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Mad Men......I'm Going In!


AlmiraGulch
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It is good and I enjoy watching it. It's also kind of sad though and the characters don't have much that's redeeming about them. It is well acted.

 

*sigh* I was afraid of that. It seems like a show we'd like. We like smart, dialogue driven shows, but characters without redeeming qualities leave me so depressed.

 

We really enjoyed Game of Thrones and it's ability to make some pretty horrible characters sympathetic. Well, except for Joffrey :tongue_smilie: . No sympathy for Joffrey!

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For me the first part of season one was interesting. Getting the characters established, themes, relationships...and so on, was good. Then there was about a year of episodes that were predominately smoking, alcohol, adultery/sex, smoking and did I mention drinking. In each episode, there was about 25 minutes taken up with the drunk haze, and if you could see though the smoke, maybe 10-15 of interesting character development. I stopped watching around that time, and found it incredibly annoying when dh had it on.

 

Recently I caught a couple newer episodes and they had more interesting plots. I guess I am just saying if you get stuck in the wallows, maybe skip a few episodes (read summaries online or just skim the episode for the more interesting parts) and then step back in....it seems to pick back up.

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I think the writing on Mad Men is excellent. I can only handle it in small doses though. I had trouble watching it on Netflix because of the lack of redeeming qualities in the characters. Once we got caught up and started watching an episode a week, it was much better for me. Dh and I really enjoy discussing the themes of the episodes and talking about the character development.

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I disagree that the characters don't have any redeeming qualities. The whole point, I think, is for us to understand the humanness of Don Draper, because yeah, at first glance, he doesn't seem to possess any. But we get little glimpses into his soul and why he is the way he is, and we see him grow (sometimes). And for some strange reason I have yet to figure out, I care about him. I don't hate him. I think it's precisely because I'm getting to understand him more, and it's hard to hate someone when you really know them. (And yes, he is beautiful, so there's that.) :)

 

I have really enjoyed watching friendships grow and deepen, seeing people "be there" for people they thought were just coworkers. Turns out they really care about each other. I think there are lots of touching scenes like that.

 

I have also enjoyed having my initial judgments about a lot of people disproved. Mad Men portrays people as the complex creatures they are, and shows that judging someone's character isn't as simple as we often make it out to be. You think you know for sure that someone is a total scumbag, and then they show some random kindness or display some vulnerability that makes you hate them a little less, or maybe even respect them. Ah, life.

 

It's brilliant, it explores complex but common emotions. Is there a lot of sex and adultery? Oh, yes. It was hard for me to get past in the beginning. But if you can take the adultery, you will see that the it isn't just sleaziness for sleaziness' sake. It represents something much, much bigger and more universal.

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I just started watching Mad Men on Netflix! I DO feel like there are a lot of deep dark episodes and I find myself constantly looking for "the light". And at this point (just finished Season 1) Betty Draper seems like a Pollyanna. How can she not question him "staying in the city" so frequently? HELL-LOOOO???? And the smoking drives me NUTS! Seriously, people just light up in bed, when the boss walks in, when the boss's boss calls you in? Did they smoke and drink in the tub and on the toilet too? Makes me wonder, did everybody really smoke and drink that much or was it just the advertising folks? Did all the best old logos and catchy tunes come after a round of drinks at the office? I can't say that I really LIKE the show....but it's somehow captivating and sucks you in!!!!! And as someone mentioned before, that Don Draper IS easy on the eyes!

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Most photos of my grandparents from the 50s and 60s have them with cigarette in hand.

My father said he can't watch Mad Men because it is too much like his childhood (both my grandfathers were alcoholics).

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