Skip to Content

The Emmys are still important, just not as a barometer of quality

The nominations for the 67th annual Primetime Emmys were announced recently, and like all nominations in recent memory, it’s just as notable for what was snubbed as for what did end up nominated. With this becoming an increasing trend, many have taken to questioning the importance of the Emmys, and whether they’re relevant in this day …

Read More about The Emmys are still important, just not as a barometer of quality

Mad Men, Ep. 7.14: “Person to Person” – a touching end to one of TV’s all-time greats

Some works will last–without the help of critics–as long as the civilization which bred them lasts, as Shakespeare’s plays have done. At times, Matthew Weiner has channeled Shakespeare in Mad Men, portraying the multifaceted nature of what it means to be human.

Read More about Mad Men, Ep. 7.14: “Person to Person” – a touching end to one of TV’s all-time greats

Brilliant FYC ads for AMC’s Mad Men

AMC hopes to score an Emmy after two years without a statuette for their hit series Mad Men. And to help the network secure a victory, they began rolling out an aggressive, and nostalgic campaign for the Matthew Weiner drama. What better way to promote a show about advertising, than with these 1960s-inspired one-sheets. Enjoy!  

Read More about Brilliant FYC ads for AMC’s Mad Men

Mad Men, Ep. 7.07: “Waterloo” caps off a strong half-season with flourish

Speaking in general, arbitrary terms, this probably isn’t the strongest Mad Men (mid-)season finale, but Mad Men isn’t a series that deals in that kind of product—trying to craft individual episodes. It is, simply and powerfully, the end to another chapter in Matthew Weiner’s magnum opus.

Read More about Mad Men, Ep. 7.07: “Waterloo” caps off a strong half-season with flourish

‘Million Dollar Arm’ a decent, but not truly memorable, sports drama/showcase for Jon Hamm

Million Dollar Arm Written by Tom McCarthy Directed by Craig Gillespie USA, 2014 There’s a scene roughly halfway through Million Dollar Arm that speaks to the film’s inherently generic nature. In it, our ostensible hero, workaholic agent/pitchman Don Draper—er, J.B. Bernstein (Jon Hamm) is brought in to talk with USC baseball coach Tom House (Bill …

Read More about ‘Million Dollar Arm’ a decent, but not truly memorable, sports drama/showcase for Jon Hamm

‘God’s Pocket’ strands an immensely talented ensemble in a tonally unfocused drama

God’s Pocket Written by John Slattery and Alex Metcalf Directed by John Slattery USA, 2014 Whatever its initial intentions were, it’s now impossible to watch John Slattery’s feature directorial debut God’s Pocket without feeling intensely depressed due to the presence of its leading actor, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. It’s not his last film overall–that’ll …

Read More about ‘God’s Pocket’ strands an immensely talented ensemble in a tonally unfocused drama

Mad Men, Ep. 7.05: “The Runaways” pieces together disturbing, effective stories

The Ginsberg storyline isn’t the only one in “The Runaways” that feels odd. The whole episode functions almost like a collection of vignettes, capped by a sequence that is both the episode’s most powerful and most important.

Read More about Mad Men, Ep. 7.05: “The Runaways” pieces together disturbing, effective stories

Mad Men, Ep. 7.04: “The Monolith” challenges Roger and Don to do the right things

“The Monolith” is one of many Mad Men episodes that shows how certain characters react to change. Rather than limit those ideas to the new IBM computer being installed at the offices, the episode focuses more on how Don Draper and Roger Sterling deal with changes in status quo.

Read More about Mad Men, Ep. 7.04: “The Monolith” challenges Roger and Don to do the right things

Mad Men, Ep. 7.01: “Time Zones” – the bicoastal final season starts strong

As the United States swears in its new president, Richard Nixon, the country finds itself in a transition period, caught between the two worlds of its past and uncertain future. “Time Zones” splits is central characters up in a similar way that exposes just how noticeable the precipices are that they stand on.

Read More about Mad Men, Ep. 7.01: “Time Zones” – the bicoastal final season starts strong

25 Best TV Shows of 2013 (Part Four)

5. Orange is the New Black (Netflix) After the much-hyped release House of Cards and return of Arrested Development, Netflix released Orange is the New Black with little fanfare, seemingly unaware of just how great a series they had on their hands. Based on the true story of a white, privileged thirty-something who is sentenced …

Read More about 25 Best TV Shows of 2013 (Part Four)

Status at the Half (TV), Part 2: Best of the Rest

As my Televerse cohost Simon Howell and I discussed in our Top 10 TV Series of 2013 (So Far), this has been a spectacular year for television, with many shows delivering remarkably consistent seasons (or half-seasons) of memorable, moving television. A number of series were in contention for our Top 10 but didn’t quite make …

Read More about Status at the Half (TV), Part 2: Best of the Rest

Second Language: A decade of pop music on TV

The third track on one of my favorite rock records of the last decade, Okkervil River’s The Stage Names, is called “A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene.” Without context, its lyric is a bit of a tough nut to crack. Will Sheff sings about events unfolding on a TV screen in the first verse, recaps …

Read More about Second Language: A decade of pop music on TV

Mad Men, Ep. 6.13: “In Care Of” – Going Down

Leave it to Mad Men to make the inevitable seem surprising. The way Don has acted this season—from Jaguar, to warring with Ted, to his Hershey pitch—it’s unfathomable that he would escape without reprimand, yet the moment he is asked to step away from his job is truly shocking. Perhaps because more than anything else—his wife, his family, his relationships—his job is what defined him as Don Draper. Part of me expected the episode to end as the elevator doors closed in front of his face, the man brought in as his replacement smugly asking “going down?” It would have been unbearably dark, but fitting for a season that began with Don reading Dante’s Inferno on the beach.

Read More about Mad Men, Ep. 6.13: “In Care Of” – Going Down

Mad Men, Ep. 6.12, “The Quality of Mercy”: Monster Movies

“You’re a monster,” is the key line of tonight’s episode. It’s almost comically literal when you think about it alongside the exchange between Duck and Pete. Duck claims he’s never seen anything like Bob Benson before, and Pete chillingly intones “I have.” You can almost hear the theme from Phantom of the Opera in the background as it cuts to Don. Variations on this theme have been strung throughout the season. Think back on the moment Peggy walked into Ted’s office only to find Don there. He was reintroduced to us in the premiere reading Dante’s Inferno, suggesting a descent into hell, but now it seems as if he would feel at home there, a monster among monsters. Maybe he and Walter White could get a beer.

Read More about Mad Men, Ep. 6.12, “The Quality of Mercy”: Monster Movies