The Romanoffs 1.3: House of Special Purpose: Meta Ghost Story

The Romanoffs 1.3, entitled House of Special Purpose, is the most conceptually ambitious and sophisticated of the standalone episodes so far.  It's also closest to my favorite genre as a reader, viewer, and writer - science fiction - and it stars Christina Hendricks, who was one of the leading lights on Mad Men.

She gives an outstanding performance as Olivia Rogers, an actress who flies to a windy part of Europe to play the Tsarina Alexandra Romanov in a six-part television series about the Romanovs.  That's what I mean about this excellent episode being meta.  (By the way, the offs is an Anglicized alternate spelling of the ovs in The Romanoffs.)

The ghost part, which is not really science fiction but dark fantasy, is why I said ghost story - science fiction and fantasy can be French-kissing cousins.  In House of Special Purpose, there's some serious kissing going on, against a backdrop of Olivia bumping into another reality in which she really is Alexandra, or at least some kind of real Romanov.   (Hey, alternate reality is ipso facto science fiction, too.)  She encounters people who speak Russian who in fact apparently do not.  Passions and memories from the real Tsar and Tsarina and Rasputin are afoot though not in the script.  Olivia struggles to understand what is going on, be professional in her acting, but that becomes increasingly difficult.  I won't tell you the powerful ending, but let's just say that hotel in which she is staying is even more possessive than the Hotel California.

There's dark humor sprinkled into this episode along with the straight-up fright, and lots of inside wit about the TV and movie industry.   A superb episode as good as the second, which I said last week was the best so far.   See you back here after the next.

See also: The Romanoffs 1.1: The Violet Hour: Compelling, Anti-Binge Watchable Comedy of Manners ... The Romanoffs 1.2: The Royal We: A Walk on the Dark Side ... The Romanoffs 1.4: Expectation: Unfulfilled ... The Romanoffs 1.5: Bright and High Circle: Music and Abuse ... The Romanoffs 1.6: Panorama: The Royal Disease ... The Romanoffs 1.7: End of the Line: The Adoption Racket ... The Romanoffs 1.8:  The One that Holds Everything: Writer on a Train

  
It all starts in the hot summer of 1960, when Marilyn walks off the set
of The Misfits and begins to hear a haunting song in her head,
"Goodbye Norma Jean" ...

The Neon Demon: Van Goughian Nigtmare

I saw The Neon Demon - an original Amazon movie - late last night.  It was listed as a thriller-horror - but that was enough to attract my interest, as well as short roles by Mad Men's Christina Hendricks and everyone's Keanu Reeves.   I don't know if I'd call it either a thriller or a horror, though it had plenty of blood.  Van Goughian nightmare might be a better label.

The single best part of The Neon Demon, written and directed  Nicolas Winding Refn, was the color.  It was a treat, a roller coaster ride, and an assault on the senses - which is to say, the surreal, Impressionistic coloring in every scene was a major and memorable player in this story.  In that sense, Neon Demon has a kinship with Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge.

But The Neon Demon has a barely discernible story, or narrative that so closely intertwined with someone's dream that the plot is difficult to follow.  The gist is that Jesse (well played by Elle Fanning) is a beautiful 16-year old, advised by Christina Hendrick's character to say she's 19, who is trying to break into the LA model scene.  She's befriended by Ruby (Jena Malone), the most interesting character in the movie, a make-up artist for models and the dead, which says something right there.   Meanwhile, Jesse's so gorgeous that she does break in - as well as being coveted by all manner of men and women - but the price is her own mentality.

Assuming that crucial parts of the story are in her head not actually on and in her body.  At times, this razor-edge ambiguity works perfectly - as when we discover that Jesse's corpse made love to in the morgue is (likely) not her assailant's fantasy but Jesse's.  But other times, I needed a little more to know whether the copious blood on the screen was really flowing or just imagined.

There's also some intelligent aesthetic philosophy in The Neon Demon, mainly about how important erotic beauty - stunning sexual attractiveness - really is in human life, and in Hollywood in particular. In that regard, The Neon Demon is also reminiscent of some David Lynch's work, including Blue Velvet, one of my all-time favorite movies.

But The Neon Demon is something different.  See it with a grain of salt, and be prepared to be disappointed and engaged, annoyed and bedazzled, all at the same time. 

Mad Men 3.3: Gibbon, Blackface, and Eliot

An even edgier than usual episode 3.3 of Mad Men tonight, delving into -

Racism -

1. Don and Betty's daughter Sally (wonderfully played by Kiernan Shipka) finishes reading from Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire to Grandpa. She leaves, comes back in the room, and swipes a $5 bill from his table (he's "indisposed"). Grandpa Gene realizes the money is missing, and pretty much blames the African-American maid.

2. Later, at Roger & Jane's country club party, Roger sings in black face. By the way, the voice was good - was it John Slattery's?

Weed -

Hey, I'll be reviewing Weeds tomorrow, but here it is on Mad Men, and back in May 1963, as Peggy, Paul, and two other dudes partake. My typical question: Isn't this a bit early for 1963? I know, pot goes back to the 1930s and earlier, but at a Madison Avenue ad agency? And while we're on the anachronism trail, would people have been dancing the Charleston - as Pete and Trudy were at Roger's party - in 1963? Well, some really fine dancing by Vincent Kartheiser and Alison Brie, whatever the historical timing of the dance.

Sexism -

This is of course a staple of Mad Men, but did you catch those doctors at Joan and Dr. Greg's party talking about "code pink," which goes up in the hospitable whenever an "attractive, unconscious woman" is on the premises?

Thus Mad Men continues to make us uneasy by probing some of the racism and sexism of our not so distant past. But tonight's show also had some happier music as Joan sings "C'est Magnifique" and plays her accordion (and it sounded to me like Christina Hendricks' voice). And Paul gets to quote a little T. S. Eliot as he's stretched out stoned on the floor.

And it was nice to see Don and Betty kissing at the end...

See also: Mad Men Back for 3 and 3.2: Carvel, Penn Station, and Diet Soda

And from Season Two: Mad Men Returns with a Xerox and a Call Girl ... 2.2: The Advertising Devil and the Deep Blue Sea ... 2.3 Double-Barreled Power ... 2.4: Betty and Don's Son ... 2.5: Best Montage Since Hitchcock ... 2.6: Jackie, Marilyn, and Liberty Valance ... 2.7: Double Dons ... 2.8: Did Don Get What He Deserved? ... 2.9: Don and Roger ... 2.10: Between Ray Bradbury and Telstar ... 2.11: Welcome to the Hotel California ... 2.12 The Day the Earth Stood Still on Mad Men ... 2.13 Saving the Best for Last on Mad Men

And from Season One: Mad Men Debuts on AMC: Cigarette Companies and Nixon ... Mad Men 2: Smoke and Television ... Mad Men 3: Hot 1960 Kiss ... Mad Men 4 and 5: Double Mad Men ... Mad Men 6: The Medium is the Message! ... Mad Men 7: Revenge of the Mollusk ... Mad Men 8: Weed, Twist, Hobo ... Mad Man 9: Betty Grace Kelly ... Mad men 10: Life, Death, and Politics ... Mad Men 11: Heat! ... Mad Men 12: Admirable Don ... Mad 13: Double-Endings, Lascaux, and Holes

20-minute interview with Rich Sommer (Harry Crane) at Light On Light Through



6-min podcast review of Mad Men

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The Plot to Save Socrates


"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

The Day the Earth Stood Still on Mad Men 2.12

Tonight's Mad Men had a great shot of the 1951 Robert Wise science fiction classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still with Michael Rennie. And especially apt, because the remake will be opening this December 12, starring ... Jon Hamm. "Klaatu barada nikto."

Also appropriate because the Earth stood still through much of tonight's episode of Mad Men, as Don Draper/Dick Whitman jumps through time. We see him first meeting the original Draper's wife, Anna, out in San Pedro. She was the one he called last week, and gave his name as Dick Whitman. They've kept in touch over the years - Don/Dick promised to take care of her, at least financially, as the least he could do for taking over her husband's name. He certainly cares for her, likely not romantically. It's hard to say with Anna, but I'd say she flat out loves Don in all ways.

Meanwhile, back in New York in 1962, Cooper and Sterling and Cooper's sister agree to the merger. Peggy gets Freddy's vacant office. And Joan gets -

Well, hers is the most wrenching, tragic story of the night. Her fabulous doctor isn't interested in making love to her in bed at night, only to rape her in Don's office the next day. Whether or not this would have been called rape by early 1960s standards, Joan clearly said no. Christina Hendricks is always excellent in her portrayal of Joan, but never better than tonight.

And Jon Hamm gave one his best performances as well, portraying Don/Dick with just the right ratio of innocence and savvy as he moves through ten years. Don will have a lot more to deal with next week, out in California, because it may be, on the basis of the very last scene with Betty tonight, that she's pregnant.



See also: Mad Men Returns with a Xerox and a Call Girl ... 2.2: The Advertising Devil and the Deep Blue Sea ... 2.3 Double-Barreled Power ... 2.4: Betty and Don's Son ... 2.5: Best Montage Since Hitchcock ... 2.6: Jackie, Marilyn, and Liberty Valance ... 2.7: Double Dons ... 2.8: Did Don Get What He Deserved? ... 2.9: Don and Roger ... 2.10: Between Ray Bradbury and Telstar ... 2.11: Welcome to the Hotel California

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And listen to my fabulous 20-minute interview last Fall with Rich Sommer (Harry Crane) at Light On Light Through



The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

more about The Plot to Save Socrates...





Read the first chapter of The Plot to Save Socrates .... FREE!

Mad Men 11: Heat!

With the early October temps in 80s here in New York City, there couldn't be a better day to review last night's Episode 11 on AMC's Mad Men which, in one way or another, was all about heat...

Peggy's asked to test out and analyze for her second ad campaign a device that is supposed to help women lose weight. The guys are trying to figure out why some women seem to really like it - it's an electric belt that is supposed to massage away fat - even though there is no evidence that it really melts away any weight.

Peggy discovers its secret: its vibrations give women orgasms. The problem is how to explain this to Don and the guys - which she does a pretty good job of doing.

Meanwhile, Betty has her own hot experience. With the temperature high and uncomfortable in this Indian summer, Betty gets a call from a traveling air conditioner salesman. (The traveling salesman is another great artifact, long gone from our culture.) Betty lets him in, she's attracted to him, but buys nothing and tells him to leave. She later tells Don, who is furious - about as angry as we've seen him - that Betty has let in a stranger. Little does Don know that later, in one of the most interesting scenes of the series, Betty fantasizes about the salesman as she enjoys the vibrations of the washing machine against her .... enjoys the vibrations a lot ... Like I said, it was a hot show.

There's no hot physical sex tonight between Joan and Roger, back in the office to put up a show for a client, even though he is still far from recuperated. But there is perhaps the tenderest kiss in the series. Joan asks if it's ok to kiss him.... He tells her a few seconds after that she was the best piece of ass he ever had.

I found this scene really winning and memorable. Joan is among my top 3 or 4 favorite characters on the show - not just because of what she looks like, but what she says. Christina Hendricks and John Slattery put in their best performances.

But Roger suffers a second heart attack, which leads to Don's getting made a partner in the firm ... as we move into next week's show, about Nixon and Kennedy, just one before the finale...

A superb series, which I'm sorry to see conclude, but I'll be looking forward to round two of next year.

See also reviews of other episodes: Mad Men Debuts on AMC: Cigarette Companies and Nixon ... Mad Men 2: Smoke and Television ... Mad Men 3: Hot 1960 Kiss ... Mad Men 4 and 5: Double Mad Men ... Mad Men 6: The Medium is the Message! ... Mad Men 7: Revenge of the Mollusk ... Mad Men 8: Weed, Twist, Hobo ... Mad Man 9: Betty Grace Kelly ... Mad men 10: Life, Death, and Politics ... Mad Men 12: Admirable Don ... Mad Men 13: Double-Endings, Lascaux, and Holes

20-minute interview with Rich Sommer (Harry Crane) at Light On Light Through



6-minute podcast review of Mad Men

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The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

Mad Men 6: The Medium is the Message!

Did I hear officer manager Joan Holloway - played delectably by Christina Hendricks - say "the medium is the message" to Peggy in last night's episode of Mad Men?

Yes, I did, and it shows just how razor sharp was the research that went into the making of Mad Men. As I explain in my 1999 Digital McLuhan: A Guide to the Information Millennium, "the medium is the message" is Marshall McLuhan's best-known aphorism or say. (It means, for example, that the act of watching television - instead of reading or talking - is more significant than what we watch on television.) But the phrase didn't become well-known until the advertising world discovered McLuhan in 1964 and his book Understanding Media, in which "the medium is the message" was a chapter title.

So what's it doing in a sexy office manager's vocab in 1960?

Well, as I also point out in Digital McLuhan, the phrase was actually first "published" in McLuhan's "Report on Project in Understanding New Media" - a typescript report, in fact, that McLuhan prepared for the National Association of Educational Broadcasters, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare ... on June 30 ... 1960!*

So ... the 1960 scene in Mad Max last night could, technically, have happened.

But would an office manager have heard of the phrase? Not likely ... but by no means impossible. After all, the firm the saucy Joan works for is very high powered, with the Richard Nixon for President team as one of its clients. So, conceivably, Joan could have heard someone from the Department Health, Education, and Welfare talk about the report... (though prefacing the phrase with a "you know what they say..." does seem a little much).

But Joan did look great in her tight red dress, and we learned last night that she's having an affair with boss Roger. (No wonder why she was cool and collected last week when Peggy told her about Don's extra curricula activities...)

Other good stuff last night - some excellent portrayal of the way this advertising world regarded Jews, and more on the almost unbelievable male chauvinism. Peggy comes up with a great description of a basket with tissues with lipstick imprints - a "basket of kisses" - and the ad exec is really impressed. Something like seeing a "dog play the piano," he observes. Did men really have such a low opinion of women back then? Not all men, but certainly some.

Mad Med is now one of the best, hard-hitting, easy-on-the-eyes, humorous, instructive shows on television. A tour-de-force.

*Note added March 22, 2012:  Thanks to Alex Kuskis for letting me know that the phrase appears even earlier, in an article McLuhan published in the National Association of Educational Broadcasters Journal, October, 1958

20-minute podcast interview with Rich Sommer (Harry Crane) - in which we talk about "the medium is the message"


See also reviews of other episodes: Mad Men Debuts on AMC: Cigarettes and Nixon Coming ... Mad Men 2: Smoke and Television ... Mad Men 3: Hot 1960 Kiss ... Mad Men 4 and 5: Double Mad Men ... Mad Men 7: Revenge of the Mollusk ... Mad Men 8: Weed, Twist, Hobo ... ... Mad Man 9: Betty Grace Kelly ... Mad men 10: Life, Death, and Politics ... Mad Men 11: Heat! ... Mad Men 12: Admirable Don ... Mad Men 13: Double-Endings, Lascaux, and Holes

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