"Mad Men" Concludes Season 6 (SPOILERS)

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE RECENTLY CONCLUDED SEASON #6 OF "MAD MEN."  IF THE FINAL EPISODE(S) STILL AWAIT YOU ON YOUR DVR, YOU MAY WANT TO COME BACK TO THIS POST AFTER YOU WATCH THEM!

Here is what happened to Don Draper in Season Six of "Mad Men":

• He drank a lot.
• He had a very dangerous affair with the downstairs neighbor, who was part of a couple with whom the Drapers socialized.
• He got dumped by said neighbor/mistress, whereupon he became a spurned stalker of said neighbor/ex-mistress.
• Completely on his own, he forged a merger with a rival agency of Sterling Cooper Draper Price.  (I mean, could something like that possibly happen in real life?)
• He was the subject of scornful and cutting comments by co-workers - Pete, Peggy, Harry, Stan (the guy with he beard) - who used to fear him.
• He drank a lot.
• He hooked up for a one night stand with his ex-wife.
• He resumed affair with his neighbor, only to be caught in flagrante delicto by his daughter.  Talk about icky!
• Spent a night in a jail drunk tank.
• He stopped drinking, only to be told to drink again before a big pitch meeting.
• Completely blew the big pitch meeting.
• Made Megan quit her job because they were going to move to California.
• Changed his mind about moving to California, whereupon Megan walked out on him.
• Got fired by Sterling Cooper & Partners.

I'm sure I've left out some other stuff, too.

I guess that Season Six could be subtitled "Don Draper's Descent Into Hell."

So, when does Season Seven start?

Catching Up As the TV Season Winds Down

We came back from our Hilton Head vacation last week to a DVR that was almost, but not quite, 100% full, so much of our free time since then has been spent catching up on these recorded episodes of our must see TV shows.  

Here's a recap.  As usual, no spoilers.

The Americans.   I have not written about this FX series, because I discovered it almost by accident.  The show takes place in Washington DC in 1981.  It is the first year of the Reagan Administration, and the USSR, while they may not realize it, is on the verge of extinction.  It revolves around Philip and Elizabeth, a seemingly normal suburban American couple with two kids and their own small business.  However, they are really Soviet spies who have been embedded in America in order to spy for Mother Russia.  Now, I have read that there were such people (and probably still are), that the USSR - and the USA - planted such spies in normal everyday society.  I also have read that such people often led fairly mundane lives as far as the spying business goes.  Not Philip and Elizabeth, though.  They are incredibly busy spying for the motherland, and often with very violent and deadly results.  The star is Keri Russell, the sweet-young-thing star of the series "Felicity" back in the late '90s.  Well, sweet she ain't in this show.  She is ruthless, cold-blooded, and completely without conscience as she does her duty for the KGB.   Some jaw-dropping violent scenes from Ms. Russell.  Also, since FX is a cable network, the show also offers at least one steamy, albeit gratuitous, sex scene in each episode.  To that end, I nominate actress Annet Mahendru, who plays Soviet spy, Nina, as one of the, and I hate to use the word because it sounds so juvenile but I can't come up with a better one, hottest young ladies on TV.

Anyway, we like the show, which concluded it's first season this week with the requisite cliff-hanger ending.

Mad Men.  We are now four episodes into this season of Mad Men.  Don Draper has reverted to his hound dog ways, a complete and total cad, to use an old fashioned word.  This season takes place in the year 1968, a remarkable year in our history, and those events, the Martin Luther King assassination, for example, are being woven into the plot lines.  I suspect that the Robert Kennedy killing will be in an upcoming episode, perhaps as early as this week.  To me, the show is at its best when it is taking place in the SDCP offices.  Don is still the smartest guy in the room, Pete Campbell is still loathsome, Christina Hendricks is still spectacular to look at, and Roger Sterling still gets the best lines in the show.

Person of Interest.  This show is coming perilously close to jumping the shark for us.  Each week the stories involving the Machine (who built it, who is controlling it, who is trying to control it) become more convoluted and the whole thing just screams of writers making crap up as they go along.  Same for which cops are crooked and which cops are not.  Were it not for the charisma of star Jim Caviezel, I think we would have bailed on this one earlier in the season.  As it is, we will stick it out for tonight's Season Finale, and make a decision over the summer as to whether we want to resume with it in the Fall, although we probably will.

Elementary.  This reworking of the Sherlock Holmes story, which places Holmes in present day New York City and gives him a female Watson is one of our two favorite new shows of this past network TV season.  Johnny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as Watson are very good in their roles and play off of each other well.  Season Finale is tonight, and we are definitely on board for next year.

Vegas.  This is the other show that we both really like.  The story takes place in Las Vegas in 1960 as the Mob comes in to take control of the casino business.  Dennis Quaid as the Vegas rancher reluctantly turned sheriff, and Michael Chiklis as the Mob Guy from Chicago are both really good.  The bad news is that while this show has been well received by the critics and does OK in the ratings, it seems that it is not being watched by the coveted 18-34 year old demographic, and it appears that CBS will probably cancel the show.  Too bad, because, we really like this one, but I guess our "demo" is just not what the CBS Bigdomes
want.  Season finale is tomorrow night, and I hope that someone miracle will occur to let this series see another season.

I will also mention two shows that I do not watch, but which are favorites of Marilyn's, The Good Wife and Grey's Anatomy.  Mrs. Grandstander reports that The Good Wife remains a solid show, and that while Grey's has held up over this season, if a certain event hinted at in the previews takes place in tonight's Season Finale, she may just possibly be done with this one.

And on the lighter side, I see where ABC is bring back Wipeout for the summer.  Now that, my friends, is quality television!

The "Mad Men" Season Finale

Please be warned that if you have not yet seen all episodes of the recently concluded Season Five on "Mad Men", the article below may contain some spoilers.  Read, then, at your own risk!

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We didn't realize it as we watched it, but this past Sunday night's episode was the season finale of "Mad Men".  That 12 weeks sure went fast.

Anyway, while this finale lacked the thrills, chills, mayhem, and craziness of "Hawaii Five-0", I'm not quite sure what to make of it.  It was a rather dark and brooding episode. In fact, the entire season was somewhat dark and brooding, but one thing is certain, the ending of Season Five makes you look forward to Season Six to see just what in the hell is going to happen next.  And it wasn't totally ridiculous as some other series finales (again, see "Hawaii Five-0").

Here some questions, comments, and thoughts on Season Five.....

• Don seemed to find a degree of happiness and contentment with Megan that he never had with Betty, but, in giving Megan something she wanted, will it jeopardize that new found contentment?
• Looks like the partners will be getting new office space next year.
• Loved the scene of Lane's widow telling Don and the rest of Sterling Cooper to pretty much stick it where the sun don't shine.
• Pete Campbell is still the ultimate sleazy character, and it looks like he now realizes that his behaviour has cost him any shot at a happy life.  Will he change with that realization?
• Roger Sterling still gets the best lines of any character on the show.
• Joan Harris may always have been the smartest person in the entire Agency, so I'm glad she made partner, but I STILL can't believe what she did to get there.
• Similarly, I always liked Peggy, so I don't want to see her role lessened.  The finale showed that she will still be a part of Don's life.
• Betty Draper was and still remains a first class bitch.  Frankly, I wouldn't be sorry if she and Henry did something like move to California to work for Governor Reagan and were never heard from again.

Okay, I an guessing that Season Six will pick up some time in 1968 with Viet Nam, the King and  RFK assassinations, Chicago Convention, and Dick Nixon playing in the background.

Looking forward to it.

Opening Day and Other Thoughts

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box on Opening Day while listening to the great Bob Dylan on the iPod:

• Opening Day for the Pittsburgh Baseball Club. Today, all things are possible. Not probable, but most certainly possible.


• Perhaps the most memorable quote from Spring Training came from Bob Nutting when he told that team that starting in 2011 "incremental progress will not be acceptable." Personally, and maybe I've just been totally beaten down by this bunch, I would be thrilled to see even "incremental progress" by the Pirates in 2011. Lord knows we haven't seen any such progress during the PNC Park era.


• I am guessing that that "incremental progress" quote will be thrown back at Nutting more than once as the season progresses.


• Setting a moderate goal, I said back in December that if Clint Hurdle could coax 70 wins out of this team, he should be Manager of the Year. That would be a 13 game improvement over 2010, so what the hell.... 70 Wins or Bust in 2011!!!


• When I am looking for a specific game score or result, the crawl at the bottom of the screen on ESPN is terrific. When I am not looking for a specific score or result, the crawl is extremely annoying.


• Just finished reading "True Grit" by Charles Portis. Had I read this novel when it first came out in 1968, I'm not sure that I would have thought "Wow, this would book make a great movie."


• Next on my reading list: "Branch Rickey" by Jimmy Breslin, and "Rawhide Down" (about the assassination attempt on President Reagan) by Del Quentin Wilber.


• Speaking Bob Dylan, my issue of the AARP Magazine (insert appropriate smartass comment here) arrived yesterday, and it includes a feature story commemorating Dylan's 70th birthday on May 24. Yes, Bob Dylan will be 70 years old next month!!


• Tonight is Fantasy Baseball Draft Night. I have the first pick in the North Park League draft, which I earned by finishing last in 2010. Just like in real baseball, all things are possible on Draft Night. I can tell you that Albert Pujols will be my first round selection tonight. After that, who knows?


• Readers of this blog know my abysmal track record making sports predictions, but last October 26, I predicted that the NBA Finals would be contested by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Bulls (you can look it up). As of this morning, the Lakers are #2 in the West and the #1 team in the East is none other than the Chicago Bulls. Still a lot of grass to mow until the Finals, but How 'Bout Them Bulls?


• Purchased the DVD set of Mad Men Season 4 yesterday. Looking forward to settling in with that.


• Bad news is that Mad Men Season 5 won't start until 2012. Will jumping an entire season mean jumping the shark for this great series?


• Welcome news for North Hills residents in the PG today. Cinemark will be building and opening a new, modern 12 screen movie theater complex in McCandless. Finally, modern comforts and amenities for movie goers in the North Hills, and good-bye to the dumpy Rave (formerly Showcase) Cinemas on McKnight Road. The bad news is that this complex won't be open until Fall, 2012.


• I am looking out my window as I type this and watching it snow. Wish I could say "April Fool's" to that one, but it is all too true.


• Enjoy the Bucco Opener today. Eighteen - and counting - seasons of ineptitude can't stop you from being a fan. Let's Go Bucs!!!