AMC's Mad Men Premieres tonight - Cast&Crew

I've got the show set up on my TiVo-like device. It should be interesting seeing Vincent and Chrtina in very different roles. With all the cool summer shows, cable may wind up having better shows than whatever the networks have planned this fall. For one thing, they'll stick with a show for 13 weeks at least. I'm looking at you, all non-cable networks!

[ edited by impalergeneral on 2007-07-19 20:21 ]

impalergeneral | July 19, 23:20 CET

The L.A. Times writer Mary McNamara liked it fine:

" 'Mad Men' has found a strange and lovely space between nostalgia and political correctness and filled it with interesting people, all of them armed with great powers of seduction."

Yep, sounds like our peeps Christina and Vincent - along with a few others, apparently...

The writing sounds lovely, too. (I liked AMC's show Remember WENN, although I vaguely remember their other show The Lot as kinda sucking...)

QuoterGal | July 20, 00:15 CET

I'm so excited about this show! Matt Roush rated it a 9 out of 10, and said, "The only network show I'm hearing greeted with this much enthusiasm is the pilot for ABC's whimsical fable Pushing Daisies." You can read his review here. Apparently, Matthew Weiner's Mad Men spec script was what got him a job on The Sopranos.

You can also watch the previews, clips and interviews with the cast and creator here.

[ edited by ElectricSpaceGirl on 2007-07-19 21:44 ]

electricspacegirl | July 20, 00:41 CET

Thank goodness AMC believes in repeating its original shows immediately and endlessly. I'm already taping Burn Notice and House Hunters but I can tape this right afterwards! :)

cabri | July 20, 00:54 CET

They'll be on sale at iTunes the next day, every week, as well. Great reviews almost across the board.

C. A. Bridges | July 20, 05:09 CET

Just watched it. It's shiny and pretty in that pneumatic early 60's New York way.
Speaking of pneumatic, wow, Christina Hendricks! She is the essence of va-va-voom in pencil skirts and a sleek chignon, playing a too-sexy-for-her-own good, world-weary secretary.
Vincent is an absolute scoundrel, the kind of entitled jerk you love to hate. Treats women like his subjects, scheming his way to the top. The main character is intriguing as well, can't wait to see more!

greentara | July 20, 07:20 CET

Just watched the show. Fabulous in all respects. And having forgotten that Vincent was in the show I kept looking at this man and wondering what show or movie I knew him from. He was that much a different character. And yet oddly, still obnoxious. Cable has become great this summer.

angel fan | July 20, 08:35 CET

Pretty damn good - I'll be watching this again. The acting is well done, the writing ditto, and it looks simply gorgeous. Our folks did well, I thought - but I'll be hoping that Christina gets to do more of substance...

And man, given that I've watched this and "Thank You For Smoking" in the same week, I'd be feeling pretty crappy right now about my smoking if I hadn't cut way down with the help of the amazing wonder drug Chantix. I can't imagine how the non-smoking actors can tolerate the amount of smoke they have to cope with in this show. Everybody smokes - which is rather one of the things they're showing...

QuoterGal | July 20, 10:20 CET

Wow! That was amazing! Isn't Jon Hamm just mesmerizing? I could just watch him for hours reading the phone book. I'm delighted that the women in this show are allowed to have curves. Very rare for Hollywood, but authentic for the show's time period. The acting and writing were top notch. I'm very impressed.

electricspacegirl | July 20, 10:43 CET

I totally did not recognize Ms. Hendricks until I looked the show up on IMDB (I had no idea Vincent Kartheiser was in it, either). She has definitely got the period look down!

unsquare | July 20, 11:40 CET

Wow, I'm really impressed, the first episode knocked it out of the ballpark! Except that all the smoking nearly gave me an asthma attack :)
I hope, with all that's known now about the serious dangers of second hand cigarette smoke, that they were using herbal cigs. Like James Marsters did the last season of BtS after he quit.
I have really high hopes for this show. Broadcast network had better wake up & smell the coffee, they're being left in the dust, quality wise, by cable/satellite.

Shey | July 20, 14:25 CET

They are using herbal cigs. They even have their choice of three flavors! (See the free making-of video in iTunes this week)

C. A. Bridges | July 20, 18:27 CET

I thought this show was excellent, and I will definitely be watching more.

I did note the irony, though, of AMC airing a show about ad men, and with bits about the history of commercials just before the commercials, when one considers that AMC aired for many years WITHOUT commercials!

palehorse | July 20, 18:34 CET

I went to Itunes and they only offer the sale of the whole season. I don't get AMC and would just like to try one epp. Does anyone know if they will release it later individually?

Also, "The Making of MM" cuts off after 30 sec. Is it just me?

foofaraw | July 20, 18:49 CET

What a great show! Finally, something something smart and promising on television. It's nice to see our Whedon alums in such a strong project. Vincent gave a seriously great performance and Christina was pretty good, too. It's a relief to watch something with some real substance (less special-effectsy) on television. I can't wait to see more. I hope this takes off and some of our other Whedon alums will make guest appearances in future episodes.

I especially liked the nice little twists with the characters at the very end. Also, the actress who plays the wife at the end looked so familiar. Where have I seen her before?

[ edited by kerfuffle on 2007-07-20 16:58 ]

kerfuffle | July 20, 19:56 CET

The Making Of worked for me, it's 23 minutes or so. How big is the file on your hard drive? Maybe it didn't all download?

Once they start posting episodes, you'll be able to buy one by one.

C. A. Bridges | July 20, 20:46 CET

I guess that I am the only one who thought the characters were more caracatures - I mean I can buy the chauvinism and the smoking but to that extent - can a show survive when none of the leads portray particularily likeable people?

But the scene in the board room with all the tobacco big wigs choking on their own smoke was hilarious.

Ruadh | July 21, 00:37 CET

Also, "The Making of MM" cuts off after 30 sec. Is it just me?

If you're watching it in the iTunes store, that's just the preview. To see the whole thing you have to download it (which I can't do because I don't live in the US).

Gag Halfrunt | July 21, 00:40 CET

I think it's early days yet and we can look forward to character development. If not, of course, they will remain two-dimensional and primarily fairly hateful.

Most of the characters can become likable if we get to see past their personas - but it's true that many are not immediately attractive - the agency's "charm" notwithstanding.

I think the hard-edged shiny surface of the show in general will be off-putting, if they don't go work in deeper. My hope, is, as always, that they will.

QuoterGal | July 21, 00:46 CET

Oh I really enjoyed this, I felt that all the characters were nuanced, and the writing was hilarious (instead of humor coming from popular culture, the humor is in the little historical 'digs'). I loved Vincent and Christina, they seemed like very complex characters who I'll enjoy seeing more of, and I have my theories (I'm guessing Don Draper is gay...) about some of the others. I'll definitely be watching this.
And cabri, I love House Hunters too!

embers | July 21, 01:44 CET

I guess that I am the only one who thought the characters were more caracatures - I mean I can buy the chauvinism and the smoking but to that extent - can a show survive when none of the leads portray particularily likeable people?

Don Draper may not be an instantly likable person, but he's relatable. He's certainly flawed, but I find that interesting. It was his scene with the Jewish department store owner where the character really clicked for me. She totally figured him out, and his response was really telling. He seems terribly conflicted, and that's interesting to me. I like those dark characters.

[ edited by ElectricSpaceGirl on 2007-07-21 00:53 ]

electricspacegirl | July 21, 03:34 CET

Don Draper may not be an instantly likable person, but he's relatable. He's certainly flawed, but I find that interesting.

It's interesting when one character is like that - not the entire ensemble cast.

The only character I liked was the female department store owner (and Salvatore - wonder when he's coming out?)

Ruadh | July 21, 04:09 CET

I was really impressed with the show. AMC's coming a long way from "Remember WENN". Jon Hamm was great, and Vincent really showed a different side to himself with his role as Pete. AMC would be smart to give this show a long run.

impalergeneral | July 21, 05:49 CET

It's interesting when one character is like that - not the entire ensemble cast.

It was only the first episode. I'm sure the characters will become more fleshed out. Give it time.

electricspacegirl | July 21, 09:00 CET

I did note the irony, though, of AMC airing a show about ad men, and with bits about the history of commercials just before the commercials, when one considers that AMC aired for many years WITHOUT commercials!

Sadly, what made me sit up and take notice is that they had far fewer commercial breaks in the show as a whole - there were only two breaks, maybe three, if i remember correctly. Compare that to shows like Lost that have five or what seems like a hell of a lot more sometimes.

unsquare | July 22, 00:29 CET

July 19 2007