Feb 7, 2011 2
In “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons,” the Community study group treats D&D like a legitimate social event rather than a sideshow. But this show being this show, the event is couched in various layers of irony that ultimately will make the episode more remembered for its riff on quest narratives than as the one in which Fat Neil regains his self-esteem and finds a reason to live.
Jan 12, 2011 0
This year, my New Year’s resolutions were based less on introspection and more on watching an inordinate number of infomercials during Christmas break. Did I want to shake my way into shape in the new year? Yes! Was I interested in burning away unwanted hair? Absolutely! Would I like to miraculously earn wealth without risk? [...]
Sep 15, 2010 0
I’m not sure “The Summer Man” was a great episode because things happened. Instead, it was an hour full of aesthetic risks. Mad Men has always existed primarily from Don’s point of view, most clearly through flashbacks, but we’ve rarely been guided through an episode by his words. Until “The Summer Man,” that is, where we were basically treated to a series of variations on the justly praised “Carousel” speech from the first-season finale. These were some of the best scenes the series has ever done.
Aug 23, 2010 2
So SCDP acts like they’re making a TV commercial to bankrupt the rival company, except they’re not, and Don brings a motorcycle into the office to show the commercial director, and the commercial director reports back to the rival company, and they make an ad, and the Japanese apparently don’t like it, but they do like Don because he’s handsome and honorable and doesn’t want to be part of their bake-off. Everything turns out great for SCDP in the end! Someone call up Ari Gold so they can hug it out!
Aug 17, 2010 0
Pete Campbell has always been Mad Men’s most enigmatic character. That may seem like an odd statement given that Don Draper’s whole character is structured as an enigma, but there are key differences between Don and Pete that make the latter much more difficult to pin down. Don, for all his mystery and deadpan stares into the distance, remains a relatively easy character to place into the larger Mad Men world. Pete is complicated in a way that suggests Matthew Weiner and Co. don’t really know what to do with him.
