Nov 17, 2009 0
Conventional wisdom on Mad Men is that there are two sides of the main character: 1) Don, the smooth-talker who sleeps around and plays it cool, and 2) Dick, the defenseless country boy who shies away during confrontations and altogether seems weak. I reject the distinction.
Nov 11, 2009 1
There’s a risk of expecting too much from the fourth season — there are so many possibilities that whatever path Weiner ends up taking will be disappointing. I’ll leave the specific possibilities for later in the discussion. Right now, I just want to commend Matthew Weiner for taking the leap and recognizing that this show was in danger of becoming too static for its own good.
Aug 27, 2009 2
I’m not sure I want Mad Men to do more episodes like “Love Among the Ruins,” but I think it’s almost necessary for a show to become a little less focused in its third season. The third season is an odd period between initial success and the homestretch, a time when writers realize they don’t have to use all their best ideas in order to get renewed. I don’t mean to suggest that people only write well to ensure their show keeps getting picked up, but there’s a natural tendency to start stretching plots out a bit more once everyone realizes the show isn’t at risk of dying any minute.
Aug 12, 2009 3
Mad Men stands out from similarly well-regarded series in that very little seems to happen in each episode and season. Compared to a show like The Sopranos, it appears to lumber along with all the narrative excitement of Antiques Roadshow. Even the show’s most ardent supporters would have to admit that it moves slowly. At the same time, a quick rundown of each season’s plot makes it sound like a soap opera. How do we reconcile the experience of watching Mad Men with its incongruous plot summaries?
