Television Mad Men | SPOILERS
- Thread starter Alex
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I've never missed a show as much as I miss Mad Men.
I can't remember Far Away Places off the top of my head, quick rundown? The Jet Set is really good, that's definitely an honourable mention for me too.
The one where Roger takes LSD I believe. Great episode.
Ah, yeah. 
When it comes to the main secondary characters they don't get any better than Roger and Pete.
Currently in season two of my rewatch and I must say that the Peggy backdrop with her family and the priest is probably the least entertaining arc of them all. It does give rise to one of my favourite quotes in the show, though. 'This never happened. It will shock you how much this never happened'.
When it comes to the main secondary characters they don't get any better than Roger and Pete.
Currently in season two of my rewatch and I must say that the Peggy backdrop with her family and the priest is probably the least entertaining arc of them all. It does give rise to one of my favourite quotes in the show, though. 'This never happened. It will shock you how much this never happened'.
Any other ambitious drama series around these days?
Seen Rectify and The Leftovers? They're two that stand out, I think.
Totally agree on both counts, both that story ark with the Hanks fellow, and that quote which is superb.Ah, yeah.
When it comes to the main secondary characters they don't get any better than Roger and Pete.
Currently in season two of my rewatch and I must say that the Peggy backdrop with her family and the priest is probably the least entertaining arc of them all. It does give rise to one of my favourite quotes in the show, though. 'This never happened. It will shock you how much this never happened'.
There was a really weird end scene in one of the episodes where they have him (Hanks?) in his room playing the guitar and singing. Never quite got that.
Just watched The Jet Set a few hours ago. Joy sure was beautiful, wouldn't have blamed Don for running off with her. I never realised on my first watch that it was Anna who Don had sent the book Meditations In An Emergency from season one.
I've acquired the first episode of Leftovers but I'm concerned over the presence of Lindelof.
First season is very hit and miss.
Second season is some of the best TV I've seen.
Keep watching.
EDIT: it's not really anything like Lost, if that's what your concern is.
Is it just me or did they give Don a real Michael Corleone vibe at times. I think it's almost like watching the godfather at times.
So I just finished the last episode.. feel emotional as feck, what a TV series. I haven't seen Sopranos yet (my next series to watch) but this is probably my favourite ever TV show other than the Wire, GOT, Breaking Bad.
I personally preferred the earlier seasons and didn't enjoy season 6 much, but season 7 was a strong return to form. Whilst the last episode felt a tad hollow and unsatisfying, it kind of symbolised Draper's existence in a nutshell.
Impossible for me to pick favourite episodes as I feel the standard is so damn consistent, each episode so meaningful especially seasons 1-5 that you can't pick a best episode (some memorable ones for me - Red in the face?, Jet Set, Meditations in an Emergency, Guy walks into advertising agency, Suitcase, The good news, Far away places, Codfish ball (season 5 has a string of classics) , but season wise.. I'd go:
1. Season 1
2. Season 3/5
3. Season 2/Season 4
4. Season 7
5. Season 6
Characters I loved:
1) Don Draper - without him, there is no Mad Men.. it wouldn't work without him.
2) Roger Sterling - fecking legend and so damn hilarious
3) Sally Draper - stunning young actress, she is in many ways the only pure heart and soul in the entire show. Very likeable character.
4) Pete Campbell - love the fact he got with Trudy again.. he was trying to be Don all along and failed, but in a way it was success for him. Incredibly memorable and funny character to watch. Some of the women he has been with have been divine too..
5) Glenn Bishop - don't get the hate you guys had for him, every scene he was in was utterly hilarious, awkward and creepy. Loved it.
Special mention to Lane (such a nice guy, good to watch), Ken Cosgrove (earlier seasons), Betty (earlier seasons - what a hottie), Ginsberg (felt they wasted him a tad)
Characters I hated:
1) Joan - thoroughly dislikable by the end of the series and I didn't really buy into her character arc of buxom airhead done good.
2) Peggy - similar to above, I had some respect for her at the beginning but she was a nasty person for majority of the series and ugly as feck to boot.
3) Ted - fecking pointless character. He was built up as some rival for Don but I just didn't buy it.
I personally preferred the earlier seasons and didn't enjoy season 6 much, but season 7 was a strong return to form. Whilst the last episode felt a tad hollow and unsatisfying, it kind of symbolised Draper's existence in a nutshell.
Impossible for me to pick favourite episodes as I feel the standard is so damn consistent, each episode so meaningful especially seasons 1-5 that you can't pick a best episode (some memorable ones for me - Red in the face?, Jet Set, Meditations in an Emergency, Guy walks into advertising agency, Suitcase, The good news, Far away places, Codfish ball (season 5 has a string of classics) , but season wise.. I'd go:
1. Season 1
2. Season 3/5
3. Season 2/Season 4
4. Season 7
5. Season 6
Characters I loved:
1) Don Draper - without him, there is no Mad Men.. it wouldn't work without him.
2) Roger Sterling - fecking legend and so damn hilarious
3) Sally Draper - stunning young actress, she is in many ways the only pure heart and soul in the entire show. Very likeable character.
4) Pete Campbell - love the fact he got with Trudy again.. he was trying to be Don all along and failed, but in a way it was success for him. Incredibly memorable and funny character to watch. Some of the women he has been with have been divine too..
5) Glenn Bishop - don't get the hate you guys had for him, every scene he was in was utterly hilarious, awkward and creepy. Loved it.
Special mention to Lane (such a nice guy, good to watch), Ken Cosgrove (earlier seasons), Betty (earlier seasons - what a hottie), Ginsberg (felt they wasted him a tad)
Characters I hated:
1) Joan - thoroughly dislikable by the end of the series and I didn't really buy into her character arc of buxom airhead done good.
2) Peggy - similar to above, I had some respect for her at the beginning but she was a nasty person for majority of the series and ugly as feck to boot.
3) Ted - fecking pointless character. He was built up as some rival for Don but I just didn't buy it.
You didn't like Peggy?!
Peggy was great, and I liked Joan. Ted was harmless enough.
I really didn't like Freddy Rumsen, mainly for the way the actor talked out of the side of his mouth.
I really didn't like Freddy Rumsen, mainly for the way the actor talked out of the side of his mouth.
I thought Peggy along with Sally were the 'heart' of the show. Her ending was a bit cheesy though.
I liked Joan in the beginning but I thought she became rather pointless in the last few seasons.
Harry Crane was the worst though.
Harry Crane was the worst though.
Unsurprising that season 6 was your least favourite, it's very divisive in reception at the time. Don's descent throttled to the max, Megan with unnecessary screen time/useless sideplots, and most importantly, it followed season 5 which I felt was easily the best season. The run from Season 5 episode 3 - until the final episode is absolutely phenomenal.
I thought Glenn Bishop was as wooden as it gets. Probably only worsened by the bird Pete had an affair with.
I thought Glenn Bishop was as wooden as it gets. Probably only worsened by the bird Pete had an affair with.
Yeah, she eventually lost her way a bit. Her role as the savvy, leading woman of the office who knew how to handle everyone else started to become redundant once Peggy also reached that position. Her relationship with Roger was great in earlier seasons but eventually faded out a lot too. Not to mention she sort of fell out with Don, and the two of them had one of the best dynamics in the show in early seasons - not in too many scenes together, but always intriguing when they were.
Harry was quite entertaining: went from the slightly shy and awkward nerd type to a cheating douchebag. Suppose it showed the corrupting influence the ad world had on him. Ken went the opposite way; from fratboy womaniser type to married with a kid in later seasons.
Yeah, 6 was probably the weakest. Don's affair with his neighbour got quite dull considering it was incredibly similar to what we'd seen before. The merger storyline was quite fun though and Don's complete descent coming to fruition at the end of the season was a great end to the season.
I think it's fair to give Weiner the benefit of the doubt and say that it was intentional; the affair and a merger are both things he's already done before, and so it continues the extended metaphor of Don's life being an endless cycle.
True, the affair was probably necessary in the respect that Don was regressing back to his old self after showing some progress in Season 5 with his latest marriage to Megan. Probably just a bit drawn out and took up too much screentime.
Watched Roger Sterling on LSD episode last night, hilarious. Easily my favourite character of the show so far. Still avoiding reading this thread since there are few seasons left for me, don't have much time these past few months to finish this quickly.
Easily my favourite character of the show so far. Still avoiding reading this thread since there are few seasons left for me, don't have much time these past few months to finish this quickly.Anyone who puts fecking Glenn above Peggy is history's greatest monster.
Also Joan was never an airhead.
I never liked Joan too. Peggy was great though.
As a character she was amazing, Mad Men wouldn't the same without her. Just meant on a personal level I didn't like her.. Joan likewise, very much needed but didn't like her on a personal level.
@Archie Leach - yes she wasn't an airhead which was the point the show was trying to push, a bit too hard fwiw as she just became a bitch by the end instead of someone you root for. To be fair I am probably being harsh its just I didn't enjoy her storylines much.
To be fair that was tongue in cheek as I read through the thread and realised you guys hate him with a passion
What a great show this is, it's easily in the GOAT tier for me. I'll have to watch it again as reading some things I felt I missed some important things in the first few seasons. Seasons 3-5 are some of the best TV I watched, really enjoyed it. Season 6 was bit disappointing though, and season 7 was interesting but not as good as those before.
I liked how they finished the show with Don, I'd say it fit him very well. In the season 7 I started thinking how he enjoys strangers and today I read from Weiner that he realised that when he was writing season 6. What a strange but great character Don is, I changed my opinion on him as a person 100 times through the show.
Peter Campbell is great, there are so many great scenes when he's pissed off where I enjoyed it, great acting aswell. Roger Sterling was probably my favourite character of the show alongside Don. Really funny guy. Peggy was great too, altough I felt Moss didn't really do her best in some scenes.
Joan was very likeable in first few seasons, but once they merged she became total bitch and I don't quite get why exactly did she turn on against Don, after he proved he is the only one at the firm who actually cared about her. Thought that was very weird. What's worse is that Don acted nice to her later too, I didn't really understand that part.
Harry Crane is pointless. Felt Ted was weak too, altough he did have some important scenes. Another thing I didn't understand is why that guy(his partner) voted for him in the partners meeting when they wanted to get rid of Don when Don was friend with Ted. Woudn't it be easier for Don to ask Ted to vote against it, or maybe Ted lost his right to vote to that guy once he left to California?
Betty was interesting, altough she did have some pointless scenes where you would want to punch her. She was beautiful in first two seaons. Thought the fatty thing was really stupid.
After I got familiar with this show I realised Suits tried to copy many things from Mad Men. Not that I don't like it, it's just a shame they didn't have the balls like Mad Men creators to leave pointless stories and characters behind, but instead they just listened what the average audience wanted and went with it, which ruined the show.
Anyway, I want to watch it again.
I liked how they finished the show with Don, I'd say it fit him very well. In the season 7 I started thinking how he enjoys strangers and today I read from Weiner that he realised that when he was writing season 6. What a strange but great character Don is, I changed my opinion on him as a person 100 times through the show.
Peter Campbell is great, there are so many great scenes when he's pissed off where I enjoyed it, great acting aswell. Roger Sterling was probably my favourite character of the show alongside Don. Really funny guy. Peggy was great too, altough I felt Moss didn't really do her best in some scenes.
Joan was very likeable in first few seasons, but once they merged she became total bitch and I don't quite get why exactly did she turn on against Don, after he proved he is the only one at the firm who actually cared about her. Thought that was very weird. What's worse is that Don acted nice to her later too, I didn't really understand that part.
Harry Crane is pointless. Felt Ted was weak too, altough he did have some important scenes. Another thing I didn't understand is why that guy(his partner) voted for him in the partners meeting when they wanted to get rid of Don when Don was friend with Ted. Woudn't it be easier for Don to ask Ted to vote against it, or maybe Ted lost his right to vote to that guy once he left to California?
Betty was interesting, altough she did have some pointless scenes where you would want to punch her. She was beautiful in first two seaons. Thought the fatty thing was really stupid.
After I got familiar with this show I realised Suits tried to copy many things from Mad Men. Not that I don't like it, it's just a shame they didn't have the balls like Mad Men creators to leave pointless stories and characters behind, but instead they just listened what the average audience wanted and went with it, which ruined the show.
Anyway, I want to watch it again.
Fat Betty was terrible.
Harvey Spectre is a dime store Don Draper.
I think it was a typical case of seeing Don close-up and realising how much of a wildcard and diva Don can be. The mutual respect/flirtation the two had from the early seasons dissipates because Don loses Jaguar simply over disliking the man's attitude over a dinner. It was such a Don Draper move that didn't show any consideration to what Joan had actually done, it renders her affair with that sleazebag as pointless. Beyond that, she is now a partner and has to make financially competent decisions. The company begins haemorrhaging in season six, and Joan - and the others bar maybe Pete and Roger - request stability from the company, not a drunken maverick who is on a steep fall into destruction.
It's exactly how Jim Cutler said in one episode: “Ted and I – every time we’d hear your agency was involved we’d wonder: ‘What’s that man up to?’ Your cloud of mystery – now that I’ve been back stage; I’m deeply unimpressed, Don. You’re just a bully and a drunk…”
FWIW, I think there's also an air of ambiguity regarding Don's reluctance to let Joan sleep with the Jaguar man. Sure, Don does show empathetic and humanly traits at times, but I can't help but feel like the overriding reason why he didn't want her to go through with it is because Don Draper had to woo the Jaguar people, it had to be all about him. Joan sleeping with the man to secure the deal taints Don's image of winning over Jaguar with his excellent creative.
Harry Crane is an interesting one. For the first season or two, he's just a back-up dancer for Pete (Weiner has admitted as much, and that Ken, Hare Krishna guy and Harry were fleshed out later), and then grows into a pretty disgusting man who feels the need to overcompensate with Hollywood talk in every scene. I think making him the butt and bane of Roger Sterling's working existence definitely warps the viewers interpretation of him, it's pretty much like you're told to hate him. In reality though, whilst he's a twat, he's very good at his job, and Jim Cutler was pretty much right when he said the investment of the company's future should be put into Crane and his side of the profession rather than continuing to fund the incrementally dissolving Don Draper.
It wasn't really that simple, that guy was an idiot and they wouldn't respond to his demands sooner or later, someone had to do it even if it meant losing business with Jaguar.
And Joan did what she did only for herself, she didn't do it for the firm, so once she decided to do it Don really shouldn't have some sympathy for her, IMO. No one should, she sold herself for a better position in a firm, even though she was doing fine anyway considering the status of women in general back then. Later episodes showed that she continued living pretty much the same life even after she became a partner, she continued living with her mother in some small apartment.
Don was an idiot with some clients, that presentation with Hersheys was a good example and he deserved the shit for that, but I don't agree that he deserved much stick for the Jaguar. Btw, they still had to win over other people from Jaguar with that presentation if I remember well, so Don obviously did his thing very well there. Didn't Campbell say Joan sleeping with that guy wins him over, but that they still had to win at least one guy with the presentation so Joan sleeping with him wasn't the guarantee they'll land Jaguar.
The implication was definitely that winning over the fat man meant ensuring the deal entirely. He called all the shots. And again, he's nothing worse than what these companies get. Look at the shit Roger Sterling had to go through with Lee Garner Jnr. You grit your teeth and do your job, something that Don obviously has massive issues with.
Nobody is saying Don should sympathise for her, I'm explaining why she was so upset.
He lost a huge car account that they'd all worked so hard to get; he definitely deserved stick. Almost every action taken by Don in season 6 is absolute shite one. It's why viewers dislike the season the most, Don's decision making, lifestyle and physical health are all an absolute mess throughout.
Nobody is saying Don should sympathise for her, I'm explaining why she was so upset.
He lost a huge car account that they'd all worked so hard to get; he definitely deserved stick. Almost every action taken by Don in season 6 is absolute shite one. It's why viewers dislike the season the most, Don's decision making, lifestyle and physical health are all an absolute mess throughout.
Roger had to go with Lee because that was his only worth in the firm. It's not the same, IMO. I agree that Don was a mess and that the firm should turn against him, but not with Joan as a leader of uprising.
Joan wasn't the leader though, it was clearly Jim Cutler. Roger had been doing that for the past 20 odd years too. When you're struggling as they were, you need to do those things.
I really miss Mad Men. It was so well shot, directed and acted. Great characters like Don, Peggy, Pete Campbell, Roger Sterling made it so compelling. I love shows set in the 60s and 70s because of Mad Men.
Finally getting round to watching this.
Halfway through season 3, and it's definitely some of the best TV I've ever watched. Please tell me it doesn't go to shit.
Halfway through season 3, and it's definitely some of the best TV I've ever watched. Please tell me it doesn't go to shit.
It doesn't go to shit.