JoyHog’s Daily Bacon

April 29th, 2013 | Posted by James K in Daily Bacon | News - (0 Comments)

WHAT’S ON OUR PLATE

  • Jason Collins. The NBA center earns praise as he becomes the first active player in North American team sports to come out as gay.
  • Bobby Draper. In the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Don’s young son tells the African American usher at the movies that, “Everybody likes to go to the movies when they’re sad.” The best moment on Mad Men this season.
  • Iron Man 3. Disney’s latest superhero movie opens to $198.4. million internationally, beating last year’s global blockbuster The Avengers.
  • Lauren Graham. Parenthood star writes debut novel Someday Someday Maybe, which traces a year in the life of aspiring actress Franny Banks.
  • All My Children and One Life To Live. First online original episodes of beloved soap operas debut.
  • Farrah Abraham. Teen Mom star sells sex tape to Vivid Entertainment. “The footage is amazing.”

 

Pin It

, , , , , , , ,

Don Draper: Alone Again Naturally

April 8th, 2013 | Posted by James K in News | Television - (0 Comments)

mad men don draper season 6 premiere1 Don Draper: Alone Again Naturally

“Mad Men” returned Sunday night on AMC, opening season six with a thought-provoking, melancholy two-hour episode written by series creator Matt Weiner.

Picking up eight months after the end of season five, we find Don Draper (Jon Hamm) sitting on a Hawaiian beach with wife Megan, reading Dante’s “The Inferno,” a gift, it turns out, from his latest lover.

Draper’s voiceover: “Midway through our life’s journey I went astray from the straight road and awoke to find myself alone in a dark wood.”

The response to the mysterious woman in the bar who approached and asked: “Are you alone?” in the final scene of season five.

Don Draper: alone, unhappy, anxious, unfaithful. A mess.

Weiner, interviewed by Vulture, said:

This whole season is about an attempt to deal with returning to your basic problem, which is that you are you.

Hamm, interviewed by TV Guide, said viewers shouldn’t give up hope for Don:

The more we invest in [Don] as a character, you want him to do the do right thing. Then you see him sort of backslide or fall back. We’re living in a golden age of characters [who] we watch do terrible things, and still somehow we root for them, or root for their redemption. Not every character can be Coach Taylor.”

TV critics received advance copies of the episode, allowing them time to reflect on it. They will recap future episodes on the fly as they air. Three terrific columns:

Review: Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture

Review: Alan Sepinwall, Hitfix

Review: Maureen Ryan, Huffington Post

What the main “Mad Men” said:

Pin It

, ,

JoyHog’s Daily Bacon

April 5th, 2013 | Posted by James K in Daily Bacon - (0 Comments)

SIZZLING

  • Mad Men. Two-hour premiere Sunday. We’ll finally found out what happens with Don and the mysterious stranger in the bar.
  • Robert Redford. The actor is star and director of the political thriller The Company You Keep.
  • Melissa McCarthy. The funny lady is back on SNL. Hope she reprises Arlene, the overly sexually aggressive office worker, and Linda, the excited salad dressing taste-tester.
  • Kinky Boots. Cyndi Lauper‘s Broadway musical is a crowd pleaser.

FIZZLING

  • Christopher Abbott. The actor, who plays Allison Williams‘ boyfriend Charlie on Girls, is leaving the hit HBO show.
  • Bones. KFC will appeal to younger diners who dislike chicken with bones by offering bigger “original recipe boneless” in buckets and meal packages.
Pin It

, , , , , , , ,

TV Poster: ‘Mad Men’ Season 6

March 12th, 2013 | Posted by James K in Television - (0 Comments)

MadMenSeason6 130312055221 TV Poster: Mad Men Season 6

There’s Don Draper… and Don Draper?

Deadline.com: teaser trailer

Pin It

10 Things We Learned This Week

January 25th, 2013 | Posted by James K in Lists - (0 Comments)

1. Fox canceled Ben and Kate, a freshman comedy many critics touted as a hit leading into the season.

2. Adam Levine, on the cover of the current Men’s Health, loves yoga.

3. HBO has renewed Girls for a third season.

4. Mad Men returns on April 7.

5. Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow is on the cover of Time.

6. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart will team up on Broadway this fall in Harold Pinter‘s No Man’s Land and Samuel Beckett‘s Waiting for Godot.

7. Rachel Nichols is leaving ESPN to work for CNN and Turner Sports.

8. Colombian singer Juanes will release his first memoir on April 2 in English and Spanish. Its titles are Chasing the Sun and Persiguiendo el sol.

9. Fox News Channel and Sarah Palin are parting ways after three years.

10. Tina Turner is becoming a Swiss citizen.

Pin It

, , , , , , , , , ,

2012 Golden Globe Nominations: TV

December 13th, 2012 | Posted by James K in Television - (0 Comments)

 

awaiting word from charlie 558x314 2012 Golden Globe Nominations: TV

“Mad Men” is not one of the five best dramas.

But “Newsroom” is.

And “Breaking Bad” — better late than never — finally made the list.

The five best comedies/musicals includes “Smash.”

They do not include “Parks and Recreation,” “Louie” or “New Girl.”

At least Louie C.K. was nominated. Stunner.

Connie Britton and Hayden Panettierre can root for each other since the “Nashville” rivals were placed in separate categories, Panettiere strangely dropped to the supporting category. Britton gets a nod after being neglected for “Friday Night Lights.”

Co-hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are competing against each other for comedy actress.

Nice to see Mandy Patinkin (“Homeland”) and Max Greenfield (“New Girl”) nominated in the perplexing all-inclusive (drama, comedy, mini-series, YV movie) supporting actor category, but why Danny Huston (“Magic City”) over contenders Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”), John Slattery (“Mad Men”) and Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”)?

“American Horror Story: Asylum” was considered — but rejected — in the movie/miniseries category. Jessica Lange got an acting nomination as expected.

The foreign pressers resisted the urge to nominate Lindsay Lohan for “Liz & Dick.” Too bad. It would have been made for spectacular TV to have her in the room.

The nominations follow:

(more…)

Pin It

, , ,

JoyHog’s Take on 2012 Emmy Nominations

July 19th, 2012 | Posted by James K in News | Television - (0 Comments)

539x400 e1342712142792 JoyHogs Take on 2012 Emmy Nominations

The 2012 Emmy nominations are out and this is what we think:

Best drama

Boardwalk Empire; Breaking Bad; Downton Abbey; Game of Thrones; Homeland;  Mad Men

JH: The omission of The Good Wife leaves broadcast without a nomination. The CBS drama ousted by either Boardwalk Empire or Downton Abbey.

Best comedy

The Big Bang Theory; Curb Your Enthusiasm; Girls; Modern Family; 30 Rock; Veep

JH: Cheers for Girls and Veep but Louie was even more deserving. Parks and Recreation gets bumped.

Lead actor in a drama

Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey; Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire; Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad; Jon Hamm, Mad Men; Damian Lewis, Homeland; Michael C. Hall, Dexter

JH: Bonneville and Hall get in over Hugh Laurie (House), Timothy Olyphant (Justified) and Kelsey Grammer (Boss).

Lead actress in drama
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law; Glenn Close, Damages; Claire Danes, Homeland; Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife; Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey; Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men.

JH: Bates is a shocker. She probably cost Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy) a slot. No room for last year’s nominees Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) and Mirelle Enos (The Killing).

(more…)

Pin It

, , , ,