David Kronke was appointed Mayor of Television after a bloodless coup in 2000. Since then, he has improved infrastructure, championed greater educational opportunities and fought for reforms that have utterly erased corruption and incompetence from the television industry. Since Mr. Kronke has ascended to power, Television is a far better place. Your final “Mad Men” rave for the year
We’ve championed AMC’s new series “Mad Men” from the beginning, and we’ve hardly been the only one – virtually everyone has declared this show the best series of the year. It helped, of course, that it was created by a “Sopranos” staff writer, Matthew Weiner. It didn’t help, naturally, that it aired on AMC, a network heretofore not associated with top-drawer TV.
And tonight, the show’s first season comes to a low-key conclusion. Last week’s episode had the high drama of a season finale; this episode feels a little like a eulogistic epilogue with a side order of springboard for next season but is no less affecting. AMC’s publicity machine has respectfully requested that critics not give anything away, though we sort of did that last week when we verified a theory we made the week before, though, truth be told, it wasn’t anything that anyone paying close attention wouldn’t’ve figured out on their own.
Suffice it to say that Don Draper’s (Jon Hamm) actions are facing even further repercussions, playing out in an agonizing fashion. Tonight’s episode is memorable thanks to Don’s ruefully ruminative and powerfully personal sales pitch to Kodak on their new slide projector, one which genuinely drags the art of advertising into the realm of art. One character bolts from the room after his presentation to conceal his tears, and, honestly, that response doesn’t seem all that unjustified.
The Age of Artifice is over, Don realizes, though it may do him no good personally.
Pete’s (Vincent Kartheiser) still a weasel, it should prove a spoiler to no one who’s been paying attention, though his win-some/lose-some ratio takes an unexpected turn.
So, we’re left with the quandary: We agree that “Mad Men” is brilliant, and we acknowledge that Emmy voters do all they can to avoid giving major awards to basic-cable programming. How to sell, Sterling-Cooper-style, TV Academy members on giving the Emmy to this show?
One might start with critics’ blurbs for insertion in the trade-publication ads such as this: “I recommend extraordinary rendition for any Emmy voter who doesn’t get behind ‘Mad Men’” – The Mayor of Television.
But everyone does that. AMC’s going to have to be far cleverer than that. Suggestions?
- “Mad Men:” 10 tonight, AMC.
(Whatever will I write about on Thursdays now?)
Comments
I'm already suffering from MM withdrawals, and it's only Friday. So brilliant, I watch it back-to-back.
1) when does the show return?
2) when is this season avail. on DVD??
Posted by: Ronnie in Texas | October 19, 2007 12:51 PM