Credit: AMC

In life we often have to do things that just are not our bag. [engraving on PFC. Dinkins' lighter]

When I went on review hiatus last month, I said I would either come back in time for last week’s Game of Thrones premiere or last night’s Mad Men premiere. I’m glad I waited the extra week.

Watching Mad Men is unlike any other current TV experience. That’s not really saying anything interesting in and of itself, but for viewers who have stuck with Don Draper since the season one premiere, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” it still manages to touch at that special something that Mad Men has even over something as fantastic as its AMC brother Breaking Bad (and every other show currently airing). Each scene of a Mad Men episode is completely packed with important things – imagery, dialogue, sounds – that teach you how to be a better viewer. While Breaking Bad is often content to show you exactly what it’s doing, Mad Men gives you the tools you need to make sense of an early scene where Don is in a Hawaiian paradise reading about Hell. The Divine Comedy - which is separated into three parts, Hell, Purgatory and Paradise – is a journey, and when Roger Sterling later talks about life’s journey as a straight path through doors and gates and bridges, we get the feeling his words of frustration and disappointment don’t just apply to him. All our main characters are in their own hells, purgatories and paradises at any given moment in Mad Men. But things begin and end with Don Draper, and when Sylvia – Don’s new mistress and the person who gave him the Dante book – asks what his New Year resolution is, his “I want to stop doing this” response makes me think he’s more in limbo than anything. The Hell is yet to come.

Like “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” “The Doorway” uses its last scenes to play with our expectations. Pilot episode Don was the suave-as-hell guy who you knew could get any woman he wanted; and then at the end, we see him come home to Betty and his kids – welcome to Mad Men. In the two-hour season six premiere, we follow Don and wife Megan – who Stan is quick to point out is still very hot – as they go through the motions of married life. Last season, Don made it through 13 episodes without cheating (minus that dream sequence) and even though the final scene of the finale told us all that was going to change, it seemed like “The Doorway” wouldn’t address it the more it went along. But this is Mad Men, after all, and Matthew Weiner loves to echo previous episodes, albeit sometimes in blatant ways. So, in this way Mad Men has hit the reset button and we’re back to that painfully disturbed Don Draper who can’t shake the ghosts of his past (PFC. Dinkins in Hawaii and Kenny asking about Don’s mother at mother Sterling’s ceremony – there’s not enough liquor to drink away thoughts of Dick Whitman).

Surprisingly, though, these episodes belonged to Roger (and to a lesser extent, Betty and Peggy) as much as Don. John Slattery has some of the best moments he’s had in the series so far in this premiere and let it be remembered that he’s had some fantastic moments before (last season’s LSD trips, for starters). Death permeates all of these scenes as much as door imagery, with Roger bearing the brunt of it. Both his mother and his shoeshine die, but it’s not until he hears news of the latter that we see him break down (“I don’t feel anything” he tells his ex-wife about his mother’s passing). It’s really difficult to read Roger when he’s cracking jokes all the time – just ask his therapist – so I’m not sure if he’s weeping for the invisible parachute that was his mother or if he can’t process that death just yet. But at the very least, he is horrified at the thought that he has received a shoeshine kit because he was the only one who bothered to try to call the guy. Roger is the kind of person who needs people to know and be affected when he dies. Poor old Georgio is the last person on the planet that Roger wants to be.

Without going too far in the direction of a summary recap, I’ll say that what we’re given of Betty and Peggy is really exciting going forward. Betty, who was largely absent from last season, goes through one of the grimier doors of these episodes in search of Sandy, one of Sally’s friends. When she can’t find this girl who reminds her of a younger version of herself, she returns home with a ripped coat and decides to change her hair color (too many “Hey, blondie!” comments). Betty is lost. If Mad Men has had some faults, one of them would be that the writers have had some trouble with her character since the divorce – many of the female characters in this show are defined in relation to Don. But these scenes never felt like a distraction from everything else that was going on, and I trust the powers that be to follow through on this and show us where such a physically transformed Betty can go. Peggy’s scenes were maybe less interesting but more enjoyable. It’s no surprise that she has become the Don Draper of her agency, quick to put people in their places and make them work late and capable of winning the reluctant client over in a meeting. It’s also great to see that she’s still in close contact with Stan so that she’s not too far away from the SCDP side of things. Peggy has always been the second main character on this show, and even though I didn’t think she would just disappear after she resigned, I was worried that – like Betty last season – she would occupy a more peripheral role (also, if you haven’t checked out the miniseries Elisabeth Moss is starring in, Top of the Lake, do that immediately).

With the stuff that goes on in any given episode of Mad Men, I could probably write 10,000 words about this show every week. But for today, I just want to welcome it back. In early 2013, I’ve seen some interesting shows: the second season of Girls came and went, The Americans is having a stellar debut season and The Walking Dead reminded me why I both love and hate that show. And now, of course, Game of Thrones has returned for what has been hyped up to be a standout season. But none of these shows settle in under your skin like Mad Men does. You’re never on the edge of your seat waiting for the next big thing to happen. You’re just allowed to sit in on these people’s lives and are forced to deal with some of the darker things that are going on in this world that, despite being decades removed from our own, is so similar to the present day. At the end of last season, Pete Campbell confronted himself and admitted to his family and home as a temporary bandage on a permanent wound. We, too, have our own temporary bandages and permanent wounds. And I praise Mad Men for being the show brave enough to remind us of that.

“Mad Mania” returned last night on AMC with its usual poetic dialogue, suicidal themes, tastes of adultery, and a whole lot of hair. In what I like to call the hair-isode, last night’s premiere was filled with mustaches, beards, dyed tresses, mutton chops, and hairlines that just keep getting farther and farther back. Though we have only been away from our favorite agency members for about a year, the hairstyles of the 60s have firmly taken hold in Sterling Cooper Draper Price and Holloway. Let’s take a look:

Harry Crane (Rich Sommer)

He may not have been the most memorable character of the show, but his hairdo was clearly the best. Did he fall in love with Joe Cocker over the break? His long side burns were not doing him any justice and sadly I don’t think they ever will. I give him props for trying to make it work, but I honestly don’t see anything good coming from the long burns. Quick Question: Were sideburns ever sexy?

Michael Ginsberg (Ben Feldman)

The young creative wizard returned to the show with Ringo Starr’s mustache and I didn’t hate it. In fact, I kinda loved it. If there was anyone I was hoping would sport the 60s stash, apart from Don of course, it was him. Is it a bad thing to want to grow out my mustache now?

Abe Drexler (Charlie Hofheimer)

Peggy Olson’s main squeeze returned almost unrecognizable with a grizzly Jerry Garcia look. I could not believe it was the same person and was forced to use IMDB for confirmation. I cringed watching him bob his head to music and I really hope we won’t have to endure his mane for much longer. Please shave the beard Abe, it looks awful.

Betty Francis (January Jones)

The most identifiable change in the series came from one of the most hated characters on the show. In one of the final scenes, Betty returns home with dyed brown hair. It is safe to say that the beautiful Betty is never coming back and I am a bit about it. Not, really,  I just don’t like Betty Francis.

Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser)

Does he even have hair on both sides of his head anymore? I totally get that he is getting older and that his hair is getting thinner, but this hairline thing is getting ridiculous. Just take a look at these two pictures and then tell me that it’s not over the top (Season 1 vs. Season 6) . Come on Matthew Weiner, you are better than this.

So there is my list of looks from last night’s hair-isode. Feel free to use the comment section to talk about your favorite moment from last night’s premiere. For today’s poll, tell us which member of the Mad Men cast is your favorite?

Don Draper (Jon Hamm)

Roger Sterling (John Slattery)

Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks)

Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss)

Via The AV Club

Georges Bataille could have written a book on “Mad Men’s” sixth season premiere, “The Doorway.”  Bataille, the famous Surrealist who wrote about the linkages between sexuality and death, would have seen so much in Don Draper, who, in the first five minutes alone, fantasizes about the death of his doorman and then looks at Megan’s exposed midriff as she lies in a beach chair opposite a Hawaiian beach.

Perhaps a morose yet erotic fantasy isn’t everyone’s idea of vacation, but that’s because Don is in Hawaii for reasons that are neither business nor pleasure, despite the fact that he’s there to manage a new account — the “Pink Palace,” a resort whose name already brings to mind some sexual connotations.  The expressionistic opening to this episode — fascinating in its ellipses and marvelous in its direction from Scott Hornbacher — depicts a sadder, broken Don that has almost no lines of dialogue and absolutely no control over his life.

Don, like every character this season, is having a bit of an existential crisis.  Following Lane’s suicide last season, everyone is now questioning the reasons for their existence, almost as if AMC decided to remake a Camus novel as an Emmy-winning machine.  Roger is forced to deal with death once again, as his mother dies in this episode; Betty searches for Sandy, her foster daughter that ran away to the East Village after her failure to receive an acceptance to Julliard at age 15.

What “Mad Men” proposes in all this poetic soul-searching is that the American Dream is over, and that it’s never going to be resurrected.  The days of Season One, where Sally used to run across freshly cut front yards at her schoolmates’ birthday parties, are far in the past now.  Now, in 1968, the American Dream of bygone years is a complete failure, and none of the characters seem interested in reclaiming it.

“The Doorway” is, more or less, a two-hour personal odyssey on Don’s part, as he tries to come to terms with the fact that he’s not a good person.  He will never have a stable marriage — the solution to last season’s “Are you alone?” seems to have been an affirmative one — and he isn’t immune to the circumstances of life.  That is, Don knows he’s going to die, and he now obsesses over this fact.

Throughout the episode, Don attempts to experience death vicariously.  As mentioned before, he tries to understand the temporary death of his doorman.  He even asks the doorman what it was like to die, and the doorman gives him an esoteric answer about seeing a light.  Don is bewildered by this answer — he is still unsure of how to deal with death, a circumstance of life beyond his control, and something that ultimately threatens his perfect life, much the way it did for Lane last season.

Then there’s Roger, who suffers the death of both his mother and a close friend in “The Doorway.”  Roger, too, is attempting what Don is also failing at, and it’s particularly sad, considering last season ended with Roger revealing his nude body — and finally achieving liberation — in front of a window.  “This is my funeral!” Roger even exclaims during his mother’s eulogy.  It isn’t his funeral, but it sure feels that way, and I hope that Roger isn’t the next to die.

The one character who does seem able to deal with what she can’t control is Peggy, who, as expected, works too hard in this episode when she resolves a troublesome account.  (This could be the description of Peggy’s role in any “Mad Men” episode; it would be nice to see a little change for her already.)  Peggy is more powerful than ever — her relationship with Abe is far less strained than last season, and she successfully manipulates the men around her at work.  Death, it seems, has no control over her because she, unlike Don and Roger, has accepted her fate and instead chooses to live freely in the time she has.

That thought may be morbid, but that’s what “Mad Men” proposes as we move into 1968, a year rife in America’s history with social turmoil, questions of authority, and activism.  The death material is seamlessly integrated into that already, with characters frequently referring to the conflict in Vietnam and acknowledging the horrors in the foreign country.  It’ll be interesting to see Don and Roger continue to face their fears of death as we move into larger themes of social freedom that seem to be the exact opposite of what they’re experiencing.

Maybe the titular doorway is something that Peggy has been able to enter already — it’s Don, Roger, and Betty who need to step over the threshold and accept their inevitable fates.  Death, a force that we cannot see or do anything about, looms constantly in “The Doorway,” and the only way to walk through the door is to understand that.  Whether the older generation can cope with the American Dream’s end is something the already nihilistic (and already brilliant) sixth season of “Mad Men” is excelling at examining, and it seems that with student protests, assassinations, and Deadheads on the horizon, it only has so much more complex ground to cover.

Alex Greenberger is entertainment editor.  Email him at agreenberger@nyunews.com.

Sally Draper is so fantastically bored she gives Suri a run for her money. Also, Joan is super fierce but that’s nothing new.

Take a drink whenever…

Betty gives Megan the stink eye.

Megan embarrasses Don by behaving too twee.

Peggy whips a secretary or ad man into shape in her new role at Cutler, Gleason and Chaough.

Sally says something snarky.

Don or Pete are obviously insecure around Michael Ginsberg.

Megan and Don have angry sex.

You’ve read whatever book Don is reading.

Finish your drink if…

Someone wistfully mentions Lane Pryce or makes a crude joke about the disgraced financial officer “hanging around.”

You catch Betty with a bag of Bugles.

Megan breaks out in song.

Joan doesn’t put up with anyone’s shit, because she’s out of favors for the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce team after last season’s sleazy Jaguar deal.

Someone punches Pete. He deserved it.

Do a shot if…

Someone looks pensive at the bar. Trouble is imminent.

Roger Sterling moons us, again.

Cutler, Gleason and Chaough steals an account from Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

Don is up to his old tricks again. You can’t teach an old dog…

The Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce name is amended to include Joan’s surname. She more than earned it.

Finish the bottle if…

Anyone is pregnant. Chug the bottle if it’s Megan.

Bert Cooper dies and they bury him in his socks (no shoes).

Roger is married again. Did LSD teach him nothing?

Paul’s Star Trek script makes the cut and airs on television.

Normally, I’m in good shape when it comes to planning and writing each week. This week, not so much. I have an idea what I want to do. Tomorrow, will be the IndyCar race recap. Later this week, Jackie and I will be talking superheroes. With Injustice coming out next week, we’ll be looking at the eternal Superman vs. Batman battle and run a quick demo impressions post. Okay, so I have a plan for next week. I just haven’t written anything yet.

Anyway, since Mad Men is back this weekend, here’s Elisabeth Moss.

Temporary college football powerhouse Auburn was up to no good in its glory days. That’s not much to anyone’s surprise but the extent of the corruption might be. (Roopstigo)

But in the sake of fairness, I should point out that damn near everyone is denying that Auburn story. (SB Nation)

You may not have heard of Ed Felten but he’s one of the most influential computer scientists slash hackers of our time. Now, he’s turning his attention away from customer software and onto the so-called automated selection algorithms of the likes of the TSA. (Wired)

Just for fun, let’s do a little news. The age limit on the morning after pill has been struck down in America which means that its available to anyone over the counter. Suck on that, religious right. (New York Times)

A new poll by Pew Research says that the majority of Americans support the legalization of marijuana for the first time ever. See what happens when you listen to facts and not fear mongering? (Salon)

Bill O’Reilly is almost coming out in favour of gay marriage. What sort of world do we live in when Bill O’Reilly is a voice of reason. (Media Matters)

The Rock has a movie to promote so he’s at WrestleMania this weekend. Okay, he’s also the WWE Champion… because he has a movie to promote. Anyway, he’s come a long way from a hot college recruit who never made it to wrestling’s biggest crossover star. (The Masked Man)

One of The Rock’s greatest opponents was Mick Fokey, AKA Mankind, AKA Cactus Jack, AKA Dude Love. He’s gone through a bit of a change in career too. (SB Nation)

Did Vince McMahon and the WWE revolutionize modern sports? (Cracked)

And I couldn’t have links about wrestling without including Stroud at least once. Here’s the best and worst of WrestleMania 2. Fair warning: It’s mostly worsts. (With Leather)

So how did the infamous nameless hockey rumour folks fare at the NHL trade deadline? About as poorly as you’d expect. (NJ.com)

Machinima and Kevin Pereira’s new Gamers vs. Pain series has quickly been dubbed one of the worst gaming videos of all-time. Can gaming industry leaders stop trying to make everyone involved look like morons and troglodytes? (Insert Coin)

There’s a new episode of Game of Thrones on this weekend and it’s not up against a craptacular episode of The Walking Dead. Come for the nudity but stay for the swearing. Sorry, this video is about the swearing.

I don’t care what people think, Dive Kick looks absolutely awesome and I will buy the shit out of this… Unless, they’re willing to give me a free copy to review.

When I first started the show, I thought that it was decent, but didn’t expect it to be a major hit for the network, nor did I expect it to win just about every award that it is nominated for. I have since grown to enjoy the programme. The thing that troubles me most is that they bring Paul back as some Buddhist monk-type with a ponytail that starts at the back of his skull, and they write him off just as quickly! What the heck, man! I know that they cut him because of budget issues (there was a major story about it, hence why almost every week they cut players or relegated them to guest stars) and his character didn’t have chemistry with Don, but I would love to see him in the coming season.

They let Peggy go, and I can only hope that she will return somewhere, even if she winds up humping Don at some point. They brought back Ken Cosgrove, just to piss off Pete, but no one calls Salvatore? I get that in the show he was stymied by the fact that by the mid sixties the ad companies where going to cheaper and easier photography for their ads, thus killing the art department, but I always felt that he and the other seconds had great chemistry, but what do I know, I’m just a fan.

I’m hoping that this season will continue to piss me off by not having that pretentious d-bag Paul (whom I loved, if you remember)!

Animal Prints

As bohemian fashions took over, animal prints became a popular choice for women. Stars like Brigitte Bardot wore them best.

Bouffant

Jackie Kennedy made the bouffant famous, and by the late ’60s, women largely wore it for glamorous occasions. Promo photos of Jessica Paré as Megan Draper show the actress donning a big, Priscilla Presley-style bouffant.

Culottes

Culottes have always been considered a practical clothing item that allowed women to perform everyday tasks with modesty. By 1968, they became a fashionable hybrid between the popular pants suits of the time and the skirts that were dramatically changing length.

Dinner Jacket

The men of Mad Men are dressed in their finest for the season six promo photos, sporting dinner jackets. Notch lapels gained popularity during this time. Casual elegance was paramount.

Empire Silhouette

The fitted bodice and loose skirt (as seen here on Jessica Paré’s Megan Draper) saw a revival in the late ’60s as strictly corseted feminine fashions relaxed into the 1970s. This style evolved into a more youthful “fit and flare” silhouette, which was seen in dresses (Kiernan Shipka’s Sally Draper), coats, and suits.

Flip-Flops

Today, people wear flip-flops to business meetings, but they would have been worn exclusively to the beach or pool in 1968. We’ll probably spot a few when Don and Megan relax on the sand this season.

Gloves

Styles were drastically changing, but gloves (long and short) were still a must-have for formal occasions.

Houndstooth

The women’s lib movement made it clear that ladies were fully capable of doing everything men could do. This fed fashion, too. Women’s suits mirrored men’s styles more distinctly with Houndstooth patterns, which saw a resurgence in the late 1960s.

Iridescent Lips and Eyes

This Revlon ad from 1968 for an “un-lipstick” promoted bare, shiny lips. Nude, iridescent colors gave mouths and eyelids a dewy, youthful look.

Jester Blouses and Collars

There’s a sad, poetic irony in placing one of the series’ most miserable characters, Betty Francis (January Jones), in a jester collar, named after a “royal” figure that habitually acts like a fool.

Knee-High Boots

Boots were already a popular footwear choice (for men and women) by 1968, and style icons like Jane Fonda made them a most-wanted item. She wore thigh-high boots in Barbarella that year. Sally Draper got a leg up on the fashion craze last season of Mad Men, and we expect to see the younger cast members wearing more round-toed boots (with chunky heels) in season six.

Long and Lean

Long, skinny, lean silhouettes were the go-to for men and women. Men’s suit jackets hit the hips — like the Nehru, which was a 1960′s minimalist staple that signified a growing interest in exotic cultures. The Beatles often wore them — and visited India that year.

Maxiskirts and Miniskirts

Maxiskirts arrived on scene in 1967, but the trend was never as popular as the miniskirt, which grew shorter and shorter. Colored tights and bare legs were the perfect accompaniment for the new hemline that was a symbol of liberation.

Neon

Outrageously bright colors welcomed the Space Age and psychedelic 1960s. If it wasn’t neon, metallic, or a wearable optical illusion, it wasn’t worth stepping into.

Ornament and Opulence

Joan’s curve-hugging dress with ornamental, embroidered touches conjures 1968 Elizabeth Taylor — attending the opening of Doctor Faustus — and the actress’ Cleopatra gowns from 1963. Taylor’s love of big, bold fashion dripping with diamonds makes her a fitting style icon for the empowered Joan (Christina Hendricks).

Pixie Hair

Peggy’s (Elisabeth Moss) hair isn’t a drastic pixie or pageboy cut, but the close-cropped style is reminiscent of women’s shorter hair lengths during the late ’60s that models like Twiggy and stars like Audrey Hepburn and Mia Farrow made famous.

Quilted Robes

We’ve already seen Betty at her frumpiest, and these quilted robes remind us of the kind of housewife wardrobe she’d wear for long afternoons of sulking.

Ruffles

Feminine styles from the 1930s returned during the late 1960s and ruffles decorated blouses, dresses, and jumpers for added softness.

Scarf

We’ve seen Megan Draper rock a skinny scarf as a hair accessory before, but by 1968, women were wearing them as fashionable turbans and gypsy-style accessories — especially favored by hippies.

Tie

We expect to see fewer Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce employees buttoned up with ties this season.

Unconcealed

Brigitte Bardot’s 1968 attire isn’t appropriate for the office, but transparent fabrics were a stylish wardrobe addition and matched the increasingly free-spirited time period.

Vest

Another piece of menswear that influenced female fashion was the vest. Younger women wore them long and flowing.

Wide-Leg Trousers

Wide-leg trousers were yet another look inspired by menswear. They also mimicked the fit and flare fashion of women’s dresses and were usually paired with wide belts for a tiny waist.

XL Earrings

Drippy, gorgeous chandelier earrings required.

Yarn

Everyone was cardigan crazed and wild about knitwear.

Zipper

Zippered jumpsuits are never sexy, but the late ’60s didn’t discriminate when it came to garments you zipped.

1. Don Draper on children:

via ‘Mad Men’s’ Don Draper Gives Some Life Lesson Tips – Best Movies Ever Entertainment News.

DIANE KRUGER in New York City
dress by Preen, purse by Chanel, shoes by Loeffler Randall

Photo: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

This was my Pre-Fall 2013 red carpet prediction for Kirsten Dunst, but I am all kinds of in love with it on March Fabness 2013 semi-finalist Diane Kruger. This girl power-clashes prints like a master, and her shoes are to die for.

DIANE KRUGER in Los Angeles
dress by Thakoon, shoes by Jimmy Choo

Photo: Michael Williams/Startraks

Like all the best things Diane wears, this is slightly weird but totally fabulous. The side cut-outs are stunning and sexy but not overtly so, and the shoes are positively insane in the best possible way.

DIANE KRUGER in Hollywood
top by Carven, skirt by Vanessa Bruno, shoes by Christian Louboutin

Photo: Rob Latour/Splash News

I hate the shoes, but this bitch knows how to work a crop top, I’ll give her that.

KIERNAN SHIPKA in Los Angeles
dress by Red Valentino, shoes by Jimmy Choo

Photo: Amanda Edwards/WireImage

You guys, Mad Men comes back this weekend and I am STUPID excited about it. Because more Kiernan Shipka in my life is always a good thing. I love everything about this look, but particularly the shoes – she’s graduating to grown-up shoes and it’s just awesome.

KIERNAN SHIPKA at the Kids’ Choice Awards
dress by Rag & Bone

Photo: tomandlorenzo.com

Black ankle booties with short dresses are one of my biggest red carpet pet peeves, but Kiernan makes this look better than basically every other starlet I’ve ever seen it on.

JESSICA ALBA in New York City
jacket by Michael Kors, purse by Roger Vivier, shoes by Christian Louboutin

Photo: Freddie Baez/Startraks

I would like one of everything she’s wearing, please and thank you.

JESSICA ALBA at the Kids’ Choice Awards
dress by Mary Katrantzou, purse by Stella McCartney, shoes by Christian Louboutin

Photo: Rex

I think 90% of Mary Katrantzou dresses are hideous; this is no exception. And while I love those shoes, I’ve seen them on celebrities more than enough over the last few seasons. I think they’re nearing red-carpet retirement.

COBIE SMULDERS in Hollywood
dress by Bibhu Mohapatra, purse by Devi Kroell, shoes by Aldo by Preen

Photo: tomandlorenzo.com

The purse is a little too big, so it distracts a little from the clean, chic fierceness of this look. But I do love this dress on her (though maybe it could be an inch shorter?), and the shoes look great with it.

ALEXA CHUNG in New York City
jacket and skirt by Carven

Photo: Billy Farrell/BFAnyc/Sipa

I’d like it better if it weren’t khaki and she weren’t wearing a brooch shaped like a pineapple. I can’t imagine anything more hipster than a freaking diamond pineapple brooch.

FREIDA PINTO in London
top, skirt, and purse by Proenza Schouler, shoes by Rupert Sanderson

Photo: Dave M. Benett/Getty

My Pre-Fall 2013 red carpet predictions had Kirsten Dunst in the blue-green version of this dress. I’m digging this one on Freida, but I’m not sure the boxy shape and the belt are particularly flattering on her. The colors are for sure fantastic, but something about this feels a little awkward.

FREIDA PINTO in Mumbai
dress by Naeem Khan, shoes by Jimmy Choo

Photo: tomandlorenzo.com

I’m not sold on the shoes, which seem a little unnecessarily fussy for the event and the look, but the dress is great.

JANUARY JONES in Los Angeles
dress by Jonathan Saunders, shoes by Christian Louboutin

Photo: Elizabeth Goodenough/Everett

Love it from the neck down, but that hair and makeup are seriously lacking.

JESSICA PARÉ in Los Angeles
dress by Prabal Gurung, shoes by Prabal Gurung for Casadei

Photo: Sara De Boer/Startraks

This was my Pre-Fall 2013 red carpet prediction for Kate Bosworth. I love this dress, but I hate those shoes with it – they were in the runway look too, but I find them incredibly distracting and not particularly pretty. Combined with the very busy dress, it’s just too much.

ELISABETH MOSS in Los Angeles
dress by McQ, purse by Charlotte Olympia, shoes by Sergio Rossi

Photo: Amanda Edwards/WireImage

The dress is okay, the purse is killer, and the shoes are terrible. I hate those little teardrop peep-toes that only show, like, a centimeter of toe. What’s the point?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS in Los Angeles
dress by L’Wren Scott, purse by L.K. Bennett, shoes by Giuseppe Zanotti

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty

The dress is a little dowdy (I think the length is the problem) and I’m not a fan of the shoes. C’mon, Joanie, you’re better than this.

BLAKE LIVELY in Toronto
dress by Roland Mouret, shoes by Christian Louboutin

Photo: Sean O’Neill/INFphoto.com

This was my Resort 2013 red carpet prediction for Keira Knightley. It would have looked fantastic on Blake if it weren’t for the shoes, which just make me cringe. I could love them with an LBD, but with this dress? It’s a mess.

FERGIE at the Kids’ Choice Awards
dress by Mary Katrantzou, purse by Swarovski

Photo: tomandlorenzo.com

I liked this print much better on Lucy Liu, because the silhouette was actually interesting and it wasn’t three sizes too small on her. And I know the backdrop isn’t Fergie’s fault, but this dress is sort of impossible to look at with all that crap in the background.

KATY PERRY at the Kids’ Choice Awards
top and skirt by Hervé Léger, shoes by Christian Louboutin

Photo: tomandlorenzo.com

Listen, I’m all for a crop top, but can we maybe not wear bras as tops to the Kids’ Choice Awards, just like, as a rule?

JENNIFER LOPEZ in Phoenix, Arizona
dress by Maria Lucia Hohan, purse and shoes by Christian Louboutin

Photo: Tony DiMaio/Startraks

J.Lo will be dressing like a teenager into her seventies, won’t she?

EMMY ROSSUM in Beverly Hills
dress by Tory Burch, shoes by Jimmy Choo

Photo: John Shearer/Invision/AP

WHO DID THAT TO YOUR FACE, EMMY? Fire them. And whoever picked out those torture devices on your feet. There is no reason for you to look like this, darling.

—
© Democracy Diva, 2013.
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‘Mad Men‘ leading lady Elisabeth Moss scores a seductive feature in the April issue of US GQ magazine.

Photographed by Steven Pan, the crop-haired cuties models sexy lingerie from Agent Provocateur, paired with a black The Row blazer (above) and a white Alexander Wang cardigan (below).

The 30-year-old actress plays a fun game of ‘Fuck Marry Kill’ with the magazine, based on the guys on the show.

“Oh brother. I don’t want to marry any of them! Impossible! I guess I’d marry…Sterling? Fuck Don. And I guess I have to kill Pete? But let me say for the record that none of these are things I’d ever want to do”, Elisabeth reveals in GQ.

Email: @epapiki@gmail.com
Twitter: @EmmanuelTjiya

Photos Via GQ

Also known as Peggy for her amazing role in Mad Men, this month’s Crush of the Month is Elisabeth Moss.

Check her out in this month’s edition of GQ Mag.

[Photo Credit: GQ magazine]

- Xicotek

via ‘Mad Men’ Season 6 Has Everyone On Board For Nearly Final Season – Best Movies Ever Entertainment News.

The series’ creator, Matthew Weiner, had just come off The Sopranos, where he was one of the lead writers and executive producers. His new series, with the unlikely title Mad Men, was one of the most talked-about, sought-after jobs in town. Mad Men was going to be a tony, high-class affair, a happening place, and the job of costume designer was likely to be both a monumental challenge and the opportunity of a lifetime.

Jessica Pare, left, with Jon Hamm.

Weiner summoned Bryant for an in-person interview. Bryant had never met Weiner before, and knew him only by reputation: A talented but mercurial artist, a tough taskmaster with a good eye and an almost unnatural attention to detail.

“I was late because we shoot at a studio in downtown Los Angeles and it’s like a maze down there,” Bryant recalled.

Bryant was dressed on this day in a resplendent, ankle-length black dress — she was due on the red carpet just half an hour later for a black-tie screening of Mad Men’s season premiere. The more she talked about Mad Men, though, the more effusive she became. She removed her high heels and stood in sensible bare feet while she sounded off on the incredible journey of Mad Men.

That first day, for example.

“I got lost,” she said candidly. “I couldn’t find his office.”

She was anxious. Weiner had a reputation for not suffering fools gladly, and there’s no fool like a fool who shows up late for a job interview. She ran into a downtown office tower — she assumed, or least hoped it was the studio — and ran for an elevator just as the doors were closing.

“There was a man in, like, this really dashing sports coat there, holding a box with a plant over it. I was, like, ‘Hey, nice jacket!’ And he said, ‘Hey, nice belt buckle.’ I was wearing my big ‘J’ belt buckle that day. And he said, ‘Are you Janie?’ I said ‘Yeah,’ and he said, “Hey, I’m Matt, and we’re meeting.’”

They talked for almost two hours.

“There was just a great communication there,” Bryant recalled. “We really talked about the period, and he talked about how he saw all these characters. We just connected, and the next day I was hired.”

Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner.

Bryant embarked on her “incredible journey” that has lasted six years now, and counting.

“I have always loved costume design and the power of costume design. People have such an awareness now of costume design and what a costume designer does. For me, being able to see my work in store windows, on the runways, on the streets, it’s fascinating. The power of television is incredible. I love that people get so excited about the costume design and the design of the show. I think it’s an amazing thing when all the pieces work and everything comes together. Mad Men truly is an amazing piece of art, I think.”

Bryant says there have been times when the different eras in history — 1967 and 2012 — blur together, in the most serendipitous and craziest of ways.

“I hear people say, all the time, ‘Oh, that Mad Men style,’ or, ‘That’s so Mad Men,’ or, ‘How do you get that Mad Men style?’ I think people will refer back to it as, ‘Oh, you remember that show Mad Men and the way everybody dressed in that style?’ ”

Bryant was an admirer of Sex and the City, from a style point of view. And while she’s flattered by stylistic comparisons between the two shows — “I am a fan of Patricia Fields; I think she’s an amazing costume designer” — Mad Men is her baby.

“Sex and the City is an amazing show, and for that reason I think it got a lot of people excited about costume design. But Mad Men is a different period. To be perfectly honest, to be the costume designer of this show was never about the fashion. It’s about telling the story of these characters through the costumes. It’s just that, once people first saw the show, it took on a life of its own. But Mad Men has never been about a catwalk.”

Now that Mad Men is closing in on its sixth season, Bryant has lost track of the pants and shoes and dresses and slips and undergarments that have piled up in the costume shop and wardrobe closets.

Jon Hamm

“Oh, my goodness, I don’t know, thousands and thousands,” Bryant said, laughing. “I have no idea. If you could only see the costume shop and how many bins and bins of girdles and bras and slips and stockings and pantyhose.”

And that’s just for the Mad Men women.

“Then there are boxes and boxes and boxes of T-shirts and boxers and briefs. It’s all about the details, right?

“I can tell you this, though. We have counted how many costumes we need, head-to-toe, per episode, on average. On average, there are 75 costumes head-to-toe, just for the principal cast, the guest cast and the day players. That doesn’t include any of the background cast, which we usually have about 200 costumes for, just for the background cast with each episode.”

Each season is different. Every season advances ahead in time, occasionally by a few months, occasionally — last season, for example — by several years.

And the season to come?

Bryant wouldn’t bite.

“I really can’t tell you what we are going to see in the upcoming season. But I can tell you that one of the biggest challenges of being the costume designer of Mad Men is to tie all the seasons together seamlessly and be able to show the progression with some characters, but not necessarily all the characters, and think of it all in terms of our lives today, where some people are incredibly fashion forward and others are stuck in, you know, a time 20 or 30 years ago.

Elisabeth Moss

“Just on one season alone in Mad Men, you have the beatniks, the younger secretaries and the older secretaries, the parents, the men who work on Madison Avenue. The amazing thing about Mad Men is that there is such variation. But it also has to tie together.”

Peggy Olson, for example, as played by Elisabeth Moss.

“Peggy! I mean, yes, Peggy, gosh. She is the character who I always think of as progressing the most in terms of her costume design, and her character too, from season one and really just getting off the boat, so to speak. I always think of her as being that classic Catholic, buttoned-up schoolgirl.

“And, if you look back on it, in season one she really does have that look about her as someone’s who’s young and fresh and naive but still buttoned up to hide her gaining weight — and then we find out she’s pregnant. Just all the details that went into achieving that look just for her, getting that new job and having a boyfriend. By season four she’s not the schoolgirl anymore but the true career girl, the woman who’s wearing suits. She’s had all these different progressions in her storyline.”

Elisabeth Moss

As for whether viewers are likely to see Peggy Olson, or any of the women characters, in a miniskirt ‘— the miniskirt made major waves in 1965 — Bryant would only offer a cheerful laugh.

“Oh, you know what, I can’t tell you anything about that.”

Not even the clothes?

“No,” she said, laughing again. “It’s better to wait for it. Don’t worry.”

As for her own future after Mad Men, Bryant isn’t giving it much thought, just yet. She’s still a ’60s woman living in a 2013 world, figuratively speaking.

“As the costume designer, I’m working on the show six months of the year,” Bryant said. “To have my own brand is something I always felt was a true full-time job. I want to be the costume designer for Mad Men for as long as Matt will have me. Let’s see what happens when this series ends.”

Mad Men returns Sunday on AMC at 9 ET/6 PT.

I have recently started watching Mad Men.. I know I am very behind the times and that it’s been out for a while, but things my side have been manic and I am finally finding some time for myself. I love this show, probably because I work in an agency and often dream of boozy lunches, but mainly because the styling is so darn good. And they say things like “swell”.

There are some gorgeous pieces on that set and I love the 1960′s vibe. The big clip on pearl earrings, the statement necklaces, the brooches..

I think the most iconic piece is Joan Holloway’s gold chain pen. She wears it all the time (well in the first season anyway) and carries it off to well! [source]

How gorgeous is this necklace and earring combo on ol’ Mrs Betty Draper? [source]

All the pearls and glass beads.. Reminds me a bit of my grans jewellery. [source]

How much do you love this ‘earring and brooch’ set? Very matchy matchy as was wont in the 1960′s. [source]

I’m not quite sure who the woman on the left is (as I said I have only starting watching very recently) and I don’t want to Google in case I ruin it for myself! But you can enjoy her necklace in the meantime. And of course, the gorgeous January Jones on the right. [source]

The earrings. The brooch. I want! [source]

As you can see by all my images of Joan, she really ups the stakes in the jewellery department. How beautiful is this choker? [source]

Oh fiiine.. Here is Peggy. Resplendent in yellow. with that fringe. Although, the necklace is not half bad. [source]

Bella Swan, you’re all grown up!

(2012) Drama (Sundance Selects) Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley, Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen, Tom Sturridge, Alice Braga, Elisabeth Moss, Danny Morgan, Marie-Ginette Guay, Steve Buscemi, Joe Chrest, Terrence Howard, Coati Mundi, Michael Sarrazin, Ximena Adriana, Tetchena Bellange, Kim Bubbs, Tiio Horn, Giselle Itie, Giovanna Zacarias. Directed by Walter Salles  

The classic Jack Kerouac Beat Generation novel On the Road has literally been in development for decades. Nobody really knew quite what to do with the book. It finally got made and was released in late 2012; was it worth the wait?

Young Sal Paradiso (Riley), a stand-in for the author, meets Dean Moriarty (Hedlund) – who stands in for Neal Cassady – through mutual friends. Sal, grieving for his father and a writer stuck in a horrible case of writer’s block, is instantly taken by this young man who is full of life and not especially concerned with convention, rules or…well, anything that gets in the way of him having a good time. Charming and literate, Dean and his 16-year-old wife Marylou (Stewart) serve up alcohol, sex and marijuana with equal enthusiasms. When it’s time for Dean and Marylou to head back to Denver, Sal is invited to come visit.

It takes some time for Sal to get together the gumption and funds to go – even in postwar New York there aren’t a ton of jobs – but he finally does. He rides busses and hitchhikes across the pre-Interstate America and eventually gets there, only to find that Dean is cheating on Marylou with Camille (Dunst). Sal heads back, stopping briefly to pick cotton and have an affair with Terri (Braga).

Later, after Sal has returned to New York, Sal and his mother (Guay) are visiting Sal’s sister and her husband for the holidays in North Carolina when Dean turns up with Marylou and friend Ed Dunkle (Morgan) and offer to drive Sal and his mom back up to New York in exchange for a place to stay for the night and a meal. Sal’s staid sister and family aren’t quite sure what to make of the intruders.

After getting back to New York and spending some time partying, Sal decides to accompany the three back to Denver. On the way they stop in New Orleans to pick up Ed’s wife Galatea (Moss) and to visit Old Bull Lee (Mortensen) and his wife Jane (Adams). They continue crisscrossing the country and as they do Sal noticed that women are getting left behind quite regularly both figuratively and literally not only by Dean but by all of them (the lone exception is Carlo (Sturridge) who is gay and is one of those left behind by the bisexual Dean). After a disastrous trip to Mexico in which Sal contracts dysentery, at last he will see Dean for who he truly is – and find inspiration in the process.

In all honesty I’ve been less a fan of the writing of the Beat Generation and more of…well, admirer isn’t quite the right term. The Beat writers were full of bullshit, but it’s an honest bullshit, a young man’s bullshit. This is a movie about self-fulfillment in all its forms. I have to admit I haven’t read the book; okay, I might have but it was so long ago that I don’t remember it and so it adds up to the same thing.  Therefore, I’m not really the one to evaluate whether the spirit of the book was captured so we’ll leave that as a N/A for now.

Salles, who is no stranger to road movies having directed the Che Guevara quasi-biopic The Motorcycle Diaries has a firm hand here and allows the allure of the road to shine through; the endless stripes passing by through landscapes mostly desolate but wonderful in their emptiness. However, keeping in mind that the movie runs about two hours give or take, that can only sustain a film so much.

The characters here are so incredibly self-involved that it’s difficult to find a lot of sympathy for the lot of them. Mostly they’re about indulging whatever hedonistic pleasure grabs them at the moment, and Dean is the mainstay in that regard. For Dean, friends and lovers are to be exploited, discarded when the need for them diminishes or when boredom sets in. He wants to meet people who have something to say that isn’t the usual postwar pabulum of pandering prattling polemic, empty of soul and emptier of head. That’s all well and good but what does interesting companions really do for you if you make no connection to them?

Admittedly the relationship between Dean and Sal is the centerpiece here in that there is more or less a relationship of mutual respect and debauchery but in the end Dean uses Sal just as thoroughly and just as despicably, maybe even more so than the others. Hedlund gives the performance of his career thus far in capturing Dean’s natural charisma and sensual charm that attracted both women and men to him like moths to a flame. Riley, a British actor who’s turned in some really incredible performances in his young career, is solid here as the yin to Hedlund’s yang, and to my mind it’s a generous move because by not shining quite so bright he allows Hedlund’s glow to be more noticeable and the movie benefits from it.

You can only take so much self-indulgent behavior and there’s really a whole lot of it here. There’s an amazing amount of smoking and drinking, not to mention a ton of sex and drug use. I don’t begrudge anyone who partakes in any of those things but it’s a bit more boring to watch than you’d expect.

This is a generation that is not unlike the 20-somethings that are out there right now; people trying to find their own way in a world that doesn’t really get them much, so they are forced to reinvent the world to fit their view. I can commend the ballsyness of the strategy but it doesn’t always make for good cinema unless of course these are your people too.

They aren’t really mine. There just isn’t any appeal in watching people indulge their most hedonistic and basic whims while forgetting to make any connection to other people. It’s an ultimately empty and meaningless pursuit. Life is about connections, not so much about carnality. It’s a lesson that the young learn as they get older, although some never learn it at all.

Some will look at these characters and see heroes bucking the system and living life on their own terms. I see people who screw their friends over and whose only concern is having a good time. One must grow up sooner or later (you would hope) and to be honest, watching this is like watching children acting out. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt – sorry if that means I fail the coolness test.

REASONS TO GO: Some good performances, particularly from Hedlund. Captures the allure of the road and the essence of the era.

REASONS TO STAY: Characters far too self-indulgent to connect to.

FAMILY VALUES:  A whole lot of sex, swearin’ and smokin’ of weed.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Producer Francis Ford Coppola originally bought the rights to the novel in 1979 and has been attempting to get the film made since then.

CRITICAL MASS: As of 4/1/13: Rotten Tomatoes: 44% positive reviews. Metacritic: 56/100; the reviews are lukewarm at best.

COMPARISON SHOPPING: Neal Cassady

FINAL RATING: 5/10

NEXT: Admission

This Sunday, one of my favorite shows, Mad Men finally returns and here’s a sneak peek of the continuing story-lines from this Emmy Award-winning show.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Tim Goodman breaks down the Season Six opening episode titled, The Doorway. Here is an excerpt from his review.

“What’s intriguing and partly amazing about the two hour “movie” called “The Doorway” that opens the season April 7 is that (creator Matthew) Weiner has not lost his touch at writing a beautifully crafted script — jammed with the sadness and humor and personal revelations we’ve all come to appreciate. But in addition to that, he’s decided to really hit home Mad Men’s key theme in the first two hours with a kind of ferocity of intent we’ve rarely seen from him.”

To read his complete review, click here; check out a teaser promo and some images of the talented and beautiful cast, below:

Your name is Holly Hunter and you were born on 20 March 1958 and you’re a Pisces.

May Rosie, (still attached to her god damned chair and with her mouth taped – she started screaming the poor sod, so sorry for the background muffled sounds), and I welcome you on to our small stage.  May the god damned blessed light be shed on you!

It appears that at this point in time, you have made an amazing encounter and that this brings a welcome relief in the form of a trip.  It’s like a fated meeting gets you out of that rut you feel stuck in and unable to get out of.  But you’re not that stuck as you’re about to discover and this grey fog you wandered through in the past few weeks, possibly months is suddenly lifting.  Well no, it’s not lifting but you’re walking out of it and it feels like it’s lifting whereas you just walked by the edge of the bloody damned fog.

Yes, ties of all sorts, work, relationships, money, you name it, kept you into that rut but ‘eureka!’, that little bulb just lit up again and you remembered that there’s always going to be work for you, that you’ll never lose all your hard earned buck and as far as relationships go, the loved ones had better follow you ‘cause it’s not that time of moon for you to follow ‘em, right?  Right.  O’course I am right.  What do you take me for?

And remember also that whatever one’s choices may be, one always learns from it and if one day regrets point the tip of their noses, slap them hard and come back to where you were before because just as much as thing can be done, they can be undone too, just like the universe will be one day, sometime far, far away from now, so don’t you worry.

There’s no question that at the moment, you’re ready to pull the bull by the horns, with kindness as much as strength, and that nothing can stop you from getting what you want and where you’re headed.  You’re feeling generous, loving and willing to help those who have a lot less and close ones.

There’s nothing more you dislike at the moment than pure, cold thought and you literally ‘hate’ people who come into your life and put the brakes on anyone having fun and being social, as if such a person had done so recently and had your hair stand on end with horror. Most probably this man, some pretentious dude, plagued the company you were in with his misery mind, lack of imagination and inability to behave foolishly.  No doubt you won’t let it happen again because you’ll spot such a dude 15 miles coming next time.

Currently, you’re not keen on big changes in your life and you’re welcoming the unexpected, friendship, love, lovers.  Aaaaah love!  Always a special spot in your big heart, so much room for it.  Your idea of love is to let it come and let it go as life goes by and enjoy it while it lasts.  Nice Ms Hunter, nice, way to go.  If I were a woman… well, that’s another story.

For now, it seems that your past was very different from what your current life is.  There were times with nothing, nothing at all and there were times with incredible fortune and abundance.  Now there is balance, a hard-earned and well deserve balance of mind-body-spirit and you wish for it never to go away.

Ain’t it nice to be able to control the level and intensity of one’s life, Ma’am?  So if I may, why let go a little more and behave as if you were blind.  Let loose, let your hair down, see what happens next.  Stop thinking.  Stop thinking about details, let life grab you and take you places without planning or organising.  It’s good for you.

And therefore, in order to let life come to you, what is suggested here, Holly-Ma’am, is to take the time to rest.  Yes, I’ll go further than that: meditate!  You’re an accomplished theatre actress; you know what to do to listen to silence with penetrating insistence and rewarding benefit.  Again, don’t let pure cold mathematical thinking get the better of you and dismiss that type of thought because it’s no use and no good to you.

Hey, Holly, just because you don’t feel guilty enough – in your mind’s eye – for not feeling guilty and for your not having regrets doesn’t mean you should dwell on it like this.  Victory never is what it appears to be indeed and one cannot draw fast conclusions for the short term.  Hold your horses and consider what it is you could do if you had to fix things, even if there’s nothing to be ‘fixed’ at present.  What would you do if things/life didn’t turn out as expected in the near future?  You know it’s not worth dwelling on it, nor is it worth dwelling over the God damn dwelling itself.  So live on, Ma’am.  Live to the full, enjoy the arts, your craft and good company and don’t let life get the better of you.  Yeah, that’s right, just think of the Simpsons’ creators and how daily life can turn out as one big fucking and funny joke (no sarcasm intended here) and all will be well.

Indeed, your next movie might be made playing a woman who is dying and decides to have that fun bucket list drawn, one unusual bucket list that would exclude all people she doesn’t like for any reason, to a dangerous level where she decides to get rid of the ‘unwanted’ in her life before her own body gives up and have fun with it.  The idea here would be to get the cinema audience to love that woman’s character despite her obvious flaws.  A tear jerker of a movie, a mind boggling picture no one will wanna miss.  Good on ya, Holly!

Hope you enjoyed this reading.

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Top of the Lake 01-03

In the first two episodes of the Sundance Channel’s new series Top of the Lake, we met the characters:

Tui Mitcham – a 12 year old girl who tried to kill herself as the series began. She’s both pregnant and missing.

Robin Griffin – a brave detective with a specialization in sex crimes called in as a consultant in the search for Tui Mitchell. She’s tough – but she carries secrets.

Detective Sergeant Al Parker – Robin’s boss and mentor. He’s a policeman who appears to be a gentleman whereas his associates appear to include some lowlifes working as cops.

Matt Mitcham – Tui’s father. He’s more than violent. He’s the show’s main source of power, mayhem, and menace. We never know what to expect from him.

GJ – In The Matrix, the Oracle was embodied by a nondescript woman in a house dress. GJ may lack otherworldly powers – but she still conducts herself as an Oracle. She runs the New Age compound for women at Paradise.

Our discussion with reader FD continues;

JMM: I detected a distinct change in direction in Episode Three. The first two episodes got the story going, introduced the settings, the characters, and gave us the mystery of Tui’s disappearance. But this time – I think the story didn’t quite go forward as much as the three lead characters: Robin, Al, and Matt – were given a whole lot more depth. Does this seem accurate to you, or is your take on the episode different?

FD: Yes, I thought this episode drifted far too much. It seems like most cable series lack appropriate pacing (this was also true of The Killing which ran 20 episodes over two years!).

Episode 3 was a cavalcade of Campion characters, but there was far too much time spent on sex and drugs while the mystery engine was left idling. I also thought the investigation turned up too many obvious red herrings. Did you think maybe someone was being framed?

JMM: Not quite. One of the red herrings from last week, the Austrian barkeeper Wolfie, can no longer be considered a suspect in the disappearance of Tui. I do believe he’s going to be blamed, but I don’t think that will fly.

Who else can be considered a possible candidate/suspect in Tui’s disappearance?

FD: Hold it! Tui may have left on her own. We’re not sure Tui’s dead yet, are we? So far, we have no reason to assume that.

JMM: No one said she was dead. I was referencing the red herrings.

FD: Okay the red herrings – We do know that Platte’s dead. We do know there was a hanging. And we were shown the graves of some dead animals. Clearly, with Tui still unaccounted for, these events were red herrings, so no surprises there. On the other hand, I was surprised by Robin’s sexual encounters (I’m about to get married – I don’t want to fall in love).

JMM: The first time with Johnno, in the ladies room in the bar, she was surprised and passive, and the second time, she just wanted it.

FD: But, the best part of last night’s episode was Holly Hunter’s performance as GJ. Totally original! She’s so good, I’m sorry she has to compete against so many other unusual character types. GJ is riveting. The others, not so much.

JMM: Strange people may live in out-of-the-way places. They may also live around the corner. While I agree that Hunter is great as GJ – her character is throwing off a remarkable amount of mumbo-jumbo, seeing into the future, and outright scary talk, along with mysticism. I‘ve no idea what she’s about. What do you make of her?

FD: I like GJ. She makes a lot of sense to me. She understands the women who live in her commune better than they do. And she’s got a sense of what’s going on with Matt Mitcham, better than he seems to have. How about that guy? Talking to his dead Mom…and self-flagellation? He’s as weird as GJ, but he makes no sense to me.

JMM: I don’t get him him either. But at least we now know that there are profit motives that at least make up a good part of his activity.

FD: Do you think Tui left on her own?

JMM: Impossible to answer that with certainty. I think there are three possibilities: Taken by force – if this is the case it should have been shown. Left on her own – very possible – guilt and shame about the pregnancy. The third option is that she is being helped/hidden by those in a position to best help her – which leads us back to the gates of Paradise. But all of that is conjecture and guesswork, not fact.

FD: Yes, and, if she left voluntarily, we may have a somewhat different story — about other crimes past, present, and future? And Tui’s disappearance may be another red herring. Many questions, but unfortunately, for me none of these questions has really landed a grip on me. I’m not sure whether this show is a mystery or a character drama. Mystery and character development are difficult ingredients to mix. What question(s) are you most focused on?

JMM: I think the main questions for me are: Where is Tui, where will GJ take us, and what will become of Robins vis-a-vis Johnno and Al?

Do you see these as the main ones or do you have a different one ?

FD: I’m saying that I’m losing my interest in solving these questions. There are too many different threads and esoteric characters to ponder. So the question for me is — why is the story meandering like a slow bayou?

JMM: Well, we opened with these same thoughts. And we agreed that the story suffered in this episode. Maybe it is what you said – they’re changing direction and are edging into it rather than just dropping in a quick resolution to one or more of the questions.

Since you remarked about liking the GJ character and Hunter’s performance so much – what do you think the relevance is and where is she headed?

FD: I don’t know. GJ is a terrific character, but I can’t guess what her purpose is. She is a mystery which we may never solve. To stay on my theme a bit longer, I think Campion is more concerned with character than plot. Her story often feels like a circus sideshow. But, the action in the main ring is underplayed here.

I need to see tigers, not more buried sheep.

JMM: Clearly Matt is the tiger – is Robin a sheep (tiger food) or is she a predator herself?

FD: Matt started as a tiger, but he became more of a pussycat this week. Robin has a lot of internal conflict. She seems much less driven than the detective in The Killing, who also left her fiance hanging.

The show needs a shot of adrenalin, not LSD. I really hope this mystery train gets moving in Episode 4.

JMM: Okay – on this we agree. You mentioned that above – too much emphasis on sex and drugs. But let’s examine Matt for a moment. Initially, he wanted the ladies off the Paradise property. Now he is sitting in on their meetings, bringing flowers, dating Anita and then tripping with her.

In short trying to either get inside their community, or simply buddy up for what at the moment is an unknown reason. Any ideas on that? Or is it simply a meandering script that has lost its focus?

FD: That is up to the viewer. Personally, I like a lean mean mystery. But, I suspect that this one has a lot of calories. I think the writer could have trimmed some fat, but, as I said, maybe she prefers a rich thick stew. Matt is stirring up the pot, so nothing boils.

Is this recipe to your taste? Or are you disappointed?

JMM: As you said, that is up to the viewer. And we are repeating on this point. I opened with stating that the shows lost it’s traction. But am I disappointed? Not really. The show will get back on track. And I really think they will trim off the fat. Clearly there’s a collision coming. It just didn’t happen yet.

Likely, they will satisfy the action fans and the mystery fans with someone being killed off. And soon. But I don’t see it being any one major. But that brings to mind GJ’s warning to Robin about going down hard, face in the dirt – and so forth. Campion wrote this – so I think there was a purpose to it. That remark can’t be just GJ being ‘spacey’ or be unimportant.

FD: GJ is important. She told Matt what he’ll see at the end of the universe. The secret growing inside his daughter, Tui.

So, with some reluctance, we have to keep watching.

JMM: Only Tui’s pregnancy is not a secret. I’ll connect Tui to Robin for a moment. Robin is fixated on Tui. A maternalism emerging from within her.. And at the end of the episode, she claims that she understands what and why Tui wrote ‘no one’ on the slip of paper very early on in episode 1 – Care to venture any guesses on that?

FD: The secret is who is the father of Tui’s child. Hopefully, Robin gets focused on this question next week.

—-

And on that note we will tie it off for the week. Both reader FD and I agree that the show stumbled a bit this week – kind of went off the rails and lost momentum. While FD says that reluctantly he will watch the show next week, I will soft pedal a bit. I won’t use the term reluctant, but I will say that I’m not as eager to see TOTL as I was going in to this 3rd episode.

What about you?