. Also, it stars Freddy Rumsen (Joel Murray), the greatest man to ever play Mozart on the fly of his pants. It’s the way Mozart would have wanted it.
Community - “Physical Education” - Season 1, Episode 17
When Abed was hitting on Annie (Alison Brie) as Don Draper, wouldn’t it have been more fitting if he had tried to pick her up as Pete Campbell?
Two of my favorite shows are airing their 4th season premieres at the same time on the same night: Mad Men and My Boys, on Sunday, at 10pm. I think people know a lot more about Mad Men, given the ubiquitous billboards all around town, and it’s had a lot more exposure. It’s still a fantastic show, and I love it, and I love it, because it wasn’t enough to say it once.
My Boys, however, is an underrated sitcom that I don’t feel is marketed correctly. It centers around a woman who is friends with mostly guys and only one other female, and I understand that doesn’t sound so appealing at face value. If you delve further and actually WATCH the series, you’ll notice the friend dynamic and dialogue is really natural without sacrificing humor.
They seem to market this as a show oriented towards women - hence last year’s awful ad campaign where they played Sixpence None The Richer over clips - but I think it should appeal to men as well, considering most of the subjects the characters talk about are typically masculine; sports, women, drinking. Or maybe it’s too low-key for your taste. In that case, go enjoy your reruns of Two And A Half Men. *vomits*
It really kills me that TBS gives My Boys the backseat to all those shitty Tyler Perry “sitcoms”. TBS, you’ve hired Conan, now I hope you get the rest of your priorities straight.
