What Lies Beneath

This ad for AMC's Mad Men is the perfect embodiment of the series itself. It presents an image, an idea, a message on the surface, but the reality of it remains to be discovered. That was the world of advertising and the pre-Kennedy American view.

Last night's episode, "New Amsterdam", was brilliant. Just as the previous episode, The Marriage of Figaro" gave viewers a glimpse into dashing Don Draper's world (that all was not as it seemed), the latest offering provided some insight into the problems of the puffed-up Pete Campbell. Apparently he's connected (not in the mob way, but in old money), something which head honcho Cooper feels is worth any personal irritation he may cause Don. Pete's presence allows Sterling Cooper the entre into very exclusive (lucrative) company. This doesn't sit too well with Don, who has had to work for everything he's gotten.

But life is not a bed of roses for Pete either. His father doesn't consider his profession worthy of someone of their background and refuses to help Pete with a down payment for an apartment his privileged bride has her heart set on. As a result, wife Trudy not so subtly drops hints with her parents for the money, which humiliates Pete because he does not want to feel like her parents own him. Plus, Don obviously doesn't respect Pete and refuses to give him the chance to contribute his own ideas to whatever project they're working on, regardless if his ideas are good or not.

On the home front, there's the contrast of Betty Draper (Don's wife) and Helen Bishop (the divorcee). Helen reveals that her husband, who never had time for the kids while they were married, now can't get enough of the kids. She also tells Betty the reason they divorced was that her husband had a lot of friends, and none of them were male. Whether Betty realizes it or not, she's in exactly the same situation. Then there's the creepy encounter with Helen's son Glen while Betty is watching the Bishop kids. Not only does this kid walk in on and refuse to leave the bathroom while Betty's using it, but then he asks foa a lock of her hair. Whatever his mommy issues are, this kid needs some major therapy.

Speaking of therapy, Betty has another session (whether or not she knows the therapist reports back to Don, who knows) in which she expresses pity for Helen and her situation, but also claims that she thinks Helen is jealous of her. Actually, it's probably the reverse. Helen provides for her children. She discovered something awful about her husband and refused to accept that she had to accept it. Betty, on some level, probably wishes she had the strength to do the same.

As each week progresses, Mad Men is becoming more engrossing, more layered and more addictive, just like the cigarettes that practically everyone in that world consume.

Image courtesy of amctv.com

Golden Boys

While there's still five months left of eligibility for the next Daytime Emmy Awards, be prepared to see two names on the list: Christian J. LeBlanc and Michael Graziadei from The Young and the Restless.

On the August 6 episode, LeBlanc's alter ego Michael, an attorney, was trying to counsel Graziadei's Daniel, the son of his best friend Phyllis who like his mom is in a lot of legal trouble. Aside from a pending criminal case, Daniel was just informed that his wife Lily is filing for divorce. He goes to Michael for help with his marital issues. During the course of their discussion, Michael learns that Daniel has a problem with pornography, which is a huge reason why Lily is divorcing him. Daniel tries to evade Michael's questions, but finally admits that he is an addict and breaks down in Michael's arms.

The performance by both actors was nothing short of arresting. I stopped what I was doing and was awed by what I saw on screen. There was no artifice, just raw emotion. Daytime sometimes gets a bad rap, but there are plenty of performers, whether prime time, daytime, film or theater, who could learn a thing or two from them.

Kudos to LeBlanc and Graziadei for rising to the occasion.

Crossing the Line

When scanning the prospects of the shows to debut this fall, I definitely had programs I was planning to watch and some that I planned to avoid. On the "Must-Watch" list were Private Practice (because I love Grey's Anatomy as well as Tim Daly and Taye Diggs) Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, Big Shots (because even though it's not gotten good advance PR, it's Michael Vartan, Dylan McDermott and Joshua Molina) and Chuck.

Bionic Woman was not on my schedule. I liked the original, but I wasn't really interested in a new twist on the tale, despite good buzz. Then, it was announced that Isaiah Washington was joining the cast, which put it in the "definitely not going to watch" column. So imagine my surprise while at the movie theater to see Live Free or Die Hard (which was excellent), there was a promo for Bionic Woman and who did I see that was part of the cast… Miguel Ferrer! This is fabulous news for me, because I thought Crossing Jordan was a really good show and that Miguel was overlooked when it came to awards. I'm so glad he's got another gig already. Now I may just have to cross that line I drew.

Photo courtesy of crossingjordanfan.blogs.allocine.fr

In Good Company

TNT is joining the ranks of pay cable channels HBO and Showtime as the place to go for quality original programming, as evidenced by its latest foray into the miniseries arena, The Company.

Based on the historical novel by Robert Littell, the 3-week, 6-hour production stars Chris O'Donnell (Grey's Anatomy, Scent of a Woman), Alessandro Nivola (Junebug, Face/Off) and Rory Cochrane (CSI: Miami, Empire Records) as three friends from Yale, who upon their graduation, enter into the Cold War on very different sides. O'Donnell's Jack McAuliffe is the quintessential all-Amercian guy who has good looks, good education and is a regular "golden boy" looking to do his part. Nivola's Leo Kritzky represents the American dream, a kid of Jewish immigrant parents who wants to serve his country. Cochrane's Yevgeny Tsipin depicts the other side of the coin as a Russian-born, but American-bred man who has affection for his host country, but cannot abide by its social, economic and political views. Therefore, the battle lines are drawn (maybe in invisible ink or some other spy technology) as Jack and Leo sign up with the CIA and Yevgeny gets recruited by the KGB.

The "company" men instrumental in shaping Jack and Leo's service are Harvey Torriti, aka The Sorcerer (Alfred Molina, who does an incredible American accent), an upper level operative who takes Jack under his wing and into the depths of the espionage game and James Jesus Angleton (Michael Keaton, who gives new meaning to the term spook with this performance), the intelligence expert on a hunt to find a mole in their midst. As for Yevgeny, a KGB general, Starik (Ulrich Thomsen) navigates him through the treacherous waters that lie ahead.

Unlike recent films, like The Good Shepherd which depict the origins of the CIA and the Cold War, The Company doesn't feel rushed or compressed. Due to this format, the drama unfolds at a comfortable pace, building up to what is certain to be a climatic conclusion. Everything about this production is spot on, from the sets and the costumes to the writing and, of course, acting. The Company promises to be must-see TV (at least until August 19).

Photo courtesy of TNT.tv