*** Official MAD MEN seventh and final season thread ***

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TCTTS
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AG
A new teaser just hit this morning, so I figured it was time to officially get the ball rolling on one last Mad Men thread.

If I'm not mistaken, I'm pretty sure this is the first time Matthew Weiner has released a teaser with footage that isn't just quick clips from past seasons edited together. Granted, it's likely not actual footage from season seven either, but it at least tells us something. Just not much. Either that Don is potentially arriving in LA, or returning to New York. My guess would be the later...

http://bcove.me/7uxmh3sk

If you remember, the end of season six saw Don forced to take a leave of absence from SCDP after inappropriately baring his past - and his soul - to Hershey's in a pitch meeting. For a brief moment, he was going to head up the LA branch of SCDP, and take Megan with him so she could pursue acting more seriously, but Don decided not to at the last second. He recommended Teddy Chaough instead, with Pete and Stan set to go with him. Don's erratic decision caused the final rift in his and Megan's relationship, while Teddy suddenly leaving also confused/pissed off Peggy, who was having an affair with him. She at least ends up with Don's job while he's on leave, though.

So I'm guessing seven seven picks up with Don's return to New York as a new man, and that's likely what we're seeing in the teaser. Though, knowing this show, I could be wrong.

Either way, the seventh and final season of Mad Men will be 14 total episodes (one more than usual), but split up Breaking Bad-style over two years. The first half, titled "The Beginning," debuts Sunday, April 13. If they don't take any weeks off, it should end Sunday, May 25, over Memorial Day Weekend. The second half, titled "The End of an Era" will then pick up spring 2015, likely airing over similar dates. What's weird, though, unlike Breaking Bad, AMC is shooting all 14 episodes at once. And they're fairly close to wrapping, from what I understand. So those final seven episodes will just be sitting in the can for an entire year, which is odd for TV. But it does make sense, considering the cast and schedule.

All I know is I can't wait to see how 1969 unfolds for these characters. It's not the best show on TV, especially these last couple of seasons, but it is my favorite. Maybe of all time. And hopefully this final go is a return to form. Even though its "off" years were still far better than 99% of anything else on TV. We'll start to find out in just over five weeks...




[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 3/7/2014 11:58a).]
TCTTS
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AG
Just FYI, the link is down temporarily for some reason. It was definitely an official release, but now the video isn't playing on a single site that's embedding it. Weird...
Sex Panther
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Love this show.

Hate the season split.
TCTTS
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quote:
Hate the season split.


Agreed. Like I said in the other thread, I love that Breaking Bad had time to truly plan its final eight episodes, and, for the most part, it worked for them. But Mad Men is a totally different kind of show, one that isn't building toward a single, inevitable event. Only seven episodes per year seems super-thin for the pace at which this show moves.
TCTTS
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The teaser is back up, but they changed the music. It was Wax Tailor's "Que Sera Sera" and went great with the footage, but now it's just like a long, single note. Guess there was some unresolved rights issue? Oh, well.
DonaldFDraper
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quote:
quote:
Hate the season split.


Agreed. Like I said in the other thread, I love that Breaking Bad had time to truly plan its final eight episodes, and, for the most part, it worked for them. But Mad Men is a totally different kind of show, one that isn't building toward a single, inevitable event. Only seven episodes per year seems super-thin for the pace at which this show moves.


TCTTS
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VoodooAg
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Let's get analyze-y:

Is Don's look in that shot one of defiance? Anger?

[This message has been edited by VoodooAg (edited 3/6/2014 3:57p).]
J.P. 03
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AG
****WARNING: Breaking BadSemi-Spoiler Below******







quote:
But Mad Men is a totally different kind of show, one that isn't building toward a single, inevitable event.

I go back and forth on this. When Breaking Bad Season 4 ended, the final episodes looked like they could have gone either direction in terms of Walt's story ending on a high note or a low one. Well, it didn't take long once Season 5 started for the writers to make their decision and then step on the accelerator in that direction.

In the same way, if Don's story is going to end on a high note, then I agree that Mad Men isn't necessarily building up to one singular event at the end. But if things go the other way, then part of me wonders if that singular event will be Don's suicide, as, it would turn out, had been foretold by the opening credits since Episode 1 (assuming he decides to end it all by jumping off a building).
TCTTS
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quote:
Let's get analyze-y:

Is Don's look in that shot one of defiance? Anger?


Definitely gives off a time-to-get-sh*t-done vibe.

[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 3/6/2014 3:59p).]
Quinn
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Looking forward to this as Mad Men is my favorite show. I do feel like 7 episodes will be too short, and that the show will be cutting off right when it gets momentum.

I don't think there will be a suicide by Don to end the series.

The promo makes him seem like he has his swagger back, but I don't know how much we can really pull from that.
Rudyjax
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Help me remember what he told Hershey.
TCTTS
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He had a great pitch, I think, but then all the sudden he started talking about growing up in a ***** house or something. it was all about his horrible childhood, but I can't remember what it had to do with the pitch itself.
TCTTS
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AG
"Wh*re" is censored? Really?
Bunk Moreland
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He made up a story about his dad and getting Hershey chocolate for the pitch, then basically broke down and said that's bs and went "do you know why I really like Hershey?" and went into growing up in the ***** house and the awful upbringing he had. IIRC.
TCTTS
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That's right. Thanks, Bunk.
Rudyjax
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Yeah, i remembered right after I posted. Thanks.
Topher17
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Can't wait for this one to come back. I will definitely need to re-watch a portion of last season. I'm also not crazy about the season split, but I'm sure they will do a good job of making it work.
TCTTS
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New, official teaser poster + accompanying "making of" article...

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/arts/design/mad-men-enlists-the-graphics-guru-milton-glaser.html


NE PA Ag
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I have put Bert and Roger on death watch for the final season. Bert simply because he's really old and I predict Roger will have another heart attack.
TCTTS
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^ Agreed. One or both is gone, if not a third character as well.
NE PA Ag
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If they do off Roger, I really hope they wait until one of the last two episodes. Out of all the characters, he is the most entertaining in my opinion.
AggiePride07
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AG
Mad Men

[This message has been edited by AggiePride07 (edited 3/7/2014 12:50p).]
TCTTS
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quote:
If they do off Roger, I really hope they wait until one of the last two episodes. Out of all the characters, he is the most entertaining in my opinion.


Yeah, absolutely. Surely they're aware he's a fan-favorite and will hold off as long as they can, assuming he does actually die.

[This message has been edited by TCTTS (edited 3/7/2014 12:52p).]
Quinn
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Where was Roger at at the end of the season? I know he is still working, but was he in a good mental place? I feel like he had rebounded, but that his story load was pretty light compared to prior years.
TCTTS
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Didn't Joan finally let Roger into his/her's kid's life in some way? I feel like he was having Thanksgiving dinner with her family or something.
Rudyjax
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I bet Don jumps off the building.
Stan Rizzo
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Can't wait. Agree with TCTTS that at its worst, it is head and shoulders better than anything else on tv. It's like playing connect the dots with all the imagery and foreshadowing. Then the character development and sharp dialogue is awesome. It's a slow burn that leaves you wanting more. You can watch it over again and pick up something else. And then read message boards to see what you missed. There us no other show that makes you hang onto and dissect every word or phrase, image, clothing, prop etc. I've never been so addicted to a show.

[This message has been edited by Walker01 (edited 3/7/2014 9:23p).]
Waltonloads08
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I thought I read somewhere that the final scenes of Mad Men would end in present day somehow.

Am I making this up?
Sex Panther
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That poster is awesome
TCTTS
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quote:
I thought I read somewhere that the final scenes of Mad Men would end in present day somehow.

Am I making this up?


Fan rumor. No one knows anything about how it'll end.
BioAg08
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I love that poster. Cool artwork.

Interesting how the same familiar silhouette of Don in 1960 is inset into it, like he's still stuck in the past and looking at the busy, colorful, new era of 1970ish.

Mad Men, where we have overanalyzed insignificant **** for 7 seasons! Wouldn't have it any other way.

I too am not thrilled with the split season. This show relies on character verses plot usually, and waiting an entire year to see the last 7 episodes kind of sucks. I wonder how much of this is AMC trying to hang on a little too long to something that seems ready to play out to completion.
Quad Dog
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One of my favorite things in this show is viewing major points in history through the characters' eyes. Last season ended Thanksgiving/December 1968. They usually jump ahead a few month in between seasons, so spring/summer 1969 will be the beginning of this last season.
  • Vietnam War all year
  • May - California protesters attacked by National Guard
  • June - Stonewall riots in NY is beginning of gay rights
  • July - Zodiac killer starts in CA, Apollo 11, Chappaquiddick incident(what a month)
  • August - Sharon Tate murder, Woodstock
  • October - Miracle Mets win World Series
  • November - Apollo 12
  • Dec. - Stones Altamont Free Concert

TCTTS
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quote:
Apollo 11


The one I'm looking forward to the most.
MW03
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That poster looks a little Gatsby-ian, to me. If you look at Mad Men through the lens of the Fitzgerald classic, there's an interesting correlation there to be made. Fitzgerald was telling us about the indulgence and depravity of the 20s through the growing disillusionment of Nick Carraway. Maybe Mattew Weiner is pointing out the same about the 60s through the disillusionment of Peggy Olson.

[This message has been edited by MW03 (edited 3/10/2014 12:02a).]
 
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