Light Me

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This photo doesn't convey it well, but the Madmen DVD box set is shaped and even opens like a '60s-style Zippo cigarette lighter.

comment #1

Geoff says ...

I love this show. They actually had a perfect season that's extremely addictive.

comment #2

quitstaringatme says ...

Best show on TV right now, can't wait for Sunday. It always gives me a craving for a cigarette, though.

comment #3

NotImpressedYet says ...

This show is on the same level of The Sopranos and The Wire and easily the best show on television today.

Has Jeffrey watched the first season yet? I haven't seen him riff on it, but imagine it's the kind of thing he'd fall for in a big way.

comment #4

NotImpressedYet says ...

Forgot to add iit looks PHENOMENAL on blu ray.

comment #5

BurmaShave says ...

Just rewatched the first three episodes last night. It's so god damned pristeen on DVD. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" has to be one of the best pilot episodes I've ever seen. Easily the most consistently sharp show since THE WEST WING.

comment #6

NotImpressedYet says ...

Wait until you see the season finale "The Wheel". So good.

comment #7

actionman says ...

One of the best shows ever. It's just a crime that AMC doesn't have an HD channel yet.

comment #8

chicagodad says ...

Just tore through the 1st Season in HD on On Demand. Such a great series. Well written, perfectly cast, beautiful look, great direction.

Amazing to see a TV show where the characters are complex and flawed, and even the most likeable characters have thoroughly unlikeable moments, and vice versa.

In my perfect world, these guys would be making a series based on "American Tabloid" and "The Cold Six Thousand" by James Ellroy.

And yes, it also makes me crave Bourbon and cigarettes.

comment #9

NotImpressedYet says ...

AMC does have an HD channel, but it's probably hit or miss whether any given cable company carries it. Comcast in Chicago does!

comment #10

actionman says ...

American Tabloid is a brilliant book.

How did you see this in HD on demand? I didn't think AMC was doing HD yet? Same goes for FX; how they could have such brilliant shows like The Shield, Rescue Me, and It's Always Sunny in PA and not be broadcasting them in HD is just mind boggling...

comment #11

BurmaShave says ...

Yes yes, when I watch THE SHIELD or IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA what I really crave is better picture quality. Why does HD have to be some blanket thing? It doesn't work for some shows. I understand when you have it you want to use it, but you people are starting to act like you can't enjoy shows that aren't HD.

comment #12

redmond says ...

Actionman, I have FX in HD, but not AMC. I guess it depends on the cable company. I think Mad Men is available in HD on Demand because they upscaled it for Blu-ray even though the show was only broadcast in standard definition.

That said, Jeff, if you're just now getting around to watching the show, you're in for a treat. Jon Hamm is incredible and the writing is a top notch slow burn.

comment #13

Howlingman says ...

Absolutely HOOKED on this show -- first thing in a long time that's prompted me to watch TV.

And ditto on American Tabloid, Actionman. Can't believe we have to wait another year (at least) for the third book in that trilogy.

comment #14

tophertilson says ...

I just caught up with the show this week via last weekend's marathon. Absolutely loved it. But can someone explain something to me? In the season finale, there is an odd scene where Peter comes home to his wife and her parents. The father-in-law laughs at him for some reason, the wife snaps at the father-in-law, and Peter just slumps his way into the bedroom. Does anyone know what the heck is going on there? I know Pete was depressed that Peggy was going to be writing the Clearasil campaign, but what was with his family's weirdo behavior? It seemed as if it was supposed to be more than just odd. Maybe I missed something.

comment #15

chicagodad says ...

Actionman, all I know is that it was available here in Chicago in HD via Comcast On Demand. And man, it does look pretty.

comment #16

Arizona Joe says ...

"Mad Men" is the best show on television, a bona fide successor to "The Sopranos." The settings, the lifestyle of the that era are note perfect.

However, I just can't empathize with a bunch of advertising wise guys who manipulate tastes and public opinion. They were the harbingers and precursors of today's MBAs and consultants. As Coach Al McGuire used to say, "They really know the buffalo chips."

My dad was a steel worker turned ophthalmologist, and he could not brook "pricks who work at putting out puffery."

comment #17

Geoff says ...

Comcast, which I don't have here in Los Angeles, seems to be the place for AMC in HD. Total bummer for a MAD MEN fan such as myself.

Fyi, The Shield still maintains it's 4:3 aspect ratio. I'm sure it would still look great on an HD FX channel, but it's interesting to know.

comment #18

JVD says ...

Tophertilson, my read on that scene is part of the reason why Pete was gifted the Clearasil account by his father-in-law was that in return he would provide them with a grandchild. They talk about it quite extensively in the previous episode. And while it's unsettling to think about, I think this was a sly scene that indicated the father-in-law was there to collect. Everyone talks about how great Don Draper is (and Jon Hamm's performance in particular), but for me, Pete is the most complex character on that show. He is a lizard, for sure, but he's also the one that seems most trapped in a life he doesn't really want.

And, yes, this show was made for Blu-Ray. Most of the same creative crew from the Sopranos moved over to Mad Men and they brought with them the same flair for great lighting and compositions that set that show miles above every one of its competitors. It was the first series I purchased for my new Blu-Ray player and it's been eye-opening to see how meticulously detailed every bit of its production ends up being.

comment #19

Edward says ...

It'd be great to watch MAD MEN in HD, if Comcast were broadcasting true HD and not an horribly compressed HD.

comment #20

Joe M. says ...

Great, great show. But don't try removing or replacing discs in the cigarette lighter box unless you're totally sober. And even then, you need to focus. Otherwise you'll scratch the discs. Other than that (sigh), it's a cool box.

comment #21

deadre says ...

I think we all have to say thanks that a show like this was actually concieved, actualized and now seems to be finding some appreciation. It definitely shows the tail end of an era, where the changes began and it does so beautifully without harping. It's more what the dialogue doesn't say but what's implied. The actors are all wonderful, I'd love to see more with the fellow in the closet and I think Pete will continue to become more complex. Bravo to AMC. and take a look at DAMAGES, it tough but absolutely great too.

comment #22

deadre says ...

I think we all have to say thanks that a show like this was actually conceived, actualized and now seems to be finding some appreciation. It definitely shows the tail end of an era, where the changes began and it does so beautifully without harping. It's more what the dialogue doesn't say but what's implied. The actors are all wonderful, I'd love to see more with the fellow in the closet and I think Pete will continue to become more complex. Bravo to AMC. and take a look at DAMAGES, it tough but absolutely great too.

comment #23

deadre says ...

I think we all have to say thanks that a show like this was actually conceived, actualized and now seems to be finding some appreciation. It definitely shows the tail end of an era, where the changes began and it does so beautifully without harping. It's more what the dialogue doesn't say but what's implied. The actors are all wonderful, I'd love to see more with the fellow in the closet and I think Pete will continue to become more complex. Bravo to AMC. and take a look at DAMAGES, it tough but absolutely great too.

comment #24

NotImpressedYet says ...

The difference between Comcast "HD" and blu ray is startling.

And yes, this show is a perfect match for blu-ray. The colors and subtle detail in every scene are a true pleasure to watch in uncompressed 1080p.

A show like The Shield? I agree it wouldn't matter nearly as much.

comment #25

CinemaPhreek says ...

I also went through the whole season this week (if you have Time Warner, its On Demand on the "Entertainment" channel) after I caught an episode last summer while visiting a family friend who grew up in the era and was hooked.

Surprised that it took Wells this long to catch on, considering how hooked he was on The Sopranos.

In fact, the whole back story is a great encouragement to any would-be TV writers out there: creator Matthew Weiner was a staff writer for "Becker" when he wrote it as a spec. It was got him hired by Chase to work on Sopranos (where he got two Emmy noms for writing and won two others) in fact.

It also shows how far HBO has fallen: they were offered the show first and passed.

****** *********

As to lack of empathy, that's what makes this show special. On regular TV, they would have dumbed it down to make Pete the hero and Draper a garden variety heavy, the guy we love to hate. But the show was written for more mature, worldly tastes. Whereas I could never be an associate of Tony Soprano, I do have friends like Don Draper. Men who not perfect good-two shoes, yet for all their lapses and human weaknesses I still return emails and phone calls.

comment #26

tophertilson says ...

Thanks JVD; that makes sense. I'm kind of obsessed with Pete. I don't know if it's Vincent Kartheiser or the creator's use of Vincent Kartheiser, but Pete's a fairly haunting creation. And don't get me started on Joan.

I agree with all of you who find the show to be a true successor to THE SOPRANOS. It really is on that level.

comment #27

tophertilson says ...

Oh, and how about the brilliant casting of HOW TO SUCCEED's Robert Morse in the company bigwig role? Genius.

comment #28

PaulKolas says ...

The moral ambiguity of MAD MEN rings hauntingly true. This is unequivocally the best show on television, a perfect time capsule of an era I remember as a young boy. I love that THE APARTMENT is brought up in one episode as a mirror of the sly sexual politics going on at Sterling Cooper. I watched THE WHEEL again this week in preparation for Sunday night, and all I can say is MAD MEN is as close to perfection as a show can get.

comment #29

Jay T. says ...

Rewatched the first season on blu ray and it stood up extremely well... what a haunting, sad final episode that was. Man, I love this show, and it always makes me want to go sip some bourbon or a few martinis...

comment #30

AndrewOwens says ...

Just a perfect show. That scene in "The Wheel" where he pitches on the slide show gadget...just perfect.

And where the hell have they been hiding Jon Hamm? What a seemingly out of the box superstar in the making.

comment #31

CinemaPhreek says ...

Andrew - apparently in one of those boxes they keep fire axes in: "In Case of a Return of Real Men to Pop Culture - Break Glass"

Now, if we could just get some of them from the Matthau and Bogart boxes...

comment #32

MikeSchaeferSF says ...

Hamm's done a lot of episodic TV and had a small part in the Mel Gibson flick We Were Soldiers. His first big post-MM payday is in The Day The Earth Stood Still.

comment #33

MickTravis says ...

Yeah, great show -- a perfect collision of Douglas Sirk and "The Sweet Smell of Success."

Or like an uber-straight "Down with Love."

And, yes, it looks like I imagine Ellroy's American Underworld trilogy should look onscreen.

This is the greatest HBO show not on HBO. Suckers ....

"Breaking Bad" is also quite good, too. I tend to like the crime angle on "BB" more than the cancer drama (mostly because the cancer drama is depressing and the crime angle is vaguely Coen-esque) but it's another critical hit for AMC.

comment #34

BurmaShave says ...

I hate to bring something lowbrow (or lowerbrow) into this, but who else sees Jon Hamm as the perfect CAPTAIN AMERICA?

comment #35

Steffen says ...

Many people are discussing it at wealthy dating club R I C H L O V I N G.C O M, where the hot affluent singles and sexy girls and models to hook up for Hot Love, Flirt and Sexy Dating!

comment #36

nola says ...

This is my favorite show on TV right now.

I actually got choked up during the final episode.

At first I couldn't stand Pete. I thought he was a waspy Sammy Glick, then when we started to see more of his home life, I felt a little sorry for him.

I cannot wait to see how the new season, set two years later, deals with the hell that is about to break loose in the 60s.

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