Welcome Back, Don Draper

By |2017-06-23T08:31:13-04:00March 23rd, 2012|Categories: Television|Tags: |

draperAfter an interminable 17-month absence, our TV screens are about to see the welcome (make that very, very, very welcome) return of Mad Men, on Sunday night from 9 to 11 p.m. eastern time.

If you’re a fan of the show as I am, the wait has been too damn long, caused largely by creator Matthew Weiner and AMC unable to reach a deal for many months and then AMC’s decision to wait until 2012 to give the show an air date.  Me thinks this dispute involved a lot of hot air, but the result is that Weiner has an end date for the show (after season seven and we’re about to begin season five) and, with any luck, we’re done with all the crap so the wait won’t be so long next time.

I was pretty disgusted with Weiner and AMC for a while there during negotiations, but  never […]

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Sunday Night TV Wankdom: The Sandy Version

By |2017-06-23T08:32:08-04:00September 1st, 2009|Categories: AAR afterhours blog, Sandy AAR, Television|Tags: , |

don-draper-promo-picOn Sunday night I fell asleep during Mad Men.

This unprecedented occurrence is due to the fact that showrunner Matt Weiner seems to have permanently inserted his head up his ass.

In other words, I think he is putting a bit too much credence in his own press.

Do I hope that somehow, someway he will unwedge himself?  You bet I do.  But with meandering plots; strange, ham-handedly “meaningful” shots of nothing (what was up with Don’s hand at the May Day celebration); and a determined lack of focus on anything resembling a forward-moving plot, I’m becoming less and less optimistic.

Right now, the emperor has no clothes.   None.  (If things change after watching Sunday’s third episode, I will eat appropriate amounts of crow.)  Mad Men has always come dangerously close to being in the red on the precious meter, but this season it is beyond pretentious.  And I want my Don […]

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Who Are Your Favorite Bad Boys?

By |2017-06-23T08:32:12-04:00August 7th, 2009|Categories: Characters, Heroes, Reading, Romance reading|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Don DraperThey’re mad, bad, and dangerous to know.  And we couldn’t live without them.  (In fiction, that is.)

From the first moment I was introduced to prototypical Bad Boy Vidal in Georgette Heyer’s Devil’s Cub, I’ve been a sucker for the Bad Boy mystique.  Though I recovered from my real life addiction (“tortured” used to be a positive guy descriptor for me in college), nothing fulfills my fantasies quite like a Bad Boy tempting a good woman.

My favorite Bad Boys?  Vidal was my first and will always hold a strong place in my heart.

I am currently swooning over Don Draper from TV’s Mad Men, early 60’s ad man extraordinare who has it all and nothing at the same time.  Men want to be him. Women want to sleep with him.  And he couldn’t be more lost and alone.  Hey, it works for me, baby.

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And It's TV Time!

By |2017-06-23T08:32:12-04:00July 31st, 2009|Categories: AAR afterhours blog, Sandy AAR, Television|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

14067855After the madness and nonstop action of RWA, it’s veg out time for me! Good thing a few of my favorite TV series (and guilty pleasures) are providing some excellent fodder for down time!

Could there have been a better time for Toddlers & Tiaras to make a reappearance?  Surely not, sister.  I love pursing my lips over those toxic moms. And my man Tony Bourdain?  Thanks, fella, for kicking it back in with terrific episodes – one of which takes place in none other than nearby Charm City.  I love his laconic charm.  His smart ass humor.  His smarts without the ass.  His ass without the smarts. And, gosh darn it, his all around magnificent Tony-ness!

And, of course, there are the myriad pleasures of True Blood which are pretty damn myriad at the moment.  You’ve got your pagan orgies!  And Sam with his shirt off!  […]

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