Mark It Down: 'Mad Men's' Season 6 Starts April 7

Breaking news for my Mad Men peeps: On April 7 it shall begin.

It'll be a two-hour extravaganza on AMC.

Season 6 of Mad Men in all its dark and twisty glamour.

Don Draper, Roger Sterling, Peggy Olson, Megan Draper, Betty Francis, Joan Harris (or did she drop Harris for Holloway?), Pete Campbell et al. return and delve even more deeply into the 1960s. (Take a long look at Petey-boy's groovy sideburns.)

Can't.

Wait.

Image credit: AMC via Huffington Post.

Leading TV Actors Ponder Their Craft & Professional Embarrassments

Reporters from The Hollywood Reporter sat down with two groups of leading dramatic TV actors who were surprisingly willing to talk frankly and openly about their work, the challenges of their craft and their own foibles, sometimes in gruesome detail.

Representing the female actors were The Good Wife's Julianna Margulies, Homeland's Claire Danes, The Closer's Kyra Sedgwick, The Killing's Mireille Enos, Mad Men's January Jones and Shameless' Emmy Rossum. Their male counterparts included Mad Men's Jon Hamm, Homeland's Damian Lewis, Parenthood's Peter Krause, Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, Touch's Kiefer Sutherland and Boss' Kelsey Grammer.

I found it curious that the tone of the round-table discussions between the women versus the men was starkly different. Whereas the men seemed to be jovially trying to one-up each other with gross and embarrassing tales while they munched on snacks (like cubes of cheese), the women were deferential to one another and had flowers instead of food on the table in front of them. (The men are allowed to eat but the women weren't?)

My favorite parts of the discussions:

• January Jones said that people she sees on the street give her grief for Betty Draper's bad parenting.
• Jones said appearing as "fat Betty" during the fifth season of Mad Men was a pain in the neck due to all the prosthetics she had to wear.
• Peter Krause admitted to once suffering from sudden gastrointestinal problems while acting on stage in a play.
• The Good Wife, Julianna Margulies, struggles with being the "good girl" on her show's set even when she doesn't think she needs to be there all the time, particularly for scenes where she has no lines. Her quote seemed very Katherine Heigl to me, almost a cry for help: "There are days when . . . I had worked until midnight and then I had to go and shoot something else at five in the morning. I looked at my husband and I was like, 'This is why Judy Garland was on pills. I can't keep this up. I need a pill!'"
• Jon Hamm was once told he'd never make it as a TV star.
• Damian Lewis related an anecdote about getting injured on stage -- sustaining a wound that required multiple stitches -- during a sword fight with Ralph Fiennes yet he continued to act as he bled profusely from the face.

 I completely concur with a person who posted a comment on YouTube after the interview with the panel of women who said that this was a fascinatingly interesting discussion, a model for what these types of discussions should be, as opposed to the vacuous fluff that passes for interviews these days.

Matt Weiner, 'Mad Men' Cast Talk About Show, the New Season, the 'Rules'

In a new video Mad Men creator/writer Matt Weiner, along with cast members, ponder the meaning and impact of the series, as well as its informal "rules" and what viewers can expect in the upcoming fourth season. But alas, no spoilers, no real info about the season -- like when it takes place for example -- other than Vincent Kartheiser, who plays Pete Campbell, joking that we'll see Don Draper au natural.

An interesting thing about this video was that after Weiner said Mad Men is about "human weakness and impulse," he made an analogy between the characters and criminals who wantonly flout the law and do whatever they want. In the end, however, he said, "Crime doesn't pay." (Former Sopranos writer is he.)
Also of interest, both Weiner and January Jones say that Betty Draper's a woman "who probably shouldn't have had children."

'Mad Men' Creator and Stars Analyze 'The Gypsy and the Hobo'

Watching the AMC video below -- featuring interviews with Mad Men creator/writer Matt Weiner, and stars Jon Hamm and January Jones -- doesn't really answer fundamental questions about the impact of Don's admission of his life of lies to his wife and whether Betty's going to leave him or try to make it work. If anything, it spawns more questions:

'Mad Men' Week Takes Over Talk Shows

Mad Men week continues here on Suburban Mom as Jon Hamm and Mad Men takes over TV talk shows. But in order to catch the promotional interviews, you've either got to plan on staying up late (in one case getting up early) or setting your DVRs . . .

Mad Men's leading man, Hamm (who plays Don Draper), is slated to appear on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien today, August 11.

Hamm is also scheduled to appear on Good Morning America and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, August 12.

On Thursday, August 13, Hamm is listed as a guest for Live with Regis and Kelly, on the same day as Kate Gosselin, which is an unusual pairing.

On Friday, August 14, January Jones (who plays Betty Draper) is expected to also visit Jimmy Fallon.

Image credit: Frank Ockenfels/AMC.

Mad Men Season 2 DVDs & Killer Vanity Fair Photos

I've spent the past couple of days marinating in Mad Men's second season DVDs in preparation for a column I've been working on. And, I must say, as a Mad Men fan, I found the DVD extras to be insightful. There are a bunch of audio commentaries on the disks which not only illuminated characters and plotlines, but also confirmed some of Mad Men fans' suspicions about why show-runner Matt Weiner had certain things happen.

For example, Jon "I'm Don Draper" Hamm said that the one of the main themes of the AMC show's sophomore season was about the evolution of the female characters, about "these women finding their place and finding their power." While commenting on the season two premiere, Weiner said that Betty Draper (January Jones) was trying to figure out the value -- in hard currency -- of her housewifedom and determine whether being a married, at-home mother was a form of prostitution. "I love this idea," Weiner said, "'What are we worth?'"

On the audio commentary for the episode "The New Girl," (otherwise known as the one where Don gets into a drunk driving accident while the Odious Bobbie Barrett's in the car, and Peggy bails them out of jail), it was fascinating to hear actress Melinda McGraw, who played Barrett, express her shock at how much "people hated Bobbie Barrett." She speculated on why there was a double-standard for Bobbie's cheating versus Don's, calling her character a female version of Don the debonair.

The disks also included a two-part documentary about the evolution of the feminist movement, using the women of Mad Men as a jumping off point, putting the show into historical context. (If Weiner sets season three in 1963 -- he hasn't yet divulged the year -- this Newsweek piece provides some details on what historical events transpired in 1963 that could be woven into the Mad Men narrative.)

Meanwhile, the media (myself included) are working themselves up into a frenzy leading up to the August 16 season three premiere:

-- Vanity Fair just released a long article about Mad Men and included some killer Annie Leibovitz photos of Hamm and Jones that should sell a lot of copies of that magazine. Smokin'.

-- New York Magazine had a three-article package about the show, including a shout-out for the snake-like Pete Campbell and a guide to the show's first two seasons.

-- And after seeing the slate of Mad Men events slated to occur in New York City in the next week, I'm kinda wishing I lived in NYC to attend them.

Image credit: Annie Leibovitz via Vanity Fair.

'Mad Men' Season 3: Spoiler Photos

For those of you who can't wait until August 16 to see a peek of new Mad Men season three goodness . . . you can whet your appetite by going to this web site to see some a few photos of Don and Betty Draper (Jon Hamm and January Jones) that provide a few clues about third season developments.

Meanwhile, E!Online has a few hints about what's in store for Sterling Cooper, courtesy of an interview with John Slattery who plays Roger Sterling.

'Mad Men' & 'Revolutionary Road:' A Sisterhood of Suburban Misery?

I walked into the film Revolutionary Road (starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio) with the notion in my head that it would be very similar to Mad Men. When it wasn't -- tones were vastly different, characters motivated by different things, etc. -- I thought that my frame of reference was off, that I shouldn't be comparing the film and the TV program.

But once I started watching Mad Men's first season again on DVD, it smacked me in the face: The two female leads, Kate Winslet's April Wheeler and January Jones' Betty Draper, had comparable, soul-crushing experiences. Both were college educated, had lived in cities, had careers and then . . . the melancholy settled in. My weekly Pop Culture & Politics column over on Mommy Track'd compares the two characters.

Image credits: Long Island Press and AMC.

Mad Men Wins Golden Globe for Best TV Drama

Now if the folks at Lions Gate will just sign Matt Weiner, the guru of Mad Men, I'll feel better about season three of our favorite AMC drama.

It's a shame that Jon Hamm and January Jones didn't go home with statues as well, but you can't have everything.

Image credit: Reuters.

Golden Globe TV Nominations: Mad Men!

Finally! January Jones, who regularly knocks it out of the park as the betrayed suburban housewife and mother Betty Draper on Mad Men, finally got some props from the people in the business of doling out awards.

When the Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning, Jones, along with the delicious Jon Hamm who plays her cad of a husband Don Draper, were officially placed on the shortlist to receive awards, as was their AMC show in the drama category. (Hamm won for best actor the last time around, as did Mad Men for best show, but because of the writers' strike and the canceled awards ceremony, Hamm was robbed of his chance to make a speech.)

Other TV standout nominations: HBO's intense therapy drama, In Treatment, received the most award nominations of any show at five, including one for the therapist in chief, Gabriel Byrne and one for best drama.

Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and 30 Rock are up for awards in the comedy arena, up against fellow NBC show The Office.

Brothers & Sisters' matriarch, Sally Field and Rachel Griffiths, who plays Fields' daughter, were nominated in the drama category.

House, as well as its star, Hugh Laurie also received drama nominations.

Shut out of the award nominations: Anyone from Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and, one of my favorites, Big Love.

Anyone left off the list who you think was robbed this season?

Image credit: AMC.

'Mad Men's' Jon Hamm Doesn't Want to Know What Don Draper Would Do

Jon Hamm is featured in the December issue of In Style Magazine as its "Man of Style."

While Hamm, who stars as Don Draper on the award-winning Mad Men, waxed on about his childhood (his mother died when he was 10) and about growing up in Missouri, he also discussed style and Mad Men.

Saying he loves to read and that his preferred drink is bourbon, when asked if he ever thinks "What would Don Draper do?" Hamm said, "No, I don't think I'd like the answer -- he might tell me to do things I might not bounce back from."

Mad Men co-star January Jones, who plays his wife Betty Draper, said of Hamm, "He's a very intelligent, kind man, whose charm and looks are just a bonus. Jon's bringing 'gentleman' back."

Image credit: In Style Magazine.

'Mad Men' Monday: Meditations in an Emergency (Season Finale)

I adored the absolute cleverness in this last episode of Mad Men. First, there was the title, Meditations in an Emergency, which was also the title of the book of poems Don read at the end of the first episode of the season. (I've got to read that book!) Second, there was the duality of emergencies. There was a meta emergency that unnerved everyone; the Cuban Missile crisis was creating palpable fear of nuclear war. Then there were the emergencies in the Mad Men world that spurred both seeking (and receiving) redemption and second chances in the midst of the potential end of the world.

For the Drapers -- estranged this season after Don's behavior devolved into a dark, sometimes violent place and Betty finally gave him the boot -- it was the fact that Don finally opened up his heart and made himself vulnerable, as well as the fact that Betty allowed herself a meaningless sexual encounter with a stranger in a high-end bar that made a reconciliation possible. Betty's pregnancy wasn't, much to my relief, the reason for the Draper family's reunion. If that were the case, I don't think much would've changed between Don and Betty. He would've felt as though SHE needed him and not the other way around.

But it was through the poetry and sadness of Don's letter to Betty -- reflecting the poetry in Frank O'Hara's Meditations -- that I think sealed the deal for Don's return:

Dear Betty,

I'm sitting in the Roosevelt, looking at the backs of Bobby and Sally's heads as they watch TV. I'm not letting them change the channel because watching the news makes me sick, and they can see it.

I think about you, and about how I behaved, and I regret. I know it's my fault you are not here right now. I understand why you feel it's better to go on without me, and I know that you won't be alone for very long. But without you, I'll be alone forever. I love you.

Don

Add that to the fact that he showed up on Betty's turf -- the stables -- to plead for Betty to allow him to come home, and to tell her that HE needed her and I honestly couldn't see how Betty wouldn't take him back. As they attempt to rebuild their broken relationship in season three, how much truth will Don give Betty? Will he give her the gift of allowing her to really see him for who he is? Will his metaphoric rebirth through baptism in the Pacific Ocean really change how Don deals with his marriage?

Another emergency-theme that faced our Mad Men favorites was the desire to be redeemed and confess before a Russia-U.S. nuclear war incinerated New York City.

After being accosted by the creepily aggressive Father Gill who threatened Peggy Olson with hell if she didn't come clean with God, Peggy instead decided to confess giving her baby up for adoption to the baby's father, the wormy Pete Campbell just after he confessed that he was in love with her (as if that was breaking news). As Peggy slowly and deliberately explained the aftermath of their liaison ("I had your baby. And I gave it away."), she seemed to get lighter as the weight of the secret came off her shoulders. But as that burden was transferred from Peggy to Pete, Pete seemed to shrink under its weight. Now the next move is in Pete's hands, as we're left to wonder if, in season three, he'll continue to remain married to Trudy, who wants to adopt a child (because she can't have one), now that he knows he can father a child and has expressed his love for Peggy.

Taking one step back from the individual story arcs, the the fate of Sterling Cooper as it is swallowed up by a British company is left uncertain. Will our favorite characters stick around? Start their own firms? Will Duck Phillips run Sterling Cooper into the ground as he continues to drink 24/7?

What did you think of the season finale? Did it live up to the hype? What are your hopes for season three?

Image credit: AMC.