Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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TV and more ...
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Mad Men channels the simultaneous feelings of accomplishment and yearning, of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, that accompany my daily existence in a way that suggests that my psyche is writing it instead of Matthew Weiner - except that my psyche isn't quite so brilliant.
It's a world where a brand new, state-of-the art copy machine is a blessing and a curse. A world where the hottest talent in the office is tied up in more knots than a Boy Scout could ever learn. Don Draper follows his diagnosis of hypertension with a lunch of steak and eggs and a drink at a bar. It is a world of desires and contradictions that I could just drown myself in.
Some have already suggested that Mad Men's second-season premiere moves at a slow pace. They have not said this as a criticism, but as a compliment that the show is so rich that you enjoy the easy unfolding of events. They're wrong. Plot points are coming rapid-fire through the episode, but it's the authoritative storytelling that makes it go down like smooth gin (or scotch or whatever - I'm no drinker). Don's health, his dealings with Duck Phillips and the ad artists and writers, particularly Peggy, the latest with Betty (including a sudden onset of sexual dysfunction); Betty's newfound pursuit of show jumping, her encounter with her old roommate turned "party girl" and her ongoing give-and-take with trust and sexuality - look at that lingerie and the way she tests the mechanic; Pete and his angst at home and work; Peggy's rising assertiveness and mystery about her absent summer and loss of weight; Roger and Joan, going 'round and 'round and 'round amid the shadow of Joan's possible fiance; Sal being married, for crying out loud. There's the overriding theme of youth vs. aging and finding the perfect way to express need ... tonight's episode is jammed. It's action-packed - only the action isn't guns and crashes, it's character clashes. This is a Sunday drive up Highway 1 in the Central Coast, and whatever speed you're going, spectacular views awe you, own you. The scene between Betty and the mechanic is two wheels over the edge of a cliff.
The combination of the intricacy and intensity of plot and character and the ease with which the show drives your imagination and your musings about life is unmatched on television today. And the season is just getting started. "What did you bring me, Daddy?" This.
Like those two shows, what makes it great is the breadth of characters: protagonist, foil, boss, wives, neighbors, clients--each of whom seems to be a fully realized individual despite his/her limited time on screen.
And, of course, the setting matters a little. Mad Men functions strangely [and perfectly] as a kind of time travel show. Almost 50 years ago, when my parents were teenagers, modern [intentionally left lower case] life was beginning.
You have good taste, Jon.
The main thing I really didn't get was Betty's flirtation with the mechanic. My one thought was that her old roommate's party-girl career was rolling around in her head, along with the discussion (and comparison of) prostitution with her neighbor-friend, and that she decided to work-it so she could get out of that jam. Of course, I noted the detail of the mechanic's hand-prints on the hood, which Don will surely see. That said, it seemed bizarre to me.
The new Mrs. Mayor of San Francisco played Juanita, the party girl.
I liked Pete a lot more this year. And Don. But Paul Kinsey has to lose that beard.
Great episode overall and I didn't find it slow at all, either. There were a couple of scenes that I thought seemed like they could have been lost without any great loss, but I thought it as sharp and intriguing as ever.
Pete's a great character though I have trouble with any scenes involving he and his wife; I think it's just that they're quite depressing together and it's hard to watch.
I'm still shocked by {warning Kinbote, Season 1 Spoiler ahead!}
Betty's pregnancy/birth revelation at the end of season 1. I mean it was obvious in hindsight that she was pregnant but I guess I was in denial about it as much as she was. And so did I miss something or -- what happened to the baby? Adoption?
Anyway, great to have the show back again.
In our era, advertisers bury their clients in numbers, but they can't prove campaign X wouldn't have worked better than the campaign they chose. The one actual ad during the show featured the copywriter who came up with "BMW: The ultimate driving machine." I say it's a good slogan, but to what extent is it responsible for the success of BMW? You can't say.
The characters in the show realize they are faking it, even as they try their best to be the best they can be. So, they have to think about every word they say. Is this what I'm supposed to say here? Is this the right answer? They only know after the fact. It's a scary vision of corporate American life.
P.S. Was that Sal's wife? I thought it might be his mother.
i enjoy that (in my take, anyway) each of the main characters has a duplicity in which they show a second side to people around them, selling themselves to the world ...if i can pull the advertising theme into this.
13 yes. i think that was sal's wife.
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