10 Great Shows Lacking Viewership

Hello Something About TVers (that really rolls off the tongue). I was taking a look at some television ratings lately and, as usual, I was completely disappointed in the shows that get boatloads of viewers compared to much higher quality shows. So, here’s my list of some of the best shows currently on the air that struggle for viewership while Two and a Half Men is still running rampant:

1. Justified (FX)

I can’t recommend Justified nearly enough and for anyone looking to replace their Breaking Bad fix, this is the show you want. Currently on its fifth season, it’s the story of Raylan Givens (played by Timothy Olyphant), a U.S. Marshall who is as much sarcastic as he is a badass. The story begins when he gets relocated back to his home town of Harlan County where most of the citizens have grown accustomed to minimal interference with lawmakers. It’s also home to Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins) who is the constant foil to Raylan and is known for using every word in the dictionary. Boyd really separates Justified from other dramas because we get to follow the side story of him building his crime empire with stories that are interspersed with Raylan.

2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)

Nine-Nine has really excelled in its first season and has avoided any really bad episodes. Led by Andy Samberg, Terry Crews, and Andre Bruagher, the show has a fantastic cast with a lots of actors who know their way around a joke. Taking place in a police station sets up for some hilarious storylines as they are constantly taking serious police stories and telling them from a more comedic angle. The ratings have been rough but critical praise should get it a second season at this point. There’s going to be a new episode following the Super Bowl and post-Bowl episodes of shows tend to have an easy to follow storyline for new viewers if you want to hop on the train.

3. Parenthood (NBC)

I can’t praise Parenthood enough for showing so simple things that families go through. It follows the story of the Bravermans (Bravermen?), 4 adult siblings that all have families of their own with different types of dynamics. It’s loosely based off the Steve Martin film by the same name and was adapted for television by Jason Katims, the same guy who did Friday Night Lights. Currently in its fifth season, it’s become a staple that you’re in for a good cry at least once per episode.

4. Parks and Recreation/Community (NBC)

At first glance you may be wondering why I included these two, especially considering all the memes that circulate on imgur from the shows, but year after year these shows are on the bubble of being cancelled. In fact, both shows combined don’t even equate to half the number of viewers Big Bang Theory gets. Both shows are getting up there in age but unlike many sitcoms they can still churn out fresh stories and bring big laughs when done right. Not to mention that the return of Dan Harmon has really invigorated Community in its current season.

5. The Americans (FX)

If you’re looking for a good spy thriller this is the show for you. The only thing is you find yourself rooting for KGB during the Cold War. It follows the lives Elizabeth (Kerri Russell) and Phillip (Matthew Rhys) who appear to be your average American family with two kids, but are instead cold hard Russian killers who have infiltrated the US to get information on what America is planning. As an added obstacle, their new neighbor coincidentally is an FBI agent (Noah Emmerich) who gives perspective on the other side of the story. The show really struggled for viewers in its first season but was able to scratch out a second season which premieres Feb 26.

6. Girls (HBO)

Created by and starring Lena Dunham, this is probably the most controversial show on the list as it really polarizes people who watch it. While I can’t argue with people who don’t like it, I do find it a very interesting watch. It essentially follows the lives of four 20-something girls who try to make it in New York. The problem is that for the most part they’re pretty terrible people who are in no way aware of their pretentiousness. All I can say here is give it a chance for a few episodes but if it isn’t for you then it isn’t for you.

7. Orange is the New Black (Netflix)

I’m actually not sure if this show doesn’t get many viewers because Netflix doesn’t release that information. However, most of the buzz around Netflix originals circles around House of Cards and season 4 of Arrested Development and OITNB is even better than those two. It’s dark, depressing, heart-warming, and at times hilarious as it gives us a look inside a women’s prison. It’s done an absolutely fantastic job of building strong characters and making us feel connected in some way to all of them.

8. Game of Thrones (HBO)

What!? Everyone watches this show! Yeah everyone does watch it but that’s because it’s the most pirated show on television. It still gets high ratings but that’s not nearly as representative as what it could get. I don’t want to get up too high on a soap box but this show is ridiculously expensive to produce, between a huge cast and greatly detailed wardrobes and environments. I know it’s hard to justify doling the money out but if you enjoy something of high quality, and want it to stay that way, then it may be something to consider.

9. Cougar Town (TBS)

Everyone wrote this show off based off the title (in fact that’s becoming a running meta joke on the show) but don’t let that sway you away from watching it. Created by Bill Lawrence and starring Courtney Cox, there are constantly guest stars showing up from Scrubs and Friends. ABC actually cancelled the show but TBS decided to save it (unfortunately they couldn’t do the same for Happy Endings, RIP) and its’ maintained the same level of laughs since switching networks. If you start from the beginning, the show doesn’t find itself until halfway through the first season but it doesn’t look back after that. Also, Penny Can!

10. Mad Men (AMC)

Ah, the best for last. Now that Breaking Bad is off the air I consider Mad Men to be the best drama on television, heck before Bad’s final eight episodes I could argue they rivaled for that spot. With one season remaining (Broken into two parts like the last season of Breaking Bad) it still remains the best written show on television and Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is still the man you love to hate. For those unfamiliar with the story, it follows the advertisement world in the 1960’s and the lives of the men and women who work within that world. Between Draper, Pete Campbell, Peggy Olsen, and Roger Sterling it may have the most well developed cast of characters on television.

Honorable mentions to Hannibal, Trophy Wife, and Portlandia which could have easily made the list. Any shows I left off? Let me know in that comment section below.

Primetime Emmy Awards: 2013 (And Some Bears/Steelers) Live Blog

Ah there’s just too much on television tonight. Say what you will about how inaccurate it is for many shows/actors that deserve the awards, but I want to watch the Emmys because it is the culmination of a year of television which basically fuels me, and this blog, on a weekly basis. I also want to watch the Bears vs. Steelers game over on NBC. As a Bears fan living in Indianapolis I get to watch about 27.8% of their games every season so I hate to squander a chance, even if it’s against the lowly Steelers that they’ll probably lose embarrassingly to. Then of course there’s two dramas airing in the 9:00 slot that have certainly piqued my interest. Breaking Bad has its penultimate episode airing and of course it has to be watched in a timely manner to avoid internet spoilers. And finally but certainly least is Dexter which probably be pushed to the end of my night, if not tomorrow, but it is the end of a show that lasted eight years and it did have its moments over the years.

The Emmys and the Bears undoubtedly have the most “live” appeal since it sucks to watch a sports game after it’s happened and the Emmys are way more fun when you’re reading tweets about how happy/disappointed people are with the goings-on. So my thumb will be getting a lot of work hitting the ‘recall’ button between the two until at least 9:30. By then the anticipation of watching Breaking Bad will force me to break into the DVR and watch. At least by then enough will be recorded so I can fly through the commercials.

So I’m going to keep this pretty concise to the big categories and stray observations of the broadcast, plus the occasional Bears update as the game goes along. Oh and I’m sure I’ll miss more than couple noteworthy moments (especially after I check in on Walter White and the gang) but it is what it is, let’s watch the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards.

The show kicks off with our host Neil Patrick Harris walking down a hallway talking about everything he’s sacrificing by hosting for a second time. He’s led into a room filled with monitors (Matrix style) where he takes on the envious task of trying to binge-watch an entire year of television. The shows characters are edited to appear as if they’re helping to coach Neil through this and give him some advice but the sketch falls very flat and seems very messy. The monologue isn’t much better as NPH plays it extremely safe with his jabs, I suppose I’ve grown accustom to more of a roast format here. Former hosts begin to come on stage, Jimmy Kimmel and Jane Lynch help Neil by talking him through this. They, of course, are followed by Jimmy Fallon and Conan O'Brien to complete the line of all the recent hosts. Conan explains how different the world was when he hosted: “people had storage and they didn’t even have to fight for it.” The camera pans out and we see Kevin Spacey break the fourth wall and talk to directly to us, the viewers, as he explains how this was all part of his plan. Finally, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler chime in with some commentary about the direction they’d like to see the show go. I’m pretty sure these two who can do no wrong at this point.

This segues into Fey and Poehler presenting the first award of the night, Outstanding supporting actress for a Comedy Series. And shockingly the award goes to Merrit Wever for Nurse Jackie, Modern Family didn’t win! Great acceptance speech: “Thank you so much. I gotta to go, bye.”

Switching over to NBC just in time to watch Carrie Underwood sing the Sunday Night Football song, haven’t missed anything from the game yet.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a comedy series goes to Tony Hale! Yes the Modern Family shake-up  has begun! Wow they’re playing Tony Hale off very quickly though, you’d think there’d be some extra time after Merrit literllay took 5 seconds for hers. I’ve never seen Veep but I love Tony Hale in everything he’s been in and he was very deserving of the award.

Channel change over to Bears game, they’re not losing!

Back over to the Emmys and out come Alec Baldwin and Jon Hamm who is looking amazing with a beard. For the record, I’d love to watch a show with these two. They present the award for best lead actress in a comedy series and it goes to Julia Louis-Dreyfuss. Well, at least the Modern Family Empire toppled down but the JLD monopoly keeps Poehler off the board for another year. Tony Hale hilariously goes up there with her after being played off by the music after he won.

Bears up 3-0 but ugh, they just gave up a 10 yard run to Felix Jones, could be a long night.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series goes to Jim Parsons. I have to say this seems like an “asterisk category” without Nick Offerman being nominated, but whatever. I’m not a fan of Big Bang Theory but you can’t blame that on Parsons, he really does carry that show.

Woah, Bears quickly up 10-0, Steelers must have had a turnover.

Matt Damon and Michael Douglas introduce Elton John who will be performing. Sorry Elton but I’m going to assume you rock it out there and switch back over to NBC for a few minutes. Bears are at the 5 yard line!? Holy cow they score here and it make my decisions of what to watch for the rest of the night much easier. They do, 1 yard touchdown run by Michael Bush. Scratch that, refs called him down at the two inch line, Tressman challenges. Bears lose the challenge and decide to go for it on fourth down. Bush gets in for 18^th time on this series, 17-0 Bears. Although as Matt Forte owner I really could have used him getting the score instead of Bush… okay so it’s hard to write about sports and make it sound exciting.

Back to Emmys, looks like Damon and Douglass (coming to CBS this fall) accepted an award from someone. Cool? Arg, both shows at commercial at the same time and BB started 7 minutes ago. Must. Be. Patient.

The cast of HIMYM give us a public service announcement about EHD (Excessive Hosting Disorder). Arsenio Hall as he has also been afflicted with this disease. Hah, we find out that NPH can get help at ‘The Ryan Seacrest Center for Excessive Hosting’, got to admit that was pretty funny.

Henry Bormell wins for best writing posthumously. Glad he got to win and that episode of Homeland he wrote (“Q&A”) was really fantastic, especially in a season of Homeland which was not at the top of its game. Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series goes to Anna Gunn, time for the Breaking Bad annihilation to begin.

Back over to the Bears, Pittsburgh is in the red zone which seems to be a recurring theme every time I switch channels. Roethlisberger makes a poor throw so the Steelers are forced to take the field goal. 17-3 Bears.

It’s about time Neil breaks into a musical number. The song takes a meta approach as the songs theme is about it being in the middle of the show as opposed to it being a typical opening musical number like always. Hey at least Nathan FIllion comes out to sing with him, but as much as I love Sarah Silverman I’m pretty disappointed that Felicia Day isn’t out there. Would have been a nice Doctor Horrible reunion. Oh and Outstanding Reality Competition goes to The Voice. Yup, don’t care.

Bears get a pick 6 from Major Wright. His Dad, Sergeant, must be so proud. 24-3 Bears.

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series goes to Bobby Canavalle. Wow what an upset,I guess I need to start watching Boardwalk Empire. I would have loved to see Jonathon Banks win though for the work he did on Breaking Bad… and apparently Canavalle’s married to Rose Byrne so he’s just piling it on these other nominees.

Crap, Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown for a Steelers touchdown. 24-10 Chicago and somehow I keep switching over just in time to watch every score.

Holy cow, Jeff Daniels wins for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Lots and lots of upsets this year but I can’t say I’m ecstatic about this one. If it’s not going to go to Cranston then can we at least give it to Jon Hamm? Otherwise AMC is going to keep splitting up this final season of Mad Men until he wins one. Speaking of Mad Men, Don Cheadle gives us a history of television in the 1960’s. Save it for Mathew Weiner, Emmys. 

Now Carrie Underwood is singing ‘Yesterday’ for some reason, big night for her on both channels I’m watching but this move doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series goes to Clare Danes. No surprise, move along everyone. Back to the Bears game. Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth are discussing how Jay Cutler was brought in to help interview who the Bears coach would be. And now it’s halftime. There’s some strange music set to themes of shows? Sorry I missed the introduction to whatever this is, I was over on the Bears game for a while and I think I’m going back. Of course during halftime of the game almost nothing happened on the Emmys... Approximately 40 minutes until I start Breaking Bad.

Outstanding Variety Series goes to The Colbert Report! It’s been a night of upsets and I’m really glad that Colbert finally gets his due. You have to figure that Jon Stewart taking off the whole summer has something to do with The Daily Show not winning for 138^th straight time but you can’t say this wasn’t a long time coming.

Haven’t checked in on the Bears in a while, they’re up to 27-13 with 5 minutes left in the third quarter. One more score by them and I don’t see any way this beleaguered Steelers team can put up enough points to win. Matt Forte got his ankle rolled over on the last play and has to limp to the sideline, that doesn’t bode well.

Time for the always sad In-Memoriam, although this year we got a few deaths covered early on in the broadcast making death a repeated theme throughout the evening. As usual we lost some great ones, but at least we still have Miley Cyrus.  

Wow Antonio Brown just made an absolutely amazing one-handed grab for a Steelers touchdown. 27-20 Bears but the Steelers have all the momentum. Urgh. On the bright side it looks like Matt Forte is fine.

Michael Douglass wins for his role in Behind the Candelabra. He makes a few gay puns and has a laugh with Matt Damon about them. We’re 10:59 and still have a ways to go here. Let’s go Emmys, I want to watch my show!

Will Ferrell brings his kids up to present the last awards for best Comedy and Drama. How does this man crack me up so easily? He comes up completely disheveled explain he just got a call from the Emmys 45 minutes ago that they needed him to come fill in for Maggie Smith. The award for Outstanding Comedy Series goes to Modern Family. There’s no justice that it won over Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, Louie, New Girl, etc. but the Emmy voters love this show for some reason and that will never change.

Yes! Breaking Bad finally wins for best drama. I just fist-pumped for the first time tonight, including watching those Bears touchdowns. I think my favorite part of them winning was Louis C.K. gleefully cheering for them as they all stood up. Everyone loves this show (although the cast of Mad Men seems pretty disgruntled by it). Much deserved win, I’m assuming they’ll be back up there this time next year too.

So that wraps up the year in television (at least as far as the awards are concerned). We saw plenty of changes this year as the Modern Family finally stops getting rewarded for being uncreative (well for acting anyway). We saw plenty of new actors take home awards, including the greatest speech of all-time by Merrit Wever. We saw, as usual, terrible production tactics as the Emmys filled the show with countless minutes of fluff leading to acceptance speeches getting cut off at around the 30 second mark. And of course we saw all the actors do a wonderful job of acting like they actually wanted to be there. At the time of this posting the Bears are up 27-23 but the way this game is going it doesn't look good. Okay, Breaking Bad, I’ve been a very good and patient boy tonight and I’m very excited to view you now.

UPDATE: Bears up 40-23. So much for that worry.

What did everyone else think? Feel free to vent your qualms below.

Mad Men: ‘The Flood’

“The man knew how to talk. I don’t know why but I thought that would save him. I thought it would solve the whole thing.” –Roger Sterling

It’s easy to presume that when a show or movie revolves around real time events the writing comes easy; that all one really has to do is allow for pre-existing knowledge to set circumstance into motion. But what makes Mad Men so special is the reaction factor. Just like in real life, a tragedy happens and we all scramble for explanation. And also just like in real life, after anger and mourning, life has to go on and it forces change both immediately and gradually.

I doubt there are many are people who aren’t aware of what Martin Luther King Jr. did for a race, a country, and humanity as a whole so Matthew Weiner isn’t here to tell us that story. Matthew Weiner is here to tell us the stories of Don Draper’s flaws as a parent and a husband, Peggy Olsen’s attempt to build a future, and Michael Ginsberg’s social struggles when it comes to dating a girl his Dad set him up with. But instead of all these stories going by the wayside in the wake of MLK’s assassination, they get the same amount of attention they would get any other time because the world doesn’t stop turning. As Mr. Ginsberg explains to Michael: “Nonsense! There’s no time like the present.”

But the bigger news of the episode, enough to overshadow MLK, is that Bobby Draper can indeed speak! And peel wallpaper off the wall! Yes this is the first, and I’m assuming last, time young Bobby gets a storyline and of course it comes in the midst of all of this. I have always wondered why they never tapped into the well of how Don would deal with having a son, and how he would relate those experiences to his younger self and in this case the payoff was more than worth the wait because it was an absolutely heartbreaking moment of realization(*) that Don let’s Megan witness. Also, I can’t think of a time I didn’t thoroughly enjoy a “Don hits the movies” segment, this time watching the classic Planet of the Apes. Weiner obviously wanted us to watch the end of the movie when the audience is blown away by the revelation that humans had gone on to blow up the world, leading the way the apes evolving and moving to the top of the food chain. But despite it being such a heavy-handed metaphor to the riots it was fantastic to watch the parallels between a movie and the real-life events going on at the same time of its release.

(*)“You want to love them but you don’t. And the fact that you’re thinking that feeling makes you wonder if your own father had the same problem. And then one day they get older and you see them do something and you feel that feeling that you were pretending to have and it feels like your heart is going to explode.” –Don Draper. This is by far the earlier frontrunner for Jon Hamm Emmy submission episode.

I think it might take a few re-watches (or some LSD in Roger’s case) to fully understand what the deal was with Randall Walsh(**) but this whole endeavor seemed very off in the Mad Men world. That being said it was a hilarious transgression as I wasn’t sure whether or not to laugh harder at Roger’s one-line responses or Stan’s reactions and utter disbelief that this guy was pitching them such an absurd concept. I’m not sure if there is any more to this story but I would have liked to see it saved for an episode that had a little less going on.

(**) Played by William Mapother who also played the equally creepy character Ethan on Lost. This guy is definitely getting typecast.

After setting up some character development for Dawn last leek I figured we would have gotten a much more focused reaction from her after these events. Instead she was relegated to one scene where she essentially seemed unaffected by the news and got a big hug from Joan. Peggy’s secretary had a little more to day on the situation as she pointed out to Peggy that “these fools running in the streets? It’s exactly what he didn’t want.” However; the most devastating moment and reaction from an on-screen African American came when Ginsberg was on his date and the busboy entered such a state of shock upon hearing the news that he dropped the dishes he was carrying and had to sit down because his legs could no longer support his body.

Other moments of note:

• Okay how many times can Don realistically run into Sylvia and Dr. Rosen in the lobby/elevator? Does no one else live in this apartment besides the heart attack doorman? It is interesting, though, to see Don is so concerned about Sylvia being in DC that he actually tries to get in contact with them after the riots break out. That’s an awful lot of caring for an “affair”.
• “He’s the head of accounts. He’s like Roger with bad breath.” – Peggy describing to Megan her agency’s head of accounts.
• Ted was in Abe’s seat. Uh oh. Peggy might soon have two guys seeking her affection as Teddy has shown a great deal of interest in young Ms. Olsen of late. It would be such a shame for Peggy to do anything to ruin what she has with Abe now that we know he’s thinking about having some kids with her and raising them among all different kinds of people. Aww Abe, you adorable little hippie you.
• Pete always has been on the higher end of the moral compass in terms of progressively looking at racial issues so it seemed true to character that he would be upset with Harry and tell him off: “Let me put it in terms you might understand: that man had a wife and four children.” Also, I loved how radically 70’s the two of them looked visually in that argument.
• I’m guessing the real Paul Newman wasn’t available?

What did everyone else think? Comments are always welcome.

Mad Men: “The Phantom”

“It’ll go away, it always does.” – Don Draper

What a strange, adventurous, dark, wonderful season it’s been for Mad Men, and it’s only fitting it would end it in such a vintage Mad Men fashion. In the first episode of the season Roger asked Don “when were things going to get back to normal?” Of course we knew at the time that Roger would never see his version of “normal” again as the 60’s transitioning into the 70’s marks one of the biggest, fastest cultural changes in our country’s history. What we didn’t know was that over the coming months we would witness Megan serenading Don in front 40 of his closest “friends” with a little "Zou Bisou Bisou,” Pete getting into a fistfight (twice!), Roger taking LSD (twice!), Joan terminating it with Greg and prostituting herself out to Jaguar, and Lane ending it all in his office. As for Don? Well it seems our anti-hero may in fact fulfill Roger’s wish after all.

The episode begins with Don experiencing tooth pain, but instead of going directly to the dentist he determines that the pain will eventually go away, symbolic of how Don treats every disturbance that crops up for him. But once the pain doesn’t go away, and he finally gives into the pleads of those around him, he goes to the dentist and is greeted with instant relief and freedom once his tooth is extracted. At this point it seems as though Don Draper finally figures out that things don’t just go away, they become phantoms or demons that will lay in wait and return to you when you are at your most vulnerable. One of those phantoms being the guilt eating away at him on the inside in the outcomes of Adam and Lane, both of whom were victims of his actions that he is now forced to bear alone. The other being that inescapable self-loathing that Dick Whitman developed as a young boy and has followed him throughout his entire life. And for Don the only the only way to feed these ghosts that are constantly on his tail is to give into their desires, to overindulge them so they will leave him alone long enough to think. And the only way he knows how to do that is through women and alcohol.

The final scene certainly gives us a lot ponder about. Will Don again give into his temptation? The temptation he’s so easily thrown by the wayside since he committed himself to Megan? My money is on “of course she will,” for the simple reason that it’s the only life he’s been truly comfortable in. We also see in this scene that Megan is reprising the roll of Belle in the “Beauty and the Beast” themed commercial they are shooting, are we then to assume that Don is the Beast in this scenario? It’s certainly interesting to examine it in that light because in the fairy tale Belle gets to live in the Beasts’ exquisite castle and is given whatever she wants or desires upon her arrival. To the same accord Megan has gotten to live this same life of luxury and it has become quite apparent to her that she hasn’t done anything to deserve it. It certainly looks like Don and Megan’s’ marriage has more than a couple speed bumps ahead for it.

We also see that Pete is starting down the same path Don, albeit in much more punch-able fashion. Pete is suffering from his fear of complacency. When he was just starting out at Sterling Cooper he had goals in mind: move up in the company, start landing accounts, start a family, become successful. And now that Pete is starting to reach his goals he’s starting to question them and beginning to wonder what else is out there and how can he get it for himself? Much like Don, Pete’s destined to live a life that is unsatisfying. Sure money, women, and  a new apartment in the city will give him that momentary triumph that can tide him over for a while but unlike Don he’ll never be “top dog,” the guy that other guys aspire to be, and for that reason he’d rather get banned from a train than apologize for his fantasies.

Overall, this season of Mad Men was extremely dark, from shootings across the country, a cancer scare, a murder hallucination, a suicide, and many more. Because of this I’m not sure how enjoyable this season really was, especially in comparison to last season which still remains my favorite. I’m not entirely sure what to expect from Mad Men next season but I’m pretty positive it won’t be nearly as grim. Heck I think even Matthew Weiner alludes to that very fact when Trudy tells off Pete for sulky attitude: “all this doom and gloom, I’m tired of it!”

Some other quick notes on the episode:

• Even the now despicable Harry doesn't want Lane’s old office, can’t say I blame him.
• Ginsberg really does seem to be from another planet at times as his shirt was covered in stains during their meeting with Topaz. Also, interesting to note that Topaz was disappointed to not have that woman’s perspective SCDP clients had grown accustom to.
• Speaking of Peggy, I absolutely loved the scene with her and Don in the movie theatre and the mentor returns to the mentee. She wisely explains to Don about her departure that “That’s what happens when you help someone, they succeed and move on.” Yeah I’m glad you get to move up and all Peggy, but we need you back at SCDP before the end of next season.
• I laughed out loud twice during the finale. The first being when Pete demanded fresh Life Savers from his secretary when he was on the phone with Beth. The second when we discover the prank caller to the Draper residence is none other than Roger Sterling who puts on a fake French accent when Don picks up the phone.
• Looks like they finally have that second floor they've been telling clients they had from the beginning, I’m sure we’ll get more than a few good moments out of the agency’s new work-space next season.
• Pete needs to take a martial arts class or something.
• There was something hauntingly beautiful about Don watching Megan’s’ screen test. It’s like he realized who she was and who she wasn't at the same time.
• Also, I loved the moment when the five partners are looking out at the view on their new floor, but I’m a sucker for that kind of cinematography.
• Roger takes LSD again. I don’t think that could ever get old.

Comments are certainly welcome, whether they are for agreement, disagreement, or indifference.

Mad Men: “Commissions and Fees”

“What is happiness? It’s the moment before you want more happiness.” –Don Draper

The penultimate episode of Mad Men followed along the lines of what is superstitiously necessary for a wedding: something old (the return of power-hungry Don Draper), something new (Sally making the transition into womanhood), something borrowed (Don finds out Lane has been embezzling money), and something blue (sorry you had to go out that way Lane).

This marks the second time over the course of Mad Men that Don was directly related to a person’s decision to commit suicide, with the first being his a little brother from the Dick Whitman days. In the case of Adam though, he was simply looking for a little attention from his older brother. This scenario was much less the result of Don’s actions however, and much more the fault of Lane. Don could have very easily made life even more abysmal for Lane after becoming aware of his criminal actions but decided to keep it under wraps and allow Lane an opportunity to start over. That being said I’m sure it will eat at Don all the same if not more so as he’ll blame himself for the act by not allowing Lane a second chance at the agency. We see him immediately try to reconcile himself by insisting they cut Lane down to save him that last bit of dignity and when he returns home to find Sally’s pseudo boyfriend, he offers Glen a chance to get something to go his way, whatever he wanted. Chalk up another mental scar for our leading man.

So Lane Pryce is no longer with us in the world of Mad Men, but he certainly left his mark by allowing for the formation of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce* and helping to keep the company afloat in their time of financial crisis. The writing, however, has kind of always been on the wall for Lane to eventually take his own life. At the beginning of his run on the series Lane was the doormat for his employers over in London as he was the one forced to relocate time and time again and do the dirty work associated with mergers and whatnot. His highpoint certainly came when he fired Don, Roger and Cooper in order to void their contracts but he quickly fell back to doormat status soon after.** Lane was a man who was constantly playing catch-up in an attempt to fit in whether that be trying to assimilate into American culture (the Mets pennant on his wall in his office) or his endless struggle to feel relevant in both the workplace and at home.

*Will the agency just drop the name “Pryce” at the end now, or replace it with a different one? Sterling Cooper Draper Campbell?

**Including a physical beating at the hand of his elderly father when Lane had decided to cut ties with his family in favor of his “chocolate bunny” at the Playboy Club.

Before Lane’s final exit though, we got our old friend Don Draper back. Not content, honeymoon phase Don Draper, but the cutthroat wipe the blood off of his face before he goes and gets a drink Don Draper we used to love so much. I agree with Roger sum it up best upon the reemergence of this Don: “I like that guy. I missed him.” Don is gunning for the big fish now and is tired of bringing in little account after another, it’s what their agency needed to do to stay alive after the loss of Lucky Strike but they can hold their own now and Don isn’t going to stop until he gets them to the next level.

Over on the Sally side of things, it felt a little “after school special” at times. Ultimately, this marks an official end of Sally’s childhood and begins the first stages of what will almost certainly be a troubled young adult life. But Sally has been forced to grow up much sooner than most children her age should have to at this point in their life, this just means her physical body is starting to catch up with the many years head start her emotional body has on it. I’ve also never been a huge fan of Glen because of the creepy demeanor he has about him, and I’m not entirely sure if that’s intentional or not. That being said, Kiernan Shipka is such as amazing actress for someone her age so getting her involved in any way with the show is fine with me.

Some other quick notes on the episode:

• Roger’s enlightenment has worn off. Roger taking LSD was such a great thing both in the moment and for the way it altered hos worldviews for the time after. But of course in typical Roger Sterling fashion it lost its allure once it stopped seeming fresh to him.
• Only Betty would turn the news of her daughter running to her after getting her period for the first time into something she could use as evidence that Sally liked her more than Megan.
• “I don’t want to be your partner, I've seen what’s involved” –Ken Cosgrove
• Kenny’s made it blatantly clear he doesn't want his job to become his life like everyone else who works for the agency. Glad to see him join the list of Harry, Peggy and Ginsberg who have negotiated side deals with Roger this season.
• I know a story involving Peggy wouldn't have fit very well into this episode, but hopefully we don’t lose many stories in the future involving one of the best female characters on television.

Comments are certainly welcome whether they are for agreement, disagreement, or indifference.

Mad Men Season 5 Episode 11: "The Other Woman"

“Were taught to think function is all that matters, but we have a longing for this other thing.” –Don Draper

This was an episode where many members of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce face the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, all for the sake of what they want but can never truly have.

And what everyone working at SCDP thinks they want is Jaguar, no matter the cost. Unfortunately that cost comes most of all for Joan Harris. Joan is an extremely strong-minded woman who would normally not entertain such a notion of prostituting herself, but after being poked and prodded and assessing her financial situation she eventually gives in the superficial wants of hers and those around her. Maybe if Don had been able to talk to her earlier it would have been enough to stop her from going through it. But she did go through it, and they got Jaguar.

Peggy has come to a fork in the road. She finds herself slowly sliding back to being the girl on the outside looking in as Don and others don’t appreciate the skills she can bring to the table. It’s clear what Peggy thinks she wants, and that is to be an admired creative writer and be rewarded justly for her ideas. After consulting with her old chum Freddy Rumsen she realizes the best way to go about this is to leave SCDP and, by accepting the offer from the hated Teddy Chaough, she does just that. However, the thing she truly wants, the thing she’s wanted since she first started working at Sterling Cooper, is the approval of one Don Draper. And although she thinks a big payday will substitute that need, it won’t be long before she again craves that acceptance.

That brings us to Don. Oh Don. To say he experienced a roller coaster of emotion in this episode would be the understatement of the year.* The women in Don’s life are all going through a multitude of problems, all at the same time. Firstly, he’s extremely distraught about what the other partners have assuaged Joan to partake in. Don is the only partner who realizes that this isn’t a way to go about conducting business, and he proves once again that even though he’s had more affairs than we can count, he has a higher moral standard than most of the advertising world. Then he returns home only to find out that the woman who is his very Jaguar might be leaving him for three months to follow her acting career. And to top it all off he’s losing his best friend and confidant in Peggy Olsen. Boy did my heart go out to him when he finally realized Peggy wasn't bluffing about leaving and he was going to lose her. She wasn’t just another “creative” he could throw at a client, she’s someone who brought him fresh ideas and different perspective, and pushed him to do the same.

*Which indulges me to point out how impressive Jon Hamm was here. This should definitely be the episode he submits for Emmy Consideration for best lead actor and I have to assume he would be the favorite to win it at this point. (Although Bryan Cranston will have his say when Breaking Bad starts up on July 15^th)

One thing is clear, lots of shake-up is occurring at SCDP and with only two episodes left it looks like season five of Mad Men is going to end with a resounding roar.

Some other quick notes on the episode:

• “Well we wanted to be in the car business” –Ken Cosgrove
• How do you go about selling a car that is simply a luxury? This was also a really great “advertising” episode of Mad Men where we get to see their entire process of breaking down what a product is and why the consumer would want it.
• Lane is still financially screwing around. This isn't going to end well for him.
• 5 seconds is not enough time to sit down Harry.
• There’s a scene where Pete is reading Goodnight Moon to his child and it definitely brought me back to personal memories of when it was read to me when I was younger. However, it feels a little tarnished knowing that sleazy Pete reads it to his kid as well.
• Loved the quick scene with the rival advertising companies top guys passing each other in the Jaguar showroom. Very well done.

Comments are certainly welcome whether they are for agreement, disagreement, or indifference.