Mad Men - “Let them open the kimono.” — Burt Cooper

[GGSurvivor]

I’m surprised there’s no thread discussing Mad Men on here. I know the show has been over a decade at this point, but I can’t help but keep thinking about it.

There was a clear peak of the show at around seasons 4-5 and then a slight drop off. I recall a lot of videos at the time of the finale and for the next few years after that they did character analysis of Don, Pete, etc.

Me personally, I shifted my self-insertion over the years and it’s stayed with Burt Cooper. He doesn’t have a single bad scene, and not to politisperg but his best scene was with the psychologist guy at the party saying civil rights was a slippery slope- you just know that the creators wanted to portray them as oldfags who aren’t with the times, but they were right. He also likes Ayn Rand.

What’s your thoughts on the show?

 

[From The Uncanny Valley]

Pete is a shitweasel

 

[Fuggalope]

Its one of my favorite shows. May be time to watch it again.

 

[Lisa Frank Abomination]

I wasn't exactly the target demographic for the show when it was airing, and I didn't have access to it anyway. But I do remember people talking about it as one of those definitive TV show events everyone seemed to be watching. Is it worth starting now?

 

[Fully Eshay Skits Bruh V4]

The main question is, who was in the right?

 

[Jean ValJean]

Having grown up in that era, I could relate to the show quite a bit. Without power leveling too much, my dad's job was one of the guys who dealt with the Ad Agencies and though I never knew exactly what he did, I did get a better idea of what his business lunches/dinners were all about. It was kind of fun imagining him being taken to lunch by guys like Don and Roger and getting a glimpse of what went on when he went to meetings in NYC.

 

[The Blue Morpho]

I wasn't exactly the target demographic for the show when it was airing, and I didn't have access to it anyway. But I do remember people talking about it as one of those definitive TV show events everyone seemed to be watching. Is it worth starting now?

Absolutely. I just re-watched it about a year ago and not only was it better than I remembered but it easily secured a spot in my top 3 shows. Great writing, great performances, great themes and autistically period-accurate sets and costumes. It's fantastic.

 

[GGSurvivor]

The main question is, who was in the right?

Pete was in the right because Harry is a high strung neurotic who was just seeking validation.

On another note:

I think the only character I didn’t like toward the end was Joan. You actually see the same thing happen in Suits with Donna, but the former is a better character than the latter. Joan basically gets flattened into an entitled girlboss whose loyalty is to money alone over the people she worked with for over a decade. She also was a *manager* and there was no realistic way she could’ve ever taken over the numbers for Lane.

 

[The Blue Morpho]

Pete is a shitweasel

Pete is chudcoded, but back then the chud got the job and the girl.

I think the only character I didn’t like toward the end was Joan.

In retrospect I think you're right. She didn't really get a good conclusion and the themes of her story don't resonate or cohere. It's almost like an accidental indictment of the career woman lifepath.

By contrast I was surprised how much I liked Peggy when I first watched the show.

 

[ArthuriusMartyrius]

I’m surprised there’s no thread discussing Mad Men on here.

I'm not, unlike shows like Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones, Mad Men was memory-holed almost as soon as it ended. Heck the only show that was forgotten quicker from that same time period was probably Boardwalk Empire.

 

[GGSurvivor]

Boardwalk Empire

I kinda get it, but Boardwalk Empire also peaks in seasons 1-2 and then starkly declined for season 3 and thereafter.

 

[The Blue Morpho]

I could not get into Boardwalk Empire. I cannot buy Steve Buscemi as a gangster let alone a boss. I had the same problem with his guest role on Sopranos. He's a weird-faced, twiggy nerd. Best casting for him in a role like that was in Miller's Crossing where he's a gay tweaker conman.

 

[Fathomless Eminence]

I shifted my self-insertion over the years and it’s stayed with Burt Cooper

You self insert as a man with no testicles?

 

[GGSurvivor]

You self insert as a man with no testicles?

He made up for that with a life well-lived, including a wife who surely he boned hopefully