Was Mad Men’s Season 4 Finale a fitting close to a spectacular season? You bet. And one that moved us quickly through the growing pains of the new business, and the renewed lives of the characters we love. Some managed to uncover new versions of themselves, or as Don might say, at least they’re trying. […]
Mad Men: Sand, Sex, and Chinks in the Chinese Wall
A touch of sand It’s just an innocent ride home from Jones Beach, right? A little bit of sand clinging to Peggy’s skin. A crowded car. Peggy is jammed onto Abe’s lap as he strokes her arm, brushing off the sand. Is that sunburn on her face, or the undeniable color of chemistry? Right. They […]
Mixing My Martini, Musing on My Mad Men. . .
What day of the week is it across the country? Mad Men Day, of course. And while it isn’t quite evening yet, it’s approaching cocktail hour in my neck of the woods. Why not get a jump on the festivities? I’ve had a productive weekend, albeit sans my favorite role as provocateur, or should I […]
Precarious Pairings: Mad Men Episode 10 (Hands and Knees)
A couple, embracing in a moment of intimacy. Both are seemingly on the same page, sure of their world, their judgments of others. Pete and Trudy share a moment. “Just remember. Everything’s good here,” she says, as her husband proudly rubs her pregnant belly. In an episode of Mad Men where our favorite characters find […]
Beautiful Girls Make Fascinating Fodder: Mad Men Season 4 Episode 9
Sure, they’re beautiful. Joanie, Peggy, Faye – even little Sally Draper who may be a child, but seems increasingly well-versed in the ways of the world. She isn’t Betty’s daughter for nothing. Mad Men’s “The Beautiful Girls” follows two dynamite episodes, and wriggles its way through with the usual dramatic turns and a healthy hint […]
The Inner World: Mad Men Seduces Us Again
Just when I think the mood, the storytelling, the performances, the surprise of it all can’t get any better – I am seduced. Again. Last evening’s Mad Men took on Don’s inner world – not through observation – but inner dialog, supplemented by various views of our hero as the summer of 1965 begins. Who […]
Why You Should Be Watching Mad Men (Especially if You’re a Woman)
The heart of the matter All those sayings… about a woman’s place, about a woman’s power, about the capacities – and limitations – that are inherently female. Must I really enumerate them? Can’t you rattle them off in your head? They’ve been planted there since you were a child, you know – whether you’re 30 […]
Why We Love Our Television Heroes: Mad Men Episode 6
Bigger than life. Flashy. Flawed. Cagey, corrupt, capricious. We love our television heroes, and our anti-heroes. Big screen or small screen, we escape into fictional lives, finding points in common, or nothing in common at all. Mad Men is the perfect example of this phenomenon, as the Emmy award winning drama – again, just last […]
Mad Men Episode 5: The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
It’s a morality tale, and all about shame. About warfare and its aftermath, honor and its value, private shame according to cultural standards of the times, and personal experiences of shame. In Mad Men‘s Season 4 Episode 5, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, we feel the weight of the 1960s heavily; World Wart II is […]
Mad Men Season 4 Episode 4: The Rejection
Mad Men continues to do what it does best, revealing characters in all their complexity. “The Rejection” is filled with nifty elements which seed future story lines as bad news transforms into opportunities for some, and drives others into deeper despair. Of course, we don’t yet know which paths our favorite characters will take as […]