Day 21: One of my Favorite TV Shows...

I love Breaking Bad.  I love The Wire.  I love SNL.  I love Mad Men.  Out of all of those, I think The Wire and Breaking Bad are just transcendent.  They are so much better than the rest of TV that it's not even funny.  Breaking Bad is just incredible.

Back during the writer's strike, TV was pretty much on it's knees begging for ways to get more money to it's writers.  I don't think there was a single show on TV that wasn't rerunning.  Mad Men had just debuted.  It was the only show on TV that was pumping out new episodes of quality TV, while TBS and TNT were churning out reruns of Family Guy, Law & Order, and House of Payne.

Now during those wretched days of rerun TV, I said "Screw it!" and went on to AMC since they were making something new and were also replaying my favorite Patrick Swayze movie like it was going out of style.  I figured it couldn't be that much worse since it was known as "the show that the guy from the Sopranos made".  I was blown away by Mad Men.  I didn't see Breaking Bad until after Mad Men Season 1 was completed.  All I knew was everything you would see in this trailer:

"Oh Great!  The Dad from Malcolm in the Middle is on a new show.  I'm never watching that!" was probably my first thought.  Then I had to wait for my friend Bill to confirm that it was awesome.  He saw a couple episodes and said it was so cool and that I would be missing out if I missed it.  So, I waited for which ever episode was on TV at the time and thought I could just jump in and see an episode.  Holy Shit, was I wrong.  The episode I saw, I stopped what I was doing and ran to the computer to see if anything I was seeing was possible.  The scene I first saw was the one below:

I ran to my laptop and found out that this shit was real!  This could be happening!  This was so mind-blowing, that it changed my TV watching schedule instantly.  I went to the library and got season 1 on disc and finished it in a day.  I went back for season 2 and finished that in another day.  I found out that Season 3 was just coming up and that I could catch up on every episode via Amazon Instant.  I did that and it's been the best medicine for bad TV since God knows when.  Everything about this show is terrific.  One of the first things on screen in the beginning of season 1 is this image:

Look at this image and tell me you aren't interested in what the hell is going on.

Aaron Paul, who plays Jesse Pinkman, has transformed from a simple know-nothing character actor to a multi-Emmy winning actor with amazing talent.  He was originally supposed to die in an earlier season, but because the way the producer's ran the show, he stayed on and it's made him a career.

Anna Gunn, who plays Skyler White, has gone from being a pregnant housewife who does laundry and makes eggs for her family, has put out a stellar performance as the housewife to a cancer patient who makes drugs.  Every turn and twist that this group of character's goes through makes you empathize with their decision making and gives you that feeling that rooting for the bad guy is the new thing to do.

It took a while for fans to pick up on this show being some of the best TV out there, but when people starting to wonder why Bryan Cranston was raking at the Emmy's, they tuned it and were hooked, just as I was.  I can't wait for the continuation of this season, since it seems like the final chapter, but it will be one of the greatest moments in television history, and the most watched.

Day 12: Bullet Your Whole Day

So this is what my day looks like in Bullet form:

• Wake up a little before 7:00 AM
• Make Keurig coffee (Marylou's Mocha Mint)
• Drink coffee while checking e-mail and internet crap
• Get dressed
• Put in contacts
• Leave for work around 7:30 AM
• Sit in traffic listening to a podcast
• Get to work around 8 AM
• Work for 2 hours
• Go to McDonald's and get a $1 coffee
• Go back to work for 2.5 hours listening to podcasts
• At 12:30, go to lunch
• Ate lunch while checking phone and Twitter
• Went back to work for 3.5 hours
• Drove home
• Video-recorded a huge ass Acura fire on Rte. 128
• Went to Panera, ordered the Steak and Cheddar panini with Tomato soup with a coffee
• Drove to my parents house and watched the most recent episode of Mad Men on the DVR.
• Came back home, got comfortable, which means take off everything but mu underwear and socks
• Blogging and listening to some podcasts
• Go to gym
• Take shower
• Have a snack
• Watch some Netflix or Hulu
• Go to bed

My Thoughts: Mad Men Season Finale….

So it’s the season 4 finale of Mad Men, my favorite show.  There is so much to discuss because of so many things that have happened this season.  Last season they went out with a bang and decided to have the four executive characters around Sterling Cooper offices: Don Draper, Roger Sterling, Burt Cooper, and Lane Pryce and decided to branch off of the British parent company and make their own company seeing that they did not want to split up something that they worked so hard for.  Also last season, Betty Draper divorced Don and started going out with a local politician who looks a lot older than Don, but is somehow worth her hand in remarriage. 

This season, Don lives alone in an apartment, where he seldom visits his kids on weekends and is still leading the league in batting average of nailing loose women.  Trouble has hit the office in several ways this season.  Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, which it is now known, has lost several accounts, Don lost a long time friend that no one but a few knows about, Don nailed a secretary who then confronted Peggy on how she manages to keep up with Don (as in they slept together for Peggy’s promotion), and recent executive assistant who happened to be really old and have a great comic relief died in the office while Pete “Weasel” Campbell tried to get an account while having no one notice that they were moving a dead body through the office.  The firm did win a Cleo, which an award given out yearly for the best advertisements seen in the public.  From what I remember from that episode Don got completely drunk during the ceremony and Roger Sterling, who is my favorite character, makes a fool of himself.  What else is new.

Don Draper, has also seen several different women including his brunette secretary with big teeth who thought she would be promoted or be taken away by Don just because she slept with him.  He has also fancied a new character, the blonde Dr. Miller, who has served a market research consultant who helps the firm out with finding who buys what and how to sell to them.  He also has met a secretary, Megan, who has slept with Don in the office and is also good with Don’s kids.

Thoughts on this Season:

1. Roger Sterling has become the premiere comedian of the firm, seeing that he has made me laugh more than any other character.  He reminds me of an Archie Bunker, but with a glass of scotch in his hand and a three piece suit on. 

2. The Draper women are bitches.  Betty Draper is a confused, childish, woman who doesn’t really like anyone better than herself.  Sally Draper is pretty much her mother, just a younger version.  The fact that his weird kid from Season 1 is back, just adds to the fact that Sally and Betty share the same childish brain.

3. Don Draper has the sex drive of something unearthly.  I do not know you can go from chick-to-chick-to-chick in the matter of one episode which is only about 2 days long usually.  If anyone in the 60’s was getting this much ass, he was also 007.  I mean Draper must have a list of people he’s nailed as long as Jack Bauer’s kill list.  Un-Earth-ly. 

4. I love the whole Joanie abortion part of the series.  It brings up current issues and really makes you know how prevalent abortion was in New York City.  I did love when (SPOILER ALERT) Joanie is calling up her hubbie, Dr. Greg in Vietnam, and mentions that she is getting bigger and that the baby will arrive when he comes home.  Awesome spin by creator Matthew Weiner, because in the abortion scene a couple of episodes ago, they make you believe that Joanie gets the abortion but she is keeping it.  Good for you Joanie.

Okay, now that I have seen the finale and are ready to write about it, I will just skip the spoiler alerts and figure that some people will get over it if they find out.  One last one: SPOILER ALERT!!!

Wow.  Just wow.  I can’t believe that Draper went this far into his new relationship.  Looking back on the season, I didn’t think the look he had at his assistant was anything serious.  I just figured it was about having sex with her in his office like a champ.  Did not think that he would take her with his kids to Disneyland and end up getting engaged to her.  Interestingly enough, when he calls up Dr. Miller to tell her about his recent engagement, Megan has to give him the phone to do it, and the look on her face is almost like she knows that he lays more pipe than a roto-rooter and they are engaged.  Amazing.  Also, when Sally spills her milkshake and she is fine with it all over her dress, its quite the surprise to the kids since all Betty Draper did was cry over spilled milk.  

That creepy kid that first walked in on Betty Draper taking a leak in Season 1 and now has a fancy for Sally Draper, is a little confusing, but I think I might be able to understand why he is there.  He is there to play to the connection that Sally and Betty Draper need to have to get to know each other better.  Glenn, which I just realized is his name, is really a character whose purpose is to bring out the better sides of two other characters.  Having realized that the Drapers are moving out of their house, in the last episode, makes me realize that Glenn’s days are numbered unless he shows back up somewhere in Sally’s future. 

The office is spinning apparently.  Joanie got promoted without being compensated, which brings up another Women’s issue.  Peggy has saved the company with a new account that is a pantyhose maker, which will put enough money in the company for the long haul.  Pete Campbell is still going to be Pete Campbell.  Everyone else at the firm seems to be okay.  There is still no Sal, which is weird, seeing that he seemed to be gay, and knowing that this show is very progressive, I figured they would’ve brought him back by now. 

The last scene might be the most questionable scene ever.  Last season, they left the audience knowing they they are taking off in a new direction and new company.  This season, Betty and Don have sold their house and moving in their own directions.  Don and Betty share a drink before entirely leaving each other behind.  As they pan out of that scene, they shoot to Draper laying in bed, next to his new fiance, Megan, looking out the window at the moon that is full.  I don’t know what to think about it.  It could mean he already misses his Bets, or he can’t wait to get on with his life, or something completely different.  I know Draper is a heartbreaker, but this could be a record for someone in 1965 who was just recently engaged and already wants out.  Season 5 could be awesome.  I hope they don’t skip a bunch of years and jump into 1968.  I hope they just go at the pace they have been going and keep doing what they are doing.  I already want to rewatch the whole series right now.