Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Another Episode of Melrose Place

Maybe you can tell from the title of this blog, maybe you can't, but Melrose Place is just not inspiring passion from me. It's certainly not great, but it's not terrible either. The stories need to move forward a little more quickly though. I missed last week's episode, and when I asked my friend Sarah for a recap, she said "I think it was pretty much the same as the week before."

This week, we did get some forward plot movement. Sydney's sister, Jane Andrews (Josie Bissett) apparently inherited Melrose Place, then moved in and promptly began blackmailing its residents. As you do.





Jane, who as far as I can remember was pretty nice on the original show, is pretty much evil to the core on this iteration. She tells Ella she has evidence that she had motive to kill Sydney, she pretends to be all sweet and worried about her 'niece' Violet and then calls the cops on her, and she tells David she is going to make their lives miserable. (I would just get another apartment at this point, but I guess MP is SO AWESOME that that is not an option.) Jane made an awful dress for Ella's client, and in the end, Ella showed guts, a backbone and dignity by NOT making her wear it, which I think was a pretty good twist actually. Go Ella!

The only other character I find to be pretty appealing is Jonah, because he is funny and he actually reacts the way a normal, non-insane person might in most situations. He is a great audience surrogate, and it is pretty cool that Riley, the other person who we are supposed to be able to relate to here, acts exactly like those kind of characters always do (dumbly) and Jonah calls her on it! Amazing.

Lauren's still whoring it up, even after getting roughed up and not paid (by Joan's husband from Mad Men! That guy is good at playing jerks!) and now Kimber from Nip/Tuck is going to be her madam. I bet this is going to work out super great for her.

Violet= insane. Ashley Simpson is killing me with her crazy eyes man! I just want her to stop being horrible, even though I am pretty sure it is physically impossible for her. When I watch her, I just feel so bad for the person who has to direct her scenes.

Riley talks to Violet in the same way I would imagine she talks to her first graders.

Ella gets all the best lines! "Agriculture is falls squarely in my no click zone." and "I don't think anyone's ever offered to destroy an enemy of mine before."

Did anyone NOT know that David was going to screw up his waitering job at the premiere and screw Auggie over? Anyone? Apparently Auggie didn't know that. Come on man.

It was way hot when David offered to take down Jane for Ella. I totally get why she slept with him. Too bad his blackmailing of her to get her to leave Ella alone didn't work. Ah well, maybe next time.


Next week: More whoring, more murder mystery. More story? Maybe?




90210- Officially Better Than Heroes

The title of this post is all true. I was significantly more entertained watching 90210 last night than I have been in years of watching Heroes. There are plots whose outcome isn't immediately obvious! There are even some characters who are appealing and not functionally retarded! Sometimes, people act in ways that make some kind of sense!!!
Even people you really hate! Like Jen. It was pretty smart of her to come clean on the lies that Naomi wouldn't hate her forever for, and to spin them so she didn't come off as the total sociopath that she is. However, maybe Liam has her outmatched for once! Yay Liam. God I hope so, because I think I will enjoy her comeuppance ever more than I enjoyed Annie's!

Another storyline I am still into? The whole Navid/Adrianna/Teddy triangle. (Is it about to become a square with Silver? Oh I think it is because she and Teddy are rocking some hot hate chemistry!) Navid is acting like a controlling jerk...BUT he really does just want what's best for Adrianna. Adri
90210-Navid-Silver.jpg
anna is being a little deceitful about her feelings here...BUT she just went through a lot and maybe just needs some space from her kind of controlling boyfriend. Teddy is after another guy's girl BUT he seems like a pretty nice guy, and let's be honest, he doesn't really owe Navid anything
. Silver is about to be filled with righteous indignation at both Teddy and Ade I am sure...BUT I think she's gonna want to jump Teddy's bones at some point this season anyway. Who can blame her really?! I mean Adrianna dreams about those abs! I still can't believe that Adrianna made out with Teddy and then came home and had guilt sex with Navid though! That's pretty awful.


IF Annie really killed that homeless guy, then I am loving her story. If she actually just hit a dog or something, it is beyond stupid. I'm pretty sure she didn't actually hit him, but I'll reserve judgment until the big reveal. Two things about this plot thread though: 1. I loved it when Silver asked the weird misanthrope of a nephew of that homeless guy, "Was his death a shock?". I think the kid should have replied, "Yeah, everyone expects their homeless uncle is going to live forever. It was a real shock." 2. I think that kid is using his uncle's murder as a way to get laid. Real classy.

Still loving Liam. Now I am really hoping that those blueprints in his basement were some kind of JEN-killing machine, because I hate her so much, and I do not want to have to suffer through even one more scene of she and Ryan Matthews being a lovey dovey together. The fact that he does not find her horrible proves he is a moron.
90210-Liam.jpg


I am starting to like Teddy and his duh face ways.

I love that Annie can be referred to as "A booby flashing bum-killer" by my friend Shannon.

Everyone's hair is looking amazing on this show. Great hairstylists!

Of course, this week's 90210 was not perfect. Even though it was better than this week's Heroes it still had it's flaws. Such as:

-Dixon. The entire plot. He is such a jerk, AND an idiot, and liking the same kind of sherbet as someone does not mean you are meant to be, SASHA (who is supposed to be a grown woman don't forget.) The woman she thinks is his girlfriend is his mom. Hahaha. She is going to be so mad that she slept with him.

-Also, the attitude towards sex is kind of bothersome to me. Mirroring the old 90210, sex for boys is portrayed as no big deal, and for girls it is portrayed as something they do because they are guilty or upset and it is a HUGE deal. Let's stop with these regressive ideas about sexuality 90210!

-Annie is so dumb and weird. Also: mean.

-Don't tease me with that awesome gay roller skating kid unless I am getting more! MORE!

-The fact that Adrianna killing her dreams of acting is a real turn-on for Navid.

-Jen kind of looks like an ape.

-Liam's parents are so annoying.

-What's the deal with Rumer Willis here? She had one big scene where she acted normally and Silver reacted insanely to her. It was weird.

-I think it would make a lot of sense for on of them to be an actor, so I am bummed that Ade gave up that part! Also she gave it up out of guilt for cheating on her controlling boyfriend, so double boo!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

We Don't Need Another Hero...really we don't.



get-out-of-my-head.jpg
Dear Heroes,


Things have not been good between us for a long time, Heroes, and I've really tried to love you despite your flaws. But I just can't stand idly by while you bring in ANOTHER woman to an already overstuffed cast. And that's not even the only thing wrong between us! I hate the way you never let the main cast act together even though they have great chemistry, and I hate the way you make me feel bad for a serial killer because he stuck inside the lamest person in the world's head. Actually, as you may have guessed if you know me at all, I have a list of things that drove me absolutely insane about last night's episode. I hope you can read it with an open mind and an eye toward change, as that is the only way we can get through this.


-Does Matt not get that Sylar doesn't exist in reality? Stop pulling your gun on him idiot!


-Has Peter really gotten so weird that he just stares at a shrine he made for himself whenever he is not working?


-Even with the reveal that he was a butler's son, Samuel's stories of forced primness don't really make me feel that bad for him.


-Samuel does not look "like everybody else" in that suit Lydia. He looks crazy.


-Before I realized that this new girl is deaf, I thought maybe she had the power of sleeping super hard. What?! You have had some dumb powers before on this show!


-Powers = drugs? SO dumb. If Buffy couldn't do it well there is no way in hell you can, so don't even try.


-I think the fact that every time Matt uses his powers he uses them to be a liar isn't the fault of the power, it's the fault of Matt, who is a big ass. Nice try blaming some "addiction".


-Claire would NEVER EVER be allowed to live in the same room her roommate killed herself in. Come on.


-I think she probably would have called her dad about the whole dead roommate thing.


-Also, Claire would not brush her damn teeth before lunch! You couldn't manufacture a better way to have her run into Gretchen?


-I really wish that when HRG told Claire he would always be there for her, he also said, "And I will always have this Hatian who wipes memories." Cause that's reassuring.


-Gretchen is really the perfect friend for her, I will admit that, as she is a creepy weirdo into gore and stuff.


-Poor Sylar. Now I want Matt to give him his body back pretty badly, so I can watch him and NOT have to watch Parkman.


-Sylar is being way too nice! He is only being as mean to Matt as I would be if I were in that guy's head. I think he can do more.


-I get it, I get it. Sylar as Emperor Palpatine, exhorting Parkman to come to the dark side.



-WHAT is Samuel's power? Is it Ink and Dirt control? That's what I'm calling it. Ink and Dirt control. Like laundry detergent or something.


-Why would you put a sound effect in when showing us the fact that the deaf girl can see sound. She can't hear it! It might have actually been cool to see it how she does!

-Do you think Peter is going to fall for her maybe? Maybe. She'll probably play hard to get, as she is troubled because of her disability. I CAN SEE THE ENTIRE ARC OF THIS STORYLINE ALREADY. Not a good thing, Heroes, not a good thing.


-Could Peter be any more conspicuous with his powers? He's pretty much just using them in public at this point.


-Stop making it so hard to get pictures of the episodes! OMG!

Okay, I'll give you points for things that were at least kind of cool.


-No Hiro

-It was kind of cool to reveal Samuel as a definite bad guy by having him use his powers of Ink and Dirt control to sink that house.

-I sort of want to know what his plan is for Peter and the others.

-Good job getting Darth Maul as the knife guy.

That's about it. So as you can see, there is a lot you need to work on before you can really consider you and I on good terms, Heroes. I will tell you this much though. NO MORE NEW CAST MEMBERS. That's gonna become deal breaker.

Next week: Those carnies are after HRG!


What you are now, we were once: Mad Men, Season 3 Episode 7, Seven Twenty-Three

This was a rough episode for Don Draper. It was as if he was embodying Joan's quote about the unpredictability of life from last week. He woke up, looked great, felt great, shined his shoes, knew exactly where to move that lamp, and made his way to the place where he always shines brightest, Sterling-Cooper.

And when he got there...Conrad Hilton was waiting for him! Best day ever Don! However, the shine comes off pretty quickly when it is revealed that Conrad Hilton is going to be a pain in the ass. He reminds Don that he's not that young anymore (These young people give us energy!), chides him for being late, not having a bible or family photos, and worst of all gives Sterling-Cooper and Putnam, Powell and Lowe their moment to lock him down. Suddenly, Don doesn't have all the power anymore.


Don is being reminded of his ineffectuality everywhere he goes in this episode. The teacher that he lusts after (even as he tries to tell her, "Nothing's happening. We're just talking.") pegs him as just another suburban dad, burning off boredom by hitting on anything in a skirt and getting drunk all the time. Don, as we all do, wants to see himself as different from the men in his neighborhood. Different from everyone really. Don is a man who left his entire life behind and is living out his own fantasy. Self-made man in every sense of the word. He created this character, Don Draper, and this character is bullet-proof. Smart, handsome, great at his job, ethical, kind, can get any woman, can charm any man. But...maybe not? Maybe instead of turning himself into a fantasy, he somehow became, just a man? A man with a family and a job and boring things to do on the weekend and stuff he doesn't want to have to deal with all around him. All of a sudden Don Draper is no longer what he wants to be. So he finds himself asking, who would Dick Whitman have been?

The teacher's appraisal of Don is a little harsh (because let's be honest, there is something extraordinary about him), but not as harsh as the one he makes of himself. When the drugs the beatnik robbers give him kick in, he hallucinates his father, telling dirty jokes, looking like the epitome of everything he ran from, calling him a bum, a liar, and someone who doesn't even work for a living. He even acknowledges the fact that "he can't be tied down", and for a moment at least, sees that as a negative instead of a badge of honor. Don is seeing everything he ran from, everything he did not want to become, but also the failings of his own character. He wanted so much to become someone better than his whore-mongering, abusive father, but has had to make so many little compromises, tell so many lies to do it. And in these moments, where he's not even sure who he is, he's also not sure it was worth it.


The question for Don is, what happens when fantasy becomes reality? Dick Whitman could not even conceive of the life he was going to have as Don Draper, but when he imagined it, I am sure a cold bitchy wife and an old man blackmailing him into a contract were not in the equation. He just knew he wanted something better than what he had. Except now he wants the same thing. He wants better than Don Draper. He wants to move to London, to be powerful, to be a terrible husband with a happy wife, to be a father when he feels like it and a Lothario when he wants it. And because he can't have these things, these superhuman wants and needs, he feels impotent, old and trapped. "I signed it."


Trapped. That is a word that truly describes the way Betty Draper is feeling. New baby (that did not magically fix her life), fighting children, a closed off husband, even a decorator that doesn't want to hear her ideas! She is looking for her own small ways to get the hell out, for a while at least. With Henry she is getting a little thrill, a taste of real power, not "the guys down at the office really love my lyrical prose about Kodak" power, but "I advise the Governor on all matters" power. And he is a man attracted to her fragility, instead of repelled by it (as I am willing to bet Don once was as well). But Betty's not all dizzy spells and fainting couches, as her conversation with Don re: Roger's phone call revealed. I have to say, I LOVED the exchange between her and Don about the contract. Don- "I have all the power. They want me but they can't have me." Betty-"You're right. Why would that has anything to do with me?" Oh snap Betty! She knows that Don's contract with Sterling-Cooper is a proxy for his contract with her. "What, you don't know where you'll be in three years?"



Just as Don's ways as a husband have sent his wife looking for another man to make her feel special, his ways as a boss have sent Peggy into the arms of Duck. Literally into his arms. The whole Peggy and Duck sleep together thing came completely out of left field for me, but the more I think about it, the more I kind of like it. Here's why:

-Peggy could really use a good go-round.

-Duck was a character that I actually liked, despite his pathetic jealousy of Don.

-After Don said to Peggy. "You're good. Get better. Stop asking for things." She screwed him over with his rival (it would kill him to think about Peggy and Duck together, work wise or otherwise!) and THEN Bert Cooper pretty much said the same thing to him!

-As a lead up to the Duck/Peggy sex, we got a Peggy/Pete scene that kind of made me some kind of secret Peggy/Pete shipper. I know this is not the kind of show that is supposed to have shippers, but come on! "Stop coming in here and infecting me with your anxiety!" Maybe these two crazy kids can make it work.

-Peggy looked pretty into it. And I want her to be happy.

-It's not like Duck is unattractive really...he's just older than her. I mean he's no Roger, but I'm sure he does all right for himself.

So go Peggy! I hope Duck wasn't just using a really hard sell just to get you to be disloyal to Don and leave Sterling-Cooper though.

Stray thoughts:

-No more contact with Roger Sterling!!! I better get plenty more contact with Roger Sterling.

-Bert Cooper about Conrad Hilton "I hear he's a bit of an eccentric." Roger had the best look ever in response to that.

-Betty was an anthropology major at Bryn Mawr! There are layers to her we have not seen yet.

-Is that teacher crazy? I am getting a possible Fatal Attraction vibe from her.

-Vietnam is still hovering around the edges. We know it's coming.

-That fainting couch does look terrible there.

Next week:
You know better! Don't even ask. Sally's got a temper?

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

90210- They're on a boat!


So 90210, was Dixon's (Tristan Wilds) entire story line an extended joke on how old the cast members are? Because it kind of seemed like it was. Dixon meets grown woman who looks to be his age, then sees her at a party with ALL of his high school friends, and she immediately believes that they are all grown-ups and not high school kids. I don't even know what to believe anymore? Are they even supposed to look like high school kids? Because I know they don't, but I just assumed that on the show, this is what high school kids look like. Now, there is a character within the universe of the show who thinks that all of the these people look about 30. Granted she is very annoying, and has the most grating way of smiling in human history (is having some kind of facial tick like a requirement to be cast on this show?!), so maybe we are supposed to assume she is dumb. I mean she is billed as "the female Dixon" (and you are right Navid, that will never sound sexy.) and Dixon has been pretty thick-headed as of late. I just don't know.

Okay, on to the rest of the show! It was pretty good as a whole and there was was one super- awesome-so-great-I-can't-even-describe-to-you-how-great thing: NO JEN.

Other cool things include:

-Dixon's sweet fade.

-Liam (Matt Lanter)'s cuteness. (I think I am getting a crush on Liam! We hate all the same things, Jen, Annie, wilderness camp...and he is super hot. Don't worry, he's only two years younger than me, so it's not weird.)

-Adrianna's (Jessica Lowndes) dress in the school scenes! I want!

-Navid (Michael Steger)'s quote after Dixon complained that Silver (Jessica Stroup) gave him back a bunch of stuff he didn't even want "Yo, I'll take the calligraphy set if you still have it..."

-Dixon and Silver are SO NOT over each other. (Shut up. They were cute once upon a time.)

-Kelly (Jennie Garth)'s back! Crushing on Harry! Defending stupid Annie (Shenae Grimes)!

-Navid and Adrianna. They are cute! You know I love them. And yet, I totally get that Adrianna is still attracted to Teddy (who is SO STEVE SANDERS by the way) and vice versa. Nobody's a jerk in this situation, it is just a high school love triangle! YES!


-Sasha played 'Poison' by Bel Biv Devoe at the party! Cool party Teddy! That song rules.

-Annie's locker was defaced. No wait, that's not awesome, that's terrible. Locker graffiti ruins lives, people.

-Annie's parents found out about her slut-tastic ways! And they were pissed! Wait until they find out about her hobo-murdering.

-Annie went completely evil and mean. I kind of liked it. In a "can't wait to see her get her comeuppance" kind of way.

-Naomi (Annalyn McCord) and Silver were cute as totally horrifically damaged BFF's. Seriously if you think about what they were both so bummed out about in that scene for too long, it gets disturbing real fast.
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-Liam running off to some crazy workshop in the dark and pulling out a bunch of blueprints. Please let those be the plans for some incredibly elaborate Annie-killing machine! Please!

It's 90210, so of course, some things were lame:

-The aforementioned Dixon/Sasha storyline. Puke.

-The fact that they made Annie retroactively not sleep with that loser guy who took the pic of her. They didn't do it, huh 90210? Cause that is really what you made it look like in the first episode!

-Harry/Debbie martial issues. Unless they are really going to let Kelly full on wreck that home, I do not want to see their petty squabbling.

-Dumb hats.

-Too much make-up Adrianna!

-The fact that I agreed with Annie on something. Prior to her crazy evil attack on Naomi on the boat party, she was pretty much completely innocent and Naomi did something awful to her. Silver can't really have it both ways at that point, because Naomi was being pretty horrible and lying! I hate agreeing with Annie, but come on Silver. May this never happen again.

-Dixon's an idiot.

-The idea that there are enough people on The Blaze that like anchovies that they would order an entire pizza with them on it.

-The preview and the previous-lies, which both had Jen in them.

-The fact that Jen is on this show.

Next week: Dixon goes to Napa with the old lady! Adrianna kisses Teddy! My DVR cuts off!

Heroes, Oh God, it's not getting better. Now that I know I can accept this and move forward.

Oh Heroes. It almost hurts me to see you keep trying to so hard to fix yourself, yet continue to have the same fundamental problems year after year. The theme of this chapter is "Redemption", so I'm assuming that this show is about to be redeemed from stupid characters, labryinthine plots and unnecessary cast additions, right? Oh. Not exactly.

We begin with a voiceover. Of freaking course. It's not Mohinder droning on about crap no one cares about though, it's a new guy we have never seen before, talking to some carnies while he buries someone. It's all very sad I am sure. Then he uses his awesome power of...dirt control? Or something, to bury the casket. Cool I guess.


Aaand now that's over, and we are watching Claire move in totally alone to college. Real nice Sandra and HRG! Real nice. So Claire, in case you were wondering, just wants to have a normal life! I don't know if you've heard that maybe one thousand times before or not, but the show just wanted to reiterate that. Unfortunately for her, there are a few things keeping from the "normal life" of her dreams, such as:

-She's an invincible superhero with a superhero family and hero hunter/helper morally ambiguous father.

-She's wearing horrible 80's inspired fashions including but not limited to some kind of "Canadian Tuxedo" ensemble. (Jeans and a denim shirt. Knotted at the waist. WHY?!)

-She has an insane roommate who promptly offs herself after annoying the crap out of her (and us) for an hour.

-She has some kind of creepy, murder groupie, goth, black wide leg pants wearing friend who probably has a nefarious origin. (Knowing this show)

-She sucks at Algebra. No one can lead a normal life unless they understand Algebra kids.

So bummer for Claire. Turns out she is probably going to have to continue to be invulnerable and have a not so normal life. At least I hope. Otherwise this is going to be a boring show.

Still not leading a normal life? HRG, Noah, Claire's dad. We all know and love him, and he's pretty much back to his "people with abilities" chasing ways. But NOW, he is going to help them instead of caging them like animals! This time he'll aided by Tracy, who I guess is done murdering people for revenge now that someone else murdered Danko and she felt curiously all upset about it.
Also, are they going to do it? There was some weird chemistry going on with them in that last scene. Sexy chemistry? Or is that just how Ali Larter acts with everyone?

Oh yeah Danko's dead, thank goodness. They didn't really let me relish it at all, which probably just proves that the writers of Heroes are better people than I am. Some Carny guy killed him for a compass. He seemed to have some kind of super speed/ knife throwing skills.

You know who else just wants a normal life? Peter. So to acheive that end he is using Mohinder's super strength and agility (and later Carny guy's speed) to save people as an EMT. He is not interacting with his insane family (probably a good move) OR anyone else for that matter (probably a bad move) and his very nice EMT partner keeps trying to get him to hang out, but it's a no go. I don't really know why he seems to disappointed whenever Peter declines to chill with him, because Peter does not seem to be a very fun dude, let me tell you. HRG gave him a lecture about not living a lonely life and end up with your kids away at school and your wife's phone being answered by some dude, but at this rate, there is no way Peter is getting a wife and kids. He says crap like "Hi. I'm here to save you." Ugh.
He helped HRG get the compass (briefly, the Carnies got it) and we all know he'll be back, non-normal lifing it up in no time.

'Nathan' feels weird. Like not himself. Like maybe he might be someone else, or something. HMMMMM. Could that someone else be some kind of all-powerful serial killer maybe? Also, why did Angela et. all not plan for the fact that Sylar's powers are going to manifest for 'Nathan'? Every single person who has powers has had them manifest physically when they were not conciously trying to use them, including Angela and Nathan. Dumb. I am not sure if you have noticed, but the characters on this show are dumb.

Also dumb? Matt Parkman's entire storyline. Shocker, I know. He has quit mind reading cold turkey and is acting as though he was addicted to it. He's even in an incredibly poorly run addiction recovery group for it! (When he starts acting all weird, the guy leading the group is all "Okay, let's move on..." Nice dude.) And, he's jealous of the water guy. Yes, Matt Parkman is so insecure that is jealous of the guy who delivers water to his house because he is kind of friendly. Oh man I hate this guy so much. One more thing, Sylar is in his brain or something, and he keeps seeing him everywhere. I guess that is just an excuse to make sure Zachary Quinto is in every episode.

And then, of course, there's Hiro. I want to like him, but, man he really is a childlike idiot. At first he and Ando are trying to start some Ghostbuster's-like "Hire a Hero" thing, but then it is revealed that he is dying (From some unknown thing. Nosebleeds is my guess. Nosebleeds are one of the leading killers of TV characters in the nation. Someone should start a charity.) So then he goes back in time, meets the head Carny guy who tells him he can change little things without changing everything, and makes is so his sister and Ando are in love in the present. Good for Ando.
I am sure this new 'mission' (this fricken dude has to have a mission, doesn't he?) of going back in time to fix the small mistakes in his life before he dies will have no terrible consequences...oh I can't even say it. Of course it will.

So these Carnies aren't exactly fleshed out yet, but we have the aformentioned quick with knives dude(Irish, I think) , we have Lydia (hot, I think) who gets tattoos of people magically and then knows stuff about them, an old guy who can send people back in time and seems to be dying, and Samuel the seeming leader who moved the dirt in the first scene (telekinesis?) but in the rest of the episode seems to have some kind of magical ink pen that can make faces of people on Lydia's back AND make hands that strangle people into doing his bidding. (He did say he was sorry afterwards.) So onto Lydia's back he tattooted the faces of the Heroes that he wants now that he has met and influence Hiro. Peter, Claire and Sylar. Unsuprisingly, they don't want Matt Parkman.

Next week: I don't really know. They showed previews of the whole season. Crazy stuff!!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

I stood, I felt a chill, I thought maybe you did too. I wanted to feel that way forever: Mad Men, Ep. 6, "A Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency."

"One day you're on top of the world, and the next some secretary's running you over with a lawnmower."

Joan's words of wisdom, of course, were not just about poor Guy McKendrick and his now lost foot. They were first and foremost about her, though her fall from the top was a bit slower than Guy's, she can still feel that her dreams of being a secure and happy surgeon's wife have slipped away. She held onto them after he raped her in Don's office, she held onto them after he revealed himself to be an immature bully who always wanted his own way, she even held onto them after realizing that most of the people he works with think she is too good for him and not vice versa. But to have him come home, drunk and childlike, angry and in need of someone to take care of him, and admit his failure, that was the last straw. He will not be a surgeon. She had given up a place where she was secure and in control in service of his ambitions, only to find out that his ambitions were dashed, and her place at work was already gone. And yet, in last night's episode we were not filled with despair for Joan, because all we needed was to just glimpse her once in a crisis to know that she's a survivor, and she is far better than her current station in life. Water always finds it's level, and I am ready to see Joan rise up and her scummy husband slither down where he belongs.

Don and Betty are both having dreams and expectations dashed left and right too. Betty's hope that little Gene's birth would save her marriage, heal her family from her father's death and just generally make everything perfect is not quite working out. Little Sally is convinced that the baby is the ghost of her grandfather back to haunt her and Don resents the fact that she named their child after someone who hated him...and who he hated. "That's what people do Don!" She chastises him, reminding him that he "has no people" and cannot understand her need to memorialize her father. Instead of bringing them together, this incident just serves as a reminder of what is constantly tearing them apart.

Seeing Don be excited about the idea of a big promotion and then have his hopes dashed by McKendrick's stupid chart was so sad. The childlike smile he has in this picture (while talking to Bert Cooper) and when thinking about the idea in bed gave us a window into that side of Dick Whitman we saw in those flashbacks last season...the side that has hope. And joy. And all of the things that being Don Draper has sucked out of his life. BUT...oh there is a but. The but is, that Connie, the nice old man from Roger's party isn't just your run of the mill rich dude....he's CONRAD HILTON. And like Joan, Don is a survivor. And he just learned that being himself...who he has been running away from for so long...can actually help him in his new life. I am excited to see how this Hilton angle plays out.

And Roger. My beloved Roger was all over this episode, being hilarious and yet a little sad at the same time. "I like to think, 'I'm rich, they can't hurt me'" He tells Bert Cooper, but they can, because he believed that because his name is on the company, it is still his, even though he sold it. Just as Don's hopes for a promotion were dashed by McKendrick's stupid chart, so were Roger's hopes of continued relevance at the company that bears his name. "I'm being punished for making my job look easy." If anyone is right about that, it's Roger.

This was a wickedly funny episode, from Lois's terrible lawnmower driving leading to McKendrick getting more than his deserved comeuppance to the hilarious contrast between the Americans and the British. So many good lines!

-Paul, when jokingly asked to shave his beard.."What?! Who the hell are you people?"

-Bertram Cooper, weirdest guy ever, after meeting McKendrick. "Well, that was very strange indeed!"

-Evil British people, about McKendrick losing his foot "Doctor's say he'll never golf again."

-Pete, to Harry "They just reorganized the company and you're the only one in this room who got a promotion." Harry, in shock, "Really?!!"

-I loved Peggy trying to say something nice in her goodbye to Joan, even if she did get cut off.

-Joan and Don's moment at the end was very sweet.

-Roger, getting his nails done. I now agree it is manly, if Roger does it. Cause he is a MAN.

-Betty and the Barbie for Sally...at least she's trying! For real.

-Pete caught Peggy when she passed out after the lawnmower accident!

-Those British dudes are ruthless!

Next week: Who's laying on the floor?!! WHO IS IT?

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Melrose Place: I'll have the red herring please.

Okay Melrose Place, and all other TV shows, I have a question. How is it always, that whenever anyone gets brutally murdered, they always have at least 3 or 4 conversations that very night that are always fraught with drama and often violence?! I will tell you this, if I ever have more than 1 run-in in a night with people who have an axe to grind with me, I am NOT letting that third person in, as they will probably kill me. Either accidentaly or on purpose, doesn't really matter. I would like to avoid it.

So this episode started with Auggie (Colin Egglesfield) in a sexy shower of angst, and revealed that he and Sydney had a very complicated relationship indeed. Let's run it down here:

-Met at AA and slept together pretty much immediately. (Go Sydney! Or Auggie! Or both!)

-Stopped sleeping together after three months to properly "work the program". Because she loved him too much to let him fail. (Too late, maybe?)

-He told her about his girlfriend's tragic death by barfight, but did NOT seem to mention that he totally stabbed the guy who killed her to death all psycho style and got off because the jury felt bad for him.

-Aaaand of course, they had a crazy run-in the night she was killed (that seems to alibi David, but who knows how the timeline will shake out.) and he got stabbed by her. So did she maybe get stabbed by him right back? Looks like it, but I don't think they are giving us the killer on day 2.

Suspect # 2 that was handed to us on a silver platter was good ole Violet(Ashley Simpson-Wentz). Um, she's Sydney's daughter! Maybe! (Maybe Jane's? That is really the only other choice with the whole DNA thing.) Also she is totally psycho. Auggie seems to like her, but we already know he like insane redheads. There is one other thing that I want to mention about Violet, and it is the fact that, well, SHE IS PLAYED BY AN INCREDIBLY TERRIBLE ACTRESS. Last week you might remember I called Ashlee Simpson-Wentz "the weakest actress". That, was me being nice. Hoping that maybe she would improve. I cannot be nice any longer. So I just have to say, right here and now, that she is so bad she is virtually unwatchable. That bad. Really.

There are two very aggressive and annoying cops investigating this whole Sydney Andrews murder thing, and in this episode they are leaning very heavily on Auggie, even though in the last one they seemed convinced David was the killer. I think I might be a better detective than these two.

I really love that Auggie told Riley that he "Can't get Sydney out of my head". That's probably okay dude, she was just murdered yesterday or something.

Last bit of murder news, Riley and Jonah are kind of suspicious of weirdo Violet. Especially Jonah.

So in Not-involved-in-murdering, just-living-the crazy-L.A.-life-news:

We have whoring. Should we start with whoring? I think we should. Lauren's whoring herself out now, with her first client offering to be her pimp (nice guy, that one). She is kind of upset about things, but still, it's gross. And Lauren don't get mad at the guy who hired you just because he liked you! That means you did a good job! This means you're a great hooker.

Riley and Jonah had some kind of "We are normal people not like these other crazies on this show" fight that was lame and boring. Expect this to happen each episode.

David is some kind of art/jewel thief. Somehow he makes this job seem boring. Also he must really booze it up if he is stealing million items yet still living in freakin Melrose Place, considering Violet lives there with no job at all. That's a lot of Gray Goose.

Ella is becoming my fave character, and not just because Katie Cassidy was on Harper's Island and is pretty. I liked her little work arc, and she gets to say lines like "Good, I was tired of the snack room melodrama anyway." I completely buy her as a ballsy publicist, bitch with heart of gold type.

Jonah and I say the same thing by the way, that we'll only run when being chased. I think he is the only character on this show I could be friends with. Ella would eat me alive!

Next week: I don't know, I didn't even pay attention because the previews are useless

Sexting! 90210 style! A little bit.

This week on 90210 we got a little peak into the lives of our new guys, Teddy and Liam, as well as the restart of The Blaze, what could be the beginning of the end for my beloved Navid and Adrianna, the end of the beginning of a fierce Annie/Naomi rivalry, and far far too much Jen. So what are we waiting for? Let's list it out folks!
First let's start with Awesome:-

-They certainly are doing their best to bring the sun, sand and LA feeling to 90210 this season, and I think they are actually doing a good job! It definitely feels more like a show set in LA than it did last season I think.

-Naomi actually gave Silver good advice about waiting to call Dixon! Like a real friend! I love it when my show has real friendships.

-Liam's mom is played by the actress who played Matt Camden's wife on 7th Heaven! This may not excite most people, but it does excite me, as I used to love to watch, and make fun of, that show. It was so bad it makes this show look like Shakespeare. Oh and did you think she looked a little young to be his mom? That's cause she's 11 years older than him.

-Hottie Teacher Ryan Matthews is back! (There is a lot NOT awesome about this development, but we'll get back to that later.

-Now we have three cool dude guy friends to go with our three hot chick girl friends. It's working!

-Annie's a mess! And they barely let her talk! It is like my prayers have been answered.

-Annie had a really dumb looking face on in her sext! So not only did everyone in the school see her naked, they saw her looking like an idiot!

-Annie's worst day ever. A sext of her goes out AND she has to be reminded that she's pretty sure she killed someone.

-Um, THE BLAZE is back people! YES!!

Things that annoyed me:

-Jen. Everything she said or did. They are really making me love sad-faced/angry Liam because he is Jen's enemy and I hate her so much. The fact that Ryan likes her makes me hate him. I am glad that she is using him and is going to dump him, because the fact that he likes her makes him an idiot. There is NOTHING like-able about her! She reaches new heights of odiousness in each scene.

-They really saved the sexting for the end. I would have liked more sexting fallout, to be honest.

-Every line that comes out of Teddy's mouth might as well be "Dur duh dur, I'm dumb and nice!"

-Why is Navid being such a jerk! "You being friends with him makes me uncomfortable." Your intense levels of assiness make me uncomfortable dude! I used to love you man! I know how Adrianna feels here.

-Adrianna must be in the "Shenae Grimes School of Acting" because when she was upset she looked like she was having some kind of blink face attack.

-Dixon is pretty much a jerk to every girl at this point. Silver, his sister, me. WTF Dixon?

-Liam went from poor to rich pretty quickly! You think I don't remember the crappy bedroom he had in the season finale 90210?!!

-Why would you go on and on about how awesome your ex is to your new boyfriend who you won't sleep with? WHY ADRIANNA?

-Surf Team, huh? I am not saying that high school surf teams don't exist, I am just saying they seem antithetical to everything that is cool about surfing. That is all.

-Silver's being crazy. Stop it Silver, he is not worth it. You can get that tattoo covered over with something cool.

-Dixon and Navid gave TERRIBLE advice to Liam! Sometimes a girl says stay away but she really means I'm not over you?! That is the advice a date rapist gives guys!


-Why would Silver be even the least bit incredulous that Naomi sent out the picture? Really? Of course she did!

- And of course, let's not forget JEN. I do not love to hate her, I just hate her. HATE HER.



Next week! Annie gets her BITCH on! On a boat!






Tuesday, September 15, 2009

God said, "Here is your future. It's gonna rain..." Mad Men, Season 3, Episode 5: The Fog

Last week's episode relied on the audience's knowledge that Jai Alai was never going to become America's pastime to move a plot along, and in "The Fog" the audience's knowledge of the future is even more important. Mad Men usually doesn't rely so blatantly on the whole "check out what these people don't even see coming!" idea, and I am not sure how I feel about it being so important in this episode. I do think that it is becoming more and more necessary as we move into the sixties, but at the same time I hope it isn't relied on too much, as it almost was here.


We had Sally interested in the death of Medgar Evers, which I think is a hint not only to the upcoming Civil Rights Movement but to the future of the character herself. Matthew Weiner has said in interviews that Sally is going to be representative of the generation of people who were radicalized by the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement, and I like that even though she is very young, we see her already taking in the injustices of the world. I am definitely interested to see what she does with them, and to see her rebelling against her perfect on the outside, so messed up on the inside parents.



Don making Sally a midnight snack and telling her that "Everything is going to be alright" was adorable as always. I think the fact that her teacher is so concerned for her is going to draw Don to the teacher even more than her physical attributes or the fact that she is a more "modern woman" than Betty, which he seems to have been attracted to in the past. She was obviously into him as well, which is kind of screwed up considering he was there with his pregnant wife, but kind of understandable because, well, she has eyes.

My favorite "they don't even know what's about to hit them" plot was Pete and the Admiral televisions. I loved this plot for so many reasons. One, because it showed us Pete as robot/Vulcan "It would be illogical for them to not want to make more money". And not only did it give us more "Civil Rights is coming" hints (Pete even uses the word integration! It was great when the guy was like, "That can't be legal!" and Pete just replied "Of course it's legal." while trying to stifle a laugh at the idiot.") but also because Pete, boy genius, idiot savant, standing right in front of us inventing niche marketing! And everyone (besides Layne) thinks it's a stupid idea! I also loved his conversation with Hollis in the elevator, because it showed race divisions in an interesting way. Pete wants to think of himself as not racist, and honestly Hollis wants to believe that he is at least less racist than many people, but he can't rely on "Mr. Campbell" seeming nice, because it could be a facade. The end where Pete asks him about baseball was great, because they acknowledged the awkwardness of the situation while still showing us that Pete really did want to be friendly, and he saw Hollis as just another customer in many ways. Sometimes Pete Campbell is a hard guy to like, but I liked him a lot in this ep.


Speaking of finding characters sympathetic even when they are often awful, I was feeling for Betty through every step! Having to go through all of that alone (and of course, with my modern expectations of having the father or at least someone by her side during the birth) being all drugged up and crazy (again, we now know that doing that is not the best idea), and having to face all of her demons all at once (Don's lies, her father's death, her mother's cruelty) made me really feel for the character. She had gone so cold this season that it was hard to remember why I identified with her so much last season, but the writers used her trippy twilight sleep to remind us why Betty is who she is. Her self image was definitely summed up in what her father as the janitor told her in her dream. "You're a house cat, very important with little to do." I think that image of herself is why she decided to let Carla leave and not get another maid/nanny. Betty wants to be more than what she is, and what the world sees her as, but she has no idea where to begin. She only knows that she has to get up in the night to get the baby, so that's what she does. Here's hoping that she softens towards little Gene (Oh Don loved that name!) as well as towards poor Sally and Bobby (Oh Bobby. Don wasn't kidding when he said he doesn't play catch with him enough! That kid is always ignored, by parents and writers alike!) She just wants everything to be okay when the baby comes. Who can blame her!?
*
Other thoughts:
*
-Don and the prison guard. Interesting juxtaposition. Maybe this is the person Don might have been had he remained Dick Whitman? Working class, but seemingly happy. Was Don inspired to be a better man by Dennis? Did Dennis give him some kind of permission to blame his parents for who he as become?
*
-Duck! Hmm he seems to have landed on his feet, though his eagerness to recruit Peggy and Pete was interesting. Does he need them for something? I hope he found Chauncey, I will say that much.
*
-Pete to Peggy. "Your decisions affect me." Understatement of a lifetime Pete!
*
-Peggy asking for equal pay. I really don't think Don was trying to put her off. He really is arguing for paper clips at this point, and creatives are being seen as lazy drunks. I think he even knows that she should be getting equal pay, and if she gives him a chance, will go to bat for her when he thinks he can win.
*
-Peggy to Don. "You have everything. And so much of it." Still, it's not enough. Don't emulate him too much Peggy!
*
-Best moment for me: Watching Don sell Layne on what the creatives need. Don is in his element when he is trying to convince someone of something, and it is always beautiful to watch. Bravo Jon Hamm! Also, we were reminded about how Don loves movies and sees them all, which is a good character callback.
*
Next week: Joan! I love Joan. And Roger! I LOVE Roger. Also, talking and stuff, or so it seems.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Melrose Place: Season Premiere!

Ahh a new show. A new show that's an old show. It's the best kind! Much like the original series, the show starts with a concept that I find a little hard to swallow. That if you move into an apartment complex in L.A., it will be like gaining a whole new family! People will want to help you, sleep with you, lend you money, give you career advice and change your flat tire! I don't know if I buy this at all, but whatever. I can suspend my disbelief a bit. The structure of the new show seems to be a little different, using a lot of flashbacks to try to solve a central crime (who killed Sydney?!!). This reminds me of my all time favorite show ever, Veronica Mars, and somehow I bet the comparison will not be favorable. Well anywho, let's meet the characters!
I guess we should start with original Melrose Placer and murder victim on this show, Sydney. (Laura Leighton) She was crazy on the old show, and on the new show is still sleeping with her ex husband Michael, AND his son David, before she gets murdered. Still crazy, that's my bet on that one.

David- (Shaun Sipos)Looks like a poor man's Brad Pitt. Sleeping with Syd, son of O.G. Melroser Michael Mancini, (didn't meet him until he was a teen apparently) and all around ne'er do well. Michael gets him out of trouble a lot, his mother is dead I think, and he is all angsty.

Ella (Katie Cassidy from Harper's Island! YES!)- - bisexual PR woman, cold on the inside but with a heart of gold methinks. Sydney was about to kick her out of the complex because she told David that Syd was sleeping with his Dad. She is totally secretly in love with:


Jonah (Michael Rady) Dorky/cute filmmaker, has morals, wears a cute hat, won't even blackmail someone even if he accidentally stumbles into doing it, at this point doesn't seem to have any kind of motive for killing Sydney, but god knows what will happen to change that soon. At Syd's memorial service, he inappropriately announced his engagement to girlfriend of 5 years...

Riley(Jessica Lucas)- a first grade teacher and all around sweet girl, who did have reservations about marrying Jonah but decided to go for it when he didn't want to blackmail a dude who he accidentally taped sleeping with a teenager. I want to like her because the actress that plays her was on 90210 AND Veronica Mars, but right now, I gotta say I'm rooting for Ella to get her man.

Lauren (Stephanie Jacobsen) a girl in medical school (who seems to be of Asian descent! Nice show. You couldn't have had the Asian girl play the PR person and the white girl be in med school? Nope. Apparently not.) who can't afford it, and decides after some rigorous calculating on an old style calculator to just whore herself out to a dude who's mom was in her care. Good plan! I am sure nothing bad will come of it!

Auggie (Colin Egglesfield, formerly of All My Children!)- He's a chef. Was very close to Sydney apparently, and seems the most upset about her horrible murder. At the end of the show he rode a motorcycle to an alley and burned some bloody clothes. I am sure there will be some kid of good explanation for that behavior, as there always is.

Violet (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz) Weird new girl. Discovered the body. Stole the picture of Sydney after the ceremony AND I think kind of looks like her. So there is something there. I am not trying to be a hater here, but Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is clearly the weakest actress on the show, (and Laura Leighton was pretty terrible last night) and I honestly hope she gets better. She's not going to, I've seen 7th Heaven, but a girl can hope, right?

As this blog is an intro the characters/basic plot/murder mystery of the show, last night's ep was as well. This show could definitely go either way at this point, and I kind of like the murder mystery/flashback element of it so far. (By the way, flashbacks make you a bad driver! Just ask Michael!) This first ep was kind of boring, but I think we got a general sketch of each character and even a few suspects! We've got Michael, (he's married to someone else and was sleeping with Sydney), David, Ella, Violet and Auggie as possible murders, and Lauren, Jonah and Riley as characters without motive as of now.

Next week:
Quick cuts! Music! Saying stuff! Why don't previews ever show you anything anymore? What is up with that?


90210 Season Premiere! Who's psyched?!! I am!





Okay so for Season 2 of 90210, the producers brought in Gilmore Girls/Buffy alum Rebecca Rand Kirshner to revamp the show and make it better than season 1. I feel like some of the changes did actually improve the show, but I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't a little sad that oldsters from the O.G. show are getting pushed out. However, I think the season premiere showed potential, so let's get down to it.

Things that worked:

Making Naomi (Annalynn McCord), Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) and Silver (Jessica Stroup) BFF's- Even though last season Adrianna and Silver barely spoke, and Silver and Naomi were just sort of getting back to being friends, I can buy that they all got really close during summer school or whatever. I think that they work as a foundation to the show way better than Annie and Dixon do. Also, everyone loves a show that constantly shows you shots of three hot girls, walking, eating ice cream, and doing other hot things in tiny dresses.

Annie (Shenae Grimes) as outcast-Good job making Annie just openly be a bitch to everyone. She is such an annoying character that they might as well make everyone on the show hate her too! First, she suspects herself of murder, and now she is doing random idiots at parties. God, Annie, was killing someone not enough?! Now you have to sleep with dudes who have low IQ's too?! Someone arrest her and her crazy faces!

Quick cuts- Everyone, and I mean everyone, loves quick cuts set to music that the kids think is cool these days. Also, segues with dudes break-dancing is also super cool. Cuts down the time that you have to have plot or characters, which can be very helpful on a show like this.

Already introducing like 100 different possible plot points/conflicts/pairings/enemies- We've got: Teddy (new guy Trevor Donovan) as a possible spoiler for Adrianna/Navid (Michael Steger), Teddy as a possible new guy for Silver, Teddy as a possible obstacle for Naomi/Liam, Teddy as a possible Annie lover, Liam and his possible Annie love, Liam trying to get back with Naomi, Dixon single and on the prowl even though crazypants (or no pants) Silver is still crazy about him, Annie as a possible murderer (I think that is going to shake out that she really hit a dog or something, let's be real here people), Navid/Adrianna no sex problems, Naomi having slept with a guy married to the lady from law and order who is mean and rich now, Adrianna not being able to stop missing her baby, Annie and Dixon's siblingship going sour, Adrianna and Silver not being able to abide by Naomi's natural meanness/sluttiness. etc. That's a lot to work with for the season, so good job person who somehow threaded all of this into one hour.

Silver had a cute haircut!

The hilarious line from Naomi's married boyf: "You know when we met at Barney's, I had never felt like that before.."

Navid and Dixon's plan to get a cabana which was right out of Brandon and Steve's dorky playbook on O.G. 90210.

Okay, there were still dumb things, of course, like:

Silver/Dixon-
Okay, so let me just try to forget that Ethan was getting awesome before he left the show (BAD CHANGE) and that Dixon was acting like d-bag. BUT the show won't let me forget what a douche Dixon is because he dumped Silver for TEXTING someone five minutes after the got back together! Dumb. And Silver freaking out and not being able to breathe didn't make any sense because they had been broken up ALL summer and she seemed fine about it! Also, the whole, "Ethan's not going to be on the show anymore, so I choose you..." thing was a stupid way to attempt to resolve that plotline. I want Ethan back. Hmpf!

Everyone looks old- Some people ARE old! The guy who plays new hottie Teddy is 31, and he looks 31. Adrianna is being styled way too maturely, maybe because they are pairing her with him in the future, but she looks like Courtney Cox Arquette now instead of any kind of high schooler, even a glamorous one from Beverly Hills! Liam is like 25. Are they getting rid of hottie teacher Matthews because there is no way an actual 23 year old would look right teaching a 31 year old? (I hope not I love him! But their summer school teacher was the black gay comics guy from Chasing Amy, so that was exciting for me. HE looks good for his age!) The married guy that Naomi was doing, who was supposed to be twice her age (32) is actually 40, and he kind of looks older I think. Sorry Steven Brand. The girls are all like 20 and under, so it creeps me out that they are being paired with such older men. At least they gave Liam that weird floppy teenager haircut.

Navid's shirt was too small. Get a bigger shirt dude.

The fact that Dixon would not let his obviously very upset sister finish her sentence and then he just abandoned her. He is becoming a big jerk.

Silver wore a huge belt and no pants to the first day of school! Is her character not supposed to be cool at all anymore, and just a trendy hot girl too? Let's end this no pants trend people!!!

Oh, and next week? That's right, it's been on Law and Order, 20/20 and Oprah, and now you are going to see 90210's take on the plague that is infecting our children. SEXTING.



Tuesday, September 8, 2009

It Ain't Me: Mad Men Season 3, Episodes 3 and 4. My Old Kentucky Home, The Arrangments


So we have a late double post! Sorry about that. Now you know why I can't get paid to write this stuff!


The last two episodes of Mad Men have given us a lot of meaty character and thematic stuff to work with! "My Old Kentucky Home" brought us back to that well worn but always interesting trope of class and how it affects people. "The Arrangements was largely about parenting, and the way the decisions made by parents continue to follow their children throughout their lives. Since I skipped blogging last week, I am going to do things a little differently and just talk about where are characters are after these two illuminating eps!


Don- In "My Old Kentucky Home", we see how uncomfortable Don feels in his own skin and in places like Roger's country club. It was so amazing to see Don tell a real story, from his real life, to Connie, the man he met at inside the club. It was a rare unguarded moment where could see Dick Whitman, and how different his life was from the life he has created for himself in Don Draper. I think in some ways it also put in perspective his relationship to Betty, because no matter how much he is trying, he can never really be with her while he is keeping this huge secret from her. This country club world is her world, and she has no idea that it's not his. The fact that Don has to be someone else for her keeps an unscalable wall between them, even during tender moments like the kiss at the end of this episode.


In "The Arrangements", where we saw Don a good deal more than we had in the episode before, we are once again reminded why we love ourselves some Don Draper! There is always a pleasure in seeing that the impostor whose life is a lie has far more scruples than most people around him, and I loved his fatherly concern for Horace as he goes forward with his ill-conceived Jai Lai venture. I also loved how once Horace proved he really was too dumb and thought too much of himself to take that advice, Don was ready to "bill it to the kid" (Bert Cooper is going to be so mad about that ant farm!) Watching Don with his kids is also something that makes the viewers swoon, and even though he cannot bring himself to be as involved with them as he should (or wants to it seems), I liked how he told Bobby "There was a person in there." about the soldier's helmet, and the look of sincere sympathy he gave Sally after her sad outburst. If only he could have gotten up to comfort her!


Betty- If these two episodes reminded us why we like Don, they also reminded us of all of the things we don't like about Betty. In "My Old Kentucky Home" she can't even accept a compliment from Sally in a nice way, and shows us that her little back room dalliance with Captain Awesome might not be the only adultery she commits! (I suppose getting hit on while you are hugely pregnant might extra flattering though...). Her coldness towards her family was in full force during "The Arrangements". I thought it was incredibly interesting to see her father admit that he failed her by sheltering her too much, basically telling her that she needs to learn how to deal with life and stop acting like a child! (He was not the only parent in this episode to express that very opinion. Ho-Ho's dad felt much the same way when he said "We didn't know what kind of person we were making.") Unfortunately for him, and for the rest of her family, Betty is not ready to do that just yet. Watching her shut the door on her shocked and grieving daughter proved that.


Peggy- Peggy was on a streak of awesome for these two episodes! Trying weed, telling her sweet motherly secretary that she was going to be okay and get everything she wants, deciding to move to Manhattan because she "is one of those girls", Peggy is showing us a little of WHY it was so easy for Don to give up his old identity, just as it was for her to give up her child, in service of the greater good. Sometimes just deciding to become the person you want to be instead of the person you are frees and allows you to become better. We saw it with Don in the flashbacks he had with the real Mrs. Draper. At first, he was just so happy not to be Dick Whitman that the world was full of possibility! And look where it got him. Worlds away from where he came from, where he was running from. I think Peggy is finding the same thing. Though she carries a terrible burden, giving up that child has gotten her exactly where she wanted, and she knows she can go even further. I bet her new roommate is going to be really annoyed when she finds out that Peggy isn't actually very fun though.


Roger- Oh Roger. Even though he is a black face wearing, cheating, pompous man, I almost wanted to believe him when he said that people were just jealous of how happy he was. But I am pretty sure the fact that just a few scenes before he was singing to his 20 year old wife in black face, something that would be taboo just a few years later, and was at least offensive even at that time, shows us that he is becoming exactly what Don says, "a fool". Roger is the old guard, and he is retreating into denial to try to forget it.


Joan- Ugh, the Joan stuff is just killing me. At her first dinner party for her husband's colleagues, poor Joan realizes that her Doctor isn't all he's cracked up to be. With references to his killing a patient with a mistake ("everybody gets a bad result sometimes...") and the ever more remote possibility of his becoming chief resident, it becomes clear that Joan is undervaluing herself in every arena. How can she not see that SHE is the catch in this relationship, not the other way around? Her incredible ad for Peggy's roommate shows us that she could be right up there with Peggy and Don writing great copy! There seems to be nothing that she cannot do, besides of course break free from the conventions of her time and give herself a chance to be something! Betty's dad's words ring true for Joan as well as his own daughter.."If you'd even known what was possible..."



Other thoughts:



-The real world is closing in on our characters, and watching Sally watch news reports about forced integration and trouble in Vietnam makes me anxious to find out how the show is going to treat the tumultuous times that are coming.



- How could I forget about Sal and Trudy? Ugh I feel so bad for both of them, with Trudy slowly realizing that something is very wrong between them and Sal trying so hard to pretend there isn't. It is even sadder given the fact that of all the married people on this show, these two seem to actually like being with each the most!



-Even though the commercial was a failure, I am glad that Don is going to hire Sal to direct again. They are bonded together by secrets now!



-Stoned Peggy during "My Old Kentucky Home" was great. As was finding out what we already knew deep inside: Paul is a pseudo-intellectual covering up a Jersey accent.



-Pete and Trudy were kind of cute doing their little dance. Kind of sad too, but I feel like we are getting hints that their relationship is becoming a little more functional.



-Poor Sally. I know that Don wanted to go to her but felt like it would be betraying Betty, but man, it was so awful to see her lying in front of the TV in her little ballet uniform! Grandpa Gene bought peaches for her and everything!



-Next week: things are going to be said. Also, Sally's acting up, and it looks like her hot teacher is about to get in the mix. Bummer for Betty.