Mad(lib) Men

What's inherently dramatic about advertising? Because this is a field that I would not have guessed to be overrepresented on the TV. Melrose Place (Heather Locklear), Sex and the City (Kim Catrall), ...um... Seinfeld? (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss). Whatevs. Point is, Mad Men does is better than anyone else. How, you might ask? Easy. One of these things is going to be in any scene, which is either awesome on its own, or because of the whole meta, isn't-it-funny-that-it's-in-every-scene thing:

• Smoking
• Drinking
• Joan

Here's the thing - I've only been watching the second season, and I don't even care what I've missed. I'm sure there's a ton of backstory, but who cares! Don Draper clearly hates himself, and he's mean to January Jones. Self-loathing that manifests itself in sabotaging one's own marriage? You had me at "self-loathing".

A well-deserved Emmy in my book. Also, Zoe Bartlett is surprisingly, surprisingly good. Ehh what the hell, here it is again - "surprisingly". Not that I've been unimpressed before, but wow, she absolutely nails that character. She's like a ninja that's behind on the bills and has to work as a temp to pay the bills - "I could whump all yall punks, but I'm stuck here with a stapler, Microsoft Excel, and a crushing amount of personal crap. But for real, I will destroy you all."

Lastly, mad props to The Onion AV Club and their blogging of MM. I never went to film school, so I use the AVC to learn about things like "direction" and "subtlety" and "lighting". First rate work, guys.

Bringin' Messy Back

After an extended hiatus (let's not bicker and argue about how hiatused who), TayVay is back! Mostly because I love television, but mostly mostly because I need practice writing. So here goes with some quick thoughts:

• It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is the best show - hands down - you're not watching. Better than Dexter, better than The Office, better than 30 Rock, better than Mad Men (barely). It's Seinfeld for the cursing generation. Danny Devito is a weak spot, but Caitlin Olsen is vastly underrated.
  
• My dad loves Two and a Half Men because, and I quote, "Charlie Sheen is really good at playing Charlie Sheen". This is like saying you like going to the dentist because "people who drill holes in my teeth are really good at drilling holes in my teeth".
• Pushing Daisies is overrated. Prove me wrong (and show your work).
• If you could resurrect any Star Trek series, which would it be? I was leaning toward TNG, but then I realized that Marina Sirtis' juggernaut of a career would probably keep it from happening.
• Mad Men is very, very handsome. More on this later.

Lastly, I've invited my pal Peter to join me here at tayvay. Partly because he's a fellow lover of television, but mostly because he's a much better writer. Viva el Pedro! Let's hope he accepts.