The really great TV thread

[Brando70]

I like Veep, too. I think it could actually stand to be a bit more biting, but it is funny. "Pencil-f***in" a speech is one of the funniest lines I heard on TV this year.

I was initially put off by "Girls," but the fourth episode really justified the hype for me. Maybe it's because I was a broke, self-absorbed twenty-something living in NYC, but I find the show very engaging and not just funny. It's not afraid to go into very black humor. The relationship between the main character and her "boyfriend" is also so strange and hilarious, unlike any other TV relationship I can remember. I see it as very polarizing and can understand why people would hate it, but I'm pulled in now.

[RobVarak]

Veep had me at the brilliant wordplay of "hoisted on your own re-tard."

Girls isn't nearly funny enough to justify having that many ugly girls on the screen at the same time.

[Brando70]

Girls isn't nearly funny enough to justify having that many ugly girls on the screen at the same time.

Rob, just curious, have you watched all four episodes? I was almost ready to drop it after the first two, but the third and especially the fourth really picked it up for me.

[RobVarak]

Watched the first two. I may go back and give it a run on HBO Go sometime.

[wco81]

Chick who plays Marnie is stunning.

Jessa is suppose to get all the men but maybe it's the accent.

[RobVarak]

Chick who plays Marnie is stunning.

Jessa is suppose to get all the men but maybe it's the accent.

That's Brian Williams' daughter. She is pretty.

The rest of them...not nearly attractice enough to be on my TV.

[Inuyasha]

Hatfields and Mcoys

Kevin Costner / Bill Paxton

Starts on History Channel Memorial Day:

http://www.history.com/shows/hatfields-and-mccoys

[RobVarak]

Jesus H. Christ. I don't know if there have ever been two back-to-back episodes of television as good as Mad Men and GoT tonight. Amazeballs, as the kids like to say.

[pk500]

That kid Glen remains one of the creepiest characters on TV. I shudder at the things he might do to Sally some season.

And that wasn't even the big drama of the night!

[vinny-b]

unlike in past, had actually taken a liking to Don this season. Well, that's over

for anyone counting, that makes #2

Don should've looked at circumstances, and the past. All factors. Instead, he only looked at the bottom line. Zero mercy.

Alpha male or not. Wouldn't want to leave this life, and have that for a track-record. The next life will resemble that elevator shaft.

[RobVarak]

unlike in past, had actually taken a liking to Don this season. Well, that's over

for anyone counting, that makes #2

Don should've looked at circumstances, and the past. All factors. Instead, he only looked at the bottom line. Zero mercy.

Alpha male or not. Wouldn't want to leave this life, and have that for a track-record. The next life will resemble that elevator shaft.

Are you kidding? I would've had Lane drawn and quartered publicly.

If anything, Don let his fear of of the negative PR (understandable given the shaky status of the firm) and I think a brothers-in-arms affinity for a fellow rogue drive him to be too easy on Lane. You can't run a business upon which the livelihoods of what appears to be many dozens of people depend have its books done by a liar and a crook.

His mistake, both legally and personally, was not letting his partners know up front.

[vinny-b]

unlike in past, had actually taken a liking to Don this season. Well, that's over

for anyone counting, that makes #2

Don should've looked at circumstances, and the past. All factors. Instead, he only looked at the bottom line. Zero mercy.

Alpha male or not. Wouldn't want to leave this life, and have that for a track-record. The next life will resemble that elevator shaft.

Are you kidding? I would've had Lane drawn and quartered publicly.

If anything, Don let his fear of of the negative PR (understandable given the shaky status of the firm) and I think a brothers-in-arms affinity for a fellow rogue drive him to be too easy on Lane. You can't run a business upon which the livelihoods of what appears to be many dozens of people depend have its books done by a liar and a crook.

His mistake, both legally and personally, was not letting his partners know up front.

won't pretend to understand exact details pertaining to Lane's business history with the firm. That said, it's my interpretation Lane was the key person in reversing the merger. Then went on to manage the firm to keep afloat. And based on what Lane himself said, contributed money out of pocket to do this!! If this is the case, that in itself needs to constitute a 'get out of jail free card'. If not for these sacrifices, he wouldn't be in the financial position he was. Apparently this accounts for nothing with Don.

of lesser importance, Don and Lane did have a friendship. And finally, the intent should factor in as well. This was not a flagrant attempt of embezzlement. As the last minute revocation of bonuses was documented. And based on Lane's proven character, history, and loyalty to the firm, he would've paid the money back

when Don's actual identity is uncovered, i hope he's afforded the same mercy, by the FBI. Which is none

[RobVarak]

This was not a flagrant attempt of embezzlement

I've got a busload of criminal defense attorney friends who would sever a limb for the chance to have you on a jury.

He leveraged the firm without permission and then forged a partner's name on a check to himself. What would be required for flagrancy? Does he have to write "embezzlement" on the memo line of the check?

Trust me, 99% of corporate thieves have a story about how it's just an advance or really compensation that they were entitled to but for this or that turn of events.

Lane's story is a tragic one, but it's entirely of his own making. His dishonestly toward his family, the Crown, Don and the other partners was the engine of his unmaking, not Don's leniency.

[JRod]

I was disappointed in that you knew Lane was going to kill himself very early on.

However, that episode was really good regardless if they telegraphed what would happen to Lane.

[RobVarak]

I was disappointed in that you knew Lane was going to kill himself very early on.

However, that episode was really good regardless if they telegraphed what would happen to Lane.

Agreed. And no amount of foreshadowing really prepared me for the close up of the bloated corpse. That was creepier than anything I've seen on Walking Dead lol

[dbdynsty25]

Supposedly the guys faces when they went into Lane's office was completely real. They did Lane's makeup in secrecy and the faces and reactions were all completely natural when they walked into his office and saw him hanging. They didn't know what he was gonna look like.

And as for Don's reaction to the check...you can tell he was more pissed about Lane dragging him into it than the actual embezzlement, which is why he went pretty easy on him overall. I mean he did forge his forged signature after all. If the FBI or whomever started investigating the issue, then Don might have been found out as well, so keeping it on the down low was his only play.

[vinny-b]

I've got a busload of criminal defense attorney friends who would sever a limb for the chance to have you on a jury.

LOL. : )

[MizzouRah]

My Sony 46" Bravia LCD tv is really getting bad, it takes about 1 hour to clear itself of ghosting images once it's turned on. I have always been a Sony TV guy, but now I'm done. Spent over $2000 on this TV some years ago and I'm not happy at all with the durability.

Next purchase will be a Samsung or something else - probably go 50" too.

[pk500]

Supposedly the guys faces when they went into Lane's office was completely real. They did Lane's makeup in secrecy and the faces and reactions were all completely natural when they walked into his office and saw him hanging. They didn't know what he was gonna look like.

Cool detail. Because the acting in that scene was typically fantastic.

And as for Don's reaction to the check...you can tell he was more pissed about Lane dragging him into it than the actual embezzlement, which is why he went pretty easy on him overall. I mean he did forge his forged signature after all. If the FBI or whomever started investigating the issue, then Don might have been found out as well, so keeping it on the down low was his only play.

Agree. Lane could have faced much more public excoriation from Don. Lane was lucky, yet still took the easy way out of his problems.

On another note, it was weird to watch an episode without Peggy. I have read nowhere that Elisabeth Moss is leaving the show, so there must be some storyline to keep her involved next season, even if on a lesser level like January Jones this season due to her real-life pregnancy.

[pk500]

My Sony 46" Bravia LCD tv is really getting bad, it takes about 1 hour to clear itself of ghosting images once it's turned on. I have always been a Sony TV guy, but now I'm done. Spent over $2000 on this TV some years ago and I'm not happy at all with the durability.

Next purchase will be a Samsung or something else - probably go 50" too.

I guess this post qualifies to be included in "The really great TV thread." Well, sort of.

[dbdynsty25]

On another note, it was weird to watch an episode without Peggy. I have read nowhere that Elisabeth Moss is leaving the show, so there must be some storyline to keep her involved next season, even if on a lesser level like January Jones this season due to her real-life pregnancy.

Actually in that same "Lane" interview I read, Matthew Weiner made it "worth his while" to not try out for any pilots or any other shows while his fate was still up in the air. So he basically missed an entire seasons worth of potential jobs just to keep the show's integrity in order. Wonder if the same is being done with Peggy, or if you're right, they will give her bit parts next season? We'll probably know more about that this weekend. Odds are that she'll be back in some respect, maybe even back at the same firm but with a bigger stake. Just a thought.

[pk500]

Actually in that same "Lane" interview I read, Matthew Weiner made it "worth his while" to not try out for any pilots or any other shows while his fate was still up in the air. So he basically missed an entire seasons worth of potential jobs just to keep the show's integrity in order. Wonder if the same is being done with Peggy, or if you're right, they will give her bit parts next season? We'll probably know more about that this weekend. Odds are that she'll be back in some respect, maybe even back at the same firm but with a bigger stake. Just a thought.

That would be a really interesting twist since Joan now is a partner. Joan and Peggy used to recoil at the sight of each other, which made their growing friendship this season even more odd. A return by Peggy as a partner definitely could throw vinegar into their new kinship, as Joan clearly is reveling in her new power.

[JRod]

I have a feeling they are building Peggy into having her own more "modern" firm that rivals the SCDP old boys club.

I just hope they don't take off another million years between seasons.

[fsquid]

they won't, weiner has a contract through season 7 which will be the end.

Jaguar must be really pissed in how they've been portrayed the last two episodes!

[greggsand]

Jaguar must be really pissed in how they've been portrayed the last two episodes!

They've actually enjoyed it:

http://jalopnik.com/5915516/how-it-feel ... ar-company

"We have never been so happy to see our car not start."