Basket of Kisses

• I am a TV Junkie uses his knowledge of Don Draper for good.
• Denver blogger John Scherer muses on the huge technological changes in office life since Mad Men (which is, hello, two words).
• Newsday interviews Elisabeth Moss, and like a dork I comment with a correction. Dork!
• Memphis-based Commercial Appeal does a homegirl article on Janie Bryant and the remarkable Mad Men clothing. I didn’t know that Betty wore Janie’s grandmother’s wedding dress!
• The Boston Globe examines parenting on Mad Men.
• How to achieve Don Draper hair: The New York Times launches a 2 part investigation.
• Variety thinks Jon Hamm is the next George Clooney.

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Our first post-season Mad News! I anticipate a flurry of season-end reviews followed by a welcome slow-down of this feature, but we’ll still run it at least weekly.

• Basketcase jw pointed out the Vulture’s Don Draper Likability Index. Ha!
• From Basketcase Surly Temple comes the first cogent, thoughtful analysis I’ve seen of Mad Men from the point of view of a conservative. Most conservatives have seen Mad Men as a celebration of bigotry, sexism, and smoking, and I’ve sneered, but Rod Dreher offers a contemplative and careful dissection.
• Speaking of intelligence, the LA Times gives a cogent analysis of Don and Peggy’s relationship.
• This political story about Mad Men is more glib than analytical, but you may enjoy it.
• Jon Weisman went to the same high school as Matt Weiner: Where a certain Father John Gill taught.
• The Deseret News can’t figure out how to hold on until season 3.
• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thinks they’ve found an editing error in the finale.
• TV Guide interviews Elisabeth Moss.

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• Advertising writer and Mad Men champion Stuart Elliott writes up Ad Week for the New York Times, including this year’s Ad Week Mad Men obsesssion.
• In an article primarily about Desperate Housewives, which leaps forward five years this season, other shows that have leapt forward, including Mad Men, are discussed.
• The Seattle Times discusses Mad Men’s fashion influence.
• The Times-Picayune does a homeboy article on Bryan Batt, focusing on design and mentioning his store.
• USA Today compares Don Draper and Tony Soprano (h/t to Basketcase Ellelque).
• On a roll, Ellelque also sent us this New York Times article on being out of the closet in Hollywood.
• Hat tip to Basketcase Britni on this Jezebel article: Were Women In The ’50s & ’60s Really Like The Ones On Mad Men? They flip through vintage magazines to find out.
• Huffington Post columnist Peggy Drexler compares Mad Men-era advertising to modern political advertising. She notes that, in the years since Mad Men, advertising has become more regulated…except campaign ads.

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Lots and lots and lots of news stories saying, basically, “Mad Men won two Emmys.” So it’s hard to sort through.

• The New York Times, directing readers to its Emmy story, ran a photo (below the fold) of Alec Baldwin, labeled “Jeremey Piven…of HBO’s Entourage.” HA!
• The New Jersey Record ran the Mad Men “guys” (Aaron, Michael, Rich, Bryan—we’re on first-name basis now) on the front page, above the fold. Nice. Michael Gladis was wearing one of those scarf things.
• Perhaps the most interesting thing at the Emmys happened afterwards, when Matt Weiner said:
  

  I’m surprised that there is such segregation and caste system at the Emmys,” he said. “I have this amazing cast, and none of them was asked to present awards tonight.

  Apparently there were “gasps.” I hope that doesn’t mean a blackball next year.



Weiner accepting his Emmy

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Although this is a small list that I would normally save (I publish Mad News on an irregular schedule based only on quantity of items), since tonight is the Emmys and tomorrow’s news will be full of wins and/or losses, here’s a final pre-Emmy entry.

• The Boston Globe brings us What the women of Mad Men can teach us about Sarah Palin. The illustration appears to be a shot from Lipstick Jungle.
• The Arizona Republic asserts that the Emmys are nothing but a commercial for little-seen shows (”it’s the clips”).
• The Baltimore Sun discusses what’s historic about tonight’s Emmys.
• The Sun also has a lengthy homegirl article on Robin Veith.
• The Courier-Journal of Louisville discusses quality versus popularity at the Emmys, quoting Matt Roush of TV Guide.
• The Michigan area MLive has an overview article on Mad Men that addresses sexism, working in the early 1960s, style, and the Emmys. Also a cool vintage photo. But they think Mad Men is on ABC.
• The LA Times asks if Mad Men will make Emmy history, and notes that Emmy voters have typically stayed away from period dramas.

Update:

• Broadcasting & Cable and Reuters on the Emmys.
• TV Predictions has again made January Jones an “HD Hottie” in honor of the Emmys.

• Playbill offers a slightly late-to-the-game review of the Mad Men season 1 DVDs.
• The Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville profiles Jacksonville local Aaron Stanton.
• TV Guide compares Mad Men in general, and The Gold Violin in particular, to a work of art, and gets mileage out of comparing Cooper’s Rothko with the show.
• In yet another political story, the New Yorker compares Cindy McCain to Betty Draper.
• The Daily Campus calls Mad Men “underrated.” I don’t think so; critics love it. Underwatched yes, underrated, no.
• After Elton praises Bryan Batt’s complex performance in Mad Men, especially in The Gold Violin.

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• Journalists and columnists don’t write their own headlines, as proven by “Don’t call Saturday night—I’m watching ‘Mad Men’.” The author knows full well what night her favorite show is on, and says in part:
  

  Want to know why there was a Women’s Movement? Watch “Mad Men.” Want to know how the American family fell apart? Watch “Mad Men.” Want to see the seeds of the Gay Rights Movement sown? Watch “Mad Men.” Want to know why there had to be a Civil Rights Movement? Watch “Mad Men”

• Kormoon explains some more of how Emmy voting works. After nomination, Best Drama and Best Comedy nominees submit six hours for the voters to watch. The blog considers Mad Men a favorite and lists MM’s six submitted episodes.
• Spoiler TV offers the episode titles for season 2 episodes 9–13. (Interestingly, IMDb has only 1–7, so I wonder where episode 8 went). Although there is no description, the titles are intriguing. (I’ve updated our Episode List to reflect these titles.)

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• This is straightforward: If You’re Not Watching Mad Men, You’re Crazy.
• City Beat of Cincinatti compares Mad Men to the Dark Knight. Which is cool. h/t to Basketcase Peter G.
• The Atlantic has the most amazing contemplation of Mad Men:
  

  There’s a “Is it all worth it” quality to Mad Men which I love–like you’re cheering for Betty to move up, and yet at the same time you’re thinking, “Move up into what?” Into puking into office garbage cans?

  Definitely read the whole thing.

• Variety ponders the influence of the critics on Emmy voters, using Mad Men as their prime example.
• 411mania’s McGuffin DVD Review takes on Mad Men season 1, loves the series and the DVDs, and offers their top ten moments of season 1:

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• Joanna Weiss at the Boston Globe blogs about Mad Men. She notes that AMC spent $25 per new viewer, believes that Peggy put the baby up for adoption, and that the package was mailed to Midge.
• A somewhat more in-depth analysis of the ratings numbers from Conde-Nast Portfolio.
• The Republican-American (which is apparently just the name of a local paper, not a political affiliation) loves Mad Men madly, as noted by Basketcase Peter G.
• Basketcase Lindsay tipped us to Style Notes, which shows you how to shop for the Mad Men look.
• In the world of funny headlines, TV by the Numbers’s made this week’s hit parade with Is Mad Men the Gossip Girl for Adults?
• The Waterloo (Canada) Record has a nice article on Jon Hamm, discussing the masculine image of leading men of an earlier age, and how that worked against him at a certain point in his career. By the way, all these bios of Hamm, when listing his credentials, call him the co-star of Kissing Jessica Stein. KSJ is one of my favorite movies, I’ve seen it about six times. Hamm is in one scene. One. And he’s not the main character in that scene either.

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Can I just say, much as I love all this buzz, I’ll be happy when my news-gathering duties slow down a little. I’m going to the beach. Don’t panic if the news isn’t updated. Leave links here.

Cleveland.com has a nice interview with Robert Morse:

“I even come to work when I’m not working, because I don’t belong to a senior club. So I feel this is my club, and I come down to the set sometimes just to get the free lunch and hope that I’ll be in next week’s show.”

The Hartford Courant, in one of those local-boy-makes-good bits, interviews Michael Gladis (h/t to Basketcase Peter G.), and there’s beard stuff:

For now the beard “portends of times to come,” [Gladis] says. “And in within the confines of Sterling Cooper, he rides the changes of the 60s as much as any of these guys do.”

TV Tattle has a huge collection of Mad Men links. Most I had, but some I didn’t, and they’re juicy. (h/t to fangrrl magnet.)

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