Recovering with Mad Men
I've spent a large part of my recovery so far watching the first season of Mad Men. Why did no one ever tell me it was this good?? I had somehow gotten the impression it was full of despicable people doing despicable things to a couple of halfway decent people and getting away with it because it was edgy, or something--so basically that it was exactly like Peggy's rant in 1.12 about horrible people doing what they want and innocent people suffering the consequences--but it's not like that at all! Well, not 90% of the time, anyway.
At first, I was all, "Peggy, I like you so much, and you are the beacon of decency in this workplace, but please grow a backbone." And then she had backbone bustin' out all over! She told off that sociopath Campbell! And got made a copywriter! Holy crap!
Not realizing she was pregnant was a little...hmmm...but whatever. I'm sure that won't come back to haunt anyone...
Loved watching that weasel Peter Campbell get what was coming to him. Don's mysterious backstory turned out not to be that interesting on its own, but I did like how it was used to completely undermine Peter in a way that was very surprising to me.
The interchangeable junior dudes are all kind of fun, if increasingly lecherous. Just when I thought one was decent--Kenny, cool writer boy! or Harry, adorable dork!--then they would sexually harass someone or have an affair, but I guess I knew that was coming. I kind of think Paul is my favorite, but I'm not sure.
Joan I like, although she edges a bit toward Peter's end of the sociopathy scale at times--nowhere near his level, of course, but she's certainly Machiavellian, isn't she? I didn't expect that from the first episode, but I like it.
Don...is there? I don't have a whole lot of feeling about him as a character, but I appreciate that he's the nexus around which everyone else swirls. Betty I think we're supposed to feel pretty ambivalent about, which I do, especially after her comment that Sally getting a scar from the car accident would be worse than her dying, because damn, woman. Please tell me Sally grows up to become a hippie war protester. (Okay, no, don't tell me anything, but I can dream.) Helen Bishop intrigues me and I hope we come back to her at some point in the next season. I really like that we're getting a reasonably multifaceted look at femininity with these different characters--honestly, they're more different than the male characters.
(As an aside, I'm amazed Matthew Weiner hadn't read Revolutionary Road prior to creating this show, because Betty is so much like April.)
Finally, the history buff in me appreciates the use of real sixties products and ads, and the way they occasionally get integrated into the larger storylines. The Kodak carousel segment in the last episode was very well done, I thought.
The rest of my recovery is proceeding about like I should, as far as I can tell. It's slower than the last one, but I had more done and 36 hours in the hospital this time, so there's that. I'm not going to worry about weaning off the narcotics until Monday. I have a bruise the size of my palm on my forearm from the IV, but surprisingly little bruising around the four lap port sites. Walking is going well, especially if I remember to wear the abdominal binder I asked for in the hospital, and if I do it at certain points in the metabolization of my pain meds, let's just say.
This entry was originally posted at http://icepixie.dreamwidth.org/977656.html. It has
comments over there.
At first, I was all, "Peggy, I like you so much, and you are the beacon of decency in this workplace, but please grow a backbone." And then she had backbone bustin' out all over! She told off that sociopath Campbell! And got made a copywriter! Holy crap!
Not realizing she was pregnant was a little...hmmm...but whatever. I'm sure that won't come back to haunt anyone...
Loved watching that weasel Peter Campbell get what was coming to him. Don's mysterious backstory turned out not to be that interesting on its own, but I did like how it was used to completely undermine Peter in a way that was very surprising to me.
The interchangeable junior dudes are all kind of fun, if increasingly lecherous. Just when I thought one was decent--Kenny, cool writer boy! or Harry, adorable dork!--then they would sexually harass someone or have an affair, but I guess I knew that was coming. I kind of think Paul is my favorite, but I'm not sure.
Joan I like, although she edges a bit toward Peter's end of the sociopathy scale at times--nowhere near his level, of course, but she's certainly Machiavellian, isn't she? I didn't expect that from the first episode, but I like it.
Don...is there? I don't have a whole lot of feeling about him as a character, but I appreciate that he's the nexus around which everyone else swirls. Betty I think we're supposed to feel pretty ambivalent about, which I do, especially after her comment that Sally getting a scar from the car accident would be worse than her dying, because damn, woman. Please tell me Sally grows up to become a hippie war protester. (Okay, no, don't tell me anything, but I can dream.) Helen Bishop intrigues me and I hope we come back to her at some point in the next season. I really like that we're getting a reasonably multifaceted look at femininity with these different characters--honestly, they're more different than the male characters.
(As an aside, I'm amazed Matthew Weiner hadn't read Revolutionary Road prior to creating this show, because Betty is so much like April.)
Finally, the history buff in me appreciates the use of real sixties products and ads, and the way they occasionally get integrated into the larger storylines. The Kodak carousel segment in the last episode was very well done, I thought.
The rest of my recovery is proceeding about like I should, as far as I can tell. It's slower than the last one, but I had more done and 36 hours in the hospital this time, so there's that. I'm not going to worry about weaning off the narcotics until Monday. I have a bruise the size of my palm on my forearm from the IV, but surprisingly little bruising around the four lap port sites. Walking is going well, especially if I remember to wear the abdominal binder I asked for in the hospital, and if I do it at certain points in the metabolization of my pain meds, let's just say.
This entry was originally posted at http://icepixie.dreamwidth.org/977656.html. It has
comments over there.