Together on Tuesday: Riveting Television

So here's the thing:  I don't get nearly the amount of time that I'd like to read.  Like, read books.  ADULT books.  Not books with rhyming words or books about mischievous little monkeys.  Like Stephen King books.  And Kurt Vonnegut books.  I...well, I just don't have the time.

That's probably a lie.  I probably DO have the time.  You always make time for the things that are important to you.  Like when I say that I don't have time to go to the gym.  I did LAST year when it was important to me.  But now my priorities have shifted and I'm nurturing other sides of myself.  And the reading side and the gym side are starving.

That being said, I am the kind of person who 1. LOVES sleep and 2. LOVES to read a book from beginning to end in one night.  See how those two things don't mesh well?  The only time I really have to read is before bed.  And at the ripe old age of 31, staying up for an entire night to read a book is out of the question.  I have a full time job and on the weekends, I'm doing family things and artsy things and playing outside and drinking wine on the patio.  We have a rule at our house:  NO reading on the patio.  You drink.  You play instruments.  You sing along with songs.  You have good old fashioned fun INTERACTION.  Our patio is not for quiet introspection.  It is for talking until you cry or laugh or punch something and getting it all out in the open and maybe, just MAYBE, coming to terms with your life and your issues.  If you want to be alone, our patio is not the place to be.

But this isn't a post about my patio.  It's a post about reading. 

That was also a lie.  This post is not about reading.

"And you know what the worst part is?  I never learned to read!!!" 

Three bonus points to the first person to Name That Movie.  :)

This is a post about television.  You know, what I do when I COULD BE READING?!?

Much like I like to read books in one fell swoop, I prefer to watch a television series after it's already aired and has been released on DVD so that I can watch the episodes back to back.  Preferably multiple seasons so that I can totally engross myself in the series for weeks on end.  You know...so much so that the line between the 1960's and today becomes so blurry that I start to think that keeping a bottle of whiskey at my desk and lighting one smoke off of another are perfectly acceptable to society.  I like to study characters and their motives and sympathize with drug dealers because "they were doing it for their families and they weren't killing people."

I guess what I'm really saying is that I like to be crazy.  In a nutshell, I guess that's it.

Enter:  Don Draper.



(photo courtesy of AMC)

I actually have 2 series to write about, but I'm only writing about one today.  I'll finish this up tomorrow with the second one.  I feel I'm too long winded, especially when talking about something as psychologically engaging as Mad Men, to write about 2 series in one post.  The other series is equally as engaging, but on more of a sociological front.

I know that I'm not the first person EVER to write a blog entry on the ins and outs and ups and downs and juicy details of Mad Men.  I'm probably not even in the top 100,000.  But I may be in the minority because I write from the perspective that I HATED this show when I first tried to watch it.  All of the philandering.  All of the cheating and lying and smoking and fixing problems with alcohol (okay, maybe I wasn't too upset with the last one).  The disrespect toward women.  The content of these women that they were either sex objects or they were workhorses.  There was nothing in between.  If you were a woman in this show and you had an opinion, you were looked down upon.  The fact that Don Draper seemed to have it all and still wasn't satisfied.  Roger Sterling and Joan Holloway disgusted me.  Pete Campbell and his snide ass-kissing attitude had me up in arms.  And Peggy.  Oh, Peggy.  Get a freakin' makeover. 

But I kept watching.

And I kept watching.

With every passing episode, I'd look over at Chris when the credits were rolling behind those haunting songs that seemed to fit so perfectly with the plot and say, "I think that was probably my last Mad Men episode."

But then the next night would come.  And I'd watch it again. 

And before I knew it, I was all the way through the first season.

Don Draper is a fascinating character.  He has his character flaws which make his character even that more likable and ultimately believable.  I sympathize with him.  I hate him.  I love him.  I quote him all the time ("Our worst fears lie in anticipation.").  I think he is wise.  I think he is horribly ignorant.  And this is the way that I like to feel about television.  I like to feel REAL feelings.

I want to be like Joan, only I don't want to be like her.  She is sylish, strong, she knows (mostly) what she wants out of life.  She isn't afraid to speak her mind.  And her flaws also make her a believable and trusted character. 

Roger Sterling is probably my favorite character.  He's...ballsy.  He takes risks and he doesn't think of the consequences in advance.  I love that he divorced from an unhappy marriage, although I don't love the immediate reasons.  He is funny and inappropriate in an unapologetic way.  He makes no excuses for who he is.  He is upfront about his motives and pays no mind to those who disagree.  I love him as a character but would hate to know him in real life.

I can't stand Pete Campbell.  He's a crybaby and has more sense of entitlement than anyone should EVER have.  That is all.

Peggy.  Oh, Peggy.  I...don't even know what to say.  I never know what she's going to do next.  To me, she is probably the most unpredictable character on the show.  We all know that the men are going to do business, drink, smoke, and get laid by whoever is willing.  The women are either going to sleep with their bosses or get married and have babies.  With Peggy, you just don't know.  Is she a lesbian?  Is she straight?  Will she leave SCDP?  Will she stay?  Will she keep seeing the weirdo guy who put her job in jeopardy?  Will she sleep with Don?  Will she be mad at him?  Does she respect Joan today?  Will she take all of her clothes off in front of a male coworker in a hotel room to prove her point? (The answer to that is YES.) Wayyy tooo many questions with Peggy.  She always keeps it interesting.

This series has shown me a different era in a whole new light:  reality.  This is how it was in that time period.  A man's office was his home away from home and what happens in an office STAYS in an office (until you marry it).  Women weren't respected.  Blacks weren't respected.  Jews weren't respected.  Gays weren't respected.  The white man was in charge and the dollar ruled New York City.  It also shows just how far we've come (and NOT come) as a society.

The psychology of this series keeps you on your feet.  I love the predictability of some of the characters, but I am amazed by the overall unpredictability of the series.  I haven't watched the Season Five premiere, but I'm sure it's just as amazing as all the other episodes.

What are YOU watching these days?  Are you a Mad Men fan?  No?  Why?

Now go on over to Michelle's blog and read her Together on Tuesday post.  It's probably about books because she knows how to read. :)