Madder Men

I watched Eureka last night. I like the way the plots usually boil down to analogs of what Sheriff Carter is going through raising his daughter. Last night it was the rebellious teenager symbolized by the runaway, sentient and spoiled brat drone. Sure, sometimes it’s a bit of a stretch, and never very subtle, but I like the characters and their interactions. The show reminds me of a lighter version of The Dead Zone.

Then I watched three episodes of Mad Men to get me to the middle of Season 1. Now I understand a bit more about Don’s mysterious other name and previous life, but only a little. I wonder if that is going to be explored in more depth or if we’ll always have to speculate about why someone would start a new life with a new name. I wonder if the actors are all becoming cigarette addicts. I half expect the kids to crack out the cigarettes, as they seem to be the only ones immune to the habit. I loved the panicked look on Peter’s face when he thought he was out of a job. And what’s the deal with the crazy stocking-footed CEO?

I finished my pencil-and-paper edit this morning, keyed in the changes, and started another readthrough. It’s the kind of story where I have to be very careful about how I word certain things. I want to foreshadow what’s to come without giving away too much or having it seem like the narrator has been capricious about which pieces of information to divulge and which to secrete until the proper moment.

Once I polish this one a little, it will sit around for a while as I have stories in with all the markets where I want to send this one, so I’ll have to wait for a response from one of them before I send it out.

Next up: while I’m waiting to hear my agent’s response to the novel he’s currently reviewing, I’m going to take a stab at a YA story. I have the opening scene and the title all set.

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6 Responses to Madder Men

  1. marcy_italiano says:

    G and I are really enjoying the first season of Mad Men. I’m glad I quit smoking in 2005, because if I was trying to quit while watching this show it would be out the window. LOL! I always look to see who’s really inhaling and who’s faking it. About half are faking. ;)

  2. bev_vincent says:

    I thought my speculation about the kids smoking was going to be redeemed in the episode I watched last night—the one where Don has another flashback to his youth and he is talking to a hobo visiting the farm. The hobo reaches into his pocket and hands something over, saying, “You’re a member of the club.” I was sure it was going to be a cigarette, but it was just a piece of chalk!

  3. marcy_italiano says:

    I *totally* thought he was going to pull out a smoke. They got me, too. ;) And the line, “It was like watching a dog playing the piano.” still pisses me off. LOL! I’m glad I was born in the 70′s and didn’t live through that crap. (Now is bad enough.) HA!
    ;)

  4. bev_vincent says:

    The show must be really painful for women to watch. It’s hard to imagine that things were ever really that bad. That the men are sexist is one thing, but for them to do it so overtly just boggles the mind.

    The season ends in an interesting fashion–I watched the first episode of season 2 and am now primed to keep up with the upcoming new ones.

  5. marcy_italiano says:

    There are still men that are overtly sexist, they just don’t do it in front of anyone else besides the woman they’re attacking. ;)

    We just finished Season 1 last night. Huh, wow… all ready for Season 2 now!

  6. bev_vincent says:

    The Peggy revelation was a big surprise. I’ve seen the first two episodes of S2 — very good stuff. I find Campbell an interesting character. I don’t like him at all, and yet I feel bad for him.