Things I will miss about “Mad Men”

This past weekend, AMC’s 60s-centric tv drama darling came to an end after a successful seven seasons. The 70s arrived, along with some much needed change (if can that actually be said) for our boy Don Draper… Or should I say, Dick Whitman. There are a lot of things I will miss about this show, but here are my top reasons:

• The authenticity towards the decade and changes. You know how in some movies and tv shows set in a particular time period seem to kind of plaster on a couple of features that define the decade (for instance, bouffant hair and splashy patterns) and say, “hey! we’re in the 19___!” without actually delving into specifics too deeply? Now, Mad Men probably wasn’t perfect (although it sure seemed like it), but when it was 1967, you could tell it was 1967. A big difference from how things looked in 1963. Matt Weiner did an incredible job in connecting the show with the events of the time, and making us nostalgia all over the place.

• The costumes. I will never get over how amazing the costumes were. Janie Bryant is a marvel; without her direction, none of the characters would be who they really were, nor would there be cryptic symbolic meanings to look for behind each of their clothing, which made the show all the more interesting (see: Tom+Lorenzo.)

• Sally Draper’s development.  She goes from being the cute kid wearing a plastic dry-cleaning bag to a smart-talking, independent young lady, looking after her younger siblings. Given the developments in the final episodes, I have no doubt she’ll turn out just fine. But I really would love to know how she will get along with her father in later years.

• Anything ridiculous that comes out of Pete Campbell’s mouth. This was my favourite line of his this season.

• Watching Peggy Olson continually smash the glass ceiling. Because we all know that’s what she was truly meant  to do.

• All of the characters, really. You either love em or hate em. They weren’t entirely good and they weren’t entirely bad either. t was their flaws that made them compelling, and made you want to tag along to see what they were going to do next.

How I will miss it!

Top image from here

Seen and heard this month

Seen: 

What babe???

Lots of baby. My exposure to them has been limited up to this point, but because my 6 month old nephew is visiting for the month, it’s gone through the roof. I feed, sleep, sing, dream, and play baby.

Orange biscotti. Made this the other week to try out, and it turned out fairly well. With the chocolate, kind of like a cookie version of Terry’s Chocolate Orange.

This is Where I Leave You. I heard that it was a good movie, and you know what? It was! A pleasantly touching family-oriented movie featuring Tina Fey and Jane Fonda, minus the usual s[cr]appy schmaltzy stuff. I was especially surprised by Jason Bateman’s performance, because his role was so much more real and different from his usual dry and sarcastic characters.

Magic in the Moonlight. Ok, Woody Allen’s movies are not for everyone. But I happen to like the look of the 1920s (or any period piece movie for that matter), so automatically I would be into this sort of film. Not to mention… It’s set in the south of France. *swoon*. In the movie, not only have we got a magician (Colin Firth) trying to debunk a young psychic’s (Emma Stone) abilities, but we have plenty of (enviable) romping around the sunny French countryside, along with some hip 1920s parties going on. And while the idea of a 50+ man setting his sights on a 20 something young woman (and vice versa) may be somewhat unappealing, I still thought it was a cute movie. Come on… It’s Colin Firth. Exceptions can be made. I wonder how many women would make that exception?

Agent Carter. Oh me, oh my, we needed this tv show. It’s truly a breath of fresh air in the male-dominated world of action heroes. The best part? Peggy’s her own hero: she has her own kick ass fighting skills, rather than put-upon super powers. In a time where women had a second place in society, Agent Carter makes up for it. The second best part is that she does it in red lipstick and heels.

Francis. A creepy animated short I came across earlier this month. Interestingly enough, I went to the park that’s mentioned when I was 17 on a canoeing trip; it’s a good thing this video didn’t exist back then, otherwise I’d probably have been freaking out the entire time.

Currently reading: Jane Austen’s Persuasion. I’ve only read a few of Austen’s novels (P&P and Sense and Sensibility), and I found them to be somewhat of dense reads, but Persuasion I’m liking.

Heard: She and Him Classics. Hey, good music liiiiiiives.

A is for Apple. Ok, it’s not essential to listen to (it’ll give you ear worm!), but this is my nephew’s favourite tune, and therefore, I have been listening to it/singing it to him on a frequent basis. The good thing is–for me, anyway–it’s a tune I don’t really mind having stuck in my head.

Clearly, it’s a David Bowie in Labyrinth kind of day.

Working Girls: period piece tv shows about women and their failure to stay afloat

If there’s any show that would interest me on television, it would have to be something of a period piece. The Canadian-made Bomb Girls was that show. It’s a Canadian drama, focusing on a group of women from different backgrounds who worked in a munitions factory during the Second World War. It got brilliant reviews–for a WWII era show, it was complex and different. Its characters had intriguing story lines, and they all gave a fascinating perspective of life in Toronto (yay) during the War, for women who worked in the factories. I thought–and maybe we all did–that the show was doing quite well.

Sadly, after a mere two seasons,  Bomb Girls was cancelled, due to poor ratings. (I also blame that damn reality show Survivor). This  left its many fans saddened and confused–my self, included. Why, oh why, would they cancel a show with so much promise and a part of history that has had so little focus on?? There’s supposedly a tv special to air later on to wrap up ties–while it is better than nothing, alas, it is also not entirely satisfying.

I started this piece a while back because I was sad to see Bomb Girls go. In fact, I still think it has a lot of life left in it. It just got me thinking, with all the male dominated period piece shows, where are the ones for women?

I only know of a few other shows in recent years that have featured working women in different eras (no, that does not include Downton Abbey, unless you count budding journalist Edith Crawley. Besides, DA more about the relationships). Pan Am, for one, featuring stewardesses in the ’60s, was cancelled after only one season. Another would be Land Girls, a show that ran on the BBC for about three seasons, about women working the farm fields during WWII.

Obviously these are only just a few shows I know of. (If you of any others, throw em out there to me.) And sometimes, things just don’t work out: Low ratings, poor reviews, the writing, etc. But If you look at shows such as Mad Men, Murdoch Mysteries (a fictional Canadian show with decently accurate historical background), Boardwalk Empire, Copper, and–oh heck, let’s say Hell on Wheels (ignoring the fact that two of them are on AMC)  they do significantly better, and go on for ages. And if you really want to go further, Ripper Street. Obviously, the writing/acting/directing/networks play a huge factor, and even though it’s only Mad Men I watch (I’m going to use it as a prime example), they all seem to do pretty well.

And yes, Mad Men has some very prominent female roles. But if it was a show aimed at women–focused on Peggy, rather than Don–would it last as long? I’m thinking not likely. If were a show for females, the angle of the show would be entirely different.

 Mad Men is certainly complex, and is certainly more gritty in how it portrays life in the 1960s… But that’s why people like it. (Not to mention it helps being on an award winning network.)

The episodes of Bomb Girls and Pan Am certainly had some complex characters and plot lines–so, what happened? (although I will say for Pan Am, things were a tad glamorized in some parts.)

Right now, amongst other things, there is a significant gap in the number of period piece shows aimed at women. (Actually, are there any?) We should have more historical dramas on tv that are focused on the work women did; whether it’s set in Canada or United States or wherever, these shows highlight historical points in time where women had made significant achievements. The plot lines may be fictional, but the roles these women had in society aren’t. They lived it.

These stories should be focused,  even if it is through something  like a television show.  Or even movies. Besides, it’s kind of fun admiring the costumes.