tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79254364779696290982024-03-05T09:39:43.688-05:00I Screen, You ScreenTV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.comBlogger424125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-52308191996915831382013-05-20T08:41:00.001-04:002013-05-20T08:42:21.478-04:00"Mad Men" recap: Dr. Feel-not-so-good
Spoilers for this week's "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
Um, yeah. Sooo....that was a thing that happened.
Look, I'm not saying you can't make a great episode of television about people whacked out on drugs. This very show had great success with introducing Roger's fondness for LSD last season. And "Mad Men's" own Sylvia Rosen, aka Linda Cardellini, was the TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-65798213264891628562013-05-13T22:09:00.001-04:002013-05-13T22:09:37.059-04:00Mad Men recap: Musical chairs
Spoilers for this week's "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
Since this season of "Mad Men" is set during 1968, you knew they were going to have to an episode on the death of Bobby Kennedy. But I was happy to see them divert from the tactic they used in the episodes about the John Kennedy and Martin Luther King episodes, in which characters spent most of their TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-9148658638138466692013-05-07T21:02:00.000-04:002013-05-07T21:03:15.437-04:00Mad Men recap: Don and Ted's excellent adventure
"Mad Men" spoilers below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
OK, first, an apology for my total flake-out on last week's episode. I kept meaning to post. I even have a half-written post about last week's episode, "The Flood." You don't want read it. There's a lot of confused yammering about how "Mad Men" always seems to time the deaths of major figures so that they throw a TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-23714702979244063292013-04-23T21:18:00.001-04:002013-04-23T21:18:42.609-04:00"Mad Men" recap: I'm worried you're not getting enough ketchup
Spoilers for this week's "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
Because I'm so crazy late with this week's recap, I'm planning for it to be a bit short. But I'll do my best to cover as much as I can. First off, this was another week where I kind of hated the guys on this show. Actually, I might have hated them more this week, because this was an episode where we TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-9100446492894089702013-04-15T22:32:00.001-04:002013-04-15T22:38:59.946-04:00Mad Men recap: In which all the men on this show gross me out
Spoilers for this week's "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
This week's episode of "Mad Men" was titled "The Collaborators," but it might as well have been called "Men are Pigs," as nearly every single man on this show (with the possible of exceptions of Roger and Stan) proceeded to thoroughly gross me out with their boorish behavior.
You had Don continuing TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-80859765286381210122013-04-08T22:23:00.002-04:002013-04-08T22:23:43.719-04:00"Mad Men" recap: The Sacred and the propane
Spoilers for the season 6 premiere of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
This week's episode had everything you've come to expect from a "Mad Men" season opener -- length, meaningful glances, people staring out of window and, of course, heavy, heavy symbolism. As we get late in the series run (next season is purported to be the last), the cloud of mortality TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-43947214919091324072012-07-19T09:19:00.002-04:002012-07-19T09:19:48.509-04:00Emmys -- the good, the bad and the head-scratchingSo, today the Emmy nominations were announced, and they were the usual mix of pleasing and puzzling. First, it was a really good year to be "Breaking Bad," "Downton Abbey" (moving from the miniseries category to the regular series category) or "Homeland" (unless you are poor Mandy Patinkin, who got lost in all the Downton love).
It was a bad year to be "Justified," which, other than a nod for TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-52267997794208639152012-07-16T08:21:00.000-04:002012-07-16T08:21:44.122-04:00"Breaking Bad" recap -- Magnetic attraction
Spoilers for the season premiere of "Breaking Bad" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
Well done, "Breaking Bad." Not a lot of shows can make feel tense during a discussion in which a chatty, pushy waitress tries to nudge a customer into accepting a free meal. But the opening scenes of "Live Free or Die," in which a follicularly replenished Walter White waits forTV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-73813703116548561842012-07-15T14:38:00.000-04:002012-07-15T14:38:40.453-04:00"Breaking Bad" heads into first half of its final run
It is even worth reviewing "Breaking Bad" at this point? I mean, the series -- which begins the first half of its final run tonight at 10 on AMC --has pretty much cemented its reputation as one of the best shows on TV at this point. You don't really need me to tell you that it's good, right? But, if you love TV, it's not possible to stay silent about "Breaking Bad," because this is a show TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-71252442246004285262012-06-18T21:19:00.001-04:002012-06-18T21:19:42.424-04:00"The Killing" finale recap: "What I know"
Spoilers for the season finale of "The Killing" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
t Sometimes, the best thing I can say about a show is that it didn't make me want to throw a brick at my TV. Take the second season finale of AMC's "The Killing" for example. The episode, "What I Know," finally revealed the killer of teenager Rosie Larsen, in a manner completely TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-83196864433207780252012-06-11T08:09:00.001-04:002012-06-11T08:09:42.311-04:00'Mad Men' season finale recap: "The Phantom"
Spoilers for this week's season finale below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
After two weeks in a row in which shattering, game-changing events happened, I wasn't surprised that "Mad Men" chose to end its fifth season with a relatively low-key episode. After all, how do you follow prostitution and suicide without going over the top? Better to just offer a well-constructed TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-46757029326550514672012-06-04T00:04:00.000-04:002012-06-04T00:04:24.201-04:00"Mad Men" recap: Bloodshed
Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
For years, there's been an air of doom hanging over the characters on "Mad Men." So much about the show -- the emotional anguish of Don and co.; the falling man in the iconic opening credits; the by now widely known rumor that Harry Crane was supposed to kill himself the first season -- has TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-73590913787563956342012-05-28T09:10:00.001-04:002012-05-28T09:10:39.072-04:00"Mad Men" recap: Ladies' night
Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
Well, that was absolutely devastating, wasn't it? In a single hour, Don Draper deals with the possibility of his wife leaving for three months, with his failure to prevent a woman he admires from doing something she'll likely regret, and with the departure of his protege and confidant. At the TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-2232542365596829742012-05-23T08:34:00.000-04:002012-05-23T08:34:30.289-04:00"Mad Men" recap: Merry Krishna
Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
So, again, I must start by apologizing for the extreme tardiness of this post. I had family commitments that kept me from watching this week's episode until late Monday and then wasn't available to post yesterday. Of course, this being so late, it might not be much of a recap. But I'll do my TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-31693414435630871922012-05-14T08:26:00.000-04:002012-05-14T12:47:14.155-04:00"Mad Men" recap: Snoball the pig
Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
We're more than halfway into the season, and it's clearer than ever that there's an obvious theme emerging here. As we head deeper into the turbulent 60s, everyone is a little bit frightened about the future. Though the season has touched on a lot of the external threats (the escalating VietnamTV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-22930134550157818812012-05-07T08:23:00.000-04:002012-05-07T08:23:33.067-04:00Mad Men recap: If you lead, I will follow
Spoilers for this this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
This week on "Mad Men," it's another Don-Pete parallel story, as both men find relationships that were supposed to be uncomplicated getting messy. This leads to feelings of frustration and powerlessness for both men, and makes them somewhat more equal than they seemed a few weeks ago, TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-85022367301304594732012-04-30T22:21:00.000-04:002012-04-30T22:21:26.609-04:00Mad Men recap: Go get 'em, tigerSpoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
First, an apology for the latest (and what I suspect will be the brevity) of this blog post. I spent the weekend out of town and, after waking at 5 a.m. to catch an early train to make it to my day job in time, this is my first opportunity to post.
Also, apologies for the lack of photo, asTV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-18553919886246568632012-04-23T08:35:00.000-04:002012-04-23T08:35:49.090-04:00"Mad Men" recap: Hide and seek
Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
This week's episode, "Far Away Places," was not unlike season three's "Seven Twenty Three" as it told three more or less separate stories about three of our characters, all united by a common theme. That episode saw how Don's neglect and secrets took a toll on him and the women in his life (TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-77030041835543611232012-04-22T14:02:00.001-04:002012-04-22T14:04:20.813-04:00Am I weird for not liking "Veep" more?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the vice president and Tony Hale is her devoted lackey on HBO's "Veep"
Sometimes I just feel out of sync with the rest of the TV-watching world. The new HBO series "Veep," debuted tonight at 10, is the latest show to make me feel this way.
The corrosive sitcom, featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as overwhelmed vice president Selina Meyers, has been praised up and down by TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-47185900760261305192012-04-16T08:01:00.001-04:002012-04-16T08:52:55.936-04:00"Mad Men" recap: How I learned to driveSpoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
While all the "Mad Men" characters are flawed in some way (or in many ways), Pete Campbell has always been one of the show's more reprehensible characters. Yes, he's good at his job. And yes, his dysfunctional upbringing by cold, withholding parents gives him a vulnerability that makes him hugely TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-84880888553574427682012-04-10T23:01:00.004-04:002012-04-10T23:01:00.346-04:00"Justified" season finale recap: "Slaughterhouse"Spoilers for the season three finale of "Justified" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
There are a lot of reasons to watch "Justified." It's well-acted, the dialogue is witty and smart and the action scenes are some of the coolest and most entertaining on TV. But it always surprises me when this show hits a truly affecting emotional chord, as it did in the final moments of "TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-48705784370059460842012-04-09T08:27:00.000-04:002012-04-09T08:27:21.534-04:00"Mad Men" recap: Things that go bump in the nightSpoilers on this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
This week on "Mad Men" was all about fear and unpleasant surprises, and uses as its touchstone the real tragedy of the Chicago nurse massacre, in which Richard Speck murdered eight student nurses. The incident has a profound effect on many of the characters, from Peggy, Joyce and Stan (who are TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-37946893304044663972012-04-02T08:31:00.000-04:002012-04-02T08:31:22.445-04:00"Mad Men" recap: Less attractive BettySpoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
On last week's episode, we had a bunch of characters who saw their lives in a certain way, only to find out that perception wasn't true. Don and Megan both realize that the other is more complex than they'd imagined, and that their marriage isn't the fairy tale they'd hoped. Joan thinks the officeTV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-64673333581946044802012-04-01T22:01:00.003-04:002012-04-01T22:04:19.278-04:00"The Killing" recap: Can I have my backpack back, please?Spoilers for this week's episode of "The Killing" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.
So, I'm not sure these recaps will be a regular thing. A lot depends on whether AMC sends me advance screeners of the show, as I'm already re-capping "Mad Men," and I don't want to overload myself on a single night.
But I wanted to talk about this week's episode, just because I felt so TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7925436477969629098.post-27751756396677982702012-03-31T17:41:00.000-04:002012-03-31T17:41:50.746-04:00"Game of Thrones" returns for its second brutal season
While watching the second season premiere of HBO's dark, compelling fantasy series "Game of Thrones," (which airs Sunday at 9 p.m.) I was reminded of, believe it or not, the raucous FX sitcom "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."
Yes, the shows are completely different in tone. However, there's a moment in the most recent season of "Sunny" where the characters are in the middle of a TV Writerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470009732090501985noreply@blogger.com0