Mad Men

I could wax poetic about this show for days and days, but I won't.  In brief, I think it is one of the best written, best acted shows that has ever been on television.  It amazes me that there are still people at the time of this post being written, August 2010, who have never even heard of it. 

Mad Men is the story of advertising executives in the 1960s, but that is really just the setting.

Our hero, or anti-hero depending on your point of view, is Don Draper, aka Jon Hamm.  Don is fairly typical for a 1960s creative director.  He drinks.  A lot.  He smokes.  A lot.  He is cynical and very very good at his job.  He has affairs that trouble his conscience not a bit.  He has a beautiful wife, two lovely children, a house in Ossining, NY, and the world by the tail.  Or so it seems at first glance.  Once we get to know Don, which is a feat in itself, we see that nothing in his life is as it appears.  A minor spoiler for those who have never seen the show .. his name isn't even Don Draper.  As a woman in 2010, I should despise Don and all that he does and stands for, but I don't.  I do not condone his many mistakes and poor judgment, but I find myself cheering for him and wanting things to work out for him.  A few episodes into Season 4, and they haven't started to work out for him yet.  But I'm hopeful.

In my opinion, the other star of the show is Peggy Olson, aka Elisabeth Moss.  This is Peggy as she appears at the beginning of the show's run, sweet, girlish, and young.  But look in those eyes.  There is so much more there.  She starts off as Don's secretary, but when she proves to have a brain and some wit, is promoted to a copywriter.  A woman copywriter.  She's one of the first.  Peggy is intelligent, funny, kind, and loyal, but she is also ambitious.  She wants more than what most would consider her lot in life.  She's also a little naive and innocent in Season 1, and there are some truly life altering events that occur. 

Pete Campbell, aka Vincent Kartheiser, is the smarmy little backstabbing office asshole that everybody loves to hate.  At the start of the series, he is engaged and just days away from being married when he has a drunken one-night-stand with one of the secretaries.  He craves Don's approval but doesn't hesitate to try to stab Don in the back to curry favor with the founding partner of the agency.  Pete is an upper-class WASP and is just as snobby as you might imagine.  As is the case with almost every character on this show, there is more to Pete.  It takes a while to get beyond the image he presents to the world, but I've come to like Pete very much.

Betty Draper, aka January Jones, has it all.  She's a beautiful former model from an upper-class, privileged background.  She's married to the very handsome Don, and keeps house for him and their two lovely children.  She has Carla, the maid to help keep her house tidy, to help cook, and to help with the children.  She rides her horse at least once a week, gossips with her friends, and is in general, the envy of all.  So why is she so unhappy?  Because being a housewife in the early 60s feels like a trap to a lot of women, and being married to Don is no picnic.  She's self-centered, selfish, cold to her children, and not a little crazy.  It is all the rage to hate Betty for some of the decisions she makes, but I feel for her.  I don't always like her, but don't hate her.

Joan Holloway aka Christine Hendricks is the office manager at Sterling Cooper.  She's beautiful and intelligent and knows where all the bodies are buried.  She had an affair with Roger Sterling that apparently lasted several years, but she never expected him to leave his wife. Joan is much too smart for that.  She was definitely looking for Mr. Right when the series began, and thought she found him in a handsome surgical resident, but again, things weren't as the seemed.  Most of the employees of Sterling Cooper are in awe and a little afraid of Joan, and she likes it that way.

Roger Sterling, aka John Slattery, is the son of the man who, along with Bert Cooper, founded Sterling Cooper.  He is a partner and his main job seems to be schmoozing with clients, especially his number one client, Lucky Strike.  Roger is married to Mona but, like Don, sleeps around.  He also smokes and drinks a lot, and his health has suffered as a result.  Slattery reportedly wanted the role of Don, and showrunner Matt Weiner told him that Don had already been cast, but that if he would accept the role of Roger, he would make it up to him.  He has done so by having the writers give Roger all the best lines. 

There are lots of other characters, in and out of the offices of Sterling Cooper.  Please, do yourself a favor and watch this show from Season 1, Episode 1.  If you watch the first season and don't think it's one of the best shows that has ever been on television, I'll buy you a jelly donut.

For the record, I have not read the many books upon which this show is based.  My comments relate only to what I've seen on t.v.  However, I do have the books on my Barnes & Noble wish list should anyone care to be kind and give them to me.

I will admit to becoming a fan of this show only recently.  I've never been a fan of vampire stories, and was working at Comcast when the show first aired, and the posters with the blood dripping from those giant red lips really put me off.  However, the Facebook buzz was so prevalent for Season 3 I decided to check it out.  I am so glad that I did.  It is nothing like I expected. 

First of all, it is very funny.  The show and it's characters have a subtle, dry wit that I enjoy.  Second of all, the vampires are nothing like those wimpy douchebag vampires of "Twilight" fame.  These are real vampires.  For the most part, they want to feed on humans, despite the invention of the synthetic Tru Blood.   They are violent, scary/sexy, and do not care about the feelings of humans.  

Let's talk about our cast of characters, shall we?

 

Sookie Stackhouse, Human?, aka Anna Paquin. 

Sookie lives in Bon Temps, LA, and is your average, run-of-the-mill waitress at Merlotte's.  Like most young women her age, she is in love with a vampire, can read minds, and has the ability to shoot light out of her hands that can repel all manner of supernatural beings.  She's sweet as sugar, tough as nails, and should she and Bill ever call it quits for good, will not go the way of Bella in "Twilight" and physically and emotionally shut down for months on end.  She'll look at her Bill & Sookie scrapbook, cry, and then move on with her life.  I like her.

Bill Compton, Vampire, aka Stephen Moyer

Bill can best be described as an Officer (in the Confederate Army) and a Gentleman, as well as a vampire.  He's all Southern courtliness and charm, unless he thinks something is threatening someone he cares for, then the fangs come out.  He and Sookie met at Merlotte's after Bill decided to return home to Bon Temps and to try to live in the open as a vampire.  She saved his life, he saved her life, and it's been all up and down hill ever since. 

Eric Northman, Vampire, aka Alexander Skarsgard

Eric is 1,000 years old, give or take 50 years.  He was a Viking when he was human, and his family was slaughtered by werewolves under the control of a vampire.  He's been a tortured soul ever since, and sort of the ultimate bad boy.  He feeds on humans, and in general believes them to be inferior beings.  He is drawn to Sookie, but it is unclear if his feelings are genuine, or if he is simply interested in finding out the nature of Sookie's powers and using them to his own advantage. 

Jason Stackhouse, Human, aka Ryan Kwanten

Jason Stackhouse is Sookie's brother.  He's sweet and loyal, but not the brightest bulb in the pack.  He does not appear to possess any of Sookie's powers, but is in possession of a body that is no more than 5% body fat, which is a kind of super power itself.  In the past he has cultivated a well-deserved reputation as a stud, but now longs for more than that out of life. 

Tara Thornton, Human, aka Rutina Wesley

Tara has been Sookie's best friend since childhood.  She had it pretty tough, growing up, taking care of her alcoholic mother.  This has given her a short fuse at times, especially with 'stupid people'.  Her job as a bartender at Merlotte's provides her with ample opportunity to vent.  She's nursed a long-time crush on Jason Stackhouse, but has had relationships with a man who was under the control of a beautiful, evil supernatural being, and a consensual then NOT consensual relationship with a vampire name Franklin.  To put it mildly and simplistically, Tara has issues.

Lafayette Reynolds, Human, aka Nelsan Ellis

Lafayette is a flamboyant, charismatic homosexual man. Although partaking in very illegal activities, he's a good person at heart.  He is Tara's cousin, and the short order cook at Merlotte's.  Like most characters on the show, he has had his share of troubles in the past, first and foremost having a schizophrenic mother.  He was selling "V", which is vampire blood.  This is definitely an illegal substance and humans can easily become addicted with very bad results.  Eric kidnapped and tortured him because he was a "V" dealer, and Lafayette decided to stop, but was then forced back into the trade by none other than Eric.  Confused yet?  Lafayette is good people.

Sam Merlotte, Shape Shifter, aka Sam Trammell

Sam is the owner of Merlotte's, where most of the characters either work or hang out.  He is a shape shifter, which means he take assume the shape of almost anything, as long as he has imprinted with it.  Mostly, he takes the form of a dog.  Sam had feelings for Sookie for a long time but never let her know.  Just as he was about to tell all, she met Bill and it was too late.  Sam is a really nice guy, almost too nice.  His employees push him around and take advantage of him.  He had an affair with Tara, then with a waitress who turned out to be under the control of the same beautiful, evil supernatural being that controlled Tara's boyfriend.  He has recently discovered his birth parents and younger brother, and they are adding a lot of excitement to his life.

There are, of course, many more characters on the show.  Humans, vampires, werewolves, shape shifters, and other assorted supernatural beings.  If you haven't seen this show but this entry has made you interested, I highly recommend starting with Season 1 and watching it all unfold. 

What this blog is all about

Why it's about t.v. of course.  I love t.v.  As a child of the 60s, I grew up watching t.v.  A lot of t.v.  My parents both worked outside the home, and I was the youngest and left to entertain myself quite a bit.  Now, I spent a lot of time outside, and I loved to read at a very young age, but I also watched a lot of t.v.  Everything from Saturday morning cartoons, to Tubby & Lester in the mornings before school to Academy Award Theatre on WTCG Channel 17 Atlanta (before Ted Turner re-named it WTBS) to 60 Minutes on Sunday night with my mom.

I plan to blog about shows that I love, like, and even hate.  There will be no rhyme or reason to the posts.  I'm just going to blog about shows as they occur to me.  I hope someone besides me enjoys this blog.