Mad News, October 28-November 3, 2009
Basketcase robert linked us up with Stephen Colbert interviewing Gail Collins about her new book, which addresses the progress of the women’s movement from 1960. Mad Men is referenced around the 3.22 mark, but watch the whole thing.
From Basketcase BroncoRoger: A Mad Men guide to New York City.
The Frisky argues for Betty Draper as Mother of the Year. (via Basketcase Dahlhalla, who notes the piece avoids Betty’s questionable cooking skills.)
TV.com is doing a He Said/She Said about Mad Men.
iVillage offers a Mad Man/Woman guide to life.
The Mad Men Brooks Brothers line is a data point in an article about television’s influence on fashion. It seems like the suits are selling briskly.
The Wall Street Journal has an awesome article on how Conrad Hilton came to be a Mad Men character, and gives a lot of background on his life.
TV Guide is having a contest for media planners and buyers. The prize will include dinner with an undisclosed Mad Men cast member.
I thought Mad Men was already On Demand, but I guess this is an expansion.
Bryan Batt hosted the Macy’s Passport fashion show.
There is a particular kind of essay about Mad Men that goes something like this: Liberals love Mad Men because we are so much better than those sexist smoking homophobes, but those liberals are wrong because we were all so much better than. If you like that sort of thing, this Harry Stein essay will knock your socks off. Basketcase Rondi Adamson writes in a similar vein; finding the show “we’re better than that now” smug, which to me misses the point. But she’s way better at this sort of essay than Stein.
January Jones hosts SNL on November 14.
Apparently Rich Sommers Law & Order episode is November 6, although this preview doesn’t feature him.
Ellen Goodman invokes Mad Men in a column on feminism and happiness.
AOL Television lists “7 Reasons We Still Want to Be Don Draper.”
TIME loves Alison Brie in Community and Mad Men. And she made for an adorable fairy on Halloween.
Alison Brie also answers “The Complex 7.”
Christina Hendricks talks fashion with Marie Claire and chats briefly with the Toronto Star.
Speaking of the Star, columnist Richard Ouzounian loves Mad Men and reminisces about being a teen in those days.
Crain’s reports on a Digitas Mad Men-themed season premiere party. 12 weeks after the premiere. Whatever.
Canadians have Mad Men options.
Video: Richard Jay-Alexander interviews Bryan Batt.
This article on Mad Men style covers men’s shoes and hair. Neat.
Elle Dee points us to her Mad Men Haiku series.
Footnotes of Mad Men is linked in our sidebar, so it’s not like I feel the need to link to every individual post. But these side-by-side photos are worth a special mention. Whoa.
TV is full of men who have “manchild” syndrome, including, the author says, Don Draper.
Here are some recipes for a Mad Men viewing party that don’t taste like canned soup or pigs-in-a-blanket. Y’know, authentic but not too authentic.
The District interviews someone who really was married on November 23, 1963.
Basket of Kisses: The unofficial blog of AMC's Mad Men. Where all the cool kids meet & greet to talk about Don Draper, Janie Bryant, Christina Hendricks, Jon Hamm, Matthew Weiner, & subtexty things.
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November 3rd, 2009 at 9:46 am
Adamson writes "Happy at home or not, women weren't all victims, waiting to be rescued by The Feminine Mystique." But neither are all the Mad Men wives. I know Betty gets the most screen time, but Trudy, Mona, Jennifer, Francine and Jane are married women, too, and they aren't depicted simply as victims.
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:56 am
Enjoyed the "manchild" article, but someone tell the author that it's not just TV that is full of men who have "manchild" syndrome, it's LIFE … and I don't mean "Life" magazine.
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I quickly shared w/my spouse the RJA interview w/Bryan Batt, as the spouse went to college w/RJA – thanks!
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I think James Wolcott was particularly good this week.
“The death of a President enters the house and becomes a death in the family.â€
—"Notes and Comment," The New Yorker, November 30, 1963
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2009/11/m...
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Vincent cries at weddings
http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/vinc...
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:15 pm
I'm puzzled, when was it said that Betty had questionable cooking skills? I can remember times her cooking was praised on the show, but never a scene where it was derided. Did I miss something?
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Taiga, it's mostly from the S2 commentaries, where Matt continually notices it. Plus the crap-looking crap she puts on the table.
November 4th, 2009 at 4:38 am
“The reason you haven't felt it is because it doesn't exist. What you call love was invented by guys like me, to sell nylons. You're born alone and you die alone, and this world just drops a bunch of rules on top of you to make you forget those facts. But I never forget. I'm living like there's no tomorrow, because there isn't one.â€
I'd forgotten about this exchange with Rachel. So now that Betty's made her big declaration, is he thinking "so what, I don't love you either?"
November 4th, 2009 at 5:34 am
Rachel saw right through this. Don absolutely believes in love.
November 4th, 2009 at 6:32 am
#7 Deborah – I laughed out loud at that – it describes my mom's cooking for her army of 8-kids to a TEE!
November 4th, 2009 at 7:29 am
#6, 7, 10 – I always noticed and wondered about that too, but never had a chance to hear MW's commentary. Sure, Betty might make the occasional steak or pot roast, but I've mostly noticed easy to mix chicken salads, sad sandwiches, and fish sticks. Carla puts out better food when she's around. That international dinner from "A Night to Remember" was probably catered.
Looking forward to JJ on SNL. Maybe there'll be another hookup. I wonder if Elisabeth Moss will host eventually.
November 4th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
This just popped up in my blog reader: Elvis Mitchell interviews Matt on "The Treatment" this week:
http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/tt/tt091104matth...
November 5th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Concerning the cuisine at "Rancho Depresso up in Ossining" (one of many choice phrases from the Vanity Fair link)….
I'd bet the Heineken Dinner was a joint effort by Carla & Betty. Some of the recipes are found in Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook, originally published in 1961. It's been updated many times, but the original edition is worth owning; adjust the recipes or menus to current dietary standards if you must. He noted that both rumaki & gazpacho were old hat for sophisticated New Yorkers, but he was including the recipes to enlighten the yokels out in Flyover Country. (No, he didn't use those exact words!)
Betty can produce a good meal when she feels like it, but she so rarely feels like it. Julia Child's book on French cooking came out the same year & she was on TV by 1963, but I don't see Betty showing that sort of gusto. So daily fare at Rancho Depresso is pretty much glop. The kids eat lunch at school & Don has something in the city. Betty has melba toast & a glass of wine….
November 5th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Apparently, the new Primetime on demand service will be a feature of Time Warner Cable sometime in the near future.
Comcast Cable has a trademark On Demand service that currently makes Mad Men available within hours of its initial broadcast.