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Last edited by Amnesiac; 11-06-2018 at 05:50 AM.
So should I air my dislike and general criticisms here or in the TV discussion thread?
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
on disc four of season one. great, great show. when i watch tv shows on dvd i usually take breaks between seasons, let alone discs, but i've been going non-stop with this one and have season two queued up.
I was just teasing. No, I only finished the first.Quoting Amnesiac (view post)
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
![[ETM]'s Avatar](image.php?u=101&dateline=1465337646 "[ETM]'s Avatar")
I'm interested in this. I've been dissatisfied myself, I'm betting we've got a similar perspective. I've seen through the first episode of S2, btw.
I didn't care for it either. I watched three episodes and was so put off by their constant showcasing of how different the fifties were ("Look! The kids don't wear seatbelts! Crazy!" or "People weren't sure if smoking was really bad for you! WILD!!!" or "Men treated women like a piece of meat, without consequences! OH, those FIFTIES!!") that I couldn't watch any more. To be honest though, I didn't really find the office politics or any of the plot terribly interesting.
Three episodes probably isn't a fair chance for a show, but at the time it was all I was willing to give. You know, other things I could be doing and all that.
Sixties, mon ange. Sixties.
...and the milk's in me.
Crap. There goes any value that post had.
:lol:
What you were describing really annoyed me at first, actually, but I think it became less flagrant as the series progressed.
...and the milk's in me.
It did. They also refocused on less obvious things like kids running around with plastic bags on their heads in the background etc.
Wait... this really happens on the show?
It's not as obvious, it was actually one of the kids, while the mothers were talking, and they yell at them for running but pay no attention to the plastic bag.
Ugh. I don't care how subtle it is, that's what turned me off in the first place, and if it's still going on deep into the first season, I really don't want to revisit the show.
I just about had a heart attack during the "garment bag on the head" incident. Plus, during that scene, a pregnant woman is smoking and drinking wine.
OH, SHOCK!
...and the milk's in me.
Yeah, I'm not coming back to this. I just can't.
I honestly all but stopped noticing these things pretty quickly. It's a good comment, though, on how much certain things have been etched into our collective consciousness only in the recent years. It was not like that in these parts, so perhaps that's why it doesn't bother me as much, or at all.
I know that everyone's gaga for Draper (who is excessively handsome) but I find his character inscrutable to the point of annoyance.
I watch for Peggy and Joan. My ladies.
...and the milk's in me.
Bah, I like how the writers are having some fun with the 60s setting.
Took me a while to get into the show, but by season 2 I was a fan. Draper's interesting as hell.
Last movies seen
Frank: Good
Mistaken for Strangers: Good
Guardians of the Galaxy: Good
Last TV seasons watched
Treme (S04): Good
The Legend of Korra (S03): Good
Currently reading
This Side of Paradise - F. Scott Fitzgerald
It was nice to see Hamm on 30 Rock play a nicer, more readable character so that we know his acting style isn't just blank.
It was also nice to see him let his hair down (literally), since we all know that slicked-back haired men are evil.
...and the milk's in me.
I thought Hamm did a pretty good job on SNL too. Showed he had some comic ability.
Exactly!!! It's not so much that the show is about these things, it's the way in which it's about it. Perhaps if it had gone Altman/Welles-esque with more dynamic staging and overlapping dialogue it could have worked but the way it stands everything in the show stops for these 'point' making moments... *kid walks in with plastic bag overhead* "Honey! *pause* "You better not have spoiled the dry cleaning." ... Ohhhh those 60's! The authors bludgeon home their themes. So yeah, that's my biggest criticism as well. I realize the author's wanted to show how often women have to deal with this stuff but the way they go about it is like hitting nails directly on the head on the top of the metaphoric thematic casket.
I also just find the point making disingenuous at times. Yes some people hit their kids and yes there was misogyny but it wasn't this rampant (the show handles characters who aren't only in the ad agency and turns all men into snide, superficial ghouls). My grandfather wasn't a misogynistic asshole nor were most old people I've met. Given how deep seated racism is (I've seen it before in people) I'm guessing if they were truly sexist there would still be some sign of this even at a late age.
But also I found the filmmaking to be mediocre, primarily the character movement and general staging is rather bland. The entire production is swept in that easy retro golden light which allows it to avoid compelling compositions. The acting is not that special. If I have to see Hamm furrow his brows one more time. Ugh.
And as you mention the storyline just isn't that interesting. I don't care about the melodramatic excesses of Hamm's past life. I don't care about these despicable characters and I don't feel that I'm given good reason to care... I think it was Derek who said he felt their despicable natures was contrasted well with sympathetic elements. While there is a contrast I don't feel there's enough of one or that the show has enough to say about the non-sympathetic side of these characters to justify them.
And despite the show's focus on exposing misogyny sometimes I actually feel it possesses a little sexism itself. I don't hold this against the show itself but I read some poster comments on another forum where individuals were debating 'hot or not' about the various office girls. In relation to the show though there is at times a lingering on T&A and crass remarks which goes far beyond needing to expose the misogyny.
Sometimes there are also just bizarre situations such as at the end of Season One (SPOILERS) when in one scene a girl finds out she's pregnant and in the next scene she suddenly has a baby... Was she that far pregnant? I mean really? I know these things have happened in the past (pregnancy denial) but I still find it crazy. Then Draper comes home and gives his wife good news... but then he comes home and no one is there... so the previous moment was a dream sequence then but this is poorly communicated, completely unnecessary and not really in keeping with the show's usual non-dream execution.
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
Contrary to what people will have you believe that moment was not subtle at all nor do similar moments become any more subtle nor are there less of them later in the season.
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
Nor do are they found even close to as often as you or KF make it out to be. People smoked a lot and there was no seat belt law until 1965...where are there moments that THROW THAT IN YOUR FACE. OH MY GAWD THEY DRANK WHISKEY IN THE OFFICE WTFOMGROFL QRAZINESS! Well yeah, so the show has them drinking whiskey in the office.
Couldn't you do the same with Deadwood - OMG THERE'S NO INDOOR PLUMBING PEPUL DIE FROM SIMPUL DISEASES AND CUSS A LOT! THE WILD WEST RLY WUZ WILD!!
Seems like a silly way to approach a period show, not to mention blowing it way out of proportion.
When she's driving and has a fit the kids aren't wearing seatbelts. I'm not really bothered by the smoking. I could list some of the moments that bothered me (when everything stops for an oh those 60's moment)... most of the instances of misogyny (so at least like 30 or so moments there), hitting the kids, the plastic bag, the stuff with the divorcee, black people discussing their status in the world, etc.
Nah man my problem is with the way the show approaches the material. That's why I think perhaps it would have worked if they had overlapping dialogue and more inventive staging. I like that they're tackling these things I don't like the way they're tackling them. I have my problems with Deadwood but it doesn't dwell on it's issues in a similar way. Everything doesn't stop for a moment for them to point out the status of a black man in the time period. They have plots devoted to that status but it's not addressed in the same way.
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
Totally agree with Qrazy and KF. And Jon Hamm does nothing for me.
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