Mad Men

[03]

excellent way to agree with me without saying it and making it seem like your idea

[polkablues]

I agree that Matt Weiner's not the best director in the world (just let John Slattery direct every episode from now on), but the Hershey meeting was one of the best scenes the show has ever done. Viewed in a vacuum it doesn't seem like much, but swaddled in the context of the entire series, with everything we know about this character and the path he's taken, it was epic. Honest to god chills.

[Brando]

excellent way to agree with me without saying it and making it seem like your idea

I agree with 03 that the direction of the episode was seriously lacking. I still think it was a great episode in spite of the direction (which led to poor acting). I'm not trying to steal anyone's ideas or critiques and pass them on as my own. So I agree with 03 with a lot of his analysis except I liked the episode. Also, I didn't feel like it was the final episode of GOT only setting up the next season. It felt more like a new beginning for the characters. Trudy said it best when she told Pete he didn't realize it but he was finally free. Shaw and Pete would be free if they went to LA. Don would have just been running as he usually does. Shaw's real fear was becoming Don. Shaw mentioned something about if he stayed he would fall into a dark despair. Don is dealing with this right now but unlike Shaw he doesn't realize it's his own family that offers his salvation. Of all the things Don has tried, he's never done anything as selfless as Shaw. Shaw has given up a great career opportunity and an affair for the good of his family.

[Fernando]

...but the Hershey meeting was one of the best scenes the show has ever done. Viewed in a vacuum it doesn't seem like much, but swaddled in the context of the entire series, with everything we know about this character and the path he's taken, it was epic. Honest to god chills.

couldn't agree more, season's best scene by far.

and I don't see the problem of having your hand on your face at that moment, it's obvious that telling that story isn't easy and Hamm's mannerisms where spot on and felt very real.

[©brad]

Yeah that scene was great. I loved the ending too. But I don't know, there was a lot of sloppy shit in this finale. Like many episodes this season, it suffered from having too much stuff crammed into it. In this one episode, Pete takes his first big voyage to GM, gets embarrassed by Bob and subsequently kicked off the account, finds out his mother dies possibly at the hands of Bob's gay lover, has to say goodbye to his daughter, makes peace with his wife, and ends up moving to California. And that's just Pete's storyline. For a "slow" show the pace has been unusually erratic this season.

And I know the internet was fascinated by Bob Benson but I wasn't. Okay, a mini-Don with a shady past infiltrates the agency... and? I would have happily traded him for more Joan or Roger screen time. They are the two best characters on the show and they had nothing to do the last 5 episodes.

Anywayyyyy... Breaking Bad you're up!

[wilder]

Not an announcement, but the first four seasons of Mad Men were shot on film, while the later seasons have been shot on video (Alexa). Opportunity to compare the same general look filtered through two different mediums (click to enlarge):

Mad Men, film:















Mad Men, video:

[Reel]

I feel like you purposefully tried to make the video look ugly, with the smoking shots and this:




so, what are you trying to say Wilder?



pretty random place to put this, but it's your thread.

[wilder]

I'm saying video is gorgeous, warm, textural, with tons of depth to the image and superior highlight roll off.

But, for the sake of fairness, here are a few video images from scenes with more comparable lighting to give that ugly cousin film a fighting chance:







I don't mean to knock film, I just thought it was interesting to see the difference.

[Pubrick]

i've moved these last three posts from Random Blu-Ray Announcements because this is the, uh, actual thread.

[cronopio 2]

http://theamericanreader.com/the-cosmology-of-serialized-television/

[MacGuffin]

AMC Splits 'Mad Men's' Final Season, Series Ending in 2015
Source: THR

In a move similar to "Breaking Bad," the drama will spread out its final run of 14 episodes over the course of two years.

Mad Men isn't going off the air anytime soon. Despite original plans for the series to wrap in 2014, AMC announced Tuesday that it is splitting up the final season into two parts -- much like the cable network did with Breaking Bad.

"This approach has worked well for many programs across multiple networks, and, most recently for us, with Breaking Bad, which attracted nearly double the number of viewers to its second-half premiere than had watched any previous episode," says AMC president Charlie Collier. "We are determined to bring Mad Men a similar showcase. In an era where high-end content is savored and analyzed, and catch-up time is used well to drive back to live events, we believe this is the best way to release the now 14 episodes than remain of this iconic series."

Airing the first seven episodes, dubbed "The Beginning," in the spring of 2014 and the final seven, "The End of an Era," in spring 2015, AMC, with few new dramas on the horizon, extends the life of its critically acclaimed flagship.

"We plan to take advantage of this chance to have a more elaborate story told in two parts, which can resonate a little bit longer in the minds of our audience," says Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner. "The writers, cast and other artists welcome this unique manner of ending this unique experience."

Mad Men premiered its most recent season to 3.5 million viewers and wrapped with an average 2.7 million, tying the most watched season finale for the show to date. And while those numbers might not have made it a ratings juggernaut for AMC the way that The Walking Dead or this last run of Breaking Bad have been, the series has been a darling in the TV community since its 2007 premiere. It has won 15 Emmy Awards to date, including the first-ever outstanding drama win for a basic cable series -- a feat it duplicated four years in a row.

"Mad Men has had a transcendent impact on our popular culture, and it has played a prominent role in building our Lionsgate brand," said Lionsgate Television Group chairman Kevin Beggs. "We anticipate a remarkable seventh season thanks to the brilliance of Matthew Weiner, the entire creative and production team, and our tremendous partnership with AMC. We're all working to ensure that the series will have the kind of powerful send-off it so richly deserves."

The decision to split Mad Men comes at time of big changes for AMC. The cable network says goodbye to Breaking Bad in two weeks' time and recently canceled The Killing. Potential spinoffs for Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead are being developed, and the network has drama pilot Line of Sight in the pipeline. 1980s computer drama Halt & Catch Fire and period drama Turn were both recently ordered to series.

[©brad]

This "split-season" bullshit is bullshit. You're not splitting up a season AMC. You're giving us two shorter seasons. Just call it that. And this is obviously just to make more money but I feel this format won't work as well on a slower-paced, character-driven show liked Mad Men.

I also could be totally wrong here but I feel Mad Men has found all the audience it's going to find at this point. Breaking Bad is a pulpy, addictive thriller with more mainstream appeal, hence its bounce in ratings thanks to Netflix.

[MacGuffin]

Screenwriter Robert Towne Joins Writing Staff of 'Mad Men' (EXCLUSIVE)
Oscar winner is among new recruits for AMC drama's seventh and final season
Source: Variety

Forget it, Don. It's ..."Mad Men."
 
Veteran screenwriter Robert Towne is among Matthew Weiner's new recruits to "Mad Men's" writing staff for the upcoming seventh and final season, which AMC announced Monday will unfold in two seven-episode batches in spring 2014 and spring 2015.

Towne is serving as a consulting producer for the AMC/Lionsgate TV drama series. He won an original screenplay Oscar for 1974′s "Chinatown" (a source of many oft-quoted lines including: "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown"). He earned three other Oscar screenwriting noms, for 1973′s "The Last Detail," 1975′s "Shampoo" and 1984′s "Greystoke: the Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes." Recent credits include "Mission: Impossible II," "Without Limits" and "Days of Thunder."

Another film vet, Patricia Resnick ("Nine to Five"), is also on board as a consulting producer. Comedy scribe David Iserson, an alum of "Saturday Night Live" and laffers including "New Girl" and "United States of Tara," has signed on as a co-producer. And writers' assistant Carly Wray has been upped to staff writer from writers assistant last season.

Exec producers for season seven, along with creator Matthew Weiner, are Scott Hornbacher and Janet Leahy.

[diggler]

Source: Variety

Forget it, Don. It's ..."Mad Men."
 
He won an original screenplay Oscar for 1974′s "Chinatown" (a source of many oft-quoted lines including: "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown").

Thanks Variety, I didn't get it.

[ono]

Season 7 Teaser: http://www.vulture.com/2014/03/see-another-dreamy-mad-men-teaser.html  Show is back April 13th.