AMC's Mad Men

[Straight Shooter]

Alright who saw the finale? What did you think?

 

[Rey C.]

I was a big fan of this show when it first came on. I thought the first season was very good. But it eventually wore out its welcome with me, because it began to seem like an exercise in congratulatory fart smelling by Matthew Weeener. I remember the exact episode (though not the season) when I knew that it had jumped the shark: Peggy and some writer were sitting outside of a shoot location, and they began playing off the old soap opera tagline "John... Marcia... John... Marcia". That told me that this was a show that had become a shaggy dog tale. It would go on & on, until finally many people would just want it to end. I think that was two seasons ago for me.

I watched the finale, just because I had once upon a time been a fan. But I was not impressed at all - though I didn't expect to be. Compared to (truly) great shows like The Wire and Breaking Bad, I just saw this show as over-hyped and over rated. I think its greatness was based largely on the Hollyweird pseudo-intellectuals telling everybody, and each other, how great it was. Like I said, Weeener would fart, and the Hollyweirds would Ooooo and Ahhhhh and give him an Emmy.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer. But I'm glad that it's over and done with.

 

[Straight Shooter]

I was a big fan of this show when it first came on. I thought the first season was very good. But it eventually wore out its welcome with me, because it began to seem like an exercise in congratulatory fart smelling by Matthew Weeener. I remember the exact episode (though not the season) when I knew that it had jumped the shark: Peggy and some writer were sitting outside of a shoot location, and they began playing off the old soap opera tagline "John... Marcia... John... Marcia". That told me that this was a show that had become a shaggy dog tale. It would go on & on, until finally many people would just want it to end. I think that was two seasons ago for me.

I watched the finale, just because I had once upon a time been a fan. But I was not impressed at all - though I didn't expect to be. Compared to (truly) great shows like The Wire and Breaking Bad, I just saw this show as over-hyped and over rated. I think its greatness was based largely on the Hollyweird pseudo-intellectuals telling everybody, and each other, how great it was. Like I said, Weeener would fart, and the Hollyweirds would Ooooo and Ahhhhh and give him an Emmy.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer. But I'm glad that it's over and done with.

You're dead to me

 

[ApolloBalboa]

I was a big fan of this show when it first came on. I thought the first season was very good. But it eventually wore out its welcome with me, because it began to seem like an exercise in congratulatory fart smelling by Matthew Weeener. I remember the exact episode (though not the season) when I knew that it had jumped the shark: Peggy and some writer were sitting outside of a shoot location, and they began playing off the old soap opera tagline "John... Marcia... John... Marcia". That told me that this was a show that had become a shaggy dog tale. It would go on & on, until finally many people would just want it to end. I think that was two seasons ago for me.

I watched the finale, just because I had once upon a time been a fan. But I was not impressed at all - though I didn't expect to be. Compared to (truly) great shows like The Wire and Breaking Bad, I just saw this show as over-hyped and over rated. I think its greatness was based largely on the Hollyweird pseudo-intellectuals telling everybody, and each other, how great it was. Like I said, Weeener would fart, and the Hollyweirds would Ooooo and Ahhhhh and give him an Emmy.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer. But I'm glad that it's over and done with.

I'm in the same boat. I liked the show in its first few seasons when there seemed to be an equal balance of workplace and home drama, but mostly focused on the actual ads and their campaigns. As it got to be more about the characters' lives at home and less about the office, I started liking it less, not to mention repeating plot lines like an assortment of people leaving and forming their own agency ad infinitum.

I always felt like the show was more appreciated for its design and attention to detail in representing time periods than it was for its actual writing. Some of the dialogue was head-shakingly bad, some plot lines were brought up and then dropped never to be revisited again, and new characters were repeatedly introduced only to be written off at a later point.

I thought the finale was okay, but in no way was I as enthralled and looking forward to it as I had been with Breaking Bad.

As for the rest of my post, I'll just say that I agree with everything Rey C. said that I didn't.

 

[Rey C.]

You're dead to me

Sorry.

The show had so much potential. It really did. Initially, I was a huge fan. But Matthew Weeener was allowed too much room to run (or I should say, wander aimlessly). I think he took something with potential and lazily ran the same tired themes show after show, season after season: Don has a scotch, Don has a secretary, Don has a cigarette. And then absolutely beating to death the fact that AMC and other networks are now allowed to use the word "shit". I mean, that was just so cheap. I guess he and the Hollyweird crowd think they're being "edgy" when they do childish things like that. Compared to true talents like Vince Gilligan or the team from The Wire, Weiner is an overhyped, over-rated hack, IMO.

I liked the Sopranos. But there were certain episodes that I thought were weak sauce. And I've since learned that Matthew Weeener was a producer/writer on that show during the time that I thought it was wandering and stumbling.

 

[doubleday]

Great ending.

 

[Rey C.]

Again, I'm sorry, Iceman. I really liked it at one time and wanted to like it again. My severe criticism has to do with my feeling that there was so much more that could have been done with the show and the characters (like in the first couple of seasons). It really had so much potential, IMO. But in the end, I saw it as an A student who became content with earning C's.