Mad Men: "Seven Twenty Three" - Review

"Stop barging in here and infecting me with your anxiety." - Peggy Olson

Seedy motels, draft dodging drug users, wild sexual liaisons, secret meetings, solar eclipses and threats all took center stage on the latest episode of Mad Men. But wait there's more!

After last weeks Tarantino-esque bloodbath comes "Lost" style flash forwards, minus the sound effects (thankfully!) It seems as though the writers heard the complaints that nothing ever happens on the show and that characters spend long stretches just staring off into space as tonight's show seriously kicked itself into another gear. So much is happening right now that it's getting hard to keep up with the frantic pace. It seems like all the "swept under the rug" emotions these people have experienced over the last two years exploded out into the open, in a major way.

"Seven Twenty Three" made me think of two different but similar things; "Lost" and being lost. No matter how much the characters evolve they are first and foremost lost in their own little worlds to their severe detriment. This is what makes this little AMC drama so damn compelling. Get ready for lots of twists and turns.

- Janaki Cedanna

Click Here to Read Full Review at TV Fodder.

Entourage: "Scared Straight" - Review

Tonight's episode was a throwback to the 1st season where Ari was beholden to Terrance, Drama was going on auditions and Vince was being Vince.

This time around around in the more "grown up" sixth season of Entourage, writer Doug Ellin threw in a disease scare for E and Turtle losing his one true love. Did it work? Hell yeah, it worked.

"Scared Straight" has a great setup for next weeks season finale (already?) in which Ari's original nemesis Terrance pops in to talk business. All the while E suddenly turns into a player and Drama has what he believes to be a heart attack from being wound so tightly. This episode works because the one weakness this season has is that Ari has become a mean-spirited bully instead of the neurotic control freak we know and love.

-- Janaki Cedanna

Click Here to Read Full Review at TV Fodder

"Entourage" Goes Viral with Matt Damon

Matt Damon is the King of the viral videos so it's not a surprise that a clip surfaced just two weeks away from his October 4th guest appearance on the season finale of Entourage.

In this very funny and obviously fake video, Damon is directing Adrian Grenier in a promo for his favorite charity One x One and things get out of hand. Adrian has to only say 5 lines and he keeps messing up prompting Damon to go off on him by swearing and cursing with Jeremy Piven in full-on Ari Gold mode nervously pacing in the background.

Matt Damon is an ambassador for the real One x One charity that helps children around the world in poverty. The news has already been announced that Damon playing himself on Entourage, guilts Vince into donating money to charity and the word is that it's extremely funny.

There has been some confusion on whether or not this video is fake or real as at one point Adrian asks if he should do the reading as himself or Vince as Damon refers to him as Adrian. Fake or not, this video is pretty funny as Damon goes from 0 to 60 pretty fast and I enjoyed seeing him get pissed off at Vinny because he can't act. I just wished it had lasted longer ala David O. Russell style with Damon screaming at the top of his lungs and throwing a tantrum.

Decide for yourself if it's fake or real but enjoy it!

-- Janaki Cedanna

"Mad Men" Wins Three Emmys!

The 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards have come and gone and for the 3rd straight year AMC's critically acclaimed Mad Men won Outstanding Drama Series in the last award of the night. What an ending!

It wasn't a major sweep as the show was nominated for 16 Emmy's for the 2nd year in a row but only managed to walk away with three statues. Besides Outstanding Drama the show won the following:

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

"Meditations in an Emergency"

Kater Gordon, Writer

Matthew Weiner, Writer

And at last weeks un-televised Creative Arts Emmy ceremony it won:

Outstanding Hairstyling For A Single-Camera Series

Mad Men • The Gold Violin • AMC • Lionsgate Television

Gloria Ponce, Department Head Hairstylist

Katherine Rees, Key Hairstylist

Marilyn Phillips, Additional Hairstylist

Michele Payne, Additional Hairstylist

Sadly, John Slattery was beaten by Jon Cryer and Elizabeth Moss was bested by the powerhouse that is Glenn Close. The show just wrapped the 13th episode season finale so I'm sure that the AMC party will last all night.

Congratulations to all the cast and crew for an amazing showing and let's hope that next year January Jones and Christina Hendricks get nominations!

-- Janaki Cedanna

Mad Men: "Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency" - Review

If tonight's episode of Mad Men is an indication of the direction it's heading then look out Quentin Tarantino!

Airing on the same night as the 2009 Primetime Emmy's may prove to be a mistake since this episode was truly amazing. It had everything you've come to expect from this award winning show like; great writing, funny situations, clever 60's references and wonderful acting by everyone. It also had gratuitous violence. After last weeks surreal and very trippy episode I was wondering what they would do for an encore. Simply put, Matthew Weiner delivered big time.

"Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency" saw Matthew Weiner & Co. deliver a gem all the while the entire entire cast was sitting in L.A. waiting for their names to be called. Sadly, their names weren't called all that much. But that's another story all together.

-- Janaki Cedanna

Click Here to Read Full Review on TV Fodder.

Entourage: "Berried Alive" Review

Tonight's episode of Entourage was a pleasant surprise. By now I should have known better than to doubt Doug Ellin's capabilities when he really puts his mind to it.

"Berried Alive" is an episode all Entourage fans should rally around as it actually featured the "guys against the world" theme that made us all fans in the first place. This time it featured girlfriends and Ari Gold as the outsiders looking in. I gotta say it worked. Not even an E love triangle could derail it. It even featured a great cameo by William Fichtner as the producer that fired Drama off the old "Melrose Place" way back in the day. It also featured the first night walk-and-talk I can remember. Well done. All this on the same night the show was shut out of winning any Emmy's at all!

-- Janaki Cedanna

Click Here for Full Review on TV Fodder

Entourage: Security Briefs - Review

This weeks episode of Entourage had some surprising moments, some very good and some very bad. Just like in previous episodes this season, I was concerned when E's love life is a focus. Will he finally kick Ashley to the curb or will he shrug his shoulders and say "whatever" again? It's always a crapshoot.

"Security Briefs" was one of those episodes that will either piss off the die hard fans or make them laugh hysterically over the antics of Johnny Drama. I'm somewhere in between. On one hand seeing Drama walk around in "out to make Drama's life a living hell courtesy of Dan Cokley" acid make up was extremely clever and down right funny the scenes with Ari and Lloyd were the polar opposite. It was pretty hard to watch, not to mention painfully unfunny and uncomfortable. Why is Ari Gold so angry? Vince is doing great, Andrew has righted himself by signing Aaron Sorkin and he just stole Zac Efron away from his nemesis Adam Davies. What gives? At best this is a throwaway episode that had some very funny moments but no real cohesion.

-- Janaki Cedanna

Entourage: Security Briefs - Review

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Mad Men: The Fog - Review

"Are you planning to give the baby the breast?" Betty's nurse.

This episode had it all and much more; intrigue, funny one-liners, babies, hallucinations and late night cooking. Mad Men showed us the last few weeks that it can funny amidst all the turmoil and drama but this week showed it us something else. Motivated action!

Not the usual kind of action mind you but the kind where everyone has a goal and is pursuing it relentlessly. There wasn't a lot of characters staring off into space and lamenting what could've been in this episode. Although Don always gets to do that for at least part of the episode.

"The Fog" is one of those surreal Mad Men episodes that will no doubt go down as one of the series best. Despite the fact that everyone's favorite office manager Joan only made a token non-speaking appearance. But we did see what became of good old Herman "Duck" Phillips, Betty had the baby and some wild Demerol induced hallucinations resulting in the reappearance of daddy Gene, Peggy realizing this might "be her time" and Don scoping out his next conquest. But I was wondering how Sally is taking the death of grandpa Gene. Stay tuned as there is lots to go over in this "action packed" episode! And congrats to Mad Men for picking up it's first Emmy of the season yesterday, winning for Outstanding Hairstyling. There will be many more next week I'm sure.

-- Janaki Cedanna

Click Here to Read Full Review at TV Fodder: Mad Men: The Fog - Review

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Mad Men: The Arrangements - Review

"I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." - Scarlett O'Hara.

I have always thought that Betty had some things in common with the famous title character of "Gone With the Wind" but tonight her father Gene actually made the comparison. Nicely done. In an episode that made me think that the writers of Mad Men finally let their guards down with a purely lighthearted and playful episode they quickly lowered the boom.

"The Arrangements" had lots of humorous situations and a few horrific moments. But isn't that always the case with this show? Who said Mad Men is all about dark drama? Oh, wait. Never mind. The theme of this season is change and there were lots of them on display starting with Peggy's decision to move to Manhattan, Gene's growing fondness of Sally (leading to heartbreak) and Kitty finally figuring out the truth about Sal.

If there was anything to be learned from this show it's that the truth is just as hard to take even when you're right all along. Missed opportunities, clueless clients and a fun time for all marks the fourth episode of this excellent season even though the main storylines hardly moved forward. So stay in this Labor Day weekend as I review the latest episode of Mad Men.

-- Janaki Cedanna

Click Here for Full Review at TV Fodder: Mad Men: The Arrangements - Review

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