Season Six Streaming!

Mad Men season six is now available to watch instantly on Netflix! Do it!

Season Seven Soon

I've been missing Mad Men since the minute after the last episode of season six aired. Finally, season seven begins April 13, and in the meantime I'll just watch this trailer over and over.  By the looks of things we're getting closer to the end of the 1960s and maybe into the 1970s. Betty's got the bouffant, Pete's going baldish, and of course Don looks exactly the same. I'm tempted to over analyze; I'm sure there's meaning behind the fact that two characters are smoking, some are holding luggage, and Roger Sterling is the only one sitting down. I'm also convinced it's significant that they're flying TWA, the troubled airline that merged with American in 2001.  But this isn't LOST, and trying to theorize at this point (or any point, really, if Breaking Bad taught me anything) is a little silly. As long as I know Stan Rizzo's fringed jacket is back I'll be happy.

Mad Men returns in 19 days. By my count, that means if you haven't watched yet you only have to watch four or five episodes a day until then to get caught up. Shouldn't be a problem.

I'm Just A Dude Who Loves Girls

Last night, the third season of Girls came to a close. It’s been my favorite season so far, and I can’t believe how quickly these 8 episodes flew by. It seemed like just yesterday we were picking Jessa up from rehab, and here we are today, wondering if she’s murdered a woman or not (cliffhanger!).

It’s been nice watching Hannah and Adam function as a comparatively normal couple this season. It was nice seeing Hannah get that job writing those ads that look like articles in GQ, and it was nice seeing her get the fuck out with some integrity, kind of. Of course it was nice seeing Adam do something with himself, even if it meant keeping Hannah at a distance.

Then there's Shoshanna Shapiro, ("S as in Sam, H as in Hank, A as in Apple, P as in Paltrow...") who has always kind of been my favorite, probably because I identify with her the least so she makes me the least uncomfortable. Her dropping those truth bombs on everyone at the beach house was possibly the highlight of the season for me. Her glassy eyed attempt to get Ray back was sappy and cliche-ridden (“You make me the best version of myself…”) but it’s totally believable coming from Shoshanna, who probably studied every romantic comedy in her collection to put together her appeal to Ray. And though it felt fabricated, it also felt sweetly sincere. Which made Ray’s response all the more heartbreaking, possibly because - and I’ll give full credit to Brandi for pointing this out to me - he thinks he has a chance with Marnie.

Fucking Marnie. She’s been struggling to keep it together, grasping at straws and sometimes straight up manipulating her way into some kind of situation that she feels she has control over. I’ve been wincing along with her failed attempts all season, yet I’m still wincing when her plan to come between Desi and his girlfriend seems to be successful. Fucking Marnie.

So what can we expect from season four? Will we have split settings, with some of the time spent with Hannah in Iowa, while everyone else lives their life in New York? That may seem awkward, but considering how little some of the characters interact with each other this season, it could work just fine (by my count, Hannah and Jessa only cross paths three times this season: when they pick her up from rehab, at the beach house, and when they celebrate Adam’s success in the hotel.) I’m also wondering if that’s the last we’ll see of Adam. With rumors of him joining the cast of Star Wars (which is set to start shooting in May) will he have the time? Personally I’ve loved watching Adam growing from a super intense and kind of creepy weirdo into super intense and pretty lovable weirdo. It seems like he’s finally had enough of Hannah, and judging by the last scene of last nights episode, she’s finally happy to move on without him. I doubt he’ll return in any major way, maybe just for a phone call or two. I love the guy, but I’m okay with seeing him go, especially if it allows my boy Ray to take up a little more screen time.

True Detective and Women

As I briefly mentioned yesterday, I’m obsessing over True Detective the same way everyone with HBO is. I don’t need to tell you why it’s so great, you’ve either already heard or already written it off, I assume. I watched the first five episodes in fairly quick succession, and I was ready to bestow the mantle of “Better Than Breaking Bad” on it, when it was pointed out that some people feel that it’s depiction of women is less than great. It’s always a bad feeling when I find out something I like is found questionable, as if I am guilty by association. Instead of repeating what I’ve read or defending the show, I’ll just link to these two articles. The first by Emily Nussbaum from the New Yorker, the second from Britt Hayes at Screen Crush. I think both make valid points, but I especially like Hayes’ piece. Of course, I would, because it puts me at ease and validates my thoughts that just because women are treated poorly on the show, it doesn’t mean they’re treated poorly by the show. I still wonder though. I mean, I think I know what the makers of True Detective are trying to say, but are there still a  bunch of jerks out there who think the depiction of tough guys and submissive women is cool, and something to aspire to? What do you think?

"This place is like someone's memory of a town, and the memory is fading."

I’m so bad at keeping up with this. Rest assured, I am watching just as much TV as usual, the stuff I’m watching just isn’t easy and fun to write or talk about. Except True Detective, which is a goddamn masterpiece. Unfortunately I didn’t start watching until it was a few weeks in, or else I would have probably wanted to post about it. I’m sure there will be a True Detective post eventually.

I’m not making any promises, but I’m going to try and post a little more, especially with Game of Thrones, Veep and Mad Men(!) returning. I think I’ll do it a little different, and probably just write a few thoughts and supply some links to recaps and articles from other sites. It’s all about the comments section anyways, right?

So is anyone out there? What have you been watching?

Thoughts on the Walking Dead mid-season finale...

Spoilers abound! Hit the jump for some short thoughts that I pretty much just copy and pasted from an email.

Too Many Shows!

Ironically, I saw this tonight while I was trying to clear space on my DVR.