Mad Men Season 6: Episodes 1-4-Don's an Asshole!

Guys, I want to talk about this season of Mad Men so far. I haven't seen the last two episodes, so this is basically a rant about the first four episodes. I guess the problem I have with this season is that my sympathy for Don has more or less dwindled away. In the first seasons it was obvious that he wasn't, exactly, a good person but I had some remaining good feelings towards his character. He seemed like someone who was trying to 'figure things out'. Granted, he should have maybe figured that shit out sooner, but, hey. I'm 25 and still waitressing, years after I wanted to have my career underway (soon, guys, soon!) Anyway, I digress. Recently I was listening to "The Ones Who Knock" podcast, about Breaking Bad. In one of the episodes, the comment is made by David Chen that there was one specific moment where he lost all sympathies towards Walter White, where Walter White ceased completely to be a protagonist and was now a character that needed to be destroyed. For me that moment came in regards to Don Draper this season, when him and Sylvia are out to dinner and she asks him what they are doing, and he replies coldly. Sylvia is right, he does seem to be taking some perverse pleasure in humiliating both of their spouses, specifically Megan. But, while, I think audiences feel sorry for Megan, she's also a hard character to root for. She's terribly naive and there's something disconcerting about that. Don was dating someone else when he proposed to her and yet she doesn't seem suspicious at all. She seems to believe that Don truly loves her and she really believes that he will be jealous of her kissing another man (on her soap opera) because he loves her, not because he's an abusive control freak. But, even though it's hard to feel sorry for Megan, I have to wonder if this show is making excuses for Don's behaviour. What I mean is that although Betty and Megan (and all of Don's other women) are flawed to be sure, does that mean that Don is allowed to treat them badly? Don is an anti hero, sure, but isn't he one we are supposed to root for? I know there is a lot of unbridled vitriol towards Betty but I've always liked her. Certainly, as I said, there are a lot of bad things to say about her but in the end she's always been, to me at least, just a flawed woman. Just as Don is flawed, but Don is a protagonist and these women are....hated. To be honest, I don't know if Mad Men is sexist, I know that we aren't intended to share or support Don's treatment of women, but there' still something unsettling about the way he treats women like whores. So far he has paid Sylvia for sex, more or less and directly called Megan a prostitute. Maybe the problem is me. Watching Breaking Bad is easy because the bad things the characters do are so far removed from daily life. Mad Men on the other hand depicts people treating each other badly in a day to day way and somehow that's uncomfortable. Maybe that's a good thing though?

Now for things I liked:
Trudy kicking Pete out was hilarious!
Kieran Shipka is as fabulous as ever.
Joan can really do no wrong in my eyes, even though she kind of is a grade A bitch.
And last but not least, if you haven't seen the Mad Men on Facebook recaps, seriously, check them out HERE.


Picture sources:   Mad  Men Megan

Friday Fall TV Recap

Friday, 28 October 2011


It's that time again, time for new TV shows and, maybe it is just me but does it seem like there are inordinate amount of new shows this fall? Anyway, I've been watching pilots, (it feels like a million!) and catching up on old favourites, so in lieu of a film review, I bring you a fall TV Recap.

Community is back for a third season and as hilarious as ever. So far Community has taken on sci-fi/alternate universes/the UN/film noir and Glee. It has also informed us that Cougar Town has been moved to mid-season (I'm so depressed, I love Cougar Town). The Big Bang Theory is back and although I still watch this, I have to say, this show loves stomping over old ground and sticks to cliches like I stick to my Junior Mints. Covert Affairs starts again in November and, I mainly watch this show to laugh at it and admire the clothing choices, nonetheless, I can't wait.

Hart of Dixie-This show is so cheesy it makes cheese look, er, uncheesy. Okay, I got a bit lost there but anyway, this show is about a doctor (Rachel Bilson) who is forced to relocate to a small town stuck in a time warp. They are not really stuck in a time warp, but, er, are small towns in the States really like this? Someone please notify me if this is factual. Basically, I'm not sure I am going to keep watching this. One, I have no time and two, I hate the premise that ALL PEOPLE MUST LOVE SMALL TOWNS OR ELSE YOU ARE A SELF RIGHTEOUS AND A POMPOUS ARSE AND NOT A REAL AMERICAN. I am not a real American, being Canadian and all but you get my drift. I live in a small town and I do not like it. Some people are just city people. Ok, rant over. 

Pan Am-There are so many things about this show I love! 60's Costumes? Check. Cold war? Check. Christina Ricci? Check. Airplanes/Airports/International Travel? Check. There is no doubt that this show is filling the void left by Mad Men and/or following in it's footsteps, however, I have to say, although it is a more light hearted version I am impressed both visually and by the writing. A few episodes in and the characters are well crafted, well dressed and I am compulsively downloading the next episode. Also, someone told me I do my make-up like the French girl. Yes! I am tres chic!

Prime Suspect-Part of me feels like, yes, I love Maria Bello and Aidan Quinn and I have the hugest crush ever on Kirk Acevedo. I mean, come on, look at these two.

But another part of me is like, UGH, not another cop show. There are so many already and how many variations of rape/stabnation/gang killings are there? But, as I am a proponent of judging shows/movies/etc. based on the genre in which they belong, Prime Suspect, is a good cop show, so far. Maria Bello kicks arse on so many levels. However, he struggles to fit in with her unsupportive coworkers could get stagnant and heavy handed if not carefully managed by the writers/directors.

Once Upon A Time-This show's publicity team must be the hardest working TV publicity team EVER, this show is so hyped it's no wonder the pilot was a bit of a let down. Ok, I am fully going to keep watching because pilot's are not usually the best, especially on a show like this. Once Upon A Time is brought to us by LOST writers so I am hoping for a cracked out show which will go on for years and eventually offer up a half-arsed and semi-religious explanation for all this. However, the gist is that all the characters in a small town called "Storybrooke" or something to that effect, are part of a fairy-tale only they don't notice it because they have been put under the spell of an evil witch and her smoke monster blue and green smoke cloud. I'm not really sure if the point is that they come from some other timeline/dimension, or the fairy tale was supposed to have happened hundreds of years ago in which case-do these people just keep living the same lives over and over again and not notice that they have iPhones now? They can only become unstuck from time when the daughter (Jennifer Morrison) of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) is brought back to town and the final smackdown  war can begin. When she arrives the clock is at 8.15 (LOST shout out) but then it moves when she decides to say. So...has it been 8.15 for an indefinite amount of time? And does no one notice this? These are just some of the questions/plot holes left by the Once Upon A Time pilot, but I kind of feel like saying-what part of LOST writers didn't we understand?

Pictures from: Here, Here Here, Here Here and Here