Hang in there, Rog.
Mad Men is oh-so-slick. Sunday’s “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword” was yet another shining chapter in my favorite rich ensemble show and a particularly revealing episode for Roger Sterling. I like to describe the enjoyment I get from this show as similar to watching a slow motion car crash, as each character’s storylines cycle through discovery and personal tragedy. And Roger, god love him, is my favorite character.
Sadly, I think there’s a real sense of foreboding to Roger this season. He is of course as dapper as ever, but uncomfortable and out of place in the alien surroundings of SCDP (accentuated nicely by that psychedelic Rorschach blotch of an office). This most recent episode was an exceptional moment Thomas-esque raging from Roger. The moment when his face set after Pete Campbell brought forth Honda as potential clients and then Roger’s subsequent reaction was really heart wrenching. Already we’ve seen him exceed his past drinking habits, Jane has yet to make a good, doting appearance this season, and after the humiliating Christmas party with Lee Gardner Jr, you have to wonder how much further down the barrel Roger’s going to go. His world is being whittled away. Forcing his WWII trauma to the surface isn’t going to help matters. I can’t help but get the terrible feeling that Roger isn’t long for this world.
Who then will drop obscure Sydney Greenstreet references in my televisions? Here’s hoping they pull a bait and switch at the last minute.
R.I.P. Maury Chaykin
“The police… shall receive… no sandwiches.”
Sad to hear that Maury Chaykin, one of my favorite character actors and the brilliant avatar of my most favorite fictional detective Nero Wolfe, has passed away. I was always pleased to see him turn up in such an eclectic range of shows like Eureka, SG-1, Due South, Entourage and the great films of Atom Egoyan among many others. He always brought a production up a notch or two in my esteem.
He will be dearly missed.
Melancholy for Manchester and forlorn of Fenchurch.
Last night the last episode of my favorite BBC production Ashes to Ashes aired. It was phenomenal. Metaphysical, nostalgic, heart wrenching. God love everyone who helped bring these characters to life, because it was a fine thing indeed.
You have destroyed me.
Now I have to figure out some way to get through Sunday night. Sure will miss ya, Guv.
Stargates and etc.
So Eli Roth is working on three projects simultaneously, which, including a fantasy past time of beating Nazi with baseball bats, makes two things we have in common. Getting back into the workshop scene has revealed that my tenuous grasp of storytelling has slipped and that my favorite convoluted and apparently genre-obscure project isn’t universally appealing. So two projects go on the back burner and another one comes back for another pass.
Elsewhere, I snagged my second limited edition print from the arg-inspired LOST art project damoncarltonandapolarbear.com. It did not involve dolphins killing the president, but I am expecting some murderous marine mammals once the show returns.
Also, completely unexpectedly, I’m kinda digging Stargate Universe. The first episode was interesting, and it might just scratch the itch BSG left behind when it finished up. Robert Carlyle is playing things slightly detached, which is creating conflict with just about everyone at this point. Here’s hoping it holds up.
My Olly Moss Locke print….
Courtesy of Damoncarltonandapolarbear.com:
Snagged print no. 281 of 300. Looking for a nice chunky wooden frame and gonna put it on the wall next to the classic Anatomy of a Murder one-sheet.