Monday Morning Two-fer

It's 6 am... The Missus has been up all night preparing kindergarten lessons, and needs to get on the computer to check her e-mail, so I must make this quick. Therefore, I will!

1. The election has officially reached the "nails on the chalkboard" point for me. I can't hear or see an election ad for either candidate without shuddering. Please let the next 8 days pass quickly! However - I do still enjoy SNL sketches making fun of the candidates - Here's the best one from this weekend:


2. If I'm pissed off that there was no NFL game last night because it took the week off to make way for the World Series, does that mean I'm not a baseball fan? I guess so.

Thank God, then, for "Mad Men"! I watched the season two finale instead of the Phillies/Rays game... It's just too bad we have to wait until next July for season three! Guess it's time to start pining for "LOST" to return!

Happy Monday!

Mad Men Is Still Maddeningly Good!

***SPOILER ALERT*** If you watch "Mad Men" on AMC and haven't seen this week's episode, come back after you've watched it!

I have shared in the past about "Mad Men", and the fact that it is one of the best shows on television. I am already lamenting the fact that Season 2, which started back in July, is about two-thirds over. The fascinating thing about this show, set in 1962, is that it uses the past to show us a picture of ourselves today.

One of the themes of this week's episode, for example, dealt with Joan, the sexy office secretary who showed intelligence and insight while reviewing TV scripts for a junior executive, only to find her new and exciting work shuffled off to a new, less worthy, MALE employee. Back to the steno pool, dear - and don't let the door hit your bodaciously blessed derriere on the way out, sweetie! Interestingly enough, this portrait of unrestrained sexism comes just as the Republicans and Democrats point fingers at each other over which party is being more sexist in a more veiled way vis a vis Clinton and Palin. We may find the way women are treated on "Mad Men" to be appalling, but we are reminded that the issue has never gone away.

My favorite part of this week's episode, however, dealt with the marital woes of our attractive suburban couple, Don and Betty. Betty has rightly accused Don of having an affair, and even though his hand is still in the proverbial cookie jar, Don can't bring himself to fess up to this unthinkable sin. In fact, by the end of the episode, Don has gone from sleeping on the sofa to being banned from the house altogether - an unthinkable scandal in 1962!


I remember when my parents spilt over similar "cookie jar" issues in the 60's, and how traumatic it was to be around my school mates. Divorce was almost unthinkable back then, and in fact, my sisters and I were the ONLY kids in the neighborhood whose parents had ever broken up. It was like having a scarlet "A" spray-painted on our house! To see all of this being played out now on television in the same general time frame is fascinating, and I can't wait to find out how this will be played on the show. My bet is that Don and Betty will not break up - there's simply too much at stake both at work and in the neighborhood for them to stay apart!

The next time you find yourself mocking your parents for what you might see as their backwards, or perhaps, outdated values system, just remember that their generation had to figure out how to deal with issues like infidelity and sexism and out-of-wedlock pregnancy and homosexuality (two other big "Mad Men" themes) without Dr. Phil or Oprah to talk them through it. We were a much more closeted nation in 1962. And it's quite educational to be shown how people dealt (or did not deal) with their sins, as Fred Grandy would say, "back in the day".

Mad Men Update!

As I told you earlier this month, Mad Men, the best TV show you probably didn't watch last summer, is returning for a second season on July 27th on AMC. This breakout hit about life in an early 60's Madison Avenue ad agency has been nominated for several Emmys, including Best Drama Series. If you want to catch up on the series to see what you've missed, you will have your chance this Sunday, July 20th, when AMC runs Season One in a 13-hour marathon, starting at Noon. Set those TiVos... spark up a Lucky Strike... pour a tall scotch... have the missus fix you up some canapes in the kitchen... and enjoy!

"Heroes" - A Worthy LOST Substitute!

Here's one more item that I had meant to include in the previous "Odds and Ends" post... I just finished watching seasons one and two of "Heroes", the NBC sci-fi series about a group of otherwise-normal people who discover they each have a unique set of superpowers. I had managed to ignore the Heroes phenomenon when it debuted, but with the regular TV season over in May, I needed something to satisfy my boob tube sweet tooth, and Heroes did the trick.

Now, some people have compared Heroes to LOST, the best show on television. "Heroes" is not as good as LOST... Its story arcs are shorter and not nearly as intricate as those on LOST. However, the two are similar in that they tend to end each episode with a cliffhanger that leaves you anxious to watch the next episode, and with Heroes returning to NBC's fall schedule, it will make a nice substitute as I await LOST's return in February. And until Heroes returns, I'll have "Mad Men" to keep me going! Kinda like methadone filling in for heroin, huh? All the same addiction without those nasty withdrawal symptoms!

Get MAD This Holiday Weekend!

The best new show on television (as opposed to LOST, which is the best show on TV, period) comes out on DVD today - I'm speaking about "Mad Men", the drama that takes us to Madison Avenue, circa 1960, when men were men and women were sex objects, and when excessive smoking and drinking were encouraged in the workplace! What makes this show so attractive for baby-boomers is that this is how we remember our parents - especially in the scenes in the suburbs... The lead character, Don Draper, takes the train home every night to a wife who greets him with a drink in hand and dinner in the oven - kinda like the Dick Van Dyke show, but with real-life pressures.

I was surprised to find out recently that many, if not most, people I've spoken with had not heard of "Mad Men"... Perhaps because it aired on AMC, and it debuted as a summer series. The show's pedigree is impeccable - it's creator was one of the Executive Producers for "The Sopranos", and you can see some of the same familiar touches. The show has a highly stylized look (1960 modern - just like my living room growing up), and it uses music to make subtle points, just as the Sopranos did.

Check out this clip, then get on Netflix and check it out! You can thank me later.


Season Two begins July 27th, so now is a perfect time for you to get caught up!