The Big Five

I do not know if it is mere coincidence but it seems like I always get acquainted with a new awesome TV series every November/December of each year. For everyone’s information, these were the TV shows that I got to watch for the first time in the past Novembers/Decembers of past years:

2005: Lost
2006: Prison Break
2007: Heroes
2008: How I Met Your Mother

Pretty strong lineup, huh? In my personal (current) Big Four TV Shows, Lost and How I Met Your Mother are part of that list. I got to follow Prison Break past Season 1 to mid Season 2 while I was a Heroes addict from Seasons 1 to 3 until I called it quits a month ago. Before I end the year, it has always been super solid on the TV side. Yes, especially because I am such a TV show addict that I get to watch new shows every now and then. To give you an idea of the shows I have been watching this year, here is the list: Lost, How I Met Your Mother, American Idol, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, Glee, Flash Forward, Lie To Me, 30Rock, Scrubs, Mad Men, Entourage, Gossip Girl, That 70s Show, True Blood, Eastwick and Harper’s Island. No wonder I have not been reading a lot of novels lately. No wonder I get dizzy easily these days.

As I have been watching TV shows crazier than I finished books back in college, I got to have my dose of November/December new series this year. I was not yet aware of having a streak of excellent shows prior to watching these shows but this year is distinct from the previous years because I got to watch not just one, but FOUR new TV shows (should be five but I won’t count Entourage because I watched the pilot episode sometime early this year).

Harper’s Island. After all the hype that my colleagues and friends have given me about this show, I finally gave in. I was supposed to watch this last May but I did not have the first three episodes when I copied from my officemate. My laptop crashed last July so all of the episodes were gone. Fortunately, I got to copy the first eight episodes from another generous officemate. I began watching it last month and it has been good so far. It was good as advertised (quite a number of hot chicks and full of gore). The execution was great because you would contemplate as to who the killer is (I stopped thinking after Kit spoiled me the effin’ ending… friends… they always spoil the ending for you). However, Harper’s Island did not have the flair that the past four TV shows in recent years had. The TV series has become a prolonged mystery movie which could be summarized in two hours. Thus, I found myself dozing off numerous times while watching. Rating: 7/10

Flash Forward. As a huge Lost fan, Flash Forward is the supplement show because of the idea of time traveling. This show actually has promise – the effects were astounding in the pilot episode. You have two ex-Lost stars in the set as well. It was interesting to see how the story unfolds to May 2010. However, I still found myself snoozing as early as the second episode. Do not get me wrong – I am still following the show (but with less eagerness). However, I think Flash Forward failed what Lost capitalized on the time traveling part. Lost had series of time travel which had knit the messy plot into one piece. Lost did not have to give WTF and Holy Shit endings in every episode (unlike Heroes) but the show had a rapidly moving plot that is enough to amaze the audience. Flash Forward, on the other hand, banks on one huge event and their investigation on it. Just like Harper’s Island, you can summarize the show in two hours via a movie. It was just a month and I cannot even recall all the important things that happened per episode. Blame my dozing off or the too many shows that I got to watch, but Flash Forward is miles away from Lost. Rating: 7/10

Glee. Ladies and gentlemen… the most hyped new TV series of the year… Glee! Glee fans, admit it – this show was so hyped that it got a lot of attention early on. I got to borrow Glee episodes from my colleague out of curiosity and voila! I got to watch this TV show as well. What’s the verdict? I must say that it deserves all the hype that it gets. Tell me: how in the effin’ hell will I watch a TV show that portrays high school losers and has no hot chick that would entice me to watch it from its pilot episode onwards? The show must be superb. The kids are talented and the performances were well-executed making me end up craving for the next episode. Glee is not overdone but looks very well-prepared at the same time. The character development is also above average (some get the spotlight mostly but that’s how it should work or else you will not get to have varying degrees of exposure and empathy for the characters). However, Glee has one huge downside – its overall plot seems mediocre for me. It is already well-laid out for the rest of the season. Of course, they can have some twists and all but there is not much room they can work on. Also, I am not certain if the show will age well for me. The show has blockbuster start written all over it but what lies ahead after the first season is a big question mark. But then, Glee did not disappoint when I first watched it. Rating: 8.5/10

Mad Men.

MAD MEN A term coined in the late 1950’s to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue. They coined it.

It was actually funny when I first learned of this show. I was listening to Bill Simmons’ podcast on Fantasy NBA when he randomly thought of Fantasy Draft on Boobs. He picked Christina Hendricks first. I wondered then – who is Christina Hendricks? I browsed in IMDB and found out that Christina Hendricks is a redhead celebrity chick in the TV series Mad Men. Does she have big boobs? Absolutely Yes! Did she ever had a nude scene? Definitely No. Simmons continued to pimp her status by having a ‘rate this from 1 to Christina Hendricks Nude Scene’. I got curious and since I found out that Mad Men has a superb rating (and has bagged numerous awards that my mainstream shows never had), I tried downloading Season 1. Its setting is about advertising and marketing so it entices me further.

After 3,875 years, the Season 1 download finished and I finally got to watch Mad Men. Due to my excitement, my expectation level went sky high. The first scene featured the main guy hanging out in an old-fashioned restaurant/cabaret and the atmosphere was 1960s. He was talking to a boring looking waiter about cigarettes. I felt disaster was going to happen as I might end up dozing on a 1960s boring scene. Rating: 0 out of…
…wait for it…

For some weird reason, I was able to watch the whole pilot episode and liked it. There was no interesting turn of event right after the initial scene but I was able to appreciate the 60s mood onwards. My expectation level was 10 out of 10 but Mad Men was still superb. How come? It was like 1950s to 1960s slow paced style and there were little WTF moments in it.

Was it because Christina Hendricks sizzled? Hell, no! Hendricks’ role in the pilot episode was just a cameo appearance.

Why was Mad Men that good?

Mad Men’s plot is well-executed and is superb. It is filled with subtleties as witty lines are thrown out every now and then (without the help of the spoonfeeding laugh of an audience). The 60s may have featured a slow-paced life then (yes, even in Manhattan) but it evokes the mood that you are in another era which will eventually make you want to belong with it. My marketing communications and brand management background also helps as advertising concepts are usually the main topics in their discussions. But just like Grey’s Anatomy, you do not have to be a doctor to understand the full context of what they are talking about. The way they presented their ideas makes you think ‘hey, this is awesome if this was how they thought of advertising before because that is how it is known now.’ The main character – Donald Draper – is just so amazing in conceptualizing that his ideas will make you agree at the end.

[Spoilers Ahead]

Speaking of characters, Mad Men thrives in its character-driven story. You have real and flawed characters. Draper is at the top of his game when it comes to work but he is a womanizer. He also contradicts himself on one of the biggest plot twists of the series. Peggy the secretary is an ambitious woman who quickly moves up the corporate ladder but had one serious mistake. Pete Campbell is the ambitious young employee who strives to please his well-learned parents and his extravagant wife but does it the wrong way by resorting to politicking and other unprofessional manners. Joan Holloway (Hendricks) is the clever vixen who uses her physical assets to her advantage. As there were limited WTF moments in the show, I got to appreciate and understand the distinct qualities of each character from their punchlines to their reactions. And in a bigger layer, I observed that the Mad Men characters move in the behavior of people in the 60’s – women are mostly housewives or have low positions; men have chauvinistic tendencies; people smoke thousands of cigarettes a day; and women start to realize their inner strength on how to cope with the dog-eat-dog society. I find the story coherent and consistent as well. Mad Men depicts reality with the help of social context and imperfect characters. Drama scenes are not over-the-top as well.

Defining Quote of Season 1:
Donald Draper: “Stop talking. Make something yourself.”
Drug Addict: “Like you? You make the lie. You invent want.”
Donald Draper: “I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.”

[Spoilers End]

All in all, Mad Men impressed me as I finished Season 1. Having a chronologically-dependent series also helps. Yes, I love chronologically-dependent TV shows more than stand-alone ones because the former has the craving factor and has the overall plot getting molded as its episode gets shown. Mad Men has the element that makes me like TV series better than movies. TV shows are like novels were the character develops over time. This makes you relate to it, or –even better – this makes the show a part of your life. This is the very idea of escapist. You watch week by week to take in part with the imaginary world you share with the characters. It being realistic makes the show experience ten times better. I first got enticed because of Christina Hendricks but it is not anymore what I am looking for by the time I finished season 1. You know a TV show is special if you crave for it even if there is no shallow element that entices you to watch.

With these, I am now going to have a Big Five for my favorite TV shows and Mad Men is definitely part of it. Rating: Christina Hendricks Nude Scene (even though there is none)