About Last Night: ENTOURAGE and MAD MEN
September 15, 2008 by Kath Skerry
It was boys night for me last night. Well not exactly but with ENTOURAGE and MAD MEN there was certainly a lot of testosterone in the air.
ENTOURAGE…
If you read my season premiere post on ENTOURAGE then you know that I found the first episode a little lacking. ENTOURAGE has fallen into a rut and without any forward movement I’m not sure how the show is supposed to come back. I thought last night’s episode was definitely better than the first. I’m not sure that I buy that Vince went from being completely apathetic about his career to being fully immersed over night, but at least it made for a few interesting scenes so I’ll take what I can get. And how about Ari telling Vince that’s he makes a good movie star, and when pressed admits that he doesn’t think Vince is a great actor – yet. How’s that for a little honesty from someone that usually just blows sunshine up your ass? Refreshing. But I’m ready for Vince to be a big movie star again – it’s what makes the show so great – an all access pass to the inside world of Hollywood. When Vince is an outsider then so are we, and where’s the fun in that.
Cameos Callouts…
ENTOURAGE is always the place to be seen, so this week’s cameo callouts go to ENTOURAGE Executive Producer Mark Wahlberg for playing himself. Lucas Haas and Giovani Ribisi for playing the two redneck screenwriters being pursued by Eric. Tony Bennett playing Tony Bennett. And GOSSIP GIRL star Leighton Meester for reprising her role as Justin Chapine.
MAD MEN…
It might be an all boys club, but the ladies were running the show last night.
The Brunette – Peggy is being reluctantly drawn back into the church by Father Gill. She’s doing her very best to keep up appearances and keep everything very professional but the guilt is starting to creep in and the more she’s pressed the more she begins to break. And does anyone else find Father Gill a little creepy? Maybe it’s because I’m a Catholic and therefore a little skeptical of priests, but something isn’t right there.
The Redhead – Joan knows her place in Sterling Cooper, but when she’s asked to pitch in and help out Harold in his new TV department, she’s pushed a little out of her comfort zone – in the best possible way. Joan is fantastic with this new job and you can see the spark in her eye. But when Roger funds a new position and Harold is allowed to hire someone to take over the job full time, Joan – despite her hard work and valuable insight- isn’t even considered. Joan has always been a woman to knows her place and knows how to play the game. If she needs any reminders she only needs to spend a few minutes with her husband who lets her know that her place is on the couch eating bon bons and not working. But maybe Joan is ready to be more than what she pours into a dress every morning. Maybe the dress is becoming a little ill fitting.
The Blonde – Oh Betty Draper – how you’ve come alive. Things have been brewing for a long time, and last night Betty finally took off the blinders and really looked at her life. What she saw was that she was sick of existing only to serve the needs of Don Draper. The perfect wife. The perfect mother. The perfect hostess. All for a not so perfect husband. The breaking of the chair was so beautiful because it completely embodied all that Betty was going through. And how about when she called out Don for having an affair? Honestly I knew it had to happen but I thought Betty was going to wait to for hard eveidence before she finally confronted her two- (three, four, five, etc timing) husband. She looked for something, anything that would prove that he was not the innocent man he claimed to be, and when she didn’t find it she almost gave up and contemplated once again putting on that apron and pretending everything was fine. But it wasn’t and she was sick of pretending. The tables have turned and Betty is holding all the cards. What to do now Don Draper, you coward.
Did you watch ENTOURAGE or MAD MEN last night? The jar is now open on the table, so please feel free to fill it with your two cents.
Mad Men was just brilliant last night. I loved getting glimpses into the lives of Peggy, Joan and Betty. There was some incredible acting, too. I’m loving the gentle unraveling of these tightly-wound women!
God, last night’s “Mad Men.” CHILLING.
I loved every scene with Joan….showing the evolution of women with that character. The clients will miss HER at those meetings (the comments weren’t very subtle but the dolt didn’t catch on when he was hiring) and the mad men will have to put her permanently in the television department. She knows her stuff!
Just wait until something happens where she is at an actual taping of a commercial and “fills in” for an actress who didn’t show or some such thing. Then there will be fireworks. Hope her husband can handle it. They made a point to say that he was hoping to move up at his job, etc. She’ll be the breadwinner.
LOVED the way they wrote Betty’s reaction to the affair. How DID she stand up to him and never back down with such little evidence? She subconsciously knew all along that he was cheating, but now she is facing it and really sticking to her guns. Way to go Bets! You deserve more from life.