Mad Men

Agraza_sl said:

Your wife is lame. Upgrade.

Click to expand...

Well if I learned anything from this show...

Teddite_sl said:

So god damn happy this show is back so soon. This show exists in some kind of bubble for me, though. Me and the woman absolutely love it, but we've had a hell of a time trying to get anyone we know to give it a shot.

Click to expand...

Ditto. It's because it's just about people doing normal everyday stuff. There are no zombies or genius meth dealers or kings fighting over thrones. Once it has the hook in, you're going to watch every minute, but until then I can understand why some people choose to skip it. It's the same reason the American literature aisle at a bookstore is a ghost town while the scifi/mystery sections always have people browsing.

I don't know if I'd agree that it is normal people doing everyday stuff. I mean it is someone of incredible talent that has a very high paying and very flashy job. He goes out drinking and to dinner every night in NYC where he meets a new woman on a seemingly nightly basis. It is still very much an exaggerated truth of an ideal. Similar to how Friends/Seinfeld were supposed to be about everyday people doing normal things but it is always an exaggeration of an ideal. But it is a TV show so of course things will be bent and exaggerated to paint a dramatic picture. I'm not ripping the show because an entire series of everyday people doing everyday things would be really boring to watch.

I actually read a study that in the post-Seinfeld/Friends era people reportedly think they have never experienced "true friendship" because they think "true friends" spend as much time together as Seinfeld & George or Joey & Chandler from those sitcoms. When in reality relationships like that simply don't exist for the most part.

Well, yeah it's depicting high society life. My point is that they're just doing normal shit like going to work, coming home and arguing with the wife, taking the train etc. Don and the other partners aren't really middle class, at least not now. In season 1 I'd say Don and Betty were upper middle, and they've transitioned into upper class as Don's fortunes rose and Betty remarried into politics. But Peggy? She's as middle class as they come, as are most of her coworkers making a fraction of Don's salary.

Tenks_sl said:

I'm glad we shouldn't have emo self-pity Don this season. I hated that. I need to see Don getting hammered and slaying pelt.

Click to expand...

I thought last season was fantastic largely because it revolved around Don's ego catching up with him and him realizing he's basically on the path to becoming Roger. It showed him really having to struggle with his career for the first time, which brought out a new side of him. Though, I do think you'll get what you want this season as the last season ended with him coming to terms with his situation, so I speculate this one will largely revolve around him reclaiming his spot on top.

My biggest concern for this season is that, without Lane, there will be no one to punch Pete.

There's always someone to punch Pete.

I understand women not liking the show. There is no heroine whatsoever. Betty is unbearable. The only two redeeming women on the show are big red, who I think is too different form a normal woman to relate to, and Peggy who is very unattractive and no woman wants to relate to an unattractive character. Plus they have much smaller roles than Don. Plus it depicts a society where men do whatever they want and have a good old time, and women are repressed. No one wants to relate to a repressed character unless that character breaks free. Peggy has, to some extent, but she's still very much in a man's world.

I'm surprised any women like it, to be honest. I'm also surprised when any man likes 3 Insecure Sluts and a Horse and the City.

Peggy who is very unattractive

Click to expand...

Seriously? I mean I know she's not a curvy playboy model type, but she's not some kind of hambeast either. I'd hit it, given the opportunity.

Guess you forgot how she looked while she was pregnant. Gonna take a long time to get that image out of my head.

Dabamf_sl said:

I understand women not liking the show. There is no heroine whatsoever. Betty is unbearable. The only two redeeming women on the show are big red, who I think is too different form a normal woman to relate to, and Peggy who is very unattractive and no woman wants to relate to an unattractive character. Plus they have much smaller roles than Don. Plus it depicts a society where men do whatever they want and have a good old time, and women are repressed. No one wants to relate to a repressed character unless that character breaks free. Peggy has, to some extent, but she's still very much in a man's world.

I'm surprised any women like it, to be honest. I'm also surprised when any man likes 3 Insecure Sluts and a Horse and the City.

Click to expand...

I've actually heard the opposite about women relating to other women. I believe they relate better to ugly women than supermodels. When Oprah lost a bunch of weight her ratings also took a hit because the women wanted to see the jolly fat lady.

"Wife".


They also dress Peggy intentionally to be unattractive. Elisabeth Moss isn't going to going to be America's Next Top Model or anything, but she's not as frumpy as peggy. She has what you'd call a severe look.

Edit: Just GIS her. She can be pretty when someone puts a mind to it.

Iannis_sl said:

"Wife".


They also dress Peggy intentionally to be unattractive. Elisabeth Moss isn't going to going to be America's Next Top Model or anything, but she's not as frumpy as peggy. She has what you'd call a severe look.

Edit: Just GIS her. She can be pretty when someone puts a mind to it.

Click to expand...

I just GIS'ed her and I noticed something. All of the pictures where I'd consider her attractive are those where she has a modern hairstyle that covers up her enormous, Erudite-esque forehead. On Mad Men she's got those old school, hair-pulled-back hair styles which leaves her forheard in full view and probably explains her on-show ugliness.

Bigger canvas for me to paint on.

Tenks_sl said:

I've actually heard the opposite about women relating to other women. I believe they relate better to ugly women than supermodels. When Oprah lost a bunch of weight her ratings also took a hit because the women wanted to see the jolly fat lady.

Click to expand...

never heard that before..interesting

I think it is why Betty is such a villain moreso to women than to men. My GFhatesBetty. I'd have to assume her prettiness is one of the reasons. She is seen as that stuck-up cheerleader type who has a poisonous personality but still gets everything handed to her simply because of her looks. I can't really relate to her level of hate she has against Betty because I didn't really have to deal with that type of stuff. I hit on girls I don't compete against them.

The odd part is she really likes Don's wife (forget her name) despite almost everything being exactly the same except she's not quite a mega bitch. I brought up the similarities to her but I've learned my lesson on pointing out her double standards she keeps for various TV shows. She falls victim to the "The TV show says they're a good person so I better not objectively look at the situation" curse.

I don't really find Megan and Betty to be all that similar except on a superficial level. Not that Megan is "good", she just isn't Betty.

Betty and Megan aren't anything alike. I'm not even sure how you're drawing that conclusion.

Betty: Married young to Don, gave up a career in modeling to become a housewife, perhaps at one point Don liked her for her personality but ultimately for her looks

Megan: Married young to Don, doesn't really have a career in acting but is giving it up for Don (I thought she did at the end? Last season is a tad foggy. Also gave up doing advertising for him), at one point Don liked her for her personality but ultimately for her looks

I'm honestly more confused on how you guys see them as being very different?

I should probably re-watch the final few episodes because for some reason I remember Don/Megan going through a rocky patch of their relationship but I can't remember if that got resolved