07-04-2010, 07:45 PM
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.
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.