The West Wing in Ten Episodes - Part 1

Aaron Sorkin's Newsroom is returning on HBO soon, so now is a good time as any to talk ab bit about his great work, The West Wing.

A tweet from a political scientist led me to Buzzfeed's 10 best West Wing episodes, and I found I disagreed with a lot of it.  Though, rather than do my own top 10 list (filling in early Christmas episodes and "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" and "Two Cathedrals" doesn't leave much space), I thought I'd follow AV Club's model of:

“The 10 episodes that best represent a TV series, classic or modern. If you watch those 10, you’ll have a better idea of what that series was about, without having to watch the whole thing. These are not meant to be the 10 best episodes, but rather the 10 most representative episodes” . 

This is you would use to show what this show is about to someone who's never seen it, like an alien or a foreigner, or an alien foreigner. 

Here are 1-5, in chronological order:

1. “Five Votes Down” Episode 1-04

Bartlet opens the episode in front of a banner proclaiming “Practical Idealism” which was a theme of the entire series, or at least the first part of Jed’s administration. Sorkin wrote the show as a “valentine to public service.” Part of this was showing the toll it takes on the personal life, and that’s not better represented than when Leo’s wife leaves him. He even admits to her that his job is more important than his marriage. The sense of duty permeates the rest of the series.  Not only that but it showed motivations of different politicians Josh and Leo whip for votes seeing hold outs for reasons petty and noble. Ultimately Leo’s political foe, the vice president, offers Leo to attend his own AA meeting when he worries Leo may relapsedue to his impending divorce (oh yeah, they are both alcoholics!).  Hoynes also helps his own agenda by getting the final vote the Bartlet people need, ultimately getting all the credit.  For all their efforts the Bartlets get criticized for not going for a stronger bill and do not even get the credit for the bill they desperately worked to pass.

2. “These Crackpots and These Women” Episode 1-05

West Wing had a nerdy fascination with history.  It showed through characters like Sam and Jed and Leo, who created Big Block of Cheese Day. Each staffer took meetings with advocacy groups they normally viewed as “below them” or at least not at the level to swing a meeting at the White House.  Slowly but surely the staffers came around to care about the Plue the wolf or the injustices of the Mercator projection*. And isn’t that what government is about?**  West Wing was there to inspire confidence in government and that one person can make a difference, blah blah blah, Margaret Mead. 

Josh’s survivor’s guilt was introduced and would play a major part in his character. And at Jed's chili party he combines his roles as boss and grandfather to the staff (and country) by exercising one of the perks of the presidency by forcing everyone to come (“Look down at the seal, now back up at me”) but all with the good intention of surrounding himself with the people he loves. It gave the staff a family feel which continued throughout the show especially when one staffer would come under attack. 

* Greenland never seemed to mind.

** No.  Not really.

3. “The State Dinner” Episode 1-07

Even the president and all his men are helpless sometimes.  Believe it or not there's no magic lever for the present to autonomously control the economy, or anything else for that matter.

The staff face crises of the hostage, diplomatic, labor and nautical varieties. In the end, after steering a small ship directly into the path of a hurricane, the president and his staff sit in evening wear around a phone listening to the lowliest sailor on the lowliest ship in the fleet, staying with him until they inevitably drown. Bartlet is so frustrated and angry that he even brings it up during his Latin laced tirade with God a season and a half later (“They say we haven't had a storm this bad since you took out that Tender ship of mine in the North Atlantic last year. Sixty-eight crew. You know what a Tender ship? Fixes the other ships. It doesn't even carry guns, it just goes around, fixes the other ships and delivers the mail. That's all it can do.”)

4. "In Excelsis Deo" Episode 1-10

One of few episodes that eschews politics as the main plot. Until now, Toby’s been the “prickly mumbly Communications Director” but goes out of his way to properly honor and bury a homeless veteran who he never knew but came across by happenstance. A larger issue is at hand regarding veterans’ treatment, and this before we made a whole bunch of new veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The storyline speaks more about human decency than the politics of it, which is really how it should be viewed in the first place. 

A part often overlooked is Mrs. Landingham talking about her sons being killed in Vietnam, which no doubt contributes to why she is so dedicated to her job and duty.

The episode also features a great ‘behind the scenes’ look when Bartlet goes Christmas shopping at the bookstore…behind the scenes being another crux of the series…and possibly the first moment Josh and Donna take off when he gives her a book with a note inscribed.

5. "Take this Sabbath Day" Episode 1-14

Thoughtful and didactic without being preachy, West Wing could elevate mundane policy and everyday social studies vocabulary (the census, a filibuster, the Lend Lease Act) to be compelling television. So when it tackled the emotionally charged issue of capital punishment, it really ran with it.  The episode is rare because there is only one storyline and all the characters participate.  Each character has their own view of capital punishment born out of their background. The episode also takes pains to show Jed’s internal conflict with religion and executing the law, and the larger theme of the president being both a man and an office.

Numbers 6-10 coming soon...

Raw Data: In Care Of - Part 2

This is part 2 of the observations for the Season Six finale of Mad Men, "In Care Of".

Part 1

If you have not seen this brilliant "he was dead the whole time" video essay from Forrest Wickman and Chris Wade on Slate, do check it out.  I had originally planned to write up a general post about the season as a whole, but I do not think there is much I can add now after focusing on Don in Part 1 and watching that essay on Vietnam.

• Don wants another fresh start, to go to California.  Back in Season One he begged Rachel Menken to run off to Paris with him.  He had his walkabout in Season Two, touching base with Anna.  In Season Four, it was the fresh start he needed to begin a new marriage with Megan, and this season Hawaii was the high point for him and Megan.  Go West, young man, and try again...
• The episode takes place sometime between Election Day (Nov. 5) and Thanksgiving (Nov. 28) in 1968
• Did not detect an exact date on the prominently featured correspondence
• The episode may, at least literally, refer to the c/o addressee on the mail and telegram received by Don and Pete
• Figuratively, unsure
• Don pours booze into a coffee cup in what is possibly the first time anyone has bothered to hide or be ashamed of their own alcoholism
• His hand to his face during the meeting is the same reaction he had in the elevator trying to chase down Sally in "Favors".
• Almost like a private moment
• SC & Partners is located at 1271 Avenue of the Americas, but we knew that already
• The Depression era scenes always make me want to give Carnivale another try
• That show was super weird and I did not understand it at all, but maybe I am wiser now
• Don taking his kids to see his old house makes me think of Tony Soprano taking Meadow and AJ, at different times, to the old stone church which takes us back to this this and this
• The church was built by Tony's grandfather who was a stone mason from Avalino
• Tony uses the church to illustrate the value of hard work and to show them the old neighborhood
• It also touches on an early theme of the show which is being in on something from the ground up, while Tony laments he's at the end of the good times.
• I also just really really like talking about the Sopranos
• Both old neighborhoods are now black ghettos
• Sally all but threatens her father mentioning she should tell "what she saw"
• Harry Crane appears long enough to make his "I'm totally straight!" comment of the week
• I remember thinking, "meh, that didn't really warrant a comment" except to note how out of character it was for Peggy in the work place
• I don't want to think about what weird comments Harry would make about Megan's sleeping attire
• And once I started thinking about this, I though more about the dark and light colors they were wearing
• A contrast which was also noticeable when Ted plead with Don to let him go to California
• Peggy sits in Don's office and her last shot is the female version of it all
• Pete and his brother Bud are understandably angry, but it quickly morphs and it's interesting to see them, uncomfortably, rationalize that they shouldn't spend time or money to bring their mother's alleged murderer to justice.  Neither one of them were too happy with her when she was alive.  In fact, she was so miserable, she made Pete seem sympathetic
• Polar opposite outcome of the end of Season Two, following the sale of SC to PPO
• Don used to be indispensible.  However, he's become more and more disponsible this season, backing away from work and letting other fill that void, in addition to being an outright liability
•  Don removed himself from the process, saying he would only continue to review work because it is his job.  Meanwhile, colleagues more and more went to Ted with their problems.  Not being busy is a good way to get yourself axed
•  At the end of Season Two, Don, who is even allowed to work without a contract, is crucial to the company.  When he threatens to walk away the entire restructuring, with Duck as president, is re-done.  Like with anything, the bigger SC & Partners gets, the less important he, or any one individual, is
• Burt Cooper, the man without an office, willing to take his name off the firm for the sake of sanity, sits in the lobby still reading his newspaper, and wields enormous power.  
• Real power is knowing when you can give some up, at least superficially 
• Cooper still sits with his finger on the button to destroy Don at whatever moment is most convenient to him
• Loved  "Both Sides Now" at the end.  If only because it was on my dad's Folk Favorite's of the 60's and 70s'.   The point is, Don is trying now.
• We had the tapes, not these fancy CDs, and wore them all the way down
• Try to find a better mix of songs, you won't.
• I wish we didn't have to watch promos over the credits, and these songs could just play out, like on HBO.  

Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

Raw Data: In Care Of - Part 1

These are initial observations for Mad Men episode 6-13 "In Care Of."  This is the Season Six finale and is written by  and Matthew Weiner and Carly Wray who on IMDB is billed as "assistant to writers" for the previous twelve episodes this season.

The episode directed by.....Matthew Weiner! who has directed the season finale for each Mad Men season.

I'm going to do this one backwards, a write up first, and then some bullets and observations about the episode.  

All Don's terrible and selfish behavior catches up with him, effectively alienating everyone and everything (sound familiar?).  His wife is walking out the door.  His partners are pushing him out the door.  His daughter wants nothing to do with him.  Even his underlings at work have had it up to their eyeballs with him.

When he's asked to take a few month's leave, and not given a return date, we recall alcoholic Freddy Rusmen in "Six Months Leave" when  he steps into the cab and says "Goodbye Don" knowing his time off means time's up at the old Sterling Cooper.

With all the death imagery in the season premiere, and revisited again, I'm wondering if it refers to Don's career suicide, or at least the end of the life he's led as Don Draper.

The partners ambush Don, earlier than he is even though he's early (for once).  Last time Don wasn't "in the meeting before the meeting" Pete was going to Duck about Freddy Rumsen's alcoholism, and pushing him out.   Here, well, they push another creative type out the door.

Pete, whose indebted to Don for paying his share when the company was going under, and Ted, who is indebted to Don for allowing him the California opportunity, are not in the meeting, either not wanting to face Don or already on their way to the new office in Cali.  Roger, surprisingly, stands with the other partners.  Considering Joan's mere five percent share (at least, that's what Lane suggested she ask for), one would think if Roger had taken a stand against Cutler and Cooper it may have not been possible to push out Don.

Roger clearly didn't fight for Don.  He may have told Don the same thing he told Bert Peterson when he fired him..."No one fought for you."  We saw the converse when Bob Benson was highlighted and about to be deleted when Joan spoke up for him.  All of Don's savvy and con artistry couldn't allow him to continue to treat everyone and the business so poorly.  Bob Benson is the new con artist in the agency.

The creatives are scattered about, with Ted in California, Peggy holding down the fort in NYC and Don going who knows where.  No doubt the account men are relieved to search for one less mood lightener/topic changer every time Don brings up the Vietnam War/whorehouses/whatever with some huge client.  The fact they do as well as they do is a weekly source of amazement.  Had I sat there in Ken's seat, I'd be forced to break into "The Aristocrats" after every one of Don's weird dark lectures, or someone makes fun of 9/11. 
'
Don's stolen an identity.  He's stolen ideas ("The cure for the common breakfast") and he's stolen opportunities (California, from Stan).  Now, he's being honest.  For all of Don's lying and scheming and manipulation to get a foot in the door at the bottom to eventually build a top 30 advertising firm mainly on the back of his creative genius, it is ultimately his conscious about the war and his single most honest moment, in perhaps both his personal and professional life, that pushes him over the red line and out the door.  Don wants the product, at least this product, to remain pure and innocent, without advertising to obscure and manipulate it before it reaches the public.  It feels a bit like Holden Caulfield wanting to preserve the innocence of childhood.  And it's this honest moment that Roger directly questions "Was any of that even true?"

Much of the problems between Don and Megan were left unsaid this season.  But they talk about the chance to get back where they were with the move to California.  Before it falls through, Don has a civil phone conversation with Betty on the phone, with Megan right there, when he affectionately calls her "Birdie".  Betty tells him there that the good can't beat the bad.  (Did Megan have a similar line?  Re-checking this.  Maybe it was Megan who said it)  Maybe it's then that Don realizes, as much as he tries to run and get a fresh start to try to chase that ideal life he can't have, Don plus in the key and enacts the failsafe, putting those final events in motion to walk into the ocean, as foretold in his ad in "The Doorway".

After Don gives the spot to Ted, Megan drops "You want to be alone with your liquor, your ex-wife and your screwed-up kids" on him, though I'm not sure how much Don wants to be around his kids.  Don blase-ly talks about them being bi-coastal and seeing each other occasionally.  It's almost as if Don knew he could try to re-start the marriage in California, but then realized he didn't want to, and gave the opportunity to Ted as both a gesture of good will but as a way to completely sabotage the marriage because he wants to be better and it is easier to completely tear it down than try to rebuild. 

Upcoming Nonsense

Hey - Mad Men and Game of Thrones are both done until next year.  What the deuce are you going to write about?

I'm glad you asked.  On July 14, Newsroom returns to HBO for its second season, and Raw Data posts will begin in a non-"hate watching" fashion, as I sincerely enjoy the show.

Leading up to the premiere is as good a time as any to publish some posts I've been working on for a while regarding Aaron Sorkin, The West Wing and Newsroom, as well as part two of this post.

 Enjoy!

Showrunning

There's currently a debate in television blogs about showrunners, importance of.

An article from The New Republic, written as a reaction to this book and this book, as well as magazine pieces on showrunners, takes the position that showrunners are not to be (solely) credited with the current state of television, and producing responses such as this one and this one.

Showrunners are a curious concept if you think about it.  Here you have someone entrusted with huge budgets and productions, who is essentially an elevated writer.

Craig Fehrman takes issue with how far we've elevated showrunners when discussing shows, or even promoting them and implies that critics and fans do not acknowledge the collaborative effort it takes to produce quality television, as opposed to the sheer will of one man, or more recently, one woman.

Several points raised in the article:

• Using an example from Justfied to extrapolate on the group effort needed to create a memorable scene
• Pointing to higher ratings for Walking Dead and Hell on Wheels compared to Mad Men as proof showrunner turnover produces television just as well as deities like Matthew Weiner

June Thomas of Slate addresses the first point well, citing expediency as a driving factor

And, with some notable exceptions, critics do tend to underemphasize the director’s and cinematographer’s role in producing quality television. But Fehrman’s prescription—that critics consistently acknowledge the complicated interaction of actors, directors, writers, and editors behind every creative decision—is impractical. It’s like saying that reporters covering Google would get a more accurate picture of the way the company creates new products by talking to the engineers, designers, product managers, and marketers who work on them than they do by simply interviewing Sergey Brin or Larry Page. That’s undoubtedly so, but it isn’t obvious to me that it would be a better or more interesting story.

Regarding the second point, Walking Dead and Hell on Wheels have had five showrunners between them in the five combined seasons.  While Walking Dead is the highest rated drama on cable, Mad Men attracts the wealthiest audience in television, which helps drive up the cost of ads without increasing ratings.  And if ratings directly translate to quality, that is news to me. 

Also, Walking Dead suffered it's poorest quality season following Frank Darabont's abrupt departure.  While Glen Mazzara's capable hands took over the show, it did not feel like a smooth transition and took a while (until Season Three) for the show to regain its footing (and get off that farm).  It kind of goes to show that the position itself, whoever is in charge, is that important.

On the flip side, just as a creative and innovative showrunner can lead a successful show, a righteous and condescending showrunner can detract.  The misleading and condescending attitude of Veena Sud cannot be separated from the disappointing grief porno that is The Killing.*

* And that will be the last time we speak of that show

I admittedly follow the showrunners when I pick my shows and I read all the pieces out there interviewing them. My favorite weekly reading (when in season) is the Entertrainment Weekly post-mortem with creator/showrunner Graham Yost, and what I immediately thought of when Fehrman referenced the salt shaker scene. 

Yost, like David Milch and David Chase and David Simon, doesn't put his name on every script, but his fingerprints are always all over them.  Yost credits his crew to the fullest extent he can remember, because there are sometimes when they sincerely cannot remember who came up with an idea.

And isn't that part of being a showrunner?  Fehrman uses the collaborative effort, highlighting other well known well done "lesser" jobs like the cinematographer on Breaking Bad, to show that it doesn't all come from one person...but he undercuts himself because he's highlighted the capable people on staff who are hired by the showrunner and given the appropriate conditions to succeed.  Hiring smart people and listening to them is usually the mark of a good leader.

I often view showrunners like NFL head coaches, but with more control about a final outcome*.  A good head coach is going to higher capable assistants.  If he comes from a defensive background, he may rely more on his offensive coordinator.  If he is a players' coach he may need a position coach to be the disciplinarian.

* NFL coaches can't force their running back to not fumble at a critical time.  Showrunners can choose the exact timing and manner of a major plot point. 

Not unlike the hot assistant candidates for the new vacancies every year, showrunners often hold staff positions on successful shows before getting their own vehicle.  NFL coaching trees are always interesting, and the success of a particular unit often gets that coordinator attention for vacancies.  IN the 1950s, Jim Lee Howell hired Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry to be his offensive and defensive coordinators and played in three NFL championships. 

Glen Mazzara, mentioned earlier, was a writing on The Shield, whose creator had the foresight to hire both Mazzara and Kurt Sutter, who would go on to create Sons of Anarchy.

David Chase, hired both Matthew Weiner and Terence Winter* who run Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire.  More attention needs to be paid to a young writer he fired after being nominated for an Emmy with him, Todd Kessler.  After his firing, Todd and his brother Glenn created Damages.

* Martin Scorsese is a producer on Boardwalk.  Winter wrote the script for Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street which features another good match of Leonardo Dicaprio playing a Rich Guy to the tune of Kanye West music  These are all awesome things.

 Did you like Friday Night Lights?  You may like Jason Katims other show, Parenthood.

Enjoy Spielberg's Band of Brothers?  Writer Graham Yost created Justifed.  Enjoy Justified?  Try Graham Yost's new show (though less involved with) The Americans.

Basically, having information about showrunners and their pedigree is the best way to find shows you'll enjoy.

Homage

In talking about Game of Thrones' "Rains of Castemere", I mentioned the brutal violence and how shocking it was.  The only thing I could compare it to or late was a Justified scene with Constable Bob.

Graham Yost, in my favorite show re-cap article, explained the Constable Bob scene was inspired by a Quentin Tarantino movie, True Romance. 

Here's the brutal, brutal scene. 

I hope folks are digging out their dvds or logging onto HBO Go and re-watching Sopranos.

James Gandolfini will be missed.

Raw Data: The Quality of Mercy

Initial thoughts and observations for Mad Men episode 6-12, written by, Andrew Jacquemetton, who shares a writing credit on several Emmy nominated Mad Men episodes ("Commissions and Fees", "Six Month Leave" and "Blowing Smoke") and you guessed it, Matthew Weiner.  The episode is directed by Phil Abraham who recently directed "The Better Half", the duality heavy episode earlier this season.

• The episode title "The Quality of Mercy" comes from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, in a quote which discusses why mercy is the most virtuous virtue.
• "The Quality of Mercy at 29K" is the title of a favorite SportsNight episode from 1998, where Dan attempts to figure out where to donate money, Dana sees The Lion King on Broadway and the show follows climbers scaling Everest all while everyone tries to scrounge up food.  I could talk all day about it.  It even features "The Weight" by The Band.
• Mercy-ness is next to godly-ness.
•  KEN!
• For all their bellyaching about the hardships they've undergone as account men, their stories focus on degradation and not danger.  Ken already was using a cane due to his car crash which also involved firearms.  Viewers' incredulous-ness at their incredulous-ness is off the chart.  With his family, Ken again highlights the difference between him and Pete where advertising is a part of Ken's life while it is Pete's life. 
• There's an Emmy for best actor.  But there needs to be one for best scene and one for best single line delivery.  The nominees would all be John Slattery/Roger Sterling and the winner would be "Lee Garner Jr. made me cup his balls!"
• The Nixon campaign is heading to a narrow popular victory, but an electoral landslide.  Nixon campaigned (with the help of Roger Ailes) on peace at home and abroad, seizing on the crime epidemic, which has been painted well this season, and promoting law and order (opposite of the disorder of the Dems).  Despite Nixon's "secret plan" to fight inflation, er, end the Vietnam War, it continued through his first term.
• This dates the episode between Sept 20, 1968 (last week's episode) and Nov 5, 1968 (Election Day).  The lack of Halloween decorations and election fever probably put it in early October
• Rosemary's Baby was released June 12, 1968, so that is not much help, but seeing a scary movie in the Halloween season makes sense.
• It's possible Ted was watching an episode of the second television incarnation of Dragnet, but that is only a best guess
•  "Harry's such a pain in the ass" Megan probably never told Don about Harry's behavior regarding her.
• Betty was bearable, even likeable.
• Ted is still a dick to Don ("Feeling better?"), despite being awkwardly found with Peggy  even though it's completely reasonable for Don to feel better later in the day than in the morning.  Passing judgement on the severity of someone's illness is a pet peeve.  
• Ginsberg's description of cranberry-prune juice is hilarious and makes me wonder if they are so good at coming up with great ad techniques for products, be they good or bad or neutral, how effective would they be at  etching these images into consumers' heads so they don't buy a particular product
• The GM guys wanting to stop for lunch on the way to the hospital brings to mind Donna's boyfriend from West Wing
• "I'm just saying if you were in an accident, I wouldn't stop for a beer"..."If you were in an accident I wouldn't stop for red lights"
• Ken totally and hilariously missed Pete's hand due to a lack of depth perception 
• The stairs make another appearance, but nothing was apparently noteworthy.  Sometimes stairs are stairs I guess.
• Ted chastises Don (SCDP) for not being good to their word, which brings to mind Don's attitude toward Mohawk, pre-Heinz
• Bob's leaving the meeting was the best move he could have made, making Pete look petty, and because he already knew he had gotten into the account
• Speaking of Bob, is this him?
• Bob seems to be able to inhabit whatever skin is necessary for a situation
• He has a bit of Don Draper in him, apparently conning his way into a job (like Don)
• He also tries to gaslight Pete.  And takes on a forceful demeanor with Pete, not letting go of his hand and changing is tone to include a certain expectation.  You could feel him squeezing Pete's hand
• Interesting cut from the "blue blood" description to Bob speaking Spanish
• I am not sure if Pete is trying to make Bob an ally or make him grateful to him (Think back to Season One when Don fired Pete and Cooper overruled him, though Don got to re-hire Pete and make him grateful about it).  Or if he is paranoid about what someone who has such capabilities could do to someone like Pete.
• Or maybe he is being merciful.  He is at least by keeping Bob's gay tendency to himself, much like Don did for Sal on their business trip 
• "Servile" is a word I never heard before but was so clearly a great choice coupled with the contempt dripping off Pete's delivery of it.
• Looking for some Bob Bensen/Arrested Development overlaps involving the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mary, and the Seaward
• Sally was making drinks for her parents as early as Season Two's "Flight 1".  I guess that will come in handy?
• Pete's DoD friend got a mention last week.  This off screen character had a part in the Pete-Don-Dick unveil.  And now Pete's in the midst of another multiple identity case
• Glen's coat gets in there with the secretary's boots Pete's suits and Stan's beard and jacket for best costumes of the year
• Mr. Plow, That's my name.  That name again is Mister Plow
• Don is not being super nice, but that doesn't make him wrong.  It's possible for him to be acting in his interest and be correct/be in the company's interest.  Though, probably not merciful.
• If he really wanted to wound Peggy he'd say something like "Do you want your work to be for nothing?" which would bring up erroneous but well traveled idea that she got ahead by sleeping with Don.  If I recall correctly, she brings this up in "The Suitcase" and is actually somewhat disappointed at how preposterous Don thinks it is.  But if she and Ted continue this, it will be even worse because it will be the second time through she's getting ahead by sleeping with the boss...at least that's how it will be viewed
• "My father's never given me anything" Happy Father's Day! 
•  They do this a lot, such as this past Mother's Day.
• The color in the frame when Pete stood outside his office was staggering, especially compared to the drab old, just out of the 1950's Sterling Cooper offices of Season One
• The episode ends with a shot from Requiem for a Dream...Don in the fetal position, possibly a reference to Rosemary's Baby?  If only I'd seen that movie...Or maybe the ad Peggy came up with?

Game of Thrones: Season Three

 Before the final two episodes, we checked in where everyone sat in Westeros, or across the sea:

• Jaime, adjusting to being a southpaw, coming off his recent heel-face-turn is at Harrenhal, but not as a prisoner.  Likely to return to Kings Landing
• Returned to Kings Landing.  Mistaken for country bumpkin before finding his sister
• Tyrion, married to Sansa Stark.  Growing tension between him and the oft-slapee, Joffrey
• Was getting along with Sansa until his family killed her family.  Threatening Joffrey at Small Council Meeting
• Cersei, brooding about the Tyrells and her upcoming betrothal to them
• Has no real responsibility besides tucking her son into bed.
• Tywin, de facto king who sure is pissing off his kids a lot lately though
• Making it clear to everyone who is in charge.  Joffrey is apparently the only one who didn't know.  Sent the king to bed without dinner.

• Bran, Rickon and the Reeds, making their way to The Wall to see Jon
• Through the wall, with a pile of dragonglass
• Jon, making his way over The Wall and through the North, undercover, with the wildlings
• Cover blown, he's back at The Wall, though half a pin cushion as he's filled with arrows
• Sam, making his way back to The Wall with Craster's daughter and her son, killing Others
• Sam's back at The Wall too

• Arya and the Hound, on their way to the Twins
• Abrubt about face as Arya sees the head of her family without a head for the second time.  Goes stabby stabby on some Freys they happen by, the only sense of justice for what took place last week.  
• You have to love the Hound's only objection to her stabbing the guy a billion times was that she didn't tell him she was going to do it
• Brotherhood without Banners, in the Riverlands doing their thing 
• Nothing from them.

•  Stannis, cursing the other kings.  Seeing visions in the fire
• One king down.  Melisandre's next vision in the fire tells them to go north to The Wall, following Davos' relaying the raven
• Davos, let out of jail finally
• Almost back in jail, AGAIN.  Saved by the above mentioned fire.

• Theon, weiner-less, getting tortured by, apparently, Roose Bolton's men 
• Yep, Bolton's men.  Essentially disowned by his father once he got a package from the Lonely Island crew.  Yara's coming though, little brother

• Robb, making babies, on his way to the Twins for his uncle's wedding and to secure the Freys, then to attack Casterly Rock
• This Wolf is no more.  It has ceased to be.
• Catelyn, concerned that the delay in reaching the Twins will further insult the Freys and risk their tenuous relationship 
• She is expired and gone to meet her maker.  She is late, stiff and bereft of life  

Season Three had the difficult task of finding a natural end point for a story that has 400 more pages to tell.  It is astonishing the crew has been able to adapt the material as well as they have, expediting storylines and combining characters, but still getting the same effects as the source material.  While Season's One and Two capped off their own stories, the time between Season Three and Four willfeel more intermission-like.

So that's it for Season Three.  It's been thirty hours of television of the highest quality, on a show where we are still waiting for something good to happen.  But we hope for next season, which is to begin filming next month.

Watching for casting news for this show is more fun than with any other show, and I may even set a Google alert for "Oberyn Martell". 

Hodor.

Raw Data: Favors

These are initial thoughts and observations for Mad Men episode 6-11, "Favors" written by Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner and directed by Jennifer Getzinger, who did "For Immediate Release" earlier in the season.

• The episode concludes on September 20, 1968
• At the end of the episode, several different characters are watching television.  A few clues in the conversation like "intelligence" "governor" and "extended finger into the Pacific" give it away.  What sounds like "Garret" is actually "McGarret."  They are watching the pilot episode of Hawaii Five 0, aired on that date on CBS.  
• We're about at the point where The Wonder Years takes place.  The first episode of Wonder Years is set at the start of the school year in 1968.  Winnie's older brother has been killed in Vietnam.
• 1968 was the highest casualty year of the war in Vietnam.  By over 5,000.
• The Wonder Years broadcast 20 years after it was set
• Speaking of other media set in the 1960s, the scene where Don and Art are having drinks it sounds like this is playing in the background
•  The "daed si lauP" theory doesn't seem to hold in this episode which has Megan interacting with a plethora of characters
• Bob, don't go for Pete.  You can do better.
• And, how about Pete's completely blase reaction to him?  One would expect Pete to pitch a fit.
• Also perplexing is why Pete would believe anything his mother would say about Spanish Tom Buchanan 
• Compare this rebuff from Pete to the rebuff from Sal to Lee Garner Jr.  While the client-advertiser relationship is different than that of junior partner-account exec., it's still a wildly different reaction
• I don't thinks this is the whole story on Bob, and I think he may even be not gay.  I think he has a larger con going on.
• Bob was a lot more forceful with that scene, ordering Pete to "Sit Down!" 
• It is almost like Bob is trying to incite a certain reaction from people by acting differently to each one (Joan, Ginsberg, Pete)
• Or maybe he's just a red herring
• Don made a very clear statement "War is wrong" that we haven't heard him make before
• Peggy is sitting home alone with a cat, which her mother advised her to get and replace as they died every 17 or so years.
• Pete's apartment is much improved.  He seems to have accepted he's there for the foreseeable future.  Though it's not clear anyone else knows that.
• A while back I read that Matthew Weiner likes to incorporate people's real life talents in the show (and I'm trying to find an article stating that).   It came on the heels of the episode where Joan plays the accordion because Christina Hendricks can play the accordion.  So I always think of that when I see Ken Cosgrove tap dancing or Roger Sterling juggling and think it's some random thing the actor learned in their years
• Ironically, Jessica Pare is not a dancer
• While Don tested the water to see if anyone at GM had connections that could help his friend in question, they all shift uncomfortably in their seats, silent, knowing their business at the moment is reliant on all those kids, like the one Don is talking about, being shipped overseas for fodder.  But GM doesn't want want to admit it, or even think about it.
• Isn't Pete's friend at DoD the same friend he involved with Don's background/desertion?

Raw Data: Mhysa

Initial thoughts and observations for Game of Thrones episode 3-10, "Mhysa" written for television by Benioff and Weiss, and directed by David Nutter, of last week's episode where nothing happened.

This is the Season Three finale.  

• Big fat wrongness on the three weddings in the final three episodes.  Joff and Margaery will have to wait until Season Four.  Too many threads to wrap up or lead into next year to do a big production for the social event of Westeros, if Cersei's seventy seven courses are actually featured.
• O'er the ramparts watched Roose Bolton at the mayham and destruction continuing outside the castle upon the Northern army.  His mere appearance is enough to make you grit your teeth.
• The conversation between Bolton and Walder Frey, as they discuss their new positions in the realms leads you to believe if it hadn't been one thing that led them to betray Robb, it'd be another.  It wasn't for lack of want that would prevent it but the assurances of their betrayal's success and spoils afterward.  Once they received those from Tywin, all bets were off.
• Bolton mentions Robb ignored his advice at every turn, but the best case shown where Bolton advised Robb was to allow Bolton's bastard to retake Winterfell, rather than Robb needing to do it himself.  And Robb took that advice.  So there's quite a bit of resentment there (no kidding) built of in Bolton
• It's amazing how, despite all that's happened to her in Kings Landing, Sansa can maintain any sense of innocence, conveyed when she earnestly explains the prank to Tyrion.
• Give a lot of credit to the actress playing Yara when she and her father receive a package postmarked from Lonley Island.  She communicates much like one of the new characters in the brand new season of Arrested Development.  Then, she takes a crew and voiceovers us into one of the most badass threads for next season
• Maybe it was just the pictures in my old CCD workbook, but the blue Dany wears looks a lot like Mary
• Arya goes from the statue of Baelor in "Baelor" where she's grabbed by gruff old Yoren from the Night's Watch as her father is beheaded among a spectacle, to finally finding her family, only to be mere feet from the new head of her family paraded around, headless, and taken away by gruff old Sandor Clegane 
• She pulls out the coin Jaqen H'gar gave to her, which we saw first and last in the Season Two finale.  Arya declined his invitation to come with her across the sea because she was still searching for her family.  But now there's nothing keeping her there...
• Tywin took the words out of my mouth when he commented on Joffrey's need to state he "is the king".  It's like when someone makes a claim about how they are to be respected.  If you have to say it, you haven't earned it.
• Part of winning the game of thrones seems to be sitting out and biding your time.  Twice that strategy was raised in this episode
• The "late" Walder Frey holding his army back from helping the Tullys at the Trident during the rebellion
• Tywin Lannister holding his army back at Casterly Rock while Robert Baratheon led the rebellion
• It seems a bit out of character for Tyrion to refer to Joff as "the most powerful man in Westeros" when he of all people should know power lies where men believe it lies.  After all, he was Hand all of season two when they seemed to focus on that idea constantly.  I like to think the Iron Throne represents authority in Westeros the same way the ceremonial mace does in England.  Whoever holds it, holds authority.  It's why if Stannis had taken the capital in and the physical throne in "Blackwater", he'd be king, and why the importance of holding it after Robert's death was so apparent to Renly and Cersei but sadly not Ned.
• Possession is nine tenths of the law in Westeros and the other tenth is Tywin Lanniser doing as he pleases
• For example, Tywin used the Kingsguard oaths however suit him best.  With the Queen of Thorns he threatened to add Ser Loras to the Kingsguard, making it so he cannot inherit Highgarden.  When Tyrion raised the issue of his inheritance of Casterly Rock (due to Jamie's Kingsguard oath) Tywin flatly refused him
• Melisandre would be a hipster in a contemporary version.  She's SO over the War of Five Kings.  It's not even cool anymore.  The Wall is where it's at.
• The movement through The Wall between Sam and Gill and Bran, Hodor, Jojen and Meera had a bit of a Revenge of the Sith feel.  They are defeated, for now, but seeking refuge in exile, hoping to regroup.  So as they go into swamps of Dagobah, there's a surprising bit of hope despite all evidence stating there should be none.
• Bran also told a nice story about what happens to those who betray their guests.  Hopefully Walder Frey doesn't die of old age before he can be repaid.

 ...hodor...

Raw Data: A Tale of Two Cities

These are initial observations for Mad Men episode 6-10 "A Tale of Two Cities" written by Matthew Weiner and Janet Leahy, a producer since season four, and directed by John Slattery of Catholic University of America.

Just think, before people had e-mail to efficiently use their poor communication skills, they had to talk to each other and poorly communicate face to face.

 The episode takes place around August 26-29, 1968, during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Post assassination, (anti-war) Kennedy support split between George McGovern and Eugene McCarthy giving (establishment) Hubert Humphrey the victory.  Humphrey nearly stole a popular vote victory due to a strong third party bid by George Wallace.  Richard Nixon still crushed Humphrey in the electoral college.  Nixon was much aided by the split and chaos in the Democratic party, punctuated and underlined by the protest riots during the convention.  Winning handily in 1964, the only majority popular vote the Democrats would get for the next 44 years would be Jimmy Carter in 1976 with 50.1 percent, running against a post-Watergate White House further weakened by a strong primary challenge.

SCDP-CGC having merged about three months ago, is still nameless and using the alphabet soup FDR would have been proud of as a placeholder.

Pete, who's been ahead of the agency on things like this in the past* is the only member of the old SCDP who seems to realize the CGC creep that is overtaking the agency.  Not that he's without fault...

Clients, new and old, are passed around like a game of telephone and no one seems to know who to go to for what.  Pete is made head of new business on the spot.  An opportunity is apparently missed with Avon and old business is lost in Manischewitz.  Don and Roger fail to connect with new clients, on the West Coast, and do not even broach the thought of opening a West Coast office.  Roger manages to bring politics up and offend the client, when his job is the opposite.  The only person who seems to be functioning like a professional is Ted.  Ted brings in new business and is also the person everyone goes to for help with their problems (Cutler, Peggy, Pete).  Don may have done himself in with his pronouncement of what exactly his job is going to entail a few episodes back.  And if Pete wants to assert himself, he needs to become the person his colleagues seek out to solve their problems, rather than be someone who runs to a senior partners with his own.


* Targeted demographic marketing.  Effective ad buys for cheap. 


Don is a bit aimless here, and hallucinating people again.  And not the first time he's hallucinated dead people** (Adam, Anna, his father.  Also the woman in yellow though there's no evidence she was dead).  Sailor Roger has to pull him out of a dead man's float in the pool*** which brings to mind the death imagery they painted in the season premiere.  He doesn't have any of his patented great moments to sell the client on the greatness of SCDP-CGC.  He looks as out of place as he's been since he was backstage at the Stones concert, coincidentally with Harry then as well.

** Anna, right around when she died.  Adam, when he was dealing with the tooth.  His father, before those kids knocked him out and robbed him.  Also, though there's no evidence she was dead, the woman in yellow from last season.


*** Didn't Megan just say Don always feels better after a swim?

Harry on the other hand has some measure of competence.  It reminds me of a reveal at the end of Generation Kill where a sergeant who has been hassling the Marines the entire time to simply bring them closer together, even in mutual hatred of him.  A bit of a Herb Brooks*** coaching move.   Harry, who dresses weirdly and is incredibly off putting and name drop-y in New York is at ease driving a convertible in Cali Cali amd we get a glimpse of why is acts so weird.

*** Link here from the above spoiler so the type is still not visible. 

The backdrop of the convetion and the fracturing of the Democratic party isn't dissimilar to some of what's happening at the now Sterling Cooper & Associates.  After the Dems ate their young that year the GOP ushered in a few decades of control with an intermission for Watergate.  Ginsberg goes on the attack against Cutler, who in response runs to Ted about firing Ginsberg, and the whole lot of SCDP people.  He rationalizes that it's acceptable because Don and Roger decided to go away for a few days.  Ted again is the one trying to avoid an us versus them dynamic, but clearly SC & Assoc. is tearing itself apart from the inside. Like the Democratic party and the continuing and worsening presence of crime in the show this season.

• Something is going to happen with Bob Bensen and we're going to forget he was just some guy sitting around with coffee who Ken told to get to work
• Sylvia who?

Additional Edit: after reading this argument from Dustin Rowles, the episode feels very similar to The Sopranos' "Join the Club" and "Mayham"

Raw Data: The Rains of Castamere - Part Two

Yeah, I'd steer clear of this one unless you have seen the episode or read through Storm of Swords...or even through the episode "Baelor" in the first season for that matter.

The most recent episode of Game of Thrones was.....Seth Rogen says "Shocking"....Amy Poehler says "Horrifying"...Bill Clinton says "Depressingly free of nudity."
- Conan, doing his Celebrity Survey

Many upset at the number of characters who died violently on last night's episode.  Ladies and gentleman all I have to say is wait until you see how this show ends tonight. Bad news for you Andy fans - Conan doing his monologue

This is part two of observations and reactions for Game of Thrones episode 3-09 "The Rains of Castamere".

Game of Thrones often puts even the HBO standard of including violence and nudity to shame.  It's more notable when an episode does not include one or both.  No nudity in "Rains" but plenty of violence.

Whether you were surprised or unsurprised at the turn of events, or sullied or unsullied by the books, the nature of the violence at the wedding was shocking.   This episode used suspense uniquely, everyone walked on eggshells the whole episode, but all for naught.  Often when there's suspense throughout an entire episode, or an entire scene, the payoff is avoiding the obstacle at the end.  Not so here.

Talisa attends the wedding with Robb, rather than stay behind to avoid further risk of insulting the Freys.  Walder calling attention to her makes the payoff even more devastating when you realize he was studying her to see if she was pregnant.

In what feels like a cousin to the cop who 'has just one last case', or who gets shot the day before he retires, Talisa and Robb discuss naming their child Ned and teaching him to ride horses.  Not sure what this trope is called, but another example is in the movie Lincoln where he and Mary Todd discuss what they will do with the war winding down.

The first thing the ambush does is go after Talisa.   But they don't shoot her with a cross bow or slit her throat from behind.  Her attacker runs up to her and stabs her not once but like a billion times in her pregnant stomach.  In a show where it's uncommon to not have limbs or heads hacked off in an episode (and not in the funny Star Wars type way) this is absolutely the worst, most jarring image they've shown.  The wedding as a whole is not over quickly and neither is the attack on Talisa.  The number of deaths shown on Game of Thrones can't be totaled at this point, from all sorts of manner.  But stabbing Talisa is could possible be the image that provokes the most reaction from live watching from sullied and unsullied alike.

There is not much that can surprise in television violence, or movies for that matter.  Television has a tiered system of what they will broadcast, from the networks to cable to pay cable.   It's not so much the graphic-ness (?) of the violence that gets you now, but who it happens to, and why.

This was by far the worst thing I've seen on television in the past year.  The second worst was an episode of Justified involving a character named Constable Bob taking a beating. The wincing born from these two incidents doesn't so much come from the actual act of violence, as lots of people get stabbed or beaten in television, but from our investment with the character on the receiving end and the stakes hanging in the balance.

Constable Bob was a character who had been a bit of a laughingstock throughout this recent season of Justified, those harmless, affable and likeable.  He never became a "real" police officer, instead serving as a constable in the state of Kentucky, where he basically was paid case by case to be a process server.  He even had to buy the lights for his own car.  He was even mocked and beat up by some grown up bullies.  But when the bad guys went after him for the locations of the other good guys he not only didn't give it up but didn't give it up in the most hilarious of fashion.  The beating went out about 5 or 10 minutes longer than it normally would.  There was even a point where I fully expected the scene to cut to another scene, but no, the beating just continued.  Even though there weren't any weapons used, it was absolutely brutal and tough to match on the hard to watch scale.

A couple factors contribute to the brutality of Talisa's stabbing.  It is the first act in the massacre, following the foreboding door closing and chain mail reveal on Bolton. No one (except for Cat), least of all Talisa, realizes what is happening.  All she knows is there is a knife plunged into her pregnant belly over and over again and she's about to be made dead.  Actually, I'm not even sure the last part would have a chance to register.

The fact that Talisa is pregnant speaks for itself.  Cutting her throat would have effectively had the same result in the show, but would not have the same effect on the viewer.

Finally, the stakes and history make it all so hard to swallow.  Since that stag killed the direwolf, the Starks have been crippled, beheaded, made homeless, held prisoner and hostage and are losing a war despite winning every battle.  Much of their misfortune stems from a sense of honor and misplaced trust.  Their war is winding to a close and they need the wedding to go well if they have any chance of taking the battle back to the crown.  But unfortunately when the doors shut on the wedding reception, the doors shut on the rebellion and any chance for the family to live well and be happy. 

Hodor?

Raw Data: The Rains of Castamere - Part One

Yeah, I'd steer clear of this one unless you have seen the episode or read through Storm of Swords...or even through the episode "Baelor" in the first season for that matter.

These are initial observations for Game of Thrones episode 3-09 "The Rains of Castamere" written by Benioff and Weiss  and directed by David Nutter, of two previous Game of Thrones episodes, as well as next week's season finale.  He's also a veteran of other great shows like ER, The West Wing, The Pacific, Band of Brothers and The Sopranos.

That's it?  Thirty people died?  You know what they call that on Game of Thrones?  A wedding. 
- Jon Stewart

This quickly became a very long post, so it will be split into two parts.

The Rains of Castamere was a song sung by the Lannister men (and Bronn) prior to the Battle of Blackwater.  Cersei revealed in the previous episode to Margaery that it refers to Tywin's complete and total destruction of a lesser house who rebelled against House Lannister.  This was a huge part of step 3 in the 5 step process of building a Game of Thrones season, where the foundation is layed and the pieces are moved into place*.

* But nothing happened in that episode!

Quickly:

• Slowly but surely, no one will be left but Rickon and Tommen and we'll all be like "who were those people back in the beginning?"
• Daenarys needs to run into some opposition and conflict.  At this point she's steamrolling the East with the tenacity of Alexander the Great
• Now that I look at it, his empire (or Asia in general for that matter) doesn't look all that different than Essos
• Jorah is jealous of Daario.  Surprise!  Looking for Daario to usurp him as No. 2.
• Jorah also passive aggressively slighted Barristan by referring to the two "best men" as Grey Worm and Jorah himself

Now...

Nary a Lannister to be found in the episode that bears the name of their favorite song.  Their absence is so apparent that Peter Dinklage, top billed actor since the start of season two, does not appear in the credits.  Unfortunately for Robb, the Starks, the Tullys and anyone standing too close to any of those people, the Lannisters (Tywin) don't need to be present to have presence...a point driven home by Roose Bolton who literally twists the knife into Robb.

The episode and the ones leading to it did a good job setting up a red herring in Robb's next planned attack following the wedding.  The opening scene focuses entirely on Robb seeking Cat's advice regarding his planned assault on Casterly Rock.  Such a maneuver could set up a great finale and storyline going into next season.  But it allows the viewer to focus on both the upcoming wedding and a battle on the horizon.  The viewer gets bolo punched.

Ned and Robb

Ned and Robb made two similar tactical errors.  Trusting one who should not be trusted and failing to act on the third option, or at least a less severe option of one of the ones presented.

Ned puts his trust in Littlefinger to help secure him at court while Robb trusts Walder Frey to accept his apologies and not murder him.  Both are sorely disapointed.

Similarly, Ned and Robb both take the unbending, rule of law-type option with executing justice.  Ned wants the throne to succeed, as law would dictate to Stannis, who we meet in Season Two and has similar view of rules and honor to Ned.  Renly knows this is impractical for several reasons and offers to help Ned secure the castle and throne, which Ned turns down because it does not follow the rule of law.  He fails to use a third option of, for instance, acknowledging Joffrey and biding his time.  The result is Ned secures his own downfall, as he doesn't have the relationships and resources at court to implement the only plan he sees fit.

Robb, when dealing with Karstark's revenge murder of young Lannister prisoners, feels he has no choice but to execute Karstark, and to do it himself.  Robb is so hung up on executing Karstark himself (because he does his own dirty work) that he fails to see the merits in, well, not executing Karstark.  Rather than keep him as a prisoner or hostage, effectively keeping the large part of his army Karstark's men comprise, he kills Karstark and loses the men.  The result is Robb secures his own downfall because his only remaining course of action on the battlefield relies entirely on reinforcing his troops (replacing the Karstark men) by the grace of the very man he already gravely insulted.

Reaction
I can only think of a few reactions within the series of tubes as huge as this one.  If you read online forums after the Sopranos finale, you had to go through pages and pages of all caps posts revealing helpful insight such as "WTF!" or "THAT WAS HORRIBLE!".  Initial reactions, people who feel the need to post at 10:01 after a 9:00 episode, tend to go that way.  Eventually the dust settles and you can get down to more sensible reactions and analysis.

The other reaction is from Game of Thrones itself, Season One's "Baelor".  Still, the single most shocking thing I've ever seen in a television drama.

While the number of reactions still is incredibly high, the mood is much more subdued than it was for "Baelor".  One possible reason is that, like myself, viewers are more likely to have read the book and already know what is coming.  When the series started, I had never heard of the books, let alone read them, so everything was fresh, unsullied and surprising.  I caught up to the show about episode four this season and could not help but surpass it.

While Ned's course of action in the episodes leading to "Baelor" led to a great Internet meme, there was not as much frustration toward him as there is toward Robb who failed in spectacular fashion in several ways leading to "The Rains of Castamere", all his own doing, made the act carried out by the Freys less shocking only in the sense that it was a direct result of his doings rather than others'.  The frustration stems both from seeing poor decisions made, but also because we root so hard for him to make good ones due to our love for the Starks and despising the Lannisters.  It's like a parent being disappointed.  We expect more and would never have such a frustration from one of the token Lannisters, because we want them to fail.    

The whole episode was spent tip toeing around the Late Walder Frey, knowing anything could set him off.  It turns out, he was going to be set off no matter how delicately they treated him.  "Baelor" featured a last minute change from a loose cannon psychopath making bad decisions, which was never part of the plan.

Part two is coming, and will focus on the jarring nature of the violence in the wedding at the Twins.

Hodor!