News ranging from awesome to depressing

Lots of interesting TV tidbits this week, ranging from stories that induce expletives of joy, to ones that induce expletives of severe anger.

Let's start with the mind-blowingly good news: DON DRAPER MAY BE COMING TO 30 ROCK. Yes, according to Ausiello at EW, Jon Hamm may be joining the show for a multi-episode arc as a love interest for Liz Lemon. What have we done right to deserve this?

Also exciting is the announcement that Reiko Aylesworth, who played Michelle on 24 for a while, is coming to Lost, which, while we're on the topic, is coming back with a two hour premiere on Wednesday, January 21. Mark your calenders/DVRs.

But alas, all is not well in TV land. One of the finest shows on TV perches on the edge of cancellation and things look bleaker for it by the day. The silver lining? PD overseer Bryan Fuller said in an interview that if the show is canceled, he'd come back to work for Heroes. Fuller wrote for Heroes in season one (the good season) and was responsible for Company Man, which is pretty easily the best hour that show has ever produced. Of course, I'd rather have more Pushing Daisies (and I'm beginning to think that Heroes may be beyond fixing), but its good to know that Fuller will have something to do should the worst happen.

But the worst news of all may be about a show that hasn't even debuted yet. Fox announced their January schedule and among the news was the fact that Dollhouse will be moving to Fridays along with ratings challenged Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Dollhouse is the new Joss Whedon TV show and, after seeing Fox mistreat Firefly, its not very reassuring to see them give Dollhouse the exact same timeslot, a time which is normally death for TV shows. Add to that the fact that Dollhouse scraped its pilot and shot a new one (just like Firefly) and I'm beginning to get the feeling that this show may not last more than six episodes.

Alright, I'll post one more Mad Men parody

Because you guys asked so nicely:



You like cigarettes huh? Well here's all the cigarettes in the world!!!

Mad Men - "Mediations in an Emergency"

It was a little over a year ago that Don Draper sold himself on the domestic fantasy promised by the wheel. This season has been largely about how that choice failed to satisfy either him or Betty. But after some soul-searching on the West Coast, he's come home.

Meanwhile, Betty's got what we've seen Pete and Trudy agonize over for a year: a baby on the way. And she can't handle it. So she goes horseback riding, and drinks, and smokes, and even considers taking a trip to Albany.

Its rare that these characters find themselves in a true life-or-death situation, but that's exactly where they are in "Meditations in an Emergency." The big emergency, of course, is the Cuban Missile Crisis. Mad Men can be criticized a lot for its somewhat winking inclusion of historical events and period trivia. But this was not one of those cases. It served as the perfect backdrop for the internal turmoil and arms races the characters were engaged in and really felt like something this season had been building towards.

Seeing Don return from L.A. was exciting and energizing, even if he was coming back to a world in chaos. The scene where Roger tells him they're selling the company was just so good. Roger coming close but not quite apologizing, Don coming close but not quite lashing out.

Meanwhile, his domestic world is also upside down, as Betty scorns him at the equestrian park. She does allow him to spend an evening with the children, setting up the reversal we've all seen coming. As Don spends a quiet night watching the children and arranging food for them, coming as close to being the domestic figure that we've ever really seen, Betty hits the town: drinking, smoking, and fucking. Was this a rebellion? An attempt to stop herself from making the choice she didn't want to make? Or did Betty want to get into the head of Don and see what its like to live his life? The news that she was pregnant was a sudden and surprising (to me, anyway) as Peggy's discovery last season (if not as dramatic) and it seemed to represent as much of a watershed moment for her. By accepting this baby, Betty has to climb back into the picture of suburban life she's found so unfulfilling. But the alternative doesn't seem any better.

At the office, Pete is forced to choose between the calculating career advancement that has so defined him, and his need for approval from his surrogate father figure. Its Don's (seemingly insincere) words of encourage that get the better of Duck's slimy ambition and, ultimately, Pete's neediness seems to have caused him to trip into making the right decision. The confidence it gave him led to his true moment of maturation, something to bookend the loss of his father earlier.

All season, we've seen Peggy struggle with her decision, and in an emergency, when they're told they are close to going to hell, people make crazy, impetuous decisions. Which is why I admire Peggy even more after this episode and its knockout penultimate scene between her and Pete. Finally, the truth comes out. Pete realizes he's made the wrong decision and wants Peggy to take him back. And Peggy offers everything that he's been missing: a compatible person who understands him and, of course, can have children with him. But Peggy made her choice and its gotten her more fulfillment and opened so many more doors for her. Peggy doesn't need to compromise on an awkward man-child and she doesn't regret not doing it earlier. Her message to Pete - it was never your choice, it was mine - was crushingly honest. It was emotional a moment that we've had on this show and I imagine Pete will be very different in season three.

Meanwhile, the climactic Don-Duck showdown was just amazing. Duck's obnoxious cockiness as he accepted the presidency of Sterling-Cooper and then proceeded to lay out a vision of bland corporate homogenization made his comeuppance that much sweeter. Duck sees creative as a bunch of sensitive, needy obstacles. His vision is of a world of numbers and dollars and cold efficiency, which makes it all the better that the one variable he missed was the trust and friendship between Don and Roger. Don's angry rebuke of Duck was amazing, and then the moment where he dropped the no contract bombshell was just perfect. By the end of that meeting, it was clear to Duck and the new buyers what's been clear to everyone since episode one: Don is Sterling Cooper.

So Don returns from a triumph at work to resume his dream life with Betty. And Betty accepts that life too, telling Don that she's pregnant with another child. But what's noticeable as they sit on the couch and watch TV is the space between them and the resigned expressions on their face.

This ending is not about trying to create your own memories, its about growing up and accepting what you have, however draining and empty it might be, because its your responsibility to do so. It seems cruel to end the season with so many open questions - what's next for Don and Betty, will everyone keep their jobs, where does Pete go from here - but then if we learned anything from this episode, its that we can't really understand what happens in an emergency until long after its over.

A

Don Draper on SNL

Hey everyone,

Mike and I have returned in one piece from the Big Apple. I'm still catching up on stuff, so its going to be a bit before my review of Mad Men is up. In the meantime, in case you missed it, here's two choice MM-related sketches from Jon Hamm's turn as SNL host.

First is a helpful guide on how to be like Don Draper:



They also did a straight MM parody, which I thought was almost perfect. I saw almost because I HATE the A-Holes. They're not funny at all and I think here they ruin an otherwise spot-on Mad Men parody. However, I especially enjoyed Will Forte's Pete and Casey Wilson's Joan. I'm not sure about that new girl they got to play Peggy, though...



Bonus Political Impressions:

From the Thursday show, the two best SNL political impressions of the last decade, side-by-side:

Mad Men - "The Mountain King"

So Don Draper had a wife too. And we now know that she's the same person who our Don sent the copy of Meditations in an Emergency to. I thought this week was a little more on the nose than we've seen out of the show normally (and certainly a great deal more than last week's endlessly awesome and bizarre episode), but I still liked it a lot more than others.

I think my biggest problem was that, while the stuff with Anna was interesting and necessary, it was kind of a chore to get through, especially given that Don was missing out on the action at Sterling Cooper. I recognize that for story reasons, they wanted to take Don out of there while the merger went through, but it was still very frustrating. I liked the flashbacks a great deal more than the real time action (especially that first one), but I can understand feeling a little force-fed.

For me, the most interesting action happened back in New York, with the contrasting paths of Peggy and Joan coming into direct focus. Starting with Joan, who was in pretty much the hardest scene to watch this show has done. Her assault really put into focus what a true asshole that doctor is. Joan's getting older and, sadly, there don't seem to be any options left for her. The shot of Joan's dead eyes staring at the furniture has to be one of the saddest things I've seen on this show. Looking at the blank trappings of the office orthodoxy, you can see the realization hit her that because of the values of society, there's no way out for her. The Mad Men society has reduced Joan to just another piece of furniture. And then, to add insult to injury, she finds Peggy moving into the office next to Don. That conversation was probably the high point of the episode, highlighting Peggy's status as a sort of bizarro Joan. Peggy rejected the notion that women are simply objects and somehow managed to get her own office. Joan may be able to pretend she's excited and happy about marriage, but secretly its her who's envious of Peggy's life.

And then there was Pete, whose marital problems seem to be coming to a head. I'm not sure how this is all going to shake out, and I thought for sure Peggy was going to come clean with him at the end there. Alas, it was not to be, although their scene was all kinds of awesome. There was also Betty who had her moment of growing up in yet another not-very-subtle moment in this episode. I felt sorry for the daughter though.

So that's where we stand as we head to the finale. Given how great this season has been, I'm sure the finale will rock hard. Its kind of sad to see such an outstanding run coming to an end.

B+

P.S. The good news is that the show has been renewed for another season. The bad news is that Matthew Weiner hasn't signed on for that season yet. I'm sure AMC won't let him go though.

Mad Men - "The Jet Set"

So, this was rather strange. That was my first thought upon concluding "The Jet Set." Even by the standards of a show that has gotten so good at focusing on the bizarre minutia of everyday life, this episode was quite beguiling. Appropriate, for an episode that seems to be focused on throwing Don so far out of his comfort zone.

Picking up where we left off last week, Don and Pete end up in LA for a conference, although things don't heat up until about 20 minutes in, when Don attended a seminar about new developments in rocket engineering. And damn, was that a good scene. Watching Don watch as military men explained how much closer they were coming to ending the world made it a lot easier to understand why Don went along with Joy. Joy, for her part, managed to beat Don at his own game, asking him "why would you deny yourself something you want," a line that could come straight out of a creative pitch meeting. I'll admit to not being entirely clear on the whole situation in that house in Palm Springs, but its clear that Don's having a difficult time coping without Betty and, no matter how hard he tries, there's a big hole waiting to be filled.

Meanwhile, Sterling Cooper also had to deal with some changes, courtesy of that new guy who Don hired. He turned out to be openly gay (he's from Europe. Its different there) and we got to see just enough of Salvatore to know that really shook him up. However, the focus of that story was really on Peggy, who got a makeover that seemed at least to catch Pete's attention. The Pete/Peggy dynamic has been really interesting this year and I have to think its all building up to something (especially given that the preview made it look like Pete and Trudy are having troubles next week).

And there's Duck. After spending most of the season being annoying, it was nice to see him get a storyline, albeit one where he's evil. I was less surprised by Duck's maneuvering than by Roger and Bert's willingness to go along with it. Do they need money? Is this what they had in mind? Of course, no matter what, this move likely spells trouble for Don, who has been clashing with Duck all year.

But just when it seemed like Duck's scheming would be the biggest development of the episode, we got that absolute stunner of an ending. "Its Dick Whitman," said Don, causing me to literally yell "What!" at the TV. Unfulfilled by home life, Don found himself falling back into his old patterns. But that life is no longer feasible for him and now Don finds himself clinging onto whatever he can find and recognize. Partying with collegues isn't doing it. Hooking up with random women isn't doing it. Whoever Don's turned to, its clearly a port of last resort for him. And I can't wait to see who or what it is.

Its rare that even a good episode of a TV show can be rewatched a number of times without losing some of its impact. However, The Jet Set demands revisiting. It is a complicated hour of television, jammed full of thematic and character complications that can't possibly be unpacked in an hour. I've spent the last day unable to shake the implications and nuances of this episode, and it will likely be a long time before I can fully decode it. With just two episodes left, its hard to see how Mad Men can get any better, but I have faith that they'll continue to wow us.

A

Mad Men - "The Inheritance"

So I missed recapping last week's Mad Men, which is too bad because it was my favorite episode of the season. In brief, there were about a half dozen truly incredible moments, my favorite probably being Don giving Jimmy a well-deserved punch to his face (also, they showed that Menken's bag three times! Was it foreshadowing, or just a shout-out for the fans?). It was an A episode all the way, which makes The Inheritance kind of a letdown.

Betty goes to visit at the worst time ever and it turns out that her father is in pretty bad shape. She also makes Don come along, forcing the two to interact for what is probably the longest period of time since they separated. Meanwhile, Pete and Trudy want to adopt, but Pete's mother threatens to cut them off if they do. And there's a baby shower for Harry. And creepy Glenn from season one comes back. All in all it was a lot of weight for this episode to carry and its easy to understand how it might falter. And frankly, there was so much going on in the episode that I got a little lost. Its clear though, that these are all connected by the idea of inheritance. Not the inheritance of things, but the inheritance of a way of life that none of them seem particularly thrilled with. Harry's dealing with the arrival of a child and a loss of the kind of freedom he used to enjoy. Its entirely possible that Don's story is Harry 10 or so years from now. And meanwhile, the same pressures that have pushed Pete to consider adoption are also now taking that away as an option.

This episode seems like a grower. Indeed, thinking about it has improved it in my head and maybe watching it again would make it seem even better. However after two episodes that showed just how good Mad Men can be, this one seemed to be a little off in terms of cohesion and flow. Next week promises Don and Pete in California, an idea which looks very interesting on paper, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

B+

Mad Men - "A Night to Remember"

So after last week's fireworks display, Mad Men managed to keep its momentum and come with another mind-blowingly awesome episode.

Let's start with Peggy, who said my favorite line of the episode, "this is how it works and I'm better than them." Peggy's always been my favorite character, and it was good to see her back in action, even if it was in a smaller plotline. Her scene with the angry church women was awesome and her moment in the office was powerful. However, I'm not sure how sold I am on this priest storyline. I trust the writers that its going somewhere (and that when it gets there it will be awesome) but for now it seems like there are other directions I'd be more interested in seeing them take her.

On to Joan, who is indeed "so much woman" (Warren, the person responsible for that line which could just as easily have come from the forums at TWOP, is my new favorite character). Joan followed in Peggy's footsteps by being given an advertising assignment from the frazzled Harry. And she excelled at it, until she lost her position. Joan's been floating around a lot of these ideas all season (she's getting older and in need of a boost of self-worth) and its nice to see this start to really develop.

But of course the big action of this episode was with the Drapers, as poor Betty tried dealing with last week's events the same way she did in season 1: by suppressing her feelings. But that isn't working anymore and the result is her finally standing up to Don. That scene was probably January Jones' best work so far (she tends to get overshadowed by the other women) and it was a long time coming. Noel at the AV Club makes an interesting point: that maybe she was angrier at realizing how calculating Don really is: everything's a pitch with him. That's an interesting idea, but given the historical time period we're dealing with, I think what we're seeing is Betty starting to wake up to her own independence. She's seeing less and less of a reason why she has to put up with Don's shenanigans.

Grade: A-

Mad Men Stuff

Hey everyone,

Don't worry, Mike and I haven't forgotten you, we've just been going crazy in England. When it starts, I'm going to be writing up recaps of Mad Men (as well as Psych), so this post seems pertnent:

According to Matthew Weiner, Mad Men is designed to go 5 seasons, taking Donald Draper and the crew to 1969. This gives him the opportunity to start each season's storyline how he wants to.

I'm not as broken up as I was about Lost's end date, but its going to be weird watching Mad Men and knowing that there's a plan like this. What do you MM fans think? Is this ultimately going to be a good move for the show? Is Mad Men a show like Lost or Battlestar Galactica, where it makes sense to end it at a specific time?

Finally, as a programming reminder, our official Mad Men coverage will begin no later than July 28, with my recap of the season 2 premiere. Now go buy some cigarettes and booze!