I've been in a Mad Men haze. I remember all the hype when it first came out, but somehow it fell off my radar and until my Netflix suggested it to me (you know me so well, computer) I had completely forgotten about it. So I thought why not get this male-dominated, pro-establishment long winded commercial for Johnson & Johnson products started?
Holy production value, Batman.
I thought people were watching this for the costume design! I had no idea, NO IDEA, how good this show is. I had all but written this thing off, shoving show fans into two categories: Joan boob enthusiasts and Draper face/body obsessives (I'm both, for the record). But as predominant as those two things are, the writing overshadows them. My god this show is well written. So much so, that I'm going to make a pretty polarizing statement:
This is the best show ever. And I've seen Breaking Bad.
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| "Let me help you sell your, what did you call it, Meth?" |
No show has done more with less. This is essentially a story about men who help sell products through clever advertising who also, in their spare time, cheat on there wives with anything that moves. Do you see how impossible that sounds? The crux of the whole thing lies in us caring about these characters, because otherwise who gives two shits about how many pantyhose Turquoise sells? At the same time, the people we're supposed to care about are the worst! Just terrible, selfish, depressed, sorry sad people. This can't possibly work.
And then it does! It's crazy! Think of how hard that must be. With Breaking Bad you've got a cancer scare, followed by drugs, followed by guns and bad guys and then the good guy is turning into the bad guy - just real life and death stuff. Mad Men has this dude who's pretty good looking but essentially a deserter who cheats on his wife a ton and is good at tricking people into thinking they want to buy cigarettes and eat baked beans.
There are a lot of reasons Mad Men is a great show, and probably a million different people who could (and likely already have) analyze it far more accurately than me. So, I can only give my perspective on why I think this show is my favorite. I'm capping it at three:
1. Subtlety
2. Design
3. Endings
It's so subtle that, at first, you don't realize how profoundly sad it is. It's so sad that you go past feeling sad for these people, beyond sympathizing, and actually develop a deep sadness within yourself for absolutely no reason other than you're watching this show. It's a terrible thing to do to somebody! Who thought to do this with a television show, because they're absolute sadist weirdos.
The clothes are tremendous. The sets are tremendous. I want to BE Joan.
The endings; so tightly written. Beginnings are easy, Draper begins things with women so effortlessly and there's punchy dialogue and sex and that feeling that maybe now he's found happiness. But endings are so tedious because they're inevitable and without any of the excitement of the beginnings. Except when this show does it; you still know it's coming but it's presented in such a way that instead of it feeling like a door closing or a flame going out on a certain storyline it's like five new bay windows flying open and an entire forest is burning to the ground behind them (that metaphor is exactly why I'll never write for this show).
Mad Men! Watch it!
There are a lot of reasons Mad Men is a great show, and probably a million different people who could (and likely already have) analyze it far more accurately than me. So, I can only give my perspective on why I think this show is my favorite. I'm capping it at three:
1. Subtlety
2. Design
3. Endings
It's so subtle that, at first, you don't realize how profoundly sad it is. It's so sad that you go past feeling sad for these people, beyond sympathizing, and actually develop a deep sadness within yourself for absolutely no reason other than you're watching this show. It's a terrible thing to do to somebody! Who thought to do this with a television show, because they're absolute sadist weirdos.
The clothes are tremendous. The sets are tremendous. I want to BE Joan.
 |
| How is that body even possible!? |
The endings; so tightly written. Beginnings are easy, Draper begins things with women so effortlessly and there's punchy dialogue and sex and that feeling that maybe now he's found happiness. But endings are so tedious because they're inevitable and without any of the excitement of the beginnings. Except when this show does it; you still know it's coming but it's presented in such a way that instead of it feeling like a door closing or a flame going out on a certain storyline it's like five new bay windows flying open and an entire forest is burning to the ground behind them (that metaphor is exactly why I'll never write for this show).
Mad Men! Watch it!
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