Mad Men - S5E1 & 2 - A Little Kiss

Back during my Myspace days I also had a blog that was focused on a lot of things but the starting point for that blog was “Lost.” Every week I would watch the latest episode and then dissect it in my blog. Well 5 years ago “Mad Men” started and I have been meaning to write about that show as well. While it doesn’t have the need to develop crazy theories like “Lost” did. It is the best show on television right now and deserves to be analyzed.

It’s been 17 months since the last new episode aired and the show returned with another great episode. It reminded me how much I missed these characters and I was happy to welcome them back into my home. The first part of the show worked at establishing what has changed since we last left the offices of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. The year is now 1966 and it’s Memorial Day weekend. Don is married to Megan and the relationship is essentially about sex. Don is obsessed with having her whenever he wants. This is probably the reason that their apartment is still not put together with blinds and drapes still needing to be put up. Don doesn’t care about that and he is obsessed with just having Megan. Even at work, their time together is about him getting a view of her cleavage or trying to leave work early to get her back to bed. We only got a few shots of Don with his kids but he seems to show that he enjoys being with him and makes a point of telling his coworkers that he had the kids over the weekend and that is what made it great.

Back at the office we get a glance at what the rest of the crew is up to. Peggy has taken charge in creative, true Don is still the head, but with his Megan obsession he is barely there, not once in this episode does he actually push any ad work. The only meeting he takes place in is the Heinz meeting and during it he shows none of the old Don. Note that there is a memorable 60’s ad campaign for Heinz Beans, the famous “Heinz Meanz Beanz” ad. It was put out by Y&R, the company that our main characters were taking pot shots at. I see trouble ahead. Peggy has noticed that Don has changed.

Pete is desperately trying to move even higher in the company and is trying to replace Roger, who is struggling to search for an identity within the company and sees himself as one step away from being as relevant as Bert Cooper. We are currently seeing a role reversal between Pete and Roger, with Roger battling against it. It will be interesting to see if the roles completely reverse and what happens when Pete has what he wants and what will Roger be like when he has nothing that he wants.

The episode also featured some creepy actions from Lane who follows in the same pattern from last year when he was obsessed with the Playboy Club and a check in on Joan who is struggling with motherhood and yearns to return to SCDP. She even makes an impromptu visit that included all sorts of innuendo with Peggy, Pete and Roger. All of this was set with bookends that show the civil rights movement in full swing. Change is coming to SCDP whether they want it or not.

Of course the crux of the episode was the party and the aftermath. The party showed that many of these people are simply work friends not real friends as when they did talk to each other it was usually about work and if it wasn’t it was awkward. The song of course was the most awkward part and showed how Megan is something different and new than what Don has been used to both professionally and privately. Megan of course hasn’t figured out that Don is different at work than at home. But that is really his fault since he is no different in the way he treats her whether they are at home or at work. However, the end shows that she knows how to get his attention and is working on learning how to get what she wants. All of this should make for a great journey during this season.

The Walking Dead - Season 2

After 2 years of “The Walking Dead” on AMC we now have nearly 20 hours of a zombie story that has no definitive ending. It is just the story of people trying to survive. It’s amazing that we are able to have a show like this on the air. It’s even more amazing that a show like this is so popular. The 2nd season had the difficult task of keeping the momentum of the first season, developing these characters into people and not just zombie bait and keeping fans of the comic book happy.

Throughout the 2nd season if you went onto any internet message board you could see that people were generally getting upset about how the group stayed at Hershel’s Farm for the entire season. These are the people that are watching the show just for pure zombie action. I on the other hand am interested in the characters and how they will deal with the pressure brought on by a Zombie apocalypse. And I realize that these characters don’t really want to leave. Where are they going to go? Their goal is to find someplace safe to live. The farm could have been that place.

Several things in this season worked. The continued evolution of Darryl was great to see, then to see him completely torn down after the death of Sophia was fantastic. We also got a lot of change with Rick as he more and more accepts the world that he lives in. Juxtaposed against the fall of Shane this was really good. The addition of Herschel as a character was a welcome addition as a man who held onto hope and still clings to it after all that he has seen. The handling of the farm was well done. It made sense about why they would try to stay there and why they had to leave. For those that thought they stayed there to long, wait to they get to the next location, if they follow the comics they will be there even longer.

There were a lot of things that didn’t work though. The final episode with Dale was just way to repetitive. Seeing him make the same argument to everyone if someone would have responded differently. Lori became a shrieking shrew by the end of the season and made me think that Rick should have just let Shane have her. And what the hell does T-Dawg do exactly? He doesn’t seem to serve any purpose except to show that a black guy is still alive.

It was a good season, but not as strong as it could be. Hopefully the show will be able to be more focused next year with some of the behind the scenes drama having been resolved. Still good TV is good TV and the second season gets 4 out of 5 stars.

The Sound of Music - The Oscar Project Part XXXVIII

I’ve written before about how I had trepidation about the 1960’s when I started this project. For years I had avoided the 1965 winner like the plague. I wanted nothing to do with it. I avoided the stage production, tv airings and the music as much as I could, but it was finally time for me to sit down and watch a movie I had hoped to never see. I mean it has singing nuns and a bunch of children that sing and dance all the time, none of that sounds appealing to me. I like my musicals broody and full of drama. They don’t call me “Kill’em All Matt” because I like it when people nail a musical number. But it is finally time for me to analyze “The Sound of Music.”

For those that don’t know, “The Sound of Music” tells the tale of a nun in training (Maria) being given the job of Governess for a rich Austrian Naval Captain’s family. The Captain is a recent widow and has turned to strict rules to keep his family in line. The kids behave in front of their Father but have taken out their frustrations on their previous Governess’s. Maria however is able to win the hearts of the children and eventually their father through song. However due to the approaching Nazi threat the end of the movie requires the family to flee from Austria. All of this is of course done to song.

So obviously I am not a fan of this movie, however that doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie it’s just not for me. From an acting standpoint everyone puts in a decent performance, really it is only Christopher Plummer however that really shines. He shows growth and change throughout the movie and creates a character that is memorable for more than his songs. The cinematography is also very impressive as the scope of the movie is quite amazing. It is a very well directed and put together movie. The songs also end up being quite catchy, even though I don’t really like any of them. There is a reason that they are remembered by so many. It definitely feels right at home with some of the other films that won Best Picture during the 1960’s.

Overall the movie isn’t for me, but that doesn’t make it a bad movie, it’s for people that aren’t quite as cynical. It gets 3 out of 5 stars.

Awake Pilot Review

NBC has not had the best of times recently. The network is number 4 in the ratings and is desperate to find a hit. Many shows have gone on longer than they should have thanks to this and the peacock channel is also more likely to try something new than the other networks as they are just trying to find something that will stick. Their latest attempt is the crime drama “Awake.”

“Awake” focuses on a police officer who after a car accident finds himself trapped living in two different realities. In one his son has died and his wife survives, in the other his wife has died and his son is still alive. In addition to straddling the line between these two worlds he also is able to solve a case in each using clues that he found in the other world. The reason is that one of these worlds is a dream world and whatever is happening in the real world in influencing him in the dream world. Confused? Don’t be, while it may be difficult for me to explain the writers do it brilliantly.

The pilot ends up being one of the best I have ever seen. I was completely enthralled by the murder mystery and left the episode satisfied by its conclusion. I wasn’t obsessed with which world was real but more interested in finding out how future cases could be handled using the connection. And that is where I have my questions. This would make a great movie or mini-series but I’m not sure where it’s going as a television series. The pilot is wonderful and should be watched by any TV lover but I’m not sold on the series yet. I’ll give it two more episodes to prove it has what it takes.