Review of MAD MEN
Apr. 19th, 2008 08:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Finished watching last season's Mad Men via my DVR finally. At least I think it was the complete season, not sure if it went past 13 episodes or not, will most likely find out Sunday - I set the DVR to record all episodes. The nifty thing about DVR's is you don't have to hunt down when the tv show is reappearing, the DVR automatically selects and tapes it for you, once you program it to record all episodes. It did this with Doctor Who last night, even though I didn't realize it was on.
From a purely objective point of view, assuming such a thing is possible in regards to pop/media culture criticism, Mad Men may be the best thing I've seen on TV in quite some time. But that was also true of the first season of BattleStar Galatica. In BSG's first season - it was tightly written, acted, and produced. Almost flawless. Mad Men is similarily flawless. The objective criteria is its structure - how the individual parts fit together. Story, plot, theme, setting, characters, dialogue, costumes. It's no different than reviewing a play or book - from a technical pov, does everything fit? Do the characters remain in character as the plot plays out, does the plot come from their actions or are they mere pawns of the plot? The plot MUST come from the characters actions, it must be a logical outgrowth of the characters, or otherwise it is ludicrious. A mistake many tv show writers (and comic book ones) make is they come up with this great plot idea and then attempt to cram their characters into it - much like a child might use paper dolls. The audience who has been following the characters storylines rather closely, far more so than the writers or actors performing them have, becomes confused, frustrated, and loses interest, or they may just laugh. This is why critics revile comic books and television shows on occassion or don't take them that seriously. The writers have a tendency to play rather loosely with their character's story arcs, and continuity not to mention logic often can go out the window. Often, as a viewer or comic reader, you are better off if you haven't followed the story from its inception and are not paying close attention or better still, aren't analytical and don't think logically, so don't really notice. If you are paying close attention, etc, you may have compensated for this tendency, by coming up with your own logical explanation for the inconsistencies otherwise known as fanwanking. Or, you are like me, and choose to shrug it off as well one of the many flaws of the tv/comic serial medium. These things are produced too quickly, are too volumnious, and have far too many chefs in the kitchen to hope to be perfectly consistent. It's not like JK Rowling plotting out seven books. It's more like a committee, an ever-changing committee with a high turn-over, with another committee overseeing and threatening them with cancellation, attempting to plot out seven books.
Mad Men has managed for at least 13 episodes, to maintain a tight logical structure. It never veers from its course. The five or six characters that it focuses on, all are complex, and all build on each other's stories. Even the subject matter - the advertisements that the men and women are working on, add a layer to the proceedings. One story for example focused on how to sell a kodak slide wheel. The creative director, Don Draper, a man who has literally reinvented himself and has no family ties outside of a wife and two children, which he appears to be somewhat dissatisfied with and is using more for decoration, asks a man who is separated from his family and desperately missing them, to explain to him what this thing, this wheel means. The man, who is a fan of cameras and slide reels, explains to Don that part of it is the fun, the quickness, the other is the nostalgia, the ability to recapture something from the past. Don thinks about what the man said, then does a presentation of the wheel to Kodak, stating this is the Kodak Carosel, not a wheel, but a carosel taking us back to the past and forward with a clip, and the pictures he uses are those of his own family - his wife and kids. As he pitches the ad, you watch the actor's face, and see that the character has begun to realize that he does care for the wife and kids more than he thought. It is a subtle sequence and made all the more powerful by the references to ads actually done at that time. The word nostalgia holds a double meaning. Our own nostalgia about the 1960s, a time that we romanticize in our heads, as lighter, easier time, without cell phones, DVR's, computers, yet in Mad Men, you see the harsh truth. The same with the pictures on the slide carosel that Don Draper presents, on the carosel - it looks like Don has the perfect family, the perfect life, he appears happy, his wife and kids are beautiful. But after it is done, Don imagines returning home in time to catch his wife and kids before they take off for Thanksgiving, to surprise them by going with them to his wife's parents house. Unfortunately he is too late, they are gone. He had previously begged off the trip, stating he preferred to work that weekend. Now, after watching the slides swing around the carosel, he becomes nostalgic for what was in them and goes in search of it, only to find it gone. Mad Men is littered with such gems.
That said, it does have one scene within the same episode that did bug me a bit. A main character delivers a child moments after she suddenly learns she's pregnant. I found it difficult to believe she wouldn't know. How can't you know your pregnant? I suppose it's possible. I have met people here and there. But it still blows my mind. It's a sad scene and does work with the rest of the episode, which is about the desire for family, but the inability to truly have it and be sucessful at work at the same time. Which does one choose? And when one does choose family, it does not necessarily work the way we want it to.
When I first attempted to watch Mad Men, last year, I was put off by what I considered at that time to be a somewhat cliche premise, with cliche and well-worn soap opera situations. Having given the show another chance - mostly because my kid-brother and his wife couldn't stop talking about it (they're both in marketing) - I've discovered it's anything but cliche and that I was wrong in my initial assessment. There's one scene in which Pete, a young account executive, finds out that Don Draper is not who he says he is, and threatens to reveal this information to the owner of the company if Don does not promote him. Instead of giving in to Pete's demands, which is what usually happens on these shows, Don calls Pete's bluff (which is more in character), and Pete tells the owner everything he knows. The owner stares at Pete for a moment and then says in exasperation, "Who cares?" Pete bewildered and in shock, says, "What?" The owner says, "I mean really, who cares? What does it matter? So what? I don't care who he was before. He's Don now." It's a great scene. And works. Because the truth is this is advertising. IT's all about the image, all about the deception, the lie, making something look better than it is. Don's ability to make himself into someone else, someone more appealing, more sucessful and sell it - is what makes Don an excellent Ad Man. "Maybe you should put all that energy you did in exposing Don, into getting accounts," the owner tells a shell-shocked Pete.
Like most good shows, Mad Men takes a while to build, but does reward the patient viewer. The central character is Don Draper, we see the world through his eyes, and veer into the characters that most effect him. And it's pretty world but not a kind one. Don's cynicism colors everything he sees. He paints a pretty picture, but he doesn't trust in it. And will often, with a somewhat chauvinistic air, undercut his pretty model wife who sits bored and inactive with the kids, while he stays late in the city and sleeps with intellectual and witty women who are sharp boned with dark hair and dark eyes, a sharp contrast to his wife's Grace Kelly looks.
Mad Men takes great pains to be historically accurate, so spends a lot of time and energy on it's setting, set design, costumes, hair styles, etc. Everything from the old 1960's tv newscasts to the products being sold at that time. Not a hair is out of place. Quite remarkable considering how quickly the show is produced, although being on cable with just 13 episodes, may have provided it with more time and flexibility than the shows on the broadcast networks.
Mad Men is not always an easy show to watch, it drags a bit in places. And the characters are not likable. You feel sympathy for them, but they do not really enter your heart. With the possible exception of Peggy, Don Draper's secretary, who follows a different path than all the other secretaries. Peggy is the only female character that does not look like she stepped out of a film reel or fashion magazine. Don, you care about, but you don't necessarily like. He reminds me a great deal of the traditional noir anti-hero. A character who appears to be doomed by his inability to rise above his own selfish impulses. A true Mad Men - who is both the product and the creator of the industry he thrives in.
Similar to the remake of Far From Heaven, Mad Men by going back to the 1960s, shines a light on history's ironies. What we've succeeded in and where we have failed as a culture. Rampant consumerism, promoting the lie or a view that image, how something appears is more important than what it is, demonstrated by the fact that almost every character smokes on the series - stating they must because it is the product they promote, it's an image they must protect and push. The fact that the image is killing them is of little consequence. They ignore reports about the dangers of smoking, in favor of the fact it makes them feel good and looks good. The TV show constantly contrasts the image against the reality. Showing that what is being sold isn't necessarily what is available. A fitting and timely theme.
If you haven't given Mad Men a try, you should. It is a show that stays with you long after it has aired. And those are rare commodities.
From a purely objective point of view, assuming such a thing is possible in regards to pop/media culture criticism, Mad Men may be the best thing I've seen on TV in quite some time. But that was also true of the first season of BattleStar Galatica. In BSG's first season - it was tightly written, acted, and produced. Almost flawless. Mad Men is similarily flawless. The objective criteria is its structure - how the individual parts fit together. Story, plot, theme, setting, characters, dialogue, costumes. It's no different than reviewing a play or book - from a technical pov, does everything fit? Do the characters remain in character as the plot plays out, does the plot come from their actions or are they mere pawns of the plot? The plot MUST come from the characters actions, it must be a logical outgrowth of the characters, or otherwise it is ludicrious. A mistake many tv show writers (and comic book ones) make is they come up with this great plot idea and then attempt to cram their characters into it - much like a child might use paper dolls. The audience who has been following the characters storylines rather closely, far more so than the writers or actors performing them have, becomes confused, frustrated, and loses interest, or they may just laugh. This is why critics revile comic books and television shows on occassion or don't take them that seriously. The writers have a tendency to play rather loosely with their character's story arcs, and continuity not to mention logic often can go out the window. Often, as a viewer or comic reader, you are better off if you haven't followed the story from its inception and are not paying close attention or better still, aren't analytical and don't think logically, so don't really notice. If you are paying close attention, etc, you may have compensated for this tendency, by coming up with your own logical explanation for the inconsistencies otherwise known as fanwanking. Or, you are like me, and choose to shrug it off as well one of the many flaws of the tv/comic serial medium. These things are produced too quickly, are too volumnious, and have far too many chefs in the kitchen to hope to be perfectly consistent. It's not like JK Rowling plotting out seven books. It's more like a committee, an ever-changing committee with a high turn-over, with another committee overseeing and threatening them with cancellation, attempting to plot out seven books.
Mad Men has managed for at least 13 episodes, to maintain a tight logical structure. It never veers from its course. The five or six characters that it focuses on, all are complex, and all build on each other's stories. Even the subject matter - the advertisements that the men and women are working on, add a layer to the proceedings. One story for example focused on how to sell a kodak slide wheel. The creative director, Don Draper, a man who has literally reinvented himself and has no family ties outside of a wife and two children, which he appears to be somewhat dissatisfied with and is using more for decoration, asks a man who is separated from his family and desperately missing them, to explain to him what this thing, this wheel means. The man, who is a fan of cameras and slide reels, explains to Don that part of it is the fun, the quickness, the other is the nostalgia, the ability to recapture something from the past. Don thinks about what the man said, then does a presentation of the wheel to Kodak, stating this is the Kodak Carosel, not a wheel, but a carosel taking us back to the past and forward with a clip, and the pictures he uses are those of his own family - his wife and kids. As he pitches the ad, you watch the actor's face, and see that the character has begun to realize that he does care for the wife and kids more than he thought. It is a subtle sequence and made all the more powerful by the references to ads actually done at that time. The word nostalgia holds a double meaning. Our own nostalgia about the 1960s, a time that we romanticize in our heads, as lighter, easier time, without cell phones, DVR's, computers, yet in Mad Men, you see the harsh truth. The same with the pictures on the slide carosel that Don Draper presents, on the carosel - it looks like Don has the perfect family, the perfect life, he appears happy, his wife and kids are beautiful. But after it is done, Don imagines returning home in time to catch his wife and kids before they take off for Thanksgiving, to surprise them by going with them to his wife's parents house. Unfortunately he is too late, they are gone. He had previously begged off the trip, stating he preferred to work that weekend. Now, after watching the slides swing around the carosel, he becomes nostalgic for what was in them and goes in search of it, only to find it gone. Mad Men is littered with such gems.
That said, it does have one scene within the same episode that did bug me a bit. A main character delivers a child moments after she suddenly learns she's pregnant. I found it difficult to believe she wouldn't know. How can't you know your pregnant? I suppose it's possible. I have met people here and there. But it still blows my mind. It's a sad scene and does work with the rest of the episode, which is about the desire for family, but the inability to truly have it and be sucessful at work at the same time. Which does one choose? And when one does choose family, it does not necessarily work the way we want it to.
When I first attempted to watch Mad Men, last year, I was put off by what I considered at that time to be a somewhat cliche premise, with cliche and well-worn soap opera situations. Having given the show another chance - mostly because my kid-brother and his wife couldn't stop talking about it (they're both in marketing) - I've discovered it's anything but cliche and that I was wrong in my initial assessment. There's one scene in which Pete, a young account executive, finds out that Don Draper is not who he says he is, and threatens to reveal this information to the owner of the company if Don does not promote him. Instead of giving in to Pete's demands, which is what usually happens on these shows, Don calls Pete's bluff (which is more in character), and Pete tells the owner everything he knows. The owner stares at Pete for a moment and then says in exasperation, "Who cares?" Pete bewildered and in shock, says, "What?" The owner says, "I mean really, who cares? What does it matter? So what? I don't care who he was before. He's Don now." It's a great scene. And works. Because the truth is this is advertising. IT's all about the image, all about the deception, the lie, making something look better than it is. Don's ability to make himself into someone else, someone more appealing, more sucessful and sell it - is what makes Don an excellent Ad Man. "Maybe you should put all that energy you did in exposing Don, into getting accounts," the owner tells a shell-shocked Pete.
Like most good shows, Mad Men takes a while to build, but does reward the patient viewer. The central character is Don Draper, we see the world through his eyes, and veer into the characters that most effect him. And it's pretty world but not a kind one. Don's cynicism colors everything he sees. He paints a pretty picture, but he doesn't trust in it. And will often, with a somewhat chauvinistic air, undercut his pretty model wife who sits bored and inactive with the kids, while he stays late in the city and sleeps with intellectual and witty women who are sharp boned with dark hair and dark eyes, a sharp contrast to his wife's Grace Kelly looks.
Mad Men takes great pains to be historically accurate, so spends a lot of time and energy on it's setting, set design, costumes, hair styles, etc. Everything from the old 1960's tv newscasts to the products being sold at that time. Not a hair is out of place. Quite remarkable considering how quickly the show is produced, although being on cable with just 13 episodes, may have provided it with more time and flexibility than the shows on the broadcast networks.
Mad Men is not always an easy show to watch, it drags a bit in places. And the characters are not likable. You feel sympathy for them, but they do not really enter your heart. With the possible exception of Peggy, Don Draper's secretary, who follows a different path than all the other secretaries. Peggy is the only female character that does not look like she stepped out of a film reel or fashion magazine. Don, you care about, but you don't necessarily like. He reminds me a great deal of the traditional noir anti-hero. A character who appears to be doomed by his inability to rise above his own selfish impulses. A true Mad Men - who is both the product and the creator of the industry he thrives in.
Similar to the remake of Far From Heaven, Mad Men by going back to the 1960s, shines a light on history's ironies. What we've succeeded in and where we have failed as a culture. Rampant consumerism, promoting the lie or a view that image, how something appears is more important than what it is, demonstrated by the fact that almost every character smokes on the series - stating they must because it is the product they promote, it's an image they must protect and push. The fact that the image is killing them is of little consequence. They ignore reports about the dangers of smoking, in favor of the fact it makes them feel good and looks good. The TV show constantly contrasts the image against the reality. Showing that what is being sold isn't necessarily what is available. A fitting and timely theme.
If you haven't given Mad Men a try, you should. It is a show that stays with you long after it has aired. And those are rare commodities.