"Mad Men" Marathon starts tomorrow, first 3 seasons, limited episodes

[Grateful11]

Kind of strange but it appears only certain episodes made the viewers choice cut for the marathon.

I've watched it since season 1 and it's very good but maybe it's more for people that grew up in that era, I don't know.

http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/2010/06/m...inners.php

Season 1
Episode 1: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"
Episode 6: "Babylon"
Episode 8: "The Hobo Code"
Episode 12: "Nixon vs. Kennedy"
Episode 13: "The Wheel"

The Season 1 marathon will kick off on Mon., Jul. 5 at 8PM | 7 C.

Season 2
Episode 1: "For Those Who Think Young"
Episode 8: "A Night to Remember"
Episode 9: "Six Month Leave"
Episode 12: "The Mountain King"
Episode 13: "Meditations in an Emergency"

The Season 2 marathon will kick off on Mon., Jul. 12 at 8PM | 7C.

Season 3
Episode 1: "Out of Town"
Episode 6: "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency"
Episode 11: "The Gypsy and the Hobo"
Episode 12: "The Grown Ups"
Episode 13: "Shut the Door. Have a Seat"

The Season 3 marathon will kick off on Mon., Jul. 19 at 8PM | 7C.C

The new season starts July 25 10PM EST/9C

[freeradical]

I've never watched any of this show, but I've considered putting it in my Netflix queue.

Is this a character development/plot development/soap opera kind of show, or are the episodes pretty much stand alone.

[Grateful11]

I'm not sure what the "real" draw is. Too me it's more of the character development than anything else.

[davester]

freeradical wrote: Is this a character development/plot development/soap opera kind of show, or are the episodes pretty much stand alone.

Definitely the former. The show is a rather over the top caricature of the period (1961-1963), but a very good caricature. It's very addictive.

[SteveO]

We are on Season 3 watching Netflix discs. Hassle that their whole catalog isn't online (yet). S1 was the best by far in my reckoning. S2 was not bad. S3 has the wife and me wondering why it continues to win so many awards. I'm thinking the competition must not be so great. (No Sopranos these days, no Wire, etc.)

Yeah, I'd call it character-driven and soapy. Some characters could use a little more shading, such as January Jones's mother/wife character. (Over time, I think she has proven consistently mean to her kids and too self-involved for me to be very interested in her as a character.) They have done a good job of softening the main character, Don Draper, over time. It appears his on-air wife is taking all the negative that he leaves behind.

To be fair, I think a lot of this is just a reflection of our self-obsessed culture, and the collective ennui of the moment.

I enjoy seeing the period sets and garb. They've made a big deal PR-wise out of the lengths they go to for authenticity from wardrobe to sets to dialogue. I think they're spot-on except for the dialogue (I've heard characters using slang of today that is simply out of place if they are gonna make a big deal out of authenticity). The agency entrance doors also look very contemporary to me...the glass is too thick and finished to be from back then, or even from the '70s for that matter. I'd think it would have had frames around it (and different handles) as all the glass I remember and see (albeit rarely these days) from that era is framed in metal ... and the door handles of that period [vs. today] are also very easy to spot. Yes, I'm a stickler for detail...if you're gonna brag on it as 110% authentic, it better be, ha! But these are just my impressions, ymmv.

Overall, it is a pretty fun show to watch. Especially for me as an ad guy rooted in the '60s creative revolution. Catch the marathon and see if you agree. Me? No cable. Too bad. But I put the money saved to good use.

[Rolando]

Here are two wonderful reasons to watch!

.

[Mr Downtown]

Yes, it's odd that they go to such effort over props and social mores of the time, and then blow right past anachronistic typefaces and modern-day dialogue and usage. Nonetheless, it's intelligent dialogue and well-written stories, and that's become so rare in the age of reality TV.

Rolando, that's the same actor/character in both photos. She just has her hair different.

[deckeda]

Mr Downtown wrote:
Rolando, that's the same actor/character in both photos. She just has her hair different.

(Psst—he knows that.)

[deckeda]

Having ditched cable some time ago I haven't had AMC in a while, and so I've never seen this series although I've heard the buzz about it.

It sounds like it might have some production values I liked in the 1986-88 TV show "Crime Story," the short-lived series about late '50s/early '60s Chicago crime. Yes? No?

[NewtonMP2100]

.....gotz MADz skills....