by | September 1, 2010

Rescue Me — Season 6, Episode 10: “A.D.D.”

For those of you keeping track, yes, there were only 10 episodes of what was supposed to be the final season of Rescue Me, one of the most overlooked and underrated shows of the last decade.  However, creators Peter Tolan and Dennis Leary decided to split season 6 into two seasons, so that the true final season would be airing in 2011 to coincide with the tenth anniversary of September 11th, the catalyst and emotional center of the entire series.  So instead of a true finale last night, we got a sort-of half-ending to the half-season, though it really felt more like a season premiere to me than a finale.  Allow me to explain…

Last week’s episode, “Goodbye,” should’ve been the finale.  We ended on a horrifying cliffhanger, as the giant saw blade crashed down on young Damian’s head, just as he reneged on his decision to leave firefighting for good.  Tommy was rededicating himself to his family, despite the hint that there might be some connection deep down still between he and Sheila, Lt. Ken Shea was back on the job despite his second heart attack and the looming danger of a reccurence, and the house was just getting settled back into the status quo.  Sounds like a great place to end  a season, right?

Instead, I feel that Tolan/Leary and Co. totally jumped the shark and delivered an episode so jarring that it felt forced and out of place, both content-wise and tonally.  The episode takes place in some undisclosed time weeks or months after Damian’s accident.  In the time since, Mickey has been m.i.a., Tom has been neglecting his family to spend time with Sheila and a now braindead/paralyzed Damian, and everyone except for Tom and Sheila seems to have COMPLETELY moved on from the trauma of Damian’s accident.  Can you name one other show where you’ve seen an unspecified leap in time from one episode to another within one season?  It’s unheard of, and with good reason.  I spent half the episode trying to figure out what time we were in and why the hell they skimmed over those nondescript weeks/months.  I understand that Rescue Me has dealt with death and trauma extensively in prior seasons, usually with great skill and honesty, and that perhaps they wanted to get right back to business without more hospital scenes, emotional meltdowns, questioning of God, etc.  But my question is simple: Why?  Isn’t that what drama is?  Isn’t this brutally honest look at human emotion Rescue Me‘s bread and butter?  Isn’t the exploration of how we cope with trauma and regret what this show has excelled in more than any other show I’ve ever seen?  Why the hell would they want to skip over the meaty dramatic stuff to get right back to the same old, ho hum routine stuff?  I wanted to see Lieu deal with the guilt that Damian’s condition is entirely his fault; I wanted to see Janet have to show compassion to Sheila; I wanted to see Tommy spiral out of control.  Instead, Lieu was happily getting drunk, Janet couldn’t care less, and Tommy looked the healthiest and most composed he’s ever been.

Which brings me to my next point — I absolutely HATE the nonchalant way with which all the characters regarded Damian, and in a larger sense, the show’s creators.  It began by using Damian’s condition as a shocking reveal in the episode’s first scene.  We see Sheila and Tommy talking about moving on, assuming that Damian is dead, then BAM, reveal a paralyzed Damian in the corner.  To use someone’s paralysis as a shock value move felt cheap and forced to me.  Was I shocked?  Yes.  But I was more shocked that the writers would use the essential destruction of a major character in such a callous way.  “… then we pull back and BAM.  The kid’s paralyzed!  We’ll totally catch them by surprise!  Isn’t that an awesome idea?”  Again, it just didn’t feel like the Rescue Me I’m used to.

But then we’ve got the guys in the firehouse goofing about him, cracking jokes, taking him to a bar, ditching him for chicks; we’ve got his first cousins Janet, Colleen and Katie not giving a rat’s ass if he’s alive or dead; we’ve got Lieu, who’s fault it is, merrily drinking and refusing to retire; we’ve got Tommy finding out that Janet may be pregnant — um, hello.  DAMIAN IS BRAINDEAD!  Nobody thinks this is serious?  They’re more upset that Pat Mahoney got his plaque on bathroom than they are that Damian is frickin paralyzed.  How is that realistic at all?  It felt jokey, fake, forced and flat out weird to me.  Maybe I’d be able to buy it if I’d gotten at least one scene of the guys acting sad about it first, struggling to deal with the tragedy, helping out Sheila, anything.  But to jump right to “okay, we’re over it and cracking jokes now b/c we’ve accepted it and moved on,” without even indicating how much time has passed, felt cheap and totally unearned.

Then we get the random added storyline that Janet might be pregnant again, which felt like another shock value, unearned plot move to me.  We’re moving on to something new already?  Who cares???  Damian is braindead!  Why isn’t this the focal point of the show?  And if they don’t want it to be, why have it happen at all?  Why pull such a major stunt with a major character and then skip the part where everyone deals with it?  It doesn’t make any sense!  Why are we already introducing new plot points?  Is there such a thing as a double shark jump?  No wonder this episode was called “A.D.D.”

The two redeeming parts of the episode for me were Sheila’s opening phone call and Mickey’s speech to Tommy at the firehouse.  These were the type of honest emotional moments I’ve come to expect and appreciate from this series.  I also loved Tommy getting stuck on the phone with Sheila and having to imitate Damian’s gargles — that was an honest comedic moment, something someone might actually do in that situation, and I thought Leary played the hesitation and moment of “well, I’m too far into this lie now not to imitate him” perfectly.  Biggest laugh of the show for sure.

All in all, I think this penultimate season of Rescue Me has been a bit uneven for me.  There hasn’t really been a strong emotional throughline for Tommy, and thus we haven’t really had anything to latch onto.  What’s his journey been this year?  The answer is that he hasn’t had one.  It’s been all about minor storylines — Colleen’s bender, Franco getting too close to Janet, Lieu’s health, Pat Mahoney, Damian’s decision — peppered with moments of Tommy (such as my favorite scene of the year, when Tommy silently drinks a bottle of whisky in his car for 3 minutes — f’ing brilliant).  Do I still love Rescue Me?  Absolutely.  Despite the bumps, it’s still one of the best shows on television — its the best balance of drama and comedy in one show that I’ve ever seen by a long shot, it’s got by far the best ensemble cast on television, it’s excellence at exploring honest and brutal human emotion and tragedy is unparalleled, and it’s incredibly innovative and always willing to take risks.  I just wish that they’d stuck to their formula a bit more this year — Tommy dealing with his demons and everyone else feeding into that central story, not the other way around.

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by | August 12, 2010

Top Chef D.C.: Season 7, Episode 9: “Restaurant Wars”

The self-titled “Beast” Kenny Gilbert got the boot last night from Top Chef.  I say good riddance.  If you’re going to break one of the cardinal rules of Top Chef, you’re going to go home.  Here is a description of the rule Kenny broke, plus a few more to keep you future contestants off the chopping block.

1. Listen to the Judges: When you’re in the middle or the bottom for 3-4 straight weeks, it’s time to stop saying “I’m the best chef here” and finding ways to blame everyone else around you.  Kenny refused to believe, even for an instant, that his food was less than perfection.  Even as the executive chef of the Blue Team’s restaurant, when he delivered by far their two worst dishes, he refused to discuss or acknowledge his shortcomings, focusing only on Alex.  Maybe if he would’ve shown some humility, apologized for his food, and explained how much he was helping everyone else because of his job as executive chef (and maybe he didn’t have to help Amanda — who’s dish was the only other in the running to send her packing), just maybe he could’ve saved his skin.   There’s a reason hubris is a tragic flaw — no one ever came out on top by denying their limitations and flaws.

2. Never Sacrifice Your Dish for Your Teammates: It’s a cooking competition, not a teamwork competition.  This season’s Jacqueline Lombard, who tried to make a banana pudding WITHOUT F’ING BANANAS,  is only one of many Top Chef casualties to fall prey to this treacherous temptation.  Rule numero uno for success is to worry about your own dish.  Nobody ever loses Top Chef for having the best food, but they certainly do go home for making banana-less banana pudding.

3. If You’ve Never Made Dessert Before, Don’t Start Now: This is probably the most commonly broken rule, no matter how mindbogglingly stupid it is.  How many times have we seen weak, foolish competitors take themselves right out of the game by attempting the oh-so-difficult dessert course… WHEN THEY NEVER MAKE DESSERT.  It’s one thing if you’re Kelly, who has shown her prowess with chocolate ganache twice now — clearly, the woman knows ganache.  It’s another if you’re some schmuck like this season’s first loser, John Somerville, and you’re ousted ON THE FIRST CHALLENGE with a dessert YOU DON’T USUALLY MAKE.  Come on!  Stick to your guns man!  Note that both the first two contestants out this year, as well as Kenny with his giant goat cheese fried mound, failed on desserts.  Just don’t make them!  It’s that simple!

4. “This Dish Really Kills at My Restaurant”: This isn’t your restaurant.  This is Top F**king Chef.  Like any good offensive athlete will tell you, you must read what the defense gives you and react accordingly.  Don’t show up with some dish that you really love and force it into this competition as soon as some challenge gives you an excuse.  You will not win.  You need to mold your cooking to the challenge, not vice versa.  Andrea Curto-Randazzo lost with this fallacy this season, but many more have fallen before her.  The best example of this unfortunate choice comes from Season 2 of Top Chef Masters, when Chef Susan Feniger lost for her Kaya Toast, a dish that people love at her LA restaurant, Street.  I’ve eaten this Kaya Toast about 5 times — it’s absolutely delicious, one of my favorite dishes in the city (seriously – go to Street and eat it.  It’s addictive).  But it’s not complex or elegant in the least, and so, by trying to bring her crowd-pleaser into a competition of master chefs, she doomed herself to failure.

5. Execute, Execute, Execute: You will not go home if your dish isn’t bad.  It’s as simple as that.  Your dish has to be amazing to win, but to just stay in the game, your dish only has to be not bad.  If you’re going to cook beef (cough Amanda cough), cook it to the right temperature.  If you’re going to make lamb chops, clean the meat correctly and don’t undercook it.  That’s it.  It doesn’t matter if it’s the least inventive piece of lamb in history.  If you execute correctly, you will not be sent home, at least not until the final 4-5 chefs are left.  There will always be someone else who makes something terrible, someone who bites off more than they can chew, as it were.  Just make sure your dish tastes good enough and is well-executed technically and you will COAST to the finals.

Can you think of any other rules?  Make sure they apply to more than one season, and leave them in the comments!

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by | August 10, 2010

To See or Not to See: The Other Guys

“To See or Not to See” is a new segment on MMM — a very brief post that answers the titular question as quickly as possible, to save you from any unnecessary trips to the cinema/concert hall/couch.


THE OTHER GUYS: NOT TO SEE

The Other Guys, the latest offering from the tag team of Will Ferrel and Adam McKay, is certainly the worst of their esteemed partnerships.  The first two acts of the movie are very funny — a couple of good quotables here and there (“The reviews were horrible” and the “lion/tuna” run being stand-outs), some very funny “what the f?” moments (such as Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock leaping off a building to their deaths for no apparent reason), and some pretty good cop movie parody moments (loved the hyper-stylized getting drunk montage).  But the tone was WILDLY uneven, and the final 45 minutes of the movie are painfully long and unfunny and ultimately doom this movie to second-tier status.  They could’ve cut a good 25 minutes out of this thing, tightened it up from 2 hours, and had a much leaner, funnier comedy on their hands.  For whatever reason, they didn’t, and that relegates this one to DVD rental/We’ve Got Nothing Else to Do Tonight status.  You could do a lot worse, but you could do a LOT better.

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by | August 9, 2010

Another Sunday Night at the Hollywood Bowl: RENT

Last night, I and half of Los Angeles, took in director Neil Patrick Harris’ take on the most beloved rock musical of all time, Rent. Going in, I was skeptical.  Going out, I was impressed, satisfied and happy.  4 quick thoughts about the evening:

1. Casting — As I texted to my friend Michael during the proceedings, here’s how I felt about the cast: “Maureen is def best.  Then Collins/Joanne/Mark/Angel.  Then Roger.  Then Mimi.  Then Benny.”  Nicole Scherzinger kicked total ass as Maureen.  For those of you familiar with the show, Maureen doesn’t really show up until her protest towards the end of act one, so at that point, we’d pretty much forgotten about her.  But the moment she opened her mouth, she proved that she is a legit vocal star — she was in a class all her own vocally; there was really no one else  close.  She also brought terrific energy to the role, played it with panache and honesty, and looked damn good too.  Kudos to her — I’m a believer.  The next 4 down the line were all very strong and very good, but left just a little to be desired that kept them from being total home runs.  Wayne Brady was very endearing as Collins and has a beautiful voice, but we left me wanting a bit more in the volume/energy/passion department — just a little too understated for me, though the dude is a legit talent.  Do not underestimate the powers of Wayne Brady.  Same with Tracie Thoms as Joanne, though after playing Joanne for years and in the movie, she’s probably just a little bored with the role.  Skylar Astin was really strong as Mark and Telly Leung sang the crap out of Angel, but again, I just felt a little spark was missing — if it hadn’t been for Scherzinger’s dynamic performance, I might’ve written the whole thing off to the difficulty of performing at such a huge outdoor venue, but she proved that an energetic and exciting performance was possible, even in that setting.

Aaron Tveit, of Next to Normal fame, was simply miscast as brooding bad boy Roger.  Tveit has a beautiful voice that’s clear as a bell, with pretty boy good looks.  Not even purple shirts or fake tattoos could fool me into thinking this guy was a badass rocker.  I just didn’t believe a word he said, and his pretty singing voice was wrong for this role.  Collins Pennie was absolutely horrible as Benny.  They couldn’t find one guy who could sing this part?  As my friend Michael said, he was definitely sleeping with a casting director something — this guy has no business being in show biz.

And finally, Vanessa Hudgens as Mimi.  I liked the idea to cast a younger actress in the role– after all, Mimi is 19, she’s the least comfortable in her own skin, she’s trying to prove how grown up she is by begging Roger to come out with her.  But in Vanessa’s case, she wasn’t playing a kid amongst adults — she was one.  She was WAY out of her league here, I mean, uncomfortably out of place.  She performed the role with Disney-like acting skills — everything was big and indicated and obvious.  You could see her reach for Roger’s arm, not because her character felt the need to be close to him, but because her director said “And then you move here.”  She belonged, ironically enough, in a high school musical of Rent, not on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl.  She has a nice voice, but so does my dry cleaner, ya know?   She had the notes and the vibrato, as many talented amateur singers do, but lacked the nuance and control you expect from a professional.  Last night proved to me that Vanessa Hudgens is simply not star, at least not as this stage (pun intended) of her career.

2. The show — It hasn’t even been 20 years since Rent debuted on Broadway, but already, those days of AIDS fear and poverty and Y2K and all that jazz feel very long ago.  However, I thought Jonathan Larson’s Pulitzer/Tony-winning show was as poignant and resonant as ever, and that director Neil Patrick Harris did a nice job of keeping the themes and relationships in the show clear and at the forefront.  The lyrics to that show really are tremendous when you focus on them, especially the ensemble group numbers like “Will I Lose My Dignity” or “Life Support.”  I thought this production did an excellent of job of communicating the message of this musical — all while being outdoors and singing to people hundreds of yards away.

3. Volume — Too quiet.  I’m ready to chalk this up to the difficulty of mixing 10 rock instruments with 20 singers, but everyone, seated close and far, felt the music was too low in the mix.  I certainly agree, but I understand how hard it can be — but if there was a way to crank the volume on the drums/bass/guitar, I would have welcomed it.  The music rocks too hard to let it simmer the way it did.

4. Changes — Per venue (union?) rules, the Hollywood Bowl required Rent to put 10 instrumentalists on the stage, so they added horns and strings for these performances.  Didn’t work, AT ALL.  Horns in Rent??? Yikes.  Couldn’t they have added more guitarists and drummers to boost the weak sound?  One change I didn’t mind, however, were the cuts implemented to keep the show down to 2 hours.  They were smooth and mostly unnoticeable (a verse here or there mainly; the biggest omission was “Contact” which was likely too racy for this Hwood Bowl crowd anyway) and actually helped streamline the show.

Overall, this was a terrific production.  The cast was very strong, the music and story as terrific as ever, and the crowd was having a blast.   All gripes aside, this was as good a production of Rent as I’ve ever seen and reignited my love for the musical.  I’d say that’s a successful production indeed.

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by | August 3, 2010

The Bachelorette: Season 6 Finale

Yes, you read that correctly.  I’m blogging about exactly the type of show I would’ve trashed previously (I probably have in an old post).  But gosh darnit, I really love this show.  I can’t speak for any previous season, and in fact, I’m sure I would not have liked them as much as this one, as the personnel involved this year made all the difference.  But The Bachelorette has without a doubt been my favorite show of the summer (again, you read that correctly).  Here are 5 reasons why:

1. Ali — I have probably never seen a more appealing woman in reality television in my life.  This season started and ended with the enchanting Ali.  Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky was smart, sensitive, down-to-earth, beautiful, fun-loving, and honest.  She wasn’t on this show to start an acting career or get her name in the papers.  Ali, as girl-next-door as you can get, came on this show to find love.  She calmly and openly lead the viewers along this journey with her through her candid testimonials and an admirable willingness to put her heart on the line.  She immediately endeared herself to the audience and we could never shake her — I feel like I know Ali as a person, I feel like I know people in my own life like her, and because of these facts and her winning personality, I felt a personal stake in the outcome of this show.  I wanted Ali to find love and happiness because I truly knew she deserved it.  It’s one thing to root for a protagonist.  It’s quite another to hope for the emotional well-being of a fellow human trying to make her way in the world.  It was a new and special experience for me as a viewer of television.

2. The Bachelors — Like Ali, the top 5 or so bachelors were on this show for all the right reasons — to be honest and open and hopefully find the woman of their dreams.  Aside from a few notable exceptions (we’ll get to Frank soon, I promise), these were real stand-up guys: Relatable, polite, chivalrous, classy, warm and determined to win Ali’s heart (or in Kasey’s case, guard and protect it).  Sure, we all had our own horses in the race (I was in the Chris camp, but announced my prediction of Roberto on Episode 2, and I certainly won’t begrudge a class act like him the win), but there was no denying that most of these guys were great catches for any girl, and a pleasure to watch on-screen.

3. Flow — The build-up and progression of the season was absolutely perfect — we began with a bunch of dudes, some with potential, others headed straight for next week’s Bachelor Pad (and happy to do so).  The mood was light, the date were fun and adventurous, the potential endless.  As Ali whittled down her beaus, the locations become more and more picturesque (I’m now desperate to travel to Iceland, Turkey and Bora Bora), and the mood noticeably shifted to a more serious and vital feel.  We had some ridiculous clowns on the way down from 10 to 5, (Rated R, Tattoo Guy, Weatherman, weird Adam Morrsion/Steve Nash looking bro who never spoke), but once we got to the final 5, things got REAL.  As we progressed from 5 to 1, things only got more intense and more emotional.  It was a thrilling and well-paced ride, with the perfect blend of levity, gravitas and honest to goodness romance.

4. The Producers — Pretty much everything on this list (except for the last and most important point) is due to the terrific producers of this show.  They cast it, they paced it out, they chose how much stupidity/conventional reality garbage to show, and I’m happy to report they were spot-on in every way.  The focus was on Ali and her journey from the word go; if we saw d-bag clowning, it was only because it affected Ali.  Mostly, we got a sharp and focused perspective into Ali’s world and the deepening relationships between her and her bachelors.  The locations and romantic activities were splendid to behold, the confessionals remarkably candid, and the truth of each moment skillfully and unobtrusively captured.  Bravo.

5. Frank — For me, the moment that really put this show over the top was Frank’s break-up with Ali.  I have truly never witnessed such raw, honest and true human emotion on television before.  I’m sure pretty much everyone reading this blog has experienced something like what Frank and Ali went through — the stomach-dropping disappointment of flinging your arms around the person you love and hearing “We need to talk”; the pain of breaking the heart of someone you truly care about; the indignation and confusion of being blindsided and having your own heart broken.  I have never, ever seen these moments captured, on any screen or stage, in their full intensity.  It is one of the most private emotional moments a human being can undergo in his/her lifetime, and for the first time, we had cameras on it.  No sappy music, no uncomfortable close-ups, no theatrics — just stationary cameras and silence, as two hearts broke.  It was simply stunning television.  Emmy-worthy, truly amazing television.  I don’t know that I’ll ever see anything like it ever again, unless it’s firsthand (and I certainly hope not to live out that scenario).

I think the best we can hope for in our consumption of media is truly new and enveloping experience — new insight into worlds or endeavors or emotions or personalities that we may know nothing about.  This season of The Bachelorette accomplished all these things and more.  I’ll probably tune in next year in case we strike gold again, but getting to see a beautiful rainbow without any rain feels like a once in a lifetime kinda thing.

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by | August 2, 2010

Dudamel conducts Carmen: A summer night at the Hollywood Bowl

Ah, Hollywood Bowl, how I love thee.  Nothing says summertime quite like a beautiful evening of food and music at the LA’s premiere outdoor venue (sorry Greek Theater).  Last night, I was fortunate enough to enjoy my 4th concert of the summer at the Bowl (3 more to come…), and it was one that will surely stay with me for a long time.   As the sun set into the hills, I took in a beautiful concert version of Bizet’s Carmen, courtesy of the L.A. Philharmonic, conducted by their energetic 29-year-old maestro, Gustavo Dudamel.

Dudamel had the audience in the palm of his hand from the moment he stepped onto the stage — the thunderous ovation he received at the end of the concert was louder than for any of the artists I’ve seen at the Bowl this summer, perhaps ever — captivating the masses with his passionate and masterful conducting.  His entire body was infused with the emotion of Bizet’s lyrical score –  whether he was violently stabbing to signal an immense staccato finish, wiggling his head as his two-stepped to a jaunty refrain, or communicating the power of a passage with only the movement of his eyes and smile for bars at a time, Dudamel was a wondrous virtuoso to behold.

Of course, his enthralling performance would mean nothing if it didn’t translate into beautiful music, but the LA Philharmonic surely did not disappoint.  They were as crisp and dynamic as any live orchestra I’ve ever heard.  The flautists and buglers in particular caught my ear, but the ensemble as a whole was simply divine.  It can be very difficult to convey changes in dynamics in an outdoor, microphone-dependent venue such as the Hollywood Bowl, but despite this obstacle, the LA Phil did exactly that.

On the vocal front, the orchestra was accompanied by the terrific L.A. Master Chorale, who brought the perfect amount of gusto to their chorus parts without stealing focus from the instrumentalists or lead singers.  A handful of kids from the L.A. Children’s Choir got in on the action too, and they sounded lovely, if unremarkable.  If I have one gripe, it’s that I wasn’t totally impressed with leading lady Natscha Petrinsky in the titular role.  She was resplendent in her red, one-shoulder gown, and her high notes were lovely, but I felt she was a bit bland for what should be a real firecracker of a woman.  I also though the notes in her lower register sounded unsupported and weak.  Her counterpart, Yonghoon Lee as Don Jose, was the exact opposite.  I thought he brought terrific anguish and emotion to the role and I mostly loved his voice, though he sounded slightly strained at times on the higher notes.  My favorite singers were the three supporting players: Kyle Ketelsen, who stole the show with his rousing “Toreador”, Alexia Voulgaridou, whose beautiful soprano voice filed the air with ease, and Francois Lis, whose rich baritone was a lovely contrast to the other voices.

All in all, it was as enjoyable and rousing an opera as I’ve ever seen, in an idyllic setting on an ideal summer evening.  Can’t do much better than that for a Sunday night.

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by | July 26, 2010

Mad Men – Season 4, Episode 1: “Public Relations”

Mad Men is back, and as usual, it’s back in style.  We were dropped right into the action, barely missing a step from last season’s shocking finale.  We find Sterling Cooper Draper and Price in full swing, Betty and the kids living with her new beau, and Don living in, what seems to be, his true natural habitat.

A couple of quick thoughts:

1. I thought Joanie was going to get some more burn now that she’s a heavy-hitter for the new company.  It’s only one episode, but I’ll be sad to see her relegated to secretary again.  She’s got a lot more to offer than just at-home drama with her dick husband and some unfathomably sexy eyebrow raises.

2. Betty Draper cemented her status as my favorite character on this show last year, and she held her ground in last night’s premiere.  January Jones has her down to a friggin T, and it’s been an absolute delight to watch her descend into the selfish, defiant and vindictive woman she’s become.  I’m sure there are plenty of fireworks in store…

3. Sally Draper is set to become a major player this year.  She was terrific in spots last year, and as Kiernan Shipka matures from a little kid into a young adult, so too will her storylines mature and hold more weight (and screen time) this coming season.  She’s certainly one to watch out for.

4. Wasn’t crazy about the quiet debut of new guy Joey (played by Matt Long, who I really liked on WB’s short-lived Bobby & Jack a few years ago).  Why is Peggy working with this clown?  Shouldn’t she be above having some newbie partner by now?  Hopefully this dude will have more to do than just make up for the other guys we left over at the old Putnam, Powell and Lowe.

5. Loved seeing Don Draper in his bachelor den.  It’s clear that this is his true nature — having his food cooked for him, meager furnishings, no one to answer to, and a call girl on speed dial.  But how long will it last?!

6. Really loved seeing Don’s groundbreaking commercial for the floor cleaner — I thought it was a very interesting historical study of the evolution of advertising.  It’s always funny to remember/realize that someone had to invent that type of commercial one day.  Fascinating.

There are so many beautiful directions this season can and will go.  And there’s the truest mark of a show well executed: we all can’t wait to see what happens next.

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