Mad Men Season 2 (and why do I even like this show?)

SPOILER ALERT!

I've now finished watching the second season of Mad Men (post about season 1 here), which continues to follow the adventures of our dear friend Donald Draper. I very much enjoyed season 2, but it's difficult to say whether I enjoyed it more than season 1, because it's been a while since I watched it. Yet, I dare say I did enjoy it a wee bit more. Maybe because returning back to the characters felt like seeing old friends again and I was more invested in what happened to them. And guess what, I even began to like Don Draper a bit! Haha, progress. I'll return to the topic later on.

I guess I could now say that Mad Men is one of my favourite shows. Sure, I'm not nearly as passionate about it as I've known to be about other shows I kind of like (Lost and Glee, if someone didn't get my drift), but it's a very good show and I've, if not loved, then at least very much liked the first two seasons, and there's no way I stop watching now.

What is it about about Mad Men that I like, then? That's a surprisingly tricky question, actually. With my other favourite shows the answer is clearer and more obvious: with Lost it's the suspense and the cliffhangers that always left you wanting more, and with Glee it's the simple fact that it always manages to make me happy. With Mad Men, then... It's far more difficult to put a finger on it. Sure, the writing is top-notch, but that can't be the main factor, because that alone seldom makes me like something.

The characters? Well, someone as character-oriented as me wouldn't watch a show with characters they don't like. The characters of Mad Men are skilfully structured and multidimensional, each holding a certain kind of mystery (some more than others). The moments when they bare they soul or actually give some explicit hints about what's going on inside their head are rare, and thus must be cherished. Most times the viewer just has to read between the lines. Which is kind of awesome, as too often the character's feelings are theatrically underlined to make sure that even the stupidest member of the audience understands that Mary is feeling a bit sad now.

So maybe it's the characters? Quite possibly, yes. Though it must be noted, that even though I have my favourite characters, I don't think I LIKE like any of them, as people, I mean, because, let's face it, they're all kind of shady and dark and twisted. So there are no kurthummels or desmondhumes (or georgeo'malleys... Have I mentioned I don't watch Grey's Anatomy anymore?) in Mad Men, but that's okay. That's not how they roll. The characters are not meant to be likable. (Luckily there are other shows for people like me, who need to fantasize about being friends with fictional characters. I'd hate to know a Donald Draper. I'd be intimidated to death by someone like him.)

I think this is a good time to look at the characters more closely. First, Don. Oh, Don Don Don... Is it really that hard to be faithful to your wife? Is it really that hard to resist the tempations behind every other corner? Or do you sleep around just because you can? Oh, Donny...Well, anyway, just as I said before, I liked the season 2 Don more than season 1 Don. Maybe because he began to show more signs of humanity. I mean, there's something wrong with his health, which means he must be only a human after all! Yay! And it was kind of refreshing to see him as the underdog for once, crawling before his wife after she found out the truth about his adventures (not the whole truth, though... Some of the beans are yet to be spilled). But yes, I also began to like the determined, confident, endlessly creative office-Don, who gets cocky, because, with that brain, he's entitled to.

If Don was my target of dislike in season 1, season 2 gave that role to his wife, Betty. I can't really say why. I wasn't really a fan of hers before, either, but this season she really began to annoy me. Maybe it's the role of the pretty little wife she's learned to play. I don't know. She just leaves me cold.

Moving on to favourites. Peggy was my season 1 favourite, and remained so throughout the second season, too. It's great to follow how she gradually ascends in the company and how she tries to gain the respect of her collegues, who mostly still see her only as a woman rather than an equal. And there's the business with Pete. All season, everytime the two of them were in the same room, I sensed (or imagined?) the tension between them, caused by all those unsaid things. All season I expected one of them to open their mouth. So you can imagine how satisfying the scene in the final episode felt to me. I'm not expecting the love story of the century (not in a show like Mad Men (in a Glee universe they'd totally get to together and have a million babies and live happily ever after (which is why I adore that show so much)), but I'm excited to see what happens next.

As for the rest of the characters, Joan is still the hottest, toughest babe on the block, Sterling is still a sad old man, but the old man Cooper is awesome with his socks and all. There's also some interesting stories and personalities arising from amidst of the men of the office, to whom I paid hardly any attention during the first season.

Now I'm actively looking for a cut-price season 3 box set... Though I'll soon give up and buy the full-priced one, because meanwhile I'm forced to watch the second season of True Blood, which I'm not very excited about right now. There's not nearly enough of unge herr Skarsgård.

Lost lost / Damn you, Emmys!

Last night after 2 am I opened my laptop, because despite being tired I didn't feel sleepy at all. As you might know it was the primetime Emmy night, and I was happy to find some livestream material from the red carpet in IMDb homepage. So I watched that for a while, and when the show itself began (it was 3 am by then) I found myself waiting for the results and staring at a "backstage cam" at emmy.com. I finally made myself switch off my laptop when Lost lost in the first category it was nominated it. Good thing I did, I don't know if I could've taken all those upcoming disappointments so late at night, haha. Poor Lost. Hopefully you're a better loser than I am.

So, Lost left home empty handed. Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn have both won Emmys previously, so I think I can get over their losses. Matthew Fox didn't win either, but Jack doesn't care about winning, right? An Emmy for Darlton would've been nice, or for Jack Bender for directing... But oh well. At least they won some back in season 1.

There are some bright spots, too. Jane Lynch won, which was very cool, Glee is awesome and Sue Sylvester just pure genious. I'm not familar with Modern Family, which 'robbed' most of Glee's potential Emmys, so I can't really hold any grudge there. Now I only must swallow my bitterness and be happy for Mad Men. They did good, and deservingly so.

Jimmy Fallon hosted. He's pretty good, actually. I kind of like him. Here's the opening number, Glee themed, which of course is awesome. Also, Jon Hamm dancing and shaking his booty is something worth seeing, I can tell you...

Now I'll go lick my wounds and maybe watch today's portion of Lost. You'll always be the winner in my eyes.

Mad Men (season 1) - the mad world of ad men

I bought the first season of Mad Men to see it as a test. The result of the test: I will have to see the second season, too.

Mad Men sets in a prestigious advertising agency in New York, in the early 1960s, in a glamourous era after the depression when people are desperately chasing the American dream. Mostly it concetrates on one of the most talented and desired man in the business, Donald Draper - his various affairs, mysterious past, problems at home and in the office. There's also a wide range of other interesting characers. Who, for me, are often more interesting than the main character. I guess I have a thing about favoring the supporting characters over the central one.

Don't get me wrong, Don Draper is a great character and Jon Hamm plays him very stylishly. In many ways his a difficult character - distant, serious, closed-up, not giving much away of himself, so mostly you just see this hard, polished, ice-cold shell, which is both intriqueing and intimidating. I grew fonder of him towards the end of the season, but can't still quite understand or approve some of his behaviour, arrogance and cynicism.

January Jones plays Don's wife Betty. January Jones has a very swell name! She also had a small role in the best romcom ever (Love Actually, if you didn't know), so thumbs up for that. Betty is a beautiful, young house wife, mother of two children and married to a handsome, successful man. Perfect, right? We know it isn't. Behind the flawless facade Betty is quite lost - a fragile, unhappy woman, who can't be totally honest to anyone, not even her terapist, nor herself. The cheating husband doesn't really help.

Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss) is Don's new secretary. Young, confused, unexperienced, she tries to learn the ways of the office, both the written and unwritten rules. However, she has ambition and some ideas. Peggy was probably my favourite character from the very beginning. Just like the viewer, she was a newbie in this harsh environment. I like how she tries so very hard, but doesn't always know how to act or what to say in certain situations, making herself easy to mock by the self-satisfied, in-a-group-stupidity-condenses men of the office.

Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) is probably the most annoying character - and yet one of my favourites. Pete's from a powerful family, wedging his value to the company. And he's a shameless climber, not dumb, but thinking a bit too much of himself and letting it show, lacking humility and sense of humour, when it comes to things below his belt. And not only figuratively. He's not very popular around the office because of his big mouth and unability show respect to certain authorities, and he often feels alone and left out. The storyline of him and Peggy was my favourite along the season.

Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) is  the head of all the secretaries, teaching them the ways of the office, offering a shoulder to cry on and if necessary, bringing them down to earth when they aren't acting in an appropriate way. She's a very confident woman, with tons of attitude and curves to die for (just saying). She's also a favourite of mine.

Rest of the ad men don't get that much attention, but I'm looking forward to learning more about them. Expect for that grey-haired big boss Sterling. Pathetic old man. Sorry.

Mad Men's writing is what makes it so good. It's clever yet subtle. I love the time period and the clothes, oh, the clothes. From time to time the little feminist in me pouts her mouth at the mentality of the era - the place and meaning of a woman, the sexism and the dismissive honey/sweet heart/dear way they are talked to in the world still ruled by men (been there, experienced that, still in the 21th century...). And the cheating, oh god it's shameless and ugly. And then they practically slap their wives when they smile at the man next door. It annoys me, but at the same time that's what makes the show what it is: an accurate potrayal of that time. And it's always super cool when a woman dares to stand up for herself and doesn't settle on being alive just to please the man next to her. High five, y'all!

Silencing the little feminist in me in three two one now.

So. One season down. Second season is a must-see, we'll see when I'll get my hands on it. Mad Men is not the new Lost, but it was a good find anyway. The mission impossible continues soon, as I see if I can become addicted on True Blood on a second try.

My favourite TV shows: Honorable mentions & future prospects

(I'm currently enjoying the last week of my summer job. So here's a timed post for you!)

To FINALLY finish My Top 5 Favourite TV shows list, I write one more post about those series that possibly almost might have made it to the list, but they didn't because it was too crowded. Just to remind you, this is what the list looked like:

1. Lost (part two)
2. Glee / Extras
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. The O.C.
5. Prison Break / Skins

Now, to the five honorable mentions.

Muumilaakson tarinoita (Moomin)

I'll keep myself in check and mention only one childhood favourite. Of course I had to choose Moomin, because it's simply the best thing that's come out of tv (before Lost came along). I don't think I need to explain myself any further, everyone must understand the charm of these white, round creatures and their friends. I still find the series highly entertaining, some remarks insanely funny and the general philosophy just pure genious. I think I'll be a Moomin fan even when I'm 70. This is one thing worth feeling patriotic about.

"Jos minä löytäisin jostakin tarpeeksi pienen poikaystävän, olisin minäkin kevytkenkäinen."

Ally McBeal (season 4 only)

Why only season 4? That's the only season I've watched entirely. Why? Well, there's a small hint above. This winter I was at the peak of my Robert Downey Jr. phase, and watched everything I could that had anything to do with him. Including season 4 of Ally McBeal. I've watched random episodes of the show over the years, and I remembered only that f*cking scary dancing uga zaga baby. Hrrr. Anyway. The season was both very enjoyable and freaking painful. I put a bit too much of my soul into it. I knew all the time the season would end in tears - RDJ was struggling with drugs at the time so he was kicked out of the show. I loved RDJ's Larry more than it's healthy and wanted to marry him or at least Ally to marry him. I often felt disturbingly melancholic after watching an episode, especially after the season was over and they didn't live happily ever after. SIGH. What a wonderful, wondeful man. Damn you and your drug issues.

"Done."

Friends

I'm not one of those people who love Friends more than life and can recite the dialogue of every episode. But everytime I happen to open the tv and Friends is on, I don't change the channel. I'm prone to forgetting how good the series actually is! Everytime I watch an episode I laugh and enjoy myself. My favourite character must be... um... Pheobe. Or Ross. Oh I don't know. Anyway, Friends is what I think when someone says the word 'sitcom'.

"Pheobe. That's, P, as in Phoebe, H, as in heobe, O as in oebe, E, as in ebe, B, as in bebe, and E as in... Ello there mate."

The Simpsons

Similarly to Friends, The Simpsons is the show to watch if you happen to open the tv at the right time and want to have fun for a half an hour. It's a genuinely funny show, with all the references and padorys of popular culture and the real world. The scale of characters is great, some of my favourites are the angry Scottish janitor, Abu with his wonderful Indian accent and of course Bart.

"Thank you, come again!"

Little Britain

For me, Little Britain was the representative of British humour until I found Extras. Little Britain mostly relies on men dressing up as women or homosexual-ish characters, catch phrases and repetive sketches. It's funny, yeah, but not in too big portions. My favourite sketches are the Prime Minister and his teenage girl-ishly jealous assistant ("Wha evaa!"), the teenage monster Vicky Pollard ("Yeah but no but yeah but...") and of course Andy and Lou ("Yeah, I know.").

"Computer says... no."

Now. The hole where Lost used to be. I'm 99 % sure it'll never be completely filled, and well, I don't think I'd even want that. But still, I'm in a quest to find new shows to get addicted on. Glee is my most recent discovery, but I need at least one more.

I have some candidates. I've watched the first few episodes of True Blood, and it was pretty good, though not OMG-FREAKING-AWESOME good. But I think I'll try it again some time. Same with Chuck, a show about a computer nerd, who accidently gets involved with goverment secrects. I've seen random episodes of Supernatural, and it's good and creepy and full of eye candy. I'm trying to get my hand on the first season.

I just recently bought the first season of Mad Men, because it was cheap and it's won six Emmys. And six Emmys can't be wrong. Right? I've now watched two episodes, and the characters seem pretty interesting and I'm really hoping I'll get involved in the story and become addicted and my search will be over. Fingers crossed...

Meanwhile... Any further recommendations?