Mad Men Finally Returns
For fans of AMC's Mad Men, like myself, this past 17 month hiatus could not end fast enough. The longing for today's season 5, 2-hour premier reminds me of my high school days of loving certain music bands or TV shows with feverish dedication.
With all the constant tasks and worries of adulthood, I never thought any TV show could hold such a special place in my mind and heart. But I am not alone. Creator Matthew Weiner's masterful, layered storytelling leaves many watchers salivating for more. And the 4 Outstanding Drama Emmy awards attest to that.
This intimate look into the lives of several people during the 1950-60's at a Madison Avenue ad agency offers an incredible amount of character study, style, drama, wit and superb writing as well as acting.
For over a month now I've set my DVR to record anything with keywords "Mad Men" and "Jon Hamm". No talk show nor entertainment show fell through the cracks.
I'd heard of a couple of Jon Hamm sightings around town, but until this month, I hadn't had the pleasure of seeing this elegant, impeccable star in person.
Finally that wish came true, and twice. Another item to come off the bucket list. And yes, he is unbelievably handsome, charismatic, intelligent and funny in person - not so much the dark Don Draper persona fans are used to.
The first sighting occurred at the Friends With Kids opening night at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood.
I took so many photos that both of them made eye contact a couple of times.
I felt it was my duty to share the joy with others.
I actually set my alarm and got these tickets seconds after they became available. The effort paid off. This amazing event easily warranted the skipped (deferred) dinner in order to get good seats.
These days with media omnipresent, it amazes me that no details of the new season leaked out. I consider it a gift from Matthew Weiner to welcome fans back with surprises.
He gave a a passionate and interesting talk about his vision for the show.
The tone was clearly set by moderator Elvis Mitchell that discussion and questions for the panel would center on the past, not the upcoming season.
The format also gave equal attention to all cast members, not just on the main characters.
Although our seats were on the Mezzanine level, with the aid of zooming in with my camera, the photo opportunities somehow were better. The Paley Center kindly allowed photos as long as we didn't use flash or take videos.
The event began with the audience watching last seasons finale, Tomorrowland. I loved watching it on big screen. Knowing what we know now, there was quite a bit of foreshadowing about Don Draper's unexpected marriage proposal to his secretary, Megan.
The actors came out one by one, ending with January Jones and Jon Hamm.
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| Mad Men cast - click on photo to enlarge it |
Much to my disappointment, both Elisabeth Moss (Peggy) and Christina Hendricks (Joan) had other commitments which prevented them from attending.
Both seem so different from their characters, it would have been great to hear them in person. In any case, the rest of the cast did not disappoint at all.Hamm was glad the season ended on a hopeful note for Don, who spent most of the season in a downward spiral.
Weiner talked about shooting the actors' reactions to this impending marriage news, then switching back to Don's big smile.
Kiernan Shipka, who plays Sally Draper, clearly is one of the most poised and articulate young actors I've ever scene. She maintained perfect posture, composure and gave great responses to every question.
Weiner asked her whether Sally is more like her mother or father, to which Shipka replied "I think she's more like her own person". The audience wildly applauded and Sommer added that we'd applaud all night if we applaud every smart comment Shipka makes.
I think she will look back on this experience years later and marvel at the depth of role and interaction with such strong actors.
This season, Hamm makes his directorial debut in episode 2, and also serves as series producer. As usual, he displayed gratitude and humility for these honors.
John Slattery recapped some of his funnier and outrageous scenes, including the Season 3 "blackface" scene, as well as "riding the girl in her underwear singing cowboy sings".
Aaron Staton (Ken Cosgrove), Rich Sommer (Harry Crane) and Jay R. Ferguson (Stan Rizzo) seemed to have a good time, nursing some beers along with their water.
Sommer talked about Harry turning into a douchebag because he's no longer under anybody's thumb and reiterated that it will still be a show about Don Draper but "Harry just might have more important places to go when he leaves a scene".
Ferguson also identified with the douchebag behavior for his character.
January Jones discussed how much fans dislike Betty, saying people run away from her on the street and worry about her being a mother now.
Weiner discussed Betty's infantilization which leads to some of this behavior but defended Betty's decision to fire Carla (the nanny) even though she should have let Carla say goodbye to the kids. He also added that slapping one's children was not unusual behavior for the time.
He made several comments about her beauty, comparing her to Grace Kelly, which brought a smile to Jones' face. She looked extraordinary considering she recently had a baby.
Jared Harris (Lane Pryce) discussed how lucky he felt to continue with the show and Robert Morse (Bertram Cooper) expanded on his character's respect for Asian culture and management style.
Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell) added a bit of humor and insight into his character's rise to Partner of the firm, as well as his dynamics with Draper.
Weiner mentioned that he has a visual for the last scene of the show, but has not worked out the plot. The current plan and contract is to end on the 7th season, so as to not overstay their welcome.
He mentioned that Draper will age well (which is a given - just look at him!).
As much as I love the show, I do believe in ending on a high note and know that Weiner will bring it to the rightful conclusion.
The cast ended by signing autographs on the programs for quite some time. I stood sort of paralyzed watching Hamm. By the time it registered that we could go down to the stage for a closer look, he'd already gone.
Either way, I have the whole season ahead of me to relish each and every move. Mad Men season premiers today, Sunday 3/25 9/8c on AMC.
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