Mad Men

Apparently Twitter's #4 trending topic hasn't made it to TV Tropes yet...

Anyone want to discuss exactly "who is Don Draper"?

Christmas Comes but Once a Year

Jesus, that was one of the darkest episodes of the series. Lee Gardner Jr. is a complete monster, Don's standards are slipping, and he goes the entire episode without a triumphant Don moment. And Sally is well on her way to becoming a messed-up kid, never mind her burgeoning relationship with Glen the Creep.

Yeah, this season has just had this ominous undertone the entire way through. I get a feeling that it might end with the company being dissolved, and don just staring out of a window as workers take things out of his office.

Ugh. I'm going to go cry now.

See, I loved loved loved Glen as the badboy-neighbour-with-a-crush. He's always been an outsider, given he's the child of a divorcee, and now he finally sees a companion in Sally.

As for Don, I think it's a great deconstruction of the mythos that's surrounded him for the past 3 years. He's been revered as the ultimate man's man, and now we see the ultimate effects. His cheating has made him lonely, his drinking has made him a lecherous drunk.

The biggest problem with this is that he's so charismatic, he'll end up pulling everyone down with him. In fact, I'm guessing by the end of the season, he'll be directly responsible for the downfall and bankruptcy of the new agency.

^That would be an incredibly fitting ending for the show as a whole a great Take That to the people who actually admire him.

I agree that this season appears to be about the deconstruction of Don Draper. It's what happens when all the trappings of a charismatic man's man are built around a hollow shell. The whole enterprise is bound to collapse and take everyone down with it.

I was watching some first season episodes and came across the one where Roger is wheeled in post heart attack to speak with Lucky Strike. And how Lee Garner Sr. pretty much forced Bert to make Don a partner. Like father like son I suppose when it comes to the men of Sterling Cooper (Draper Pryce).

Interesting little note: Right after Don says they can't use low shots in cigarette commercials anymore, because 'it makes the smoker look super-human', the very next shot is of course Don, seen from below with a wide-angle lens, a cigarette perched on his mouth. Impromptu visual gag, or subtle Take That! at the fans who still take Don as a role model?

EPIC Don Draper moment in the last episode. Good lord he is one Magnificent Bastard.

And Peggy riding a scooter in circles in an empty room...

It was so great to see Don Draper finally have a Magnificent Bastard moment this season, especially since the first four episodes were all about how he's off his game. He still has a ways to go, but I love for Don to somehow rebuild himself out of the ashes better than he was before.

Peggy definitely has had two of the funniest moments this season, both of them without dialogue. The motorcycle on the soundstage and her peering over the wall watching Don drink after Allison finally lets loose at Don.

That was a fantastic episode. Mad Men gives us two episodes that were merely the best thing on television, rather than the show's usual standard of incredible quality - then they come up with this, which comes close to Shut the door, have a seat in awesome-factor. In the middle of the season. By locking two characters in a room for most of the episode.

Interesting little note: Right after Don says they can't use low shots in cigarette commercials anymore, because 'it makes the smoker look super-human', the very next shot is of course Don, seen from below with a wide-angle lens, a cigarette perched on his mouth. Impromptu visual gag, or subtle Take That! at the fans who still take Don as a role model?

I think it's more or less an attempt at ironic humor than a Take That! at anyone.

Whoa. Wham Episode, anyone?

A bit too much wham perhaps.

Just finished watching last night's episode. LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANE!!!!!

Until about two episodes ago I thought this season wasn't going to be as depressing as the last one. I WAS WROOOOONG

edited 3rd Jun '12 10:47:02 PM by thatother1dude

I suspected that someone was going to commit suicide this season, but I kept thinking that it was going to be Pete. He still has that rifle and him killing himself when everyone but Don seems to believe that his life is perfect would have made for interesting drama.

It might have looked like it could go that way a while ago, but over the last couple episodes Peter made it clear he was trying to compensate for his feelings of impotence with corporate accomplishment, and he's mostly been succeeding at getting those.

I'm kind of disappointed not a lot of tropers watch this show

I've been getting into these past two seasons, though I still need to finish an archive binge of the first three. Great show, and various layers and complexities of the characters make for really fun re-watching. I'm consistently amazed at how Vincent Kartheiser creates such a slimy douche with Pete's character but still keeps him interesting.

It's weird how the show is both popular and well-liked, but I can't find a lot of discussion about it.

Exactly and there is a lot to be discussed on this show

According to our page on the show, Mad Men isn't watched by many people, but is loved by critics, so that might be why this thread was dead for so long. The fact that the most common perception of the show seems to be that it glamorizes the lives of rich white men (AMC's horrible advertising for the series doesn't help this perception) probably makes it sound boring to most people.

It's also because the show is boring to a lot of people.

I mean, it's good. I watch it and enjoy it. But it's low on incident and stakes, and isn't easy to read at times. It's not what most people look for in drama.

And the trailers are horrendous. Deliberately so, I reckon.

edited 7th Jun '12 7:12:29 PM by Nicknacks

I remember a friend of mine describing they couldn't get into the show because they found most of the characters to be horrible people. (Which unlike the likes of say Sopranos or Game of Thrones which are casts full of dubious people, the possibility of a karmic death was pretty low).

Given the fact that the show took a while to really develop its most sympathetic characters (Peggy and Sally) and that the advertising doesn't often feature them as much as the others, I can't say I'm totally surprised.