I have AT&T for cellular (since our first iPhones 10+ ago) but they've given us HBO free with the plan for quite awhile. Now that HBO Max is here, I get that too.
I have AT&T for cellular (since our first iPhones 10+ ago) but they've given us HBO free with the plan for quite awhile. Now that HBO Max is here, I get that too.
I didn't even know that so many people had Rokus or FireSticks until this whole thing with HBO Max and Peacock came about.
I bought a first generation Roku player in 2008, back when barely anything was available to stream from Netflix. My spouse at the time ridiculed the purchase and couldn't believe anybody would be so foolish as to think it would become popular. It's probably the only thing I've ever been an early adopter on.
Welp, I finally finished a Mad Men watchthrough that started last winter; the wife and I had gone through seasons 1-5, then mutually expressed disinterest in season 6 and let the thing lie for a bit. In a lull between first-time watches of a few classics (Sopranos, Leftovers, and now Deadwood, all of which I'll gladly chat about and maybe eventually do a Quarantine Watch Roundup), I knocked out 6 and 7; while I've rewatched every season in preparation for the next (including the first seven of s7), I've never rewatched the final episodes, or anything before that with the context of knowing where things go.
I'm still harsh on season 6, I'm gonna say it. It's especially obvious now that the season is circling the airport for the final season, and a downfall arc for Don is necessary for that. Unfortunately, that makes the show a lot less fun; throughout the series, the personal-life lows are tempered by professional highs and vice-versa, but s6 has not much of that. Chevy is a Vietnam analogue, the merger with Cutler/Gleason feels like a devil's deal, and Don sucks shit at his job at every turn. It's still good television, but it's not fun. There are fewer experiments than seasons 4 and 5 held, and it just feels like malaise put to film. Especially having seen Don slide to bad depths in s4, it feels like a bit of a retread to heavily underline just how low this guy can get (overall, I'd argue having him marry Megan at the end of s4 took his arc and turned it into a loop, which maybe makes sense, considering the note the series itself ends on, but it's overall frustrating).
Season 7 is a little better, but where there was downfall in s6, there's a slow stripping away of everything in order to make way for the new (except for the McCann buyout, which just feels like a dismal tide rising). Sterling Cooper ends, which is incredibly bittersweet, and Don spends the final episodes stripping away everything that makes Don Draper, Don Draper. I think there's some strong stuff as several stories get wrapped up; Betty's arc ends in such a heartbreaking way. I don't know how I feel about Peggy/Stan; I like them as a pair, and it's a lot more obvious the show's slowly drawing the two together, but the scene where she basically talks herself into loving him feels weird. But I think the end of Don's story (or at least the conclusion of this particular revolution of the merry go-round) is really solid. It's interesting to think that the basic emptiness at his core is exactly what makes him able to relate to the average American; whether that's a happy ending for him (and us) is rather ambiguous.
Overall, this show has had a real soft spot in my heart; I was going through a lot of changes between 2009 (when I started watching) and 2015, from moves, relationships, jobs, creative pursuits, etc etc etc. I was doing a lot. I was living in California until '10, and had two roommates who actually were production assistants on the show, so I felt personally close to it during that time. I remember s4 airing while I moved to Portland, and especially as I was alone in a new city, the show was way way comforting for me. The show itself has a fascination with California, and especially with the final episode taking place there, watching the show end felt like closing the book on a chapter of my life.
Here we go with a ranking:
Season 5 - This one pulls just slightly ahead of 4, and if you caught me on a good day, I might even say 4 is better. There are just so many creative episodes here, and the show really leans into its short-story format to great results.
Season 4 - See the above. I'm not sure I can name many shows which evolved so drastically between seasons as Mad Men did between 3 and 4.
Season 1 - It may seem kinda quaint compared to everything that came after it, but this is a darn perfect season of television.
Season 3 - The show's really in its groove here. There's nothing more electrifying than "Shut the Door. Have a Seat."
Season 7 - A really strong final season. I wonder a bit whether the pressure to segment it into two parts is a boon or a curse.
Season 2 - Maybe I'm misremembering, but this season simply felt like this show entering a solid holding pattern.
Season 6 - It's just frustrating to watch Don obsess over death and why he's into dark-haired women with moles. Where the show previously flirted with counterculture, seasons 6 and 7 lean into alienation from counterculture more, as eventually big business takes over Sterling Cooper. Hey, if your worst season includes that episode where they all do speed, you've made a pretty unimpeachable tv series.
Final thought: the hippies in Mad Men are weird; they're so out of place and overcostumed they look like extras from Star Trek.
Welp, I finally finished a Mad Men watchthrough that started last winter; the wife and I had gone through seasons 1-5, then mutually expressed disinterest in season 6 and let the thing lie for a bit. In a lull between first-time watches of a few classics (Sopranos, Leftovers, and now Deadwood, all of which I'll gladly chat about and maybe eventually do a Quarantine Watch Roundup), I knocked out 6 and 7; while I've rewatched every season in preparation for the next (including the first seven of s7), I've never rewatched the final episodes, or anything before that with the context of knowing where things go.
I'm still harsh on season 6, I'm gonna say it. It's especially obvious now that the season is circling the airport for the final season, and a downfall arc for Don is necessary for that. Unfortunately, that makes the show a lot less fun; throughout the series, the personal-life lows are tempered by professional highs and vice-versa, but s6 has not much of that. Chevy is a Vietnam analogue, the merger with Cutler/Gleason feels like a devil's deal, and Don sucks shit at his job at every turn. It's still good television, but it's not fun. There are fewer experiments than seasons 4 and 5 held, and it just feels like malaise put to film. Especially having seen Don slide to bad depths in s4, it feels like a bit of a retread to heavily underline just how low this guy can get (overall, I'd argue having him marry Megan at the end of s4 took his arc and turned it into a loop, which maybe makes sense, considering the note the series itself ends on, but it's overall frustrating).
Season 7 is a little better, but where there was downfall in s6, there's a slow stripping away of everything in order to make way for the new (except for the McCann buyout, which just feels like a dismal tide rising). Sterling Cooper ends, which is incredibly bittersweet, and Don spends the final episodes stripping away everything that makes Don Draper, Don Draper. I think there's some strong stuff as several stories get wrapped up; Betty's arc ends in such a heartbreaking way. I don't know how I feel about Peggy/Stan; I like them as a pair, and it's a lot more obvious the show's slowly drawing the two together, but the scene where she basically talks herself into loving him feels weird. But I think the end of Don's story (or at least the conclusion of this particular revolution of the merry go-round) is really solid. It's interesting to think that the basic emptiness at his core is exactly what makes him able to relate to the average American; whether that's a happy ending for him (and us) is rather ambiguous.
Overall, this show has had a real soft spot in my heart; I was going through a lot of changes between 2009 (when I started watching) and 2015, from moves, relationships, jobs, creative pursuits, etc etc etc. I was doing a lot. I was living in California until '10, and had two roommates who actually were production assistants on the show, so I felt personally close to it during that time. I remember s4 airing while I moved to Portland, and especially as I was alone in a new city, the show was way way comforting for me. The show itself has a fascination with California, and especially with the final episode taking place there, watching the show end felt like closing the book on a chapter of my life.
Here we go with a ranking:
Season 5 - This one pulls just slightly ahead of 4, and if you caught me on a good day, I might even say 4 is better. There are just so many creative episodes here, and the show really leans into its short-story format to great results.
Season 4 - See the above. I'm not sure I can name many shows which evolved so drastically between seasons as Mad Men did between 3 and 4.
Season 1 - It may seem kinda quaint compared to everything that came after it, but this is a darn perfect season of television.
Season 3 - The show's really in its groove here. There's nothing more electrifying than "Shut the Door. Have a Seat."
Season 7 - A really strong final season. I wonder a bit whether the pressure to segment it into two parts is a boon or a curse.
Season 2 - Maybe I'm misremembering, but this season simply felt like this show entering a solid holding pattern.
Season 6 - It's just frustrating to watch Don obsess over death and why he's into dark-haired women with moles. Where the show previously flirted with counterculture, seasons 6 and 7 lean into alienation from counterculture more, as eventually big business takes over Sterling Cooper. Hey, if your worst season includes that episode where they all do speed, you've made a pretty unimpeachable tv series.
Final thought: the hippies in Mad Men are weird; they're so out of place and overcostumed they look like extras from Star Trek.
I found that a second full watch of Mad Men had me liking Draper a LOT less. The first time through, he's an anti-hero that most of us probably root for. Wow, that second watch had so many cringe-worthy Don moments.
And yet, I absolutely love that show and could see watching it once again.
Deadwood is so fantastic, and was only recently unseated by The Wire on my top 5 after I did a second watch of that. It's hard to top that show for its breadth, among many other excellent attributes.
I am still on my full re-watch of MASH. I've stopped a couple times but keep getting drawn back in...it's just so excellent most of the time.
My newest thought is that Harry Morgan is just fantastic, so is his character Colonel Potter.
I wonder how many versions of the theme song and opening footage they did? I notice subtle differences each season, everything from the drum fill at the end, to ditching the final down note, to the fact that they eliminated the shot of the wounded guy's arm hanging askew as the chopper is coming in. As a kid that always looked ghastly to me, the creators or someone else must have thought that as well.
I found that a second full watch of Mad Men had me liking Draper a LOT less. The first time through, he's an anti-hero that most of us probably root for. Wow, that second watch had so many cringe-worthy Don moments.
And yet, I absolutely love that show and could see watching it once again.
Deadwood is so fantastic, and was only recently unseated by The Wire on my top 5 after I did a second watch of that. It's hard to top that show for its breadth, among many other excellent attributes.
I JUST finished a rewatch of Deadwood. It is fantastic. I wanted to to watch it before heading into the movie. My biggest takeaway the second time threw was how “Good” Al Swarengen is. I my minds eye I had thought of him more as a foil to Seth Bullock’s more traditional “white hat” hero. On this second run through I found him way more likable and sympathetic character and while his action were often self serving and rarely righteous he did care about Deadwood and he cared about the people that he employed at The Gem and though the ends did not always justify the means he was doing what he thought was right. Which probably makes him more of an Anti-Hero along the lines of Tony Soprano than a villain which I had remembered him as. Also, I still love how dirty everything on that show was every movie set in the west should be that caked with grime.
We started watching Indian Matchmaking on Netflix. A very interesting show not only from the aspect of will the matchmaker make a good pair for the people she's employed to find someone for but especially for the look at the Indian caste system that exists and seems to have influence over everything.
I JUST finished a rewatch of Deadwood. It is fantastic. I wanted to to watch it before heading into the movie. My biggest takeaway the second time threw was how “Good” Al Swarengen is. I my minds eye I had thought of him more as a foil to Seth Bullock’s more traditional “white hat” hero. On this second run through I found him way more likable and sympathetic character and while his action were often self serving and rarely righteous he did care about Deadwood and he cared about the people that he employed at The Gem and though the ends did not always justify the means he was doing what he thought was right. Which probably makes him more of an Anti-Hero along the lines of Tony Soprano than a villain which I had remembered him as. Also, I still love how dirty everything on that show was every movie set in the west should be that caked with grime.
It's an amazing show, and the foul language is so much part of it. I remember kind of writing it off initially, thinking it was all just mo-fo this c-sucker that. But it really becomes part of it all, not sure how else to describe it.
I had a boss that very much reminded me of Swearengen. He was pretty hard on people and yet liked and respected by most at the end of the day, and he had that angry but smirking sideways glance thing that Al does so often.
It's an amazing show, and the foul language is so much part of it. I remember kind of writing it off initially, thinking it was all just mo-fo this c-sucker that. But it really becomes part of it all, not sure how else to describe it.
I had a boss that very much reminded me of Swearengen. He was pretty hard on people and yet liked and respected by most at the end of the day, and he had that angry but smirking sideways glance thing that Al does so often.
The dialogue is almost Shakespearean but obviously painted with old western brush as opposed to old English. The soliloquy’s Al delivered while either getting head or to the box containing the Chief’s head were always fantastic.
It was sad realizing that Powers Boothe, Ricky Jay and the actor that played Richardson all had passed away. I also didn’t realize the Sara Paulson was on the show the first time through.
The season finale for Stargirl was packed full of plot twists and surprises. It also set the series up very well for a second season. It was by far my favorite episode of the season.
So my 6 year old daughter and I just finished up watching the Last Airbender season 3 and waiting on Korra to drop on Netflix. Might check out that Dragon Prince show in the meantime.
So my 6 year old daughter and I just finished up watching the Last Airbender season 3 and waiting on Korra to drop on Netflix. Might check out that Dragon Prince show in the meantime.
Yeah we watch She-Ra and the new Voltron too. Going to try and give Bleach a go and see if she likes it. I try to find shows that we can watch together because I have way more knowledge on My Little Pony then I ever imagined I'd ever have,
Yeah we watch She-Ra and the new Voltron too. Going to try and give Bleach a go and see if she likes it. I try to find shows that we can watch together because I have way more knowledge on My Little Pony then I ever imagined I'd ever have,
