MAD MEN
For us every-day TV Addicts who let’s face it, don’t always pick up on the subtle subtleties of every look, nuance and intricate line of dialogue that are packed into each and every hour of the Matthew Weiner masterpiece, Sunday’s game-changer of a finale that had Don leading Roger and Bertram (Sterling and Cooper respectively) in a coup d’état in an effort to take control of their own destiny by secretly starting their own agency was plain and simple mad mad fun. Now, if only we had some assurances that we haven’t seen the last of Ken, Paul and Sal!
90210
After almost a season and a half, this week’s installment of 90210 finally delivered that missing piece of the puzzle. The spark of genuine friendship between our leading players upon Liam finally revealing to Dixon, Teddy and surfer chick Ivy the reason why he looks like he’s ready to ‘Hulk smash’ at a moments notice. Seriously. All that was missing from this next gen gang’s vow to help Liam take Naomi’s duplicitous sister Jen down was an iconic Brandon/Steve/Dylan fist-bump.
January Jones Hosting SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
January Jones stepping into 30 Rock’s hallowed Studio 8H to host SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE this weekend is all well and good. But the thing that makes us go “Hmmmm,” well, aside from the fact that we have a feeling at around 11:35PM google will find itself inundated with the question “Who is January Jones?” — is the timing of Jones’ hosting gig. After-all, nothing says lets hype Sunday’s phenomenal MAD MEN season finale like hosting SNL… the following Saturday. Oops.
90210’s Shenae Grimes
What started out as an interesting way to handle a poorly conceived character that never really connected with viewers continues to get well less so, after yet another week went by with Shenae Grimes’ Annie Wilson on the outside looking in. Seriously, we can’t recall the last time (if ever) a character that started out the series front-and-center was pushed so far back into the periphery. Hey 90210 EP Rebecca Rand Kirshner, care to explain?
The handling of Barney and Robin
After a season of build-up, anticipation and hype, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER’s Barney and Robin are officially (spoiler alert!) no more. And while disappointment may not be exactly how we’d characterize the relationship that we believe is at least partially to blame for HIMYM’s somewhat less than stellar start to the season, we can’t help but be somewhat surprised that the same writers who gave us the genius that is the ’slap bet,’ ‘Robin Sparkles,’ and one of the cleverest sitcom hooks in recent memory (See: The mystery surrounding the titular mother) handled the pairing up of ‘Robney’ so poorly.
Welcome to our morning round-up of big/interesting TV news that you may have missed over the past 24 hours because unlike us, there’s a fairly good chance that have a life outside of the small screen.
Good News: On Monday, David Boreanaz and wife Jaime Bergman welcomed a healthy baby girl into the world. Bad News: Named Bardot, which probably won’t serve her well in the school yard. Better News: Until of course the kids realize, “Wait your dad is David Boreanaz!” [People]
Let history show that on Saturday August 29th at 8:45PM Twitter officially became uncool. Thanks @jongosselin1.
Welcome to our new morning round-up of big/interesting TV news that you may have missed over the past 24 hours because unlike us, there’s a fairly good chance that have a life outside of the small screen.
2.8 million Americans reinforce the fact they’re indeed smarter than a fifth grader by tuning into MAD MEN’s record breaking third season premiere. [EW]
After umpteen seasons on 7th HEAVEN, David Gallagher is finally being let out of Hollywood purgatory, signing on (alongside WAREHOUSE 13’s Allison Scagliotti) to SMALLVILLE as the Wonder Twins. [io9]
Melissa Joan Hart and Debi Mazar’s career trajectories officially hit rock bottom with yesterday’s announcement that they’ll be just a few of the D-Listers to go DANCING WITH THE STARS. [TV.com]
At the risk of coming across as either (a) stupid, or worse (b) really sexist, this TV Addict simply has to ask: On last night’s season premiere of MAD MEN, am I correct in assuming that Joan is either (a) pregnant, or (b) using food as an emotional crutch in the aftermath of the rape that occurred in last season’s shocking season finale? (And just because I know you’re wondering: No this post wasn’t completely an excuse for this TV Addict to have far too much fun designing ‘fat’ Joan at madmenyourself.com, rather that was simply an added bonus!)
MERLIN (8PM NBC, 7PM CTV in Canada)
Arthur slays a unicorn, which if Harry Potter taught us anything, probably means really bad news for Camelot.
ARMY WIVES (10PM Lifetime)
Claudio Joy and Denise escort a former Gilmore Girl senator’s widow (Kelly Bishop) to a groundbreaking ceremony on the base.
MAD MEN (10PM AMC)
In what gets our vote for most misleading episode logline of the week comes courtesy of MAD MEN’s third season premiere: Sal accompanies Don on a business trip to Baltimore, where both men succumb to the powers of persuasive seduction. Trust us, totally not what you’re thinking! Click here for our full review.
Watching MAD MEN, AMC’s buzzing drama set in the hustle of a 1960s ad agency, is like gazing at a meticulously designed museum display – so gorgeously detailed by curator by ex-SOPRANOS scribe Matthew Weiner, half of the show’s charm is in the visual wonder of its setting and characters. You could stare at a still shot, like the ones in this Vanity Fair spread, and be completely enraptured by its remarkable talent for being seductive, perceptive, soapy, and cerebral – sometimes all at once.
But just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it’s a lightweight: In the third season premiere alone, its brooding, mysterious hero Don Draper (the steadily smooth Jon Hamm) is seeing visions of his birth as his pregnant, caged bird wife (the always poised and deft January Jones), waits in the other room. The next day he travels with closeted art director Salvatore (Bryan Bratt) to Baltimore, where a dinner date with their flight attendants ends with them half-naked on the street.
At Sterling Cooper, the ad agency where Don and Sal sip cocktails in their lavishly furnished offices, their new British owners are moving in, kicking a third of their staff out – something not entirely unheard of in Our Troubled Times. But what’s happening to Sterling Cooper isn’t the recession – it’s a revolution percolating at the seams. Not far off is Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, the Beatles, Martin Luther King Jr.’s arrest, and the assassination of JFK.
Good News: According to TLC, Jon and Kate Gosselin will no longer be speaking to the media in an effort to focus soley on the needs of their family. Bad News: Rest assured, that’s not about to stop People, Us Weekly, InTouch, Star and OK! magazine from covering the family thanks to the now ubiquitous “sources close to Jon & Kate…” [Source]
Good News: BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT phenom Susan Boyle has reportedly been offered a cameo on the new season of UGLY BETTY. Bad News: Three words: Jump. The. Shark. [Source] According to ABC, rumors of Susan Boyle appearing on UGLY BETTY have been greatly exaggerated. And by that we mean, false!
Good News: Over the weekend, VIRTUALITY made headlines for FOX. Bad News: For delivering a fourth place finish on Friday night after attracting a mere 1.8 million viewers. [Source]
Following last weekend’s SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE parody and Sunday’s upcoming TREEHOUSE OF HORRORS XIX on THE SIMPSONS, I think we can all agree that MAD MEN has officially found its place in the American Pop Culture Zeitgeist.
With Halloween mere days away, this TV Addict thought now would be the perfect opportunity to talk about what scares us in the world of television. So without further ado, we present our Halloween Scare #3: A Matthew Weiner Free MAD MEN.
With Matthew Weiner’s CAA representatives and Lionsgate, the studio behind AMC’s MAD MEN at a negotiation standstill (over suprise, surprise, money!), Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting that there is now a genuine possibility that the Emmy-Awarding winning series could part ways with its visionary creator as the critically acclaimed drama heads into its third season. Which following Sunday’s brilliant season finale, would drive this TV Addict well, more than a little mad.
MAD MEN
90210
The handling of Barney and Robin
Good News: On Monday, David Boreanaz and wife Jaime Bergman welcomed a healthy baby girl into the world. Bad News: Named Bardot, which probably won’t serve her well in the school yard. Better News: Until of course the kids realize, “Wait your dad is David Boreanaz!” 
Loading ...
