I’m All About Closure

I guess I was in a state of … this is it? And it took me about 48 hours to adjust to that reality with plenty of chocolate to assist in the matter.

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Image via AMC.com

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And it wasn’t a bad kind of reality, but a dude-it’s-over-kind-of-a-way reality. You’ve invested eight years in this dude and you want to be able to see him through this, to be able to part ways and feel like everything will be all right.

I couldn’t believe it had finished because it was such a big part of my Sunday evenings, and I was hoping for an amazing ending, for closure, for an awesome Breaking-Bad-Sons-of-Anarchy-The-Wire kind of ending without deaths. But things tend to be more subtle in Don Draper’s world.

The future was left in the hands of a Coke commercial with plenty of room for interpretation, Sopranos-style if you will. Although the lives of some characters were wrapped up nicely. Pete’s growth throughout the series culminates with a happily ever after, while Joan once again suffers a breakup, but it doesn’t break her. She makes it on her own by creating Holloway & Harris, the best of both her worlds.

But the ending that surprised me was Peggy’s, I didn’t think the creators would give her love. But she found both love and career, and for some reason that revelation made me giddy.

All these character endings made me think of my own writing, and the type of endings I write for my stories and for the characters that live there. I realized, I’m not big on leaving things up for interpretation. I like to leave lives wrapped up with a strong indication of what the future holds. Uncertainty doesn’t sit well with me in series finales, movies, or books. I want to feel like I know, or even have an inkling, as to how things are going to go for my character. I don’t like leaving things up in the air.

Life is up in the air.

I’d like my stories to be better than that.

I’m all about closure. It helps me sleep better, especially when I’ve connected to the character and feel like a part of me, is like a part of him or her. The connection is what drives me as a fan, and a writer. So if I had to pick sides I guess I’d be all about closure. It sits well with me, feels right to know.

What about you? What’s your side?

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I Wonder How It Ends …

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It’s The Holy-Crap-I-Wonder-What’s-Going-to-Happen-Next Wrap Up

Thinking back to January … everybody’s doing it. Everybody is thinking back 365 days, giving the year-round wrap up of the highs and lows of 2012 … well mostly highs. Very few people want to share the crappy … but me … me … I give it all to you. But not today. Today it’s about a suave looking ad man, a meth kingpin, a motorcycle gang, a good wife, and a person of interest.

Today is not the year in pictures wrap up (that’s in a couple of days), or the life of Guat 2012 wrap up. It’s the holy-crap-I-wonder-what’s-going-to-happen-next wrap up.

Other than all the important things people wish for in the coming new year like health, good times, job security, or well wishes for their family, I’m also looking forward to — desperately looking forward to — what’s going to happen next. I know some people out there are like yeah … I don’t watch too much television, or I’m not into television. I read 24 hours a day. Me I read, yeah. I go out and have a life, yeah. I have adventures, yeah. I have great meals, yeah. But television … dude … I always make room for television. Always.

And next year … that DVR is going to be blowing up.

Image via AMCtv.com

Mad Men. Have you seen this television addiction? Don Draper. Genius Ad Man. Newlywed, possibly reformed womanizer. Dude … he left me thinking as he was sitting at the bar with his wife in the background and the hot lady down at the end of the bar. Feeling deflated that his wife had used him for a job, and disappointed with how it went down, he sits at the bar and ponders his future. Fade to black.

Dude, I want to know what Don Draper does that night, because you know it’s gonna be good. I wonder if he’s going to go back to his old ways and if he does how’s he going to work it.  Gotta wait until 2013.

Image via AMCtv.com

Breaking Bad. Awesome cliffhanger. Walter White. Chemistry teacher with cancer, turned meth lab creator and ultimately a kingpin of the meth industry in Arizona … he finally decides to retire. He moves back in with his estranged wife and invites the family for a BBQ. Everything is hunky-dory until his DEA brother-in-law, who’s been trying to take down this unknown king of meth, decides to use the bathroom and finds a book on the toilet with an inscription that reveals Walter White’s secret identity. Fade to black. Dude. I know that he knows, but I want to see that happens when Walt knows. It’s unraveling and I want to be a witness.

Image via FXnetwork.com/SOA

Sons of Anarchy. I wrote an entire post on the season finale. I am so obsessed with this show, I could be classified as a stalker. Jax Teller sits there as his wife, awesome surgeon, gets arrested for conspiracy to commit murder and she didn’t even do it. I mean he sits there and does nothing as the sheriff hauls her away in handcuffs and her youngest cries. Nothing. Jax just sits there. I want to know who turned her in and what’s going to happen at the station? Is she going to jail? Is she making bail? Is she still going to get out of Charming and take the job in Oregon. She needs to win this power struggle with Gemma, her crazy biker mother-in-law, because the battle of the bitches is on.

Image via CBS.com

The Good Wife. Dude … no one is that good. Alicia Florrick. Get a grip, chick. I mean who sleeps with their soon-to-be ex husband, who was a lying politician, who slept with prostitutes and recorded it. Who does that? Just because time has passed and he was out of jail and re-elected to the District Attorney’s Office and supposedly trying to be a good Samaritan do you sleep with him again. Who does that? Just because your mom tells you that your soon-to-be ex husband is a jack ass and should leave you alone, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not true. Is she going to get back with Peter? Dude. I hope not.

Image via CBS.com

Person of Interest. Finch and John always rescuing people from ill will, usually murder, using The Machine to help them scope out the corruption and crappy people behind the drama. Crazy CIA and FBI agents on the lookout for them trying to take them down, partly because of The Machine’s existence and partly because John is ex CIA. Government … always trying to protect their secrets. The last episode? Finch gets caught with four others operatives and is taken into FBI custody. Dude. How’s he gonna get out of this one? I know Finch will find a way, but how … I’m waiting for the drama.

There were other shows burning up my DVR and television in all of 2012, but these were my top basic cable cliffhangers. I’d tell you about HBO or Showtime, but I’m on a budget and got to wait until Netflix releases them.

2013 is gonna be a good year for television holy-crap moments. I’ll be waiting.

Sorry No Meth Empire or Advertising Dudes With Statues Tonight

No hors d’oeuvres. No nachos. No special drinks. No Emmy pools. No Red Carpet-like feelings. Just me with some Rold Gold Pretzels, trying to calm the family storm that comes with two kids and only one Wonder Pets Car.

The family chaos prevented me from being fully engaged in the The Primetime Emmys — a SuperBowl to television addicts like myself and my dad. I usually go all out. But apparently my other half forgot it was Emmy Awards night and decided he was going to wash the car … at six in the evening. Who washes the car at six in the evening? Who?

Someone who hates the television. It’s my only explanation. I mean I know it was 100 degrees in the afternoon and it couldn’t happen then, but why not wait until morning? Or why not wait until the car is actually dirty. I mean it’s not like we went off-roading or camping. It just had regular weekly dirt and toys inside for the kids. A couple of books. The stroller. Our beach supplies and maybe even some sand. Was it completely overwhelmed with clutter? No. It was just a really prepared vehicle in case of an emergency kid breakdown.

But he felt the need, the urge to clean it immediately before dinner, in the middle of the show. So my only conclusion was that he hated television. And me … I was left to control the battle for the Wonder Pets car, feed the kids, and try to watch The Emmys.

 (Photo credit: nasa hq photo)

Although I’m kind of glad I wasn’t at the edge of my seat to witness my main men from AMC fall short of holding the golden statue.

Bryan and Jon, I thought one of you had it locked in for lead actor in a drama this year. Locked! I mean Walter White the badass meth cook who gets a little crazy and begins successfully running a drug empire after surviving cancer … c’mon now. And then there’s my main man Don Draper, a partner in the Sterling Cooper, Draper, Pryce Ad Agency who says stuff like … “You don’t cover for me, you manage people’s expectations.”

Dude.

My men and women from AMC fell short.

No statue tonight. Although Aaron Paul scooped up the supporting actor win for his role on Breaking Bad, and that helped improve the mood a little bit.

But the funny thing is that even though I attempt to incorporate humor in my everyday existence, and I enjoy watching movies that make me laugh, the humor category at these awards was not on the top of my list. Well not since Seinfeld went off the air. What takes priority here?

Drama.

This is a house of drama. We like to laugh, love to laugh, but AMC, HBO, and FX seem to dominate the DVR. So I was really disappointed to see my men and women not make it to the stage, hold their statue, and say some words. Although I think they were probably more disappointed. But I’m sure after a few drinks and conversations, they’ll head back to their million dollar homes and get over it — hanging out in million dollar homes will probably do that. I don’t know, I’m just saying.

 

 

I’d Still Like to See Someone Slap Pete

I couldn’t believe what happened last night. I was completely taken aback.

Pete is such an ass.

While trying to appreciate all the fallen American Soldiers in The Pacific, on D-Day, in World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, with programs such as Band of Brothers and The Pacific during Memorial Day I still couldn’t forget that jackass.

It happened yesterday, and I still couldn’t shake off the ugly feeling. Pete that pimple.

Image via AMCtv.com

He’s one of the characters on Mad Men. He’s the jackass, but not just any jackass. He’s the conniving, manipulative type. Yup, yesterday he made it to the top of the list.

I get so involved in this show that the characters actually piss me off. I spent a couple of hours during the day burned out by his chauvinistic attitude.

In the show, Pete is a partner at one of the top ad agencies in 1960s New York — Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. He deals in accounts. The wining and dining to land big time clients. Most of the time he’s sucking up. But yesterday as the firm was trying to land their first car client — Jaguar — the car guy proposes that Pete provide him a night with Joan Harris — the smart red-headed bombshell from the office.  And the thing is … he actually makes Joan the offer. According to Pete, it would make or break this firm.

Pete’s always prostituting himself. It’s the ad business and he has no morals. But this time, it was a different kind of prostitution. This time it actually involved pimping someone else out. Pete is the I’ll-do-anything-to-get-this-account kind of guy. After Joan rejects his offer, he talks to the other partners for help finagaling the situation. All but one, agree to go forward with this. Don Draper, the main guy of the show and the one partner that was vehemently against this proposition, told her it wasn’t worth it. They didn’t need an account this bad. But Pete pressed on.

Image via AMCtv.com

In the end Joan does what is suggested and she’s given a five-percent stake in the company as well as a partnership for this transaction. This is what she demanded in exchange for this indecent proposal. They win the account. 

I felt bad for her. I felt bad for all the Joans out there. I imagined that something like this probably did happen. It wouldn’t surprise me. There are a lot of immoral Pete Campbells out there. That’s probably why I was so hostile after watching this episode. But in the end, it was one of the ways she was able to get her “voice” heard in business matters in the late 1960s. She earned a partnership in Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.   

I’ll have to see how this partnership unfolds the rest of the season and whether or not it was worth it for her.  But regardless of what happens, I’d still like to see someone slap Pete.

 

He’s a Womanizer…But I Still Love Him

How long would you wait for that special someone?

We had a long-standing arrangement. Every Sunday night. How long would you wait if he didn’t show up?

Ten minutes?

Fifteen?

Thirty?

An hour?

He’s a workaholic. You knew it when you met him.

You wonder, what’s going on?

How long am I gonna wait for someone who says stuff like: “The reason why you haven’t felt [love] is because it doesn’t exist. What you call “love” was invented by guys like me to sell nylons.”

I mean do you wait? He’s smoker … you don’t even like smokers. That was a deal breaker for you … but you made an exception for him. Just for him you wait.

I’ve waited about two years for my man to return … and he’s back Sunday night.

Image via amctv.com

I don’t know what I’ve been doing without Don Draper, but this is it. He’s back … Mad Men is back and I couldn’t be more ecstatic.

He’s a womanizer, but I still love him. It’s a flaw. A BIG one. But it’s Don, you gotta love him. He’s a conflicted soul with secrets. You think you wouldn’t love him. But it’s the flaws that draw you to his vulnerable side. You’re intrigued. I’ve missed him, his charm, his work and his great lines. Stuff like:

“It wasn’t a lie. It was ineptitude with insufficient cover.”

How awesome is that?

For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about. Mad Men is one of the, if not THE, best show on television. Picture it: The 1960s… Madison Avenue. It’s about a New York ad agency and the men and women who work there. It’s got envy, plenty of secrets, jealousy, deception, clever ads, fashion (if you’re into that but I’m not), alcoholism, sexism, drama, adultery, excitement, too much smoking, and awesome writing.

I was addicted from Day One.

I look forward to Sunday night. I don’t answer the phone. If someone comes to the door, I don’t get up. I don’t let them in. If someone tries to have a conversation with me … good luck. It’s not happening. Don’s got my undivided attention. For sixty minutes I’m his, well this Sunday he’s got me for two hours during the premiere. Every Sunday I belong to Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. I’m theirs.

I want to hear how Don’s new marriage turns out. Is Betty gonna jump his bones? I look forward to discovering the layers of his past. I look forward to seeing how far Peggy goes in Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. What’s up with Joan having Roger’s baby and her disappointment of a husband still playing doctor in the war? And Pete … well he’s still a whining weasel. I don’t like him.

But the drama will come and I’ll be there. The great lines will be there. Stuff like…

“You don’t cover for me … you manage people’s expectations of me.”

Grab a drink, or some rocky road, plop yourself on the coach and get ready for the ride. Season 5 coming.

Giddy up!