Mad News, June 29-July 9, 2009
Microsoft has released a Mad Men-inspired ad for IE8.
AMC has launched AMC Digital Media and is positioning itself as an online movie source:
AMC continues to develop its online movie presence with the launch of AMC Digital Media and the acquisition of two film websites-filmsite.com and filmcritic.org.
Mad Men leads the nominees for the Gold Derby TV Awards (in drama, anyway). Gold Derby Emmy forum moderators Chris “Boomer” Beachum and Robert “Rob L” Licuria both say Mad Men is the only safe bet for an Emmy nomination.
Roger Sterling is profiled by the suspect Mad Men Examiner, with a link to “What Would Roger Sterling Do?” (which seems defunct, but still great).
The Mad Men Examiner also floats a bizarre theory, not once, but twice.
Ricky Gervais is working on Cemetery Junction, a dramedy he describes as a cross between The Office and Mad Men.
E! thinks that Mad Men has one of TV’s best credit sequences. We agree.
Here’s more creepy ads; some we saw in the previous post, some new and equally creepy.
An article about rebranding cable stations’ names mentions AMC and Mad Men. AMC is no longer showing American Movie Classics, after all.
USA Today is excited. There’s the DVD, the marathon, it’s all so thrilling.
AMC is changing its Comcast “tier;” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains.
An art show in Detroit is described as “for fans of AMC’s hipster series Mad Men.” Silly me, I didn’t know Mad Men was hipster, but cool beans.
Zap2It is running a poll of the Greatest TV Characters, though pretty much limited to the 21st century. Shockingly, the Drapers are not even nominated for Best Mom and Dad. But Roger Sterling, Peggy Olson and Joan Holloway are nominated for Best Boss, Underling and Co-Worker, respectively. (We know how the editors at The Frisky would vote.)
At Salon, Heather Havrilesky has a piece about humor in television, asserting in passing: “Mad Men” without humor is just a disturbingly detailed flashback.
Variety has an exclusive preview of New Orleans Mon Amour, starring Elisabeth Moss. She’s doing her haunting, enigmatic thing.
This is an old article excerpting the New York Times interview with Matt Weiner. But the fun part is the illustrations. No really, click through.
Basketcase Debbie writes:
For those sports fans on BoK, you won’t want to miss him and other St. Louis luminaries in the All Star Celebrity Softball game next Sunday, to be broadcast on ESPN Monday evening July 13 at 10:30 pm EST/7:30 pm PST (after the Home Run Derby I believe). I’m sure he’ll get a few moments in front of the mike. Maybe also a cameo during the real game broadcast Tuesday although Fox will probably be endlessly shilling its own shows.
This important news item came from my USA Today but I couldn’t find an online link. As they say check your local listings.
Mad News compiled by Deborah and Karl.
July 9th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
The Examiner theory about Helen is actually pretty interesting, I noticed that awkwardness between Don and Helen but never thought much about it.
July 9th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Re: “Mad Men is the only safe bet”. Who are all those women is the photo? It a small photo, so I couldn’t tell who the brunette and the blond were. I don’t remember Betty’s white dress. Season 3?
July 9th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
I think that’s a Vanity Fair or EW photo from before season two. The women are January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Elisabeth Moss, and what appears to be Talia Balsam (or maybe Maggie Siff).
July 9th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I thought that Helen and Don were, if not the only ones disillusioned by the unsatisfying life around them, then the only ones who seem to not be faking it. But that Helen things is intriguing… Cause it is odd they never greet each other…
July 9th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
It’s from Vanity Fair, you can watch the video of the shoot here:
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/video/2008/madmen_video200806
July 9th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Thanks for the Vanity Fair link. Now a new question. When John Kelly spoke about Don and his wife “Betty, appropriately named”. What was he talking about? Did I miss something about Betty’s name?
July 9th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
About the theory purported by Mad Men Examiner, I think Helen was in Ossining because she wanted to have good schools for her kids. Don must have been uncomfortable around here because she was divorced, and that was just dangerous. She was uncomfortable because she had been hit on by married men millions of times, as was shown with the vignette with the camera.
July 9th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
#6 CatieIona; I wondered the same thing. I thought he was referring to a common female name of the time or “betty crocker” (housewife type). I think if Betty were in today’s time, her name would be Jessica.
July 9th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
I agree with Susan. When Don is just standing on the porch with Helen, that’s sufficiently threatening that Francine notices and alerts Betty, who immediately sends Don off on an errand. The social rules of 1960 don’t permit them to be relaxed around each other. I don’t think there needs to be anything more to it than that.
July 9th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
The New York Times has an article on AMC’s efforts to promote Mad Men before season three. Interestingly, the article says that their efforts are more extensive than last year, in part because advertising is cheaper:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/business/media/10adco.html
July 10th, 2009 at 3:36 am
As to the “examiner theory” about Helen… if you follow out the logic of them having some kind of connection – that would make Helen’s son the real child of Don/Dick – hence Matt Weiner’s son the true son of Don Draper… ok… I’m spinning.
It’s an interesting observation. I think Don was in a lousy, unsocialable mood the day of that party. He also put Helen in the category of “work women” (Peggy, Joan) in that he could act more like a “guy” since they weren’t the wife of someone else.
July 10th, 2009 at 11:05 am
As far as Helen’s walking I think Francine made a comment about it is because she (Francine) probably drove everywhere and couldn’t understand why not to drive. Betty walked. Remember she was walking when she saw Helen’s husband banging on the door. Where was she going?
I also noticed the porch scene and Betty’s quick reaction. Neither one could have had any reaction to the other because Francine gave Betty the heads up pretty fast. So, I didn’t think much of it other than it was a painful reminder that as a single mother I once attended a church breakfast with my daughter and was totally ignored by the other women at the table. When one husband actually spoke to me I could tell from the flinch on his face he had been kicked and that ended that conversation.
When Don was filming her I think that she just happen to get into his sites as he turned the corner. She was just having fun and pleased with the attention since the other women were ignoring her.
Then there is the scene of him coming home and making the quick exit when he saw Helen. There were definite husband and wife roles back then. Is it possible that Don resented coming home after a long day to a “coffee klatch”? That was something usually done while the kids were at school?
No, I don’t think there is a past between them, especially a child. Too much soap opera there. But, who knows. More will be revealed.
July 10th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/919304/Banana-Republic-inspired-return-Mad-Men/ I don’t even like Banana Republic. But this will definitely lure me in.
July 10th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Catie, Betty didn’t walk for the heck of it; she was walking the dog.
As to the walking, the “idyllic suburbs” were supposed to free people from having to walk; doing so for pleasure was counter-intuitive. It was kind of a triumph of Helen’s individualism over the social status needs of being upwardly mobile in the suburbs.
July 10th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
“Remember she was walking when she saw Helen’s husband banging on the door. Where was she going?”
She was walking the dog. I don’t think that’s the same thing, socially, because she’s not walking for herself.
July 10th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Emmy predictions from Gold Derby:
Drama Actress:
http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2009/07/drama-actress-lineup-looks-slightly-less-familiar-to-pundits.html
Drama Actor:
http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2009/07/simon-baker-the-mentalist-mad-men-dexter-kiefer-sutherland.html
July 10th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
They should create a Where’s Waldo of TV Emmy and give it to Patrick Fischler. I saw him in Mad Men, Lost, Southland, and as I was flipping through the channels one day he was on BET.
July 11th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Uh…for the “best credit scenes” thread…9/11 falling man?? Are they kidding?
July 11th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Shelly:
He was a client on Burn Notice too, in season two.
July 11th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Yes, Patrick is everywhere.
July 12th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Not sure where to put this, so I’ll just throw it here – there was a nice little reference to Mad Men in tonight’s Entourage season premiere. Ari is reprimanded by his assistant for drinking during business hours and responds “The guys on Mad Men do it, and they’re pretty successful.” His assistant Lloyd replies with something along the lines of “Yeah, and by the time the show gets to the 70s in season 4, everyone will have liver cancer and lung disease.”
July 15th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
January does a cool shoot for Elle with Versace…
http://www.elle.com/Entertainment/Movies-TV/January-Jones-in-Versace
July 15th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
And rocks the cover of Interview…
http://pics.livejournal.com/morningslugger/pic/000rq3qz
July 15th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
AH! SCARY HAIR!