Mad Men

March/April Madness

In our office pool I am comfortably in 17th place out of 26 with only a chance of dropping to 18th place if Michigan Wolverines win tonight’s game. None the less I am rooting for a Michigan win. My boss has them as his champion pick and if they win he wins the pool and promises to buy 2 dozen doughnuts and bring them to work.

Watched the season opener of Mad Men this evening and I felt like I needed the Cliff Notes to follow all the illusions and symbolism. Is it me or was it easier to watch this show when in the first few seasons we were just watching to see what was going on with these people? Now that I became a fan and started reading web site reviews and discussions of plot and story and what not, I think I see hidden meanings everywhere so that I must go out and read more about the show to see if I was right or wrong and what else I might have missed.

Started up, went down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1213

Critisism

I love some Mad Men. At first I was just sucked into its pitch perfect take on the early 60’s, but the more you watch, the more you realize that this is one of the most nuanced things on TV. The trouble with that nuance thing is that while I still enjoy watching the show, following the characters and their story arcs, the big picture if you will, I now need help with recognizing all the small brush strokes that create the total piece of art.

For that I have to turn to various reviews and recaps, plus their ever entertaining and sometimes informative comments. Usual reads are HitFix, Vulture, PressPlay and my favorite, the AV Club.

Tonight’s homework assignment kiddies is to watch this past Sunday’s episode, Lady Lazarus, then go read the AV Club review and see what you missed. If you can’t be bothered with watching the show, just go read the AV Club piece.

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Tran?si?tions since 10/24/08: 1133