The really great TV thread

[sportdan30]

Just finished season 4 of Mad Men on Netflix (can't get enough of this show), but is season 5 not yet available via online streaming?

[RallyMonkey]

Well after three episodes I can officially say I'm hooked on "The Americans". Acting is excellent pretty much across the board, writing is super. Not sure of the long term staying power due to the premise, but as of now I'm definitely along for the ride.

[pk500]

Well after three episodes I can officially say I'm hooked on "The Americans". Acting is excellent pretty much across the board, writing is super. Not sure of the long term staying power due to the premise, but as of now I'm definitely along for the ride.

Agree. A very good show. And the evolving relationship storyline between the husband-and-wife spies, with the lover in Philly mixed in, is compelling.

Plus I'm 47. I remember the days of the Cold War vividly.

And Keri Russell remains so damn HOT.

[RobVarak]

That pilot was as good as anything I've seen in years. Brilliantly nuanced writing and acting.

[vader29]

If Game Of Thrones took place entirely on Facebook: Season 3, Episode 1
http://www.happyplace.com/22775/game-of ... -episode-1

[dbdynsty25]

I think two hour premiers are a bit much. Mad Men seemed to drag a bit as they introduced a lot of the "new" stuff this season. It didn't help that I started watching at 11pm but I dozed off in the middle somewhere and had to rewind to catch what I missed. But I still think an hour is plenty to get what they want to accomplish.

[RobVarak]

I agree. It's definitely a testament to Weiner's ego and a forum for he and his directors to go full "cinema" which is a mixed blessing at best.

That said, I thought yesterday's episode was pretty awesome. I think it was the direct analog of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry & George pitch Seinfeld to NBC. It was an overt explanation of the theme of the entire series. Roger's "doors" monologue sums it up. The show refuses to impose traditional narratives. Character development veers from non-linear to non-existent. Events happen because they happen, not because they are leading to some grand ending. It's life. There's no denouement of the Roger-Joan baby story. Roger's LSD experiments don't "lead" anywhere. Don is the same lost, lying Lothario he's been since the day we met him. In the end all of the funny, poignant, sad, scary and wonderful things that happen to these people don't do anything to keep them from ending up as Burt Cooper, barefoot, clueless and along for the ride in life.

[pk500]

Acknowledgment of mortality and the rise of a younger, stronger, more talented generation seems to be a pervasive theme already after two hours of this season. Roger thinks life is simply a straight line to death. Don addresses mortality in more overt ways -- "What was it like when you died?" -- and wonders if he can continue both the workplace brilliance and sexual banality of his younger years. Even Peggy is feeling a bit old.

I continue to see how these stories intertwine through Don, Roger and Peggy. But Betty's continued existence mystifies me. Now that she has no unbroken lines to Don other than their kids, what is her purpose in this show? I find myself more and more aggravated every time I see January Jones on screen, because her character seems to be incredibly vapid and irrelevant compared to earlier seasons -- and because she's put on 30 pounds.

Weiner's ego and his unique storytelling style lets him get away with leaving plenty of loose ends, as Rob said. But some cues and clues for new characters would be appreciated at times. For example, who the hell was the girl who played violin? She's not Sally's friend. She's not Francis' daughter from his first marriage. And she already has vanished, with her violin case and scarf as the only trace.

I hope that fake Julliard girl returns in some shape or spirit into the plot. Otherwise, she served no purpose other than to fill time for Weiner's ego, which grates after a while.

Vince Gilligan exerts the same amount of dominance and iron grip over "Breaking Bad" that Weiner does over "Mad Men." But he doesn't introduce new characters as props or charades. Even if they play only a bit part, every character matters in "Breaking Bad." Same with "The Wire" -- every character was an section of cloth in a fantastic tapestry. Weiner leaves human scraps on the floor.

Transient characters are fine. But it almost feels at times that Weiner is creating density only for density's sake.

[RobVarak]

No doubt that Weiner either shares or was the driving force behind David Chase's semi-regular fingers in the eyes of the viewers with stuff like randomly introducing new characters, non-sequitor storylines etc. I wouldn't excuse this impulse by saying that without it we wouldn't get the benefits of those less infuriating aspects of his writing, but it's usually a price I'm willing to pay.

You see this with novelists a lot. Guys (and for some reason it usually seems to be guys. I'm looking at you Phillip Roth) seem to think that their success earns them right to be willfully difficult and needlessly "challenging" because their audience will follow them. Strangely, their egos seem to overlook the fact that more of their audience might follow them if they kept their storytelling somewhat more streamlined.

[fsquid]

just a slow episode in my book. Glad to see Don back to banging chicks that aren't his.

[dbdynsty25]

just a slow episode in my book. Glad to see Don back to banging chicks that aren't his.

And being that it was Linda Cardellini made it even that much sweeter.

[fsquid]

yea, I didn't recognize her until I read the recap.

[dbdynsty25]

yea, I didn't recognize her until I read the recap.

Recognized her right away. I guess that means I've seen Grandma's Boy WAAAAY too many times. Karate Monkeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyy

[wco81]

I thought I skimmed some headline about January Jones wearing something to make her look heavier.

Yeah the characters meander through life, there's no final denouement -- actually, Mad Men doesn't have an end point set like Breaking Bad, does it?

It's believable that Don would revert to old patterns. Were they particularly conscious in the '60s about being cured, probing the cause of certain behavior patterns and trying to modify them? Psychotherapy started out popular in the '60s and '70s, especially in the NE, but if Don started therapy, there would probably be more of an uproar than all those Tony Soprano scenes with Melfi.

It sounds like Vietnam may become more front and center. The show ends with New Year's Day 1968. Will the characters be blithely unaware of the tumult around them? Or will events render the next ad campaign for ketchup or the latest crisis in their personal lives seem small in comparison?

[pk500]

I thought I skimmed some headline about January Jones wearing something to make her look heavier.

She was pregnant in real life during filming of last season, hence the weight gain and overeating arcs to her storyline. Maybe the first few episodes of this season were filmed when she was still preggers or right after she gave birth?

Yeah the characters meander through life, there's no final denouement -- actually, Mad Men doesn't have an end point set like Breaking Bad, does it?

Yes, it does. We're in the penultimate season. The show will end after Season 7, Matt Weiner said.

[wco81]

Article from last year:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/168243 ... suit.jhtml

[fsquid]

don't think the show works in the mid 70s, so I'm assuming they take it up to the end of the decade or maybe right to the Watergate era.

[pk500]

Article from last year:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/168243 ... suit.jhtml

Cool. Jones must still use the fat suit, as she still looks large and in charge.

[dbdynsty25]

Article from last year:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/168243 ... suit.jhtml

Cool. Jones must still use the fat suit, as she still looks large and in charge.

Yes, she's using quite a bit of prosthetic alteration according to a few articles I've read but am too lazy to link.

[dbdynsty25]

If you guys aren't watching Southland on TNT...you are severely missing out. Tonight's episode was absolutely epic.

[bulls23]

Well after three episodes I can officially say I'm hooked on "The Americans". Acting is excellent pretty much across the board, writing is super. Not sure of the long term staying power due to the premise, but as of now I'm definitely along for the ride.

Agreed, fantastic show and I'm hooked also. How about these cable channels (FX, AMC, TNT, etc) making these incredible shows and putting the broadcast networks (with the exception of maybe CBS) to shame.

One of the few shows (along with The Walking Dead), where I can't wait to see what happens next and where things happen I don't expect (with a couple of important characters dying this week).

I grew up in the 80s and remember the fear of the Cold War, and here I am sometimes rooting and empathizing with these Ruskie spies!

[pk500]

I grew up in the 80s and remember the fear of the Cold War, and here I am sometimes rooting and empathizing with these Ruskie spies!

You just want to bang Keri Russell -- like the rest of us! Great show, indeed.

[wco81]

That Russian-Afghan actress is hot too.

It's funny that she struggles with pronouncing "jitters" but says "I sucked his cock" like an old pro.

[pk500]

That Russian-Afghan actress is hot too.

It's funny that she struggles with pronouncing "jitters" but says "I sucked his cock" like an old pro.

LOL!

[bulls23]

That Russian-Afghan actress is hot too.

It's funny that she struggles with pronouncing "jitters" but says "I sucked his cock" like an old pro.

LOL!

LMAO! And a pro she is!