TIVO-WORTHY: DAMAGES & MAD MEN
I loved the pilot episode of this new FX series. It was intense and beautifully filmed…which didn’t surprise me when I saw the name Allen Coulter in the credits. He has directed episodes of some of my favorite shows of all time (as well as last year’s Hollywoodland):
The X-Files
Sex & The City
Six Feet Under
The Sopranos
I really like his style; muted, eerie and intense.
But the real star of Damages is the obvious one – Glenn Close. She is unbelievable on this show, the evil intent simmering just beneath that Hillary Clinton hair. It will be nice to see her on a weekly basis.
I don’t want to give anything way. Just watch it. Trust me.
This new show boasts two Sopranos alum (writer/producer Matthew Weiner and director Alan Taylor), and it is also quite stylish. Featuring a cast of character actors, the series takes a slick look at the world of advertising in 1960 through the eyes of an office full of well dressed secretaries and ad execs. It was the end of an openly sexist era, on the cusp on being challenged by newly empowered women, and that tension is exposed with great success on the show.
Mad Men is AMC’s first original scripted series, and they certainly picked a winner out of the gate.
Totally worth of a TiVO summer season pass.