The stories of Don and of Sterling-Cooper weren’t meant to be one continuous narrative (as in, here’s the story of an adman and the company he works for).
Because of the complexities of the characters and the rich storylines built up over three seasons, the 90-degree turn to the SCDP-era is entirely plausible. The story begins anew in S4.
It’s hard to remember, but a network series would have over 60 episodes aired by now (“24″ had … 72), and the idea of changing things up would be so trite that it would get in the way of the actual story. Can you imagine what the show would be like if there were 24 eps per season? In a word: horrible.
The show’s great economy, doing so much with so little, allows it to make this huge course correction even though we could have had things go on (the Drapers’ marriage, Sterling Cooper, etc.) a while longer. But the changes are occurring before it began to feel tired.
It’s showbiz 101 … leave ‘em wanting more. We wanted more Rachel. More Salvatore. More Joan … well, we got her. Perhaps more Sterling Cooper. But we’re moving on before anyone can say the tank is empty, and it makes all the sense in the world.
10 Responses to “The value of economy.”
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Erin, I just thought the same thing a little while ago. And it's entirely unusual for me to think that–how odd!
One of the example I could think of is Battlestar Galactica. After a great first season and fabulou 1.5 season (first half of the second season), the second part of the second season started to slip. R. Moore said himself that for a while they had no idea what to put in those extra episodes. Currently the 13 episodes are doing great, story-wise and whatever wise. So keep it like this. I definitely want more, but not in one season.
Same is true of Lost. The fourth season was cut short by the writers' strike and ended up being so much better than season 3 that the following seasons have been ordered shorter as well.
Breaking Bad was somewhat bland at 9, was just getting going in the last few episodes when season 1 stopped (due to writers' strike, but they saw it coming). Season 2 was much better at 13. I don't think it had anything much to do with the numbers of episodes. By the time season 2 began, they had found their tone and pace. If they had had more episodes in season 1, they might not have been all that good. (Apparently they decided not to do some dramatic big effect without enough episodes to fill the story, and later realized that allowed them to do something else, better.) So, season 1 would have been poorer with more episodes (the writers say). Season 2 would have been poorer with fewer episodes.
It’s a little silly to say that a specific number of episodes is what makes for quality. The West Wing was pretty good with 22 episodes a season. Sure, there would be 3 or 4 “fillers” per season, that’s all. Weiner has done the very best possible with 13. Supposing he had 18, I’m sure he’d do the best with that too – and there would be 5 more episodes.
And speaking of Breaking Bad, the new season begins on March 21st.
I woke up this morning (watched an episode from season 1 OnDemand last night) briefly thinking it was “Mad Men Night”.
I am definitely left wanting more!
Season 4 of Lost was only cut short by 1 episode which was subsequently added to Season 5. They had already decided on three short remaining seasons, with a definite end date, during Season 3.
Don't hate me, but I think I like Breaking Bad even better than MM. It's a steep slope of suspending disbelief at the premise, but after that, the acting performances will keep you coming back. If I think of it as basically a farce, it works for me. And it's funnier than MM.
I will not post any spoilers, I will not post any spoilers….
I would take more episodes, but no more than 16. It would be very difficult to write scripts, continue continuity, and keep the show original. However, 13 episodes sometimes feels too stingy. There hasn't been time to explore some notes in the show, like the roots of Don's infidelity, whether Betty truly has had time to be a Junior League member, what Sally and Bobby really think of their parents.