I Want This Shirt!

Glarkware is selling this shirt dubbed "Office Manager." The silhouette bears a striking resemblance to Joan Holloway, Sterling-Cooper's curviest admin. Anyone secretly hoping the Mad Men cast wears period costumes to the Emmys?



Photo: glarkware.com

Hanks Dazzles on Mad Men

Colin Hanks (eldest son of Tom) did a superb job on tonight's episode of Mad Men. Hanks is playing Father Gill, a young priest in Peggy's church, as a part of a three episode arc.

He was charismatic and mysterious in tonight's episode and I am curious to see how his relationship with Peggy pans out. Plus the younger Hanks is a really underrated actor and it's nice to see him back on the small screen, as opposed to frittering away his time/talent on tripe like this.

Photo: New York Post

Getting Yourself Prepared For The Return of Mad Men!

Mad Men returns tonight. Every blogger, TV enthusiast and old-timey ad-man alike is anxiously awaiting the second season of this critically acclaimed drama.

Want to get into the spirit before tonight's brand new episode? Here are a few tips:

• Make yourself a cocktail. Don Draper drinks whiskey old fashioneds. His lady friends tend to drink red wine or mai tais. Regardless of what you drink, hold it well. No one gets drunk at work, that's what election results parties are for.
  
• Take up smoking. I tried to count how many ciggarettes appeared in one episode and lost count after the first scene. Can you imagine if that America still existed? Watching all of that huffing and puffing seems so foreign. And don't worry about the actors, according to this painstakingly thorough article from the New York Times magazine, the articles are smoking herbal cigarettes (no nicotine, no tar).
• Read up. This season kicks off about 18 months from where we left off. It's Valentine's Day, 1962. So we won't get to see Pete Campbell's irreverent take on The Bay of Pigs, the beginning of the Berlin Wall, the Yankees winning the world series or the release of J.D. Salinger's Franny & Zooey. Tragic.
  
• Listen to some good music. The top songs from this time period remain classics today. Add Runaround Sue, Stand By Me and The Lion Sleeps Tonight to your playlist to get yourself in the mood.
  
• Buy the first season. iTunes is selling season one for $19.99, that's $20 off the retail prive everywhere else. If you don't mind watching it on your computer, that's certainly a steal.
  

Once you've done all that the only thing left to do is wait. You can read some of the "mad" press this show's received, especially in the past week. That might occupy your time. The season premiere airs at 10/9 central on AMC. Set your Tivos to stun.

Photo: AMCtv.com

Mad About Mad Men

Do you ever have a show you really enjoy, but it's kind of a secret? Maybe it's a cult favorite like Arrested Development, or a little engine that could like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Part of you wants people to watch it; it's good and you want it to stay on the air. The rest of you wants to keep it a little underground, just something you and the rest of TV elite can enjoy before it gets popular and everything changes.

I recently got into Mad Men, and despite all of the critical acclaim and a good number of fans, it's not exactly a ratings boom.

Then, I saw the cover of yesterday's New York Times Magazine.



There goes the neighborhood.

Photo: Vulture

TCA Nominations Are Out! Thoughts?

The nominations for the Television Critics Awards came out today. Unlike the Emmy's, the TV critics tend to know what they're talking about and it's always interesting to check out which shows they think are a cut above the rest.

You can see the full list here but here are some stats worth mentioning.

- HBO miniseries John Adams earned three nominations. That may not sound like too many but there are only 9 categories. The show may not win for program of the year but Paul Giamatti will probably walk away with the award for Individual Achievement in Drama.

- Christina Applegate earned a nom for Individual Achievement in Comedy for her work on Samantha Who. Applegate outshines this show. Without her, it probably wouldn't have made it past the Writer's Strike.

- Breaking Bad is off to a great start, with a nomination for Outstanding New Program. I hope this praise means Emmy will shine on this gem of a show as well. Bryan Cranston was superb as a dying teacher and Meth-maker.

-Flight of the Conchords earned a few nominations as well. The boys may walk away with an Emmy this year and I can't wait to hear their acceptance speech.

AMC Breaks Bad Habits

When is the last time you watched AMC? I forgot the channel existed, and when I do think about it, I confuse it with Turner Classic Movies. AMC is oft-forgotten, a channel lost amid the shuffle of go-to networks like TNT, TBS and Bravo. But this season, they're the little engine that could.

They've received critical acclaim for their hit show Mad Men, a program following the lives of alpha-male advertising honchos in the 1960s. John Hamm is brilliant on it, but we're not talking about that this time.

Instead I've decided to focus on Breaking Bad, AMC's new show about a dying chemistry teacher who decides to go into business with a former student...making crystal meth. It's a grittier, darker version of Weeds. More intensity, bigger stakes and with better acting. The show stars Bryan Cranston, the dad on Malcolm and the Middle. He's stretching his legs for this show and so far it's working out brilliantly. Cranston and the show will probably rack up some serious praise come awards season next year. Mark my words.

Breaking Bad is on AMC and like the premium channels, you can catch it pretty much all week long, though the episodes premeire on Sundays.