Velroth is ethier a well paided member of the American TV Union or a really big advocator of television dramas, In Velroth's Grindhouse he'll show you the best that Amercian TV has to offer. Catch him every week discussing a new show.
Mad Men -
A term coined in the late 1950s to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue.
They coined it.
Mad Men begins in 1960 at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on New York City's Madison Avenue. The show centers on Don Draper, the agency's creative director, and the people in his life in and out of the office. It also depicts the changing social mores of 1960s America. Mad Men is the best show on television right now, and it has one of my favorite opening themes . Hell, I love this show so much I bought this lighter.
Mad Men’s strongest aspect are the characters, so let’s meet the employees of Sterling Cooper:
Don Draper – The hero(?) of the story. Don is the creative director and a junior partner at Sterling Cooper, a successful advertising agency. He is considered an asset to the company as he has considerable talent for understanding the desires of others and selling ideas to them. On the outside, Don is the model 1960’s male; handsome, strong and suave. Inside though, Don is a confused, broken mess. He is married to Elizabeth "Betty" Draper and has two children; he has a history of infidelity that includes several mistresses. Though Don cares for his family, it is implied that he is unsatisfied with his life and marriage to the point that he questions whether or not he loves his wife. His past is a complete mystery to both the characters and audience, but it is slowly revealed throughout the series through flashbacks and people from his past showing up at his doorstep.
Pete Campbell – Pete was born in New York City to an upper class WASP family. His mother, Dorothy Dyckman-Campbell, is a member of the elite Dyckman family, which owned most of upper Manhattan prior to 1929. Pete seems to view Don as both a mentor and a hindrance to his advancement within the firm. Pete’s desire to have Don’s job makes it so he is not above stealing advertising ideas from fellow co-workers, and documents off of Don’s desk, which causes friction between the two men.
Roger Sterling – Roger's father was the Sterling in Sterling Cooper, which explains why his name is before Cooper's. He is Don's boss and best friend, and is well liked and respected with everyone in and outside the firm. He's as much as a womanizer as Don (perhaps even more of one), and he served in the Navy during World War II. He drinks more than McNutty and The Bunk combined.
Elizabeth "Betty" Draper – Betty is Don’s wife and mother to his two children. She was a professional model when she met Don, and even rejected his advances when they first met. It was only when Don bought her the fur coat she wore during a photo shoot when she decided to go out with him, and they shortly got married. Don affectionately calls her “Birdy”. Like how Don is the model 1960’s male, Betty is the model 1960’s housewife on the outside. And like Don, she is broken on the inside (considerably less than Don however). When the series begins she starts seeing a psychiatrist, unaware that Don is asking the psychiatrist to tell him everything she has said during sessions.
Joan Holloway – That’s not a joke, that’s the best way to describe this character. Seriously. Fine, here’s a more detailed one: Joan is the office manager of the Sterling Cooper advertising agency. Her primary responsibilities are to manage the girls in the secretarial and steno pool. She is also seen during meetings between the heads of departments, taking notes and reminding the male staff of their duties to their clients (like keeping in touch with clients by telephone and keeping track of account details that may affect the client's budget). Embodying the role of femme fatale, Holloway is a role model for all the female office workers and mentor to the naïve Peggy Olson.
Peggy Olson – Peggy grew up in a strict, lower-middleclass Roman-Catholic family in Brooklyn, and is the newest female employee at Sterling Cooper, joining the firm just after graduating from a respected secretarial school. At the start of the series she is naïve and innocent, working as Don Draper’s new secretary. Since working with Don, Joan and Pete, her innocence has slowly faded away.
Mad Men is returning for a third season on August 16th, and I highly recommend you guys catch up on the first two seasons so you can watch season 3 with the cool kids.
Nostalgia.
It’s delicate, but potent…
Teddy told me that in Greek, nostalgia literally means the pain from an old wound.
It’s a twinge in your heart, far more powerful than memory alone.
This device… isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine.
It goes backwards, forwards.
It takes us to a place where we ache to go again.
It’s not called the Wheel.
It’s called the Carousel.
It lets us travel the way a child travels.
Around and around and back home again, to a place where we know we are loved.
- Season 1, Episode 13: “The Wheel”Season 1, Episode 13: "The Wheel"
No comments:
Post a Comment