I read an article this morning about AMC's critically acclaimed, Emmy nominated Mad Men receiving nearly 2 million viewers for it's second season opener. The article started with the line "Maybe Don Draper will become a household name after all."
Um -- when did 2 million viewers translate into household name? That's less than half the viewers than ABC's High School Musical reality show and ABC Family's Secret Life of the American Teenager, and less than a third of USA's In Plain Sight. Can you name any of the characters on those shows? I think Don Draper may have a ways to go before he reaches "household name" status.
Don't get me wrong -- Mad Men is one of my favorite shows on TV, and I want nothing more than for it to become a mammoth hit and win tons of Emmy Awards. But no show in recent memory (save, perhaps, the fifth and final season of HBO's brilliant The Wire) has received such universal support from the nation's critics. This show has been everywhere -- newspapers, magazines, TV shows. If all of that publicity can only muster up 1 million more viewers than the show was averaging last year, can these new Nielsen numbers really be considered all that promising?
Thoughts?
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Mad Men Snags 2 Million Viewers -- Does That Make It a Hit?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss Will Join Jeremy Piven and Raul Esparza in Broadway's Speed the Plow
How does Mad Men star Elisabeth Moss top playing a character who gives birth to a baby she didn't know she was pregnant with? By starring on Broadway in a David Mamet play, of course!
Moss will join Entourage's Jeremy Piven and Broadway star Raul Esparza (Tick, Tick, Boom, The Homecoming, Taboo) this fall in Mamet's Speed the Plow. She will, of course, be playing the role that Madonna played in the original production of the show.
Previews for Speed the Plow begin October 3 at the Belasco Theatre. Mad Men returns with it's second season this Sunday on AMC.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Predicting the Emmy Award Nominations: Best Supporting Actor in a Drama
All this week I'll be predicting who will receive Emmy Award nominations, based on the Top 10 lists that were revealed by theenvelope.com. Stay tuned for more categories!
*Who will be nominated
+Who should be nominated
All this week I'll be predicting who will receive Emmy Award nominations, based on the Top 10 lists that were revealed by theenvelope.com. Stay tuned for more categories!
*Who will be nominated
+Who should be nominated
Naveen Andrews, "Lost"
Bruce Dern, "Big Love"
Christian Clemenson, "Boston Legal"
*+Ted Danson, "Damages"
*+Michael Emerson, "Lost"
*+Zeljko Ivanek, "Damages"
+T.R. Knight, "Grey's Anatomy"
*William Shatner, "Boston Legal"
*+John Slattery, "Mad Men"
Blair Underwood, "In Treatment"
Jake Weber, "Medium"
Horrible oversights:
Vincent Cartheiser, "Mad Men"
Justin Chambers, "Grey's Anatomy"
Robert Sean Leonard, "House"
Terry O'Quinn, "Lost"
Donald Sutherland, "Dirty Sexy Money"
PREDICTING THE EMMY AWARD NOMINEES: ALL CATEGORIES
Predicting the Emmy Award Nominations: Best Actor in a Drama
All this week I'll be predicting who will receive Emmy Award nominations, based on the Top 10 lists that were revealed by theenvelope.com. Stay tuned for more categories!
*Who will be nominated
+Who should be nominated
*Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment"
+Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy"
*+Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
*+Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Eddie Izzard, "The Riches"
*+Hugh Laurie, "House"
+Denis Leary, "Rescue Me"
*James Spader, "Boston Legal"
Horrible oversights:
Matthew Fox, "Lost"
Christopher Meloni, "Law and Order SVU"
Dominic West, "The Wire"
PREDICTING THE EMMY AWARD NOMINEES: ALL CATEGORIES
Monday, January 14, 2008
The Good, Surprising and Bad From the Golden Globe Results: Go Mad Men!
What a bummer the Golden Globes announcement was.
There were plenty of worthy winners, sure, but watching Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell deliver the news was borderline painful. We don't need to hear your commentary, guys -- just announced the awards and move on. Sheesh!
Here are my thoughts on the good and bad from the Golden Globe results:
The Good
1. Mad Men! Picking up two major awards (Best Drama Series and Best Drama Actor -- Jon Hamm) was just the buzz this show needs, and it's a shame they didn't get a larger platform from which to celebrate their wins.
2. Best Actress in a Drama: Glenn Close, Damages -- Thank goodness Glenn was recognized for her outstanding work on the gripping FX legal drama. I was actually watching La Close tear her way through Dangerous Liasons when her win was announced, making her win even more rewarding.
3. Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Tina Fey, 30 Rock -- Tina is often thought of primarily as a writer, so I was glad to see her get a deserved win for her deadpan genius on 30 Rock.
4. Best Actress in a Drama: Julie Christie, Away From Her -- Christie is amaaaazing in this movie!
The Pleasantly Surprising
1. Marion Cotillard upsetting Amy Adams and especially Ellen Page for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. Who saw that coming? I actually saw La Vie En Rose and I was still surprised!
2. Julian Schnabel's win in the Best Directing category. This one just became a horserace!
3. Samantha Morton (Longford) pulling off an upset over Katherine Heigl and Rachel Griffiths in the Best Supporting Actress category. The HFPA loves those Brits!
The Bad
1. Cate Blanchett over Amy Ryan for Best Supporting Actress -- Come on, Cate has dozens of these things at home, give the amazing newcome a shot!
2. Javier Bardem and Daniel Day Lewis surely deserve their awards and are clear-cut frontrunners for the Oscars, but booooooooooooring!
3. Atonement winning Best Picture. So predictable -- the epic romance with literary pedigree takes home the prize. I'll go on record right now saying it doesn't have a chance in hell at repeating this win at the Academy Awards.
4. David Duchovny for Best Actor in a Comedy (over Alec Baldwin)? Huh?
What did you think of the Globes? Were you happy with the results?
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Year End: Ten Best Non-Reality TV Shows of 2007
I would've imagined I'd have tons of options when considering my ten favorite non-reality shows of the year, but when I sat down to make this list, the well was surprisingly dry. Even some of the shows I included (Weeds, Grey's Anatomy) didn't have perfect seasons, but when looked at in the bigger picture, they still made the cut.
Here's my list...
1. Friday Night Lights
2. Brothers & Sisters
3. Mad Men
4. Damages
5. Lost
6. Weeds
7. Desperate Housewives
8. House
9. The Office
10. Grey's Anatomy
What was your favorite TV show in 2007? Leave a comment and let me know!
Click to visit Idol Thought's AMERICAN IDOL CENTRAL for show recaps and rankings, news on former contestants, best-of lists and much more
SAG Award Nominees Announced
The nominations for the Screen Actor's Guild Awards have been announced, and Into the Wild leads the pack. Yay!
Emile Hirsch, Catherine Keener and Hal Holbrook all picked up nominations, and the film was nominated for Best Ensemble. Other multi-nominated films include Michael Clayton and No Country for Old Men.
On the television side, I'm psyched to see that Mad Men grabbed nods for it's star (Jon Hamm) and ensemble, and glad to see Christina Applegate recognized for Samantha Who?
Here are the nominees...
MOTION PICTURES
ACTOR
George Clooney - "Michael Clayton"
Daniel Day-Lewis - "There Will Be Blood"
Ryan Gosling - "Lars And The Real Girl"
Emile Hirsch- "Into the Wild"
Viggo Mortensen - "Eastern Promises"
ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett - "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"
Julie Christie - "Away From Her"
Marion Cotillard - "La Vie en rose"
Angelina Jolie - "A Mighty Heart"
Ellen Page - "Juno"
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck - "The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford"
Javier Bardem - "No Country For Old Men"
Tommy Lee Jones - "No Country for Old Men"
Hal Holbrook - "Into the Wild"
Tom Wilkinson - "Michael Clayton
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett - "I’m Not There"
Ruby Dee - "American Gangster"
Catherine Keener - "Into the Wild"
Amy Ryan - "Gone Baby Gone"
Tilda Swinton - "Michael Clayton"
ENSEMBLE CAST
"3:10 to Yuma"
"Hairspray"
"American Gangster"
"Into the Wild"
"No Country for Old Men"
TELEVISION
ACTOR IN A TELEFILM OR MINISERIES
Michael Keaton - "The Company" (TNT)
Kevin Kline - "As You Like It" (HBO)
Oliver Platt - "The Bronx is Burning" (ESPN)
Sam Shepard - "Ruffian" (ABC)
John Turturro - "The Bronx is Burning" (ESPN)
ACTRESS IN A TELEFILM OR MINISERIES
Ellen Burstyn - "Mitch Albom's For One More Day" (ABC)
Debra Messing - "The Starter Wife" (USA)
Anna Paquin - "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" (HBO)
Queen Latifah - "Life Support" (HBO)
Vanessa Redgrave - "The Fever" (HBO)
Gena Rowlands - "What If God Were the Sun?" (Lifetime)
ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close - "Damages"
Edie Falco - "The Sopranos"
Sally Field - "Brothers & Sisters"
Holly Hunter - "Saving Grace"
Kyra Sedgwick - "The Closer"
ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
James Gandolfini - "The Sopranos"
Michael C. Hall - "Dexter"
Jon Hamm - "Mad Men"
Hugh Laurie - "House"
James Spader - "Boston Legal"
ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin - "30 Rock"
Steve Carell - "The Office"
Ricky Gervais - "Extras"
Jeremy Piven - "Entourage"
Tony Shalhoub - "Monk"
ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate - "Samantha Who?"
America Ferrera - "Ugly Betty"
Tina Fey - "30 Rock"
Mary-Louise Parker - "Weeds"
Vanessa Williams - "Ugly Betty"
DRAMA ENSEMBLE
"Boston Legal"
"The Closer"
"Grey's Antatomy"
"Mad Men"
"The Sopranos"
COMEDY ENSEMBLE
"30 Rock"
"Desperate Housewives"
"Entourage"
"The Office
"Ugly Betty"
Click to visit Idol Thought's AMERICAN IDOL CENTRAL for show recaps and rankings, news on former contestants, best-of lists and much more
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Golden Globes Actually Got it Kinda Right!
Every year when the nominations are announced for the various award ceremonies, I get excited, and then disappointed. Year in, year out, it seems my faves are passed over in favor of shows that I couldn't care less about.
But...this year the Golden Globes actually got it kinda right!
I had said in a post last week that I was hoping for nods for Damages and Mad Men, and whaddaya know -- Damages grabbed nominations for Best Drama, Best Actress (Glenn Close), Best Supporting Actress (Rose Byrne) and Best Supporting Actor (Ted Danson). Yay! Similarly, Mad Men picked up nominations for Best Drama and Best Actor (Jon Hamm). Double yay!
Of course, Friday Night Lights was egregiously left off the list. No yay for that. Also no yay for the exclusions of Keri Russell (Waitress), Into the Wild or it's star Emile Hirsch.
I was glad to see Emmy winner Sally Field get a nomination for Brothers & Sisters, however; ditto for her B&S co-star Rachel Griffith. While I'm not a huge Pushing Daisies fan, it was nice to see that show and it's stars, Lee Pace and Anna Friel, get recognized. And I'm thrilled Christina Applegate was nominated for Samantha Who? Could she be any cuter on that show?
As for the movie nominations, there were no huge surprises, but I was happy to see Nikki Blonsky get nominated for Hairspray (I thought she was fantastic in the film). The Globes always go with the big stars, and this year is no exception -- Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, Jodie Foster, George Clooney, John Travolta and Denzel Washington were all recognized.
Should be a starry night!
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Ranking Summer TV: Best Dramas, Reality, Comedies and Miniseries
With summer coming to a close, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what this season of summer TV brought us. Here are my choices for the best dramas, reality, comedies and miniseries of the summer. What did you like the best?
Best Dramas
1. Damages
2. Rescue Me
3. Mad Men
4. Traveler
5. Army Wives
6. The Closer
Best Reality Shows
1. So You Think You Can Dance
2. Big Brother
3. Top Chef
4. Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
5. The Hills
6. Making the Band 4
Best Comedies
1. Weeds
2. Entourage
3. Flight of the Conchords
Best Miniseries
1. The Kill Point (read The Kill Point gets my vote for Best New Show of the Summer)
2. The Starter Wife
3. The Bronx is Burning
Now bring on the fall!
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