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I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to come into a new TV series in the middle. Not that I watch much TV, but when I do, I’m pretty loyal from the pilot onward and don’t like wondering what I missed. Of course, with iTunes, it’s now possible to download episodes of certain shows that have deals with Apple for less than the price of a gallon of gas. So it’s been with AMC’s new series Mad Men.
With Baby Jack taking up so much of our lives, my wife and I missed the first half-dozen episodes. In fact, I didn’t know anything about the show until I heard some colleagues discussing it at the office over lunch one day.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, do! It’s set in an advertising agency in NYC during the early1960s and features one of the best-looking, most authentic sets in recent memory. Danish teak in every room, ashtrays and cigarettes in every scene, and wonderful attention to detail in the costumes, musical selections, and, sadly, the characters’ treatment of women and minorities. Even the pacing of the show matches that of a show made in 1960 vis-à-vis today. (Which might be a turn off to those raised on Aaron Sorkin, but not me.)
Created by a former Sopranos producer/writer named Matthew Weiner, the show uses flashbacks much the way David Chase did for Tony Soprano to help fill in the backstory regarding the childhood of its protagonist—in this case, Don Draper, the creative director for Sterling Cooper advertising agency.
Other than plugging the show with the hopes of boosting its ratings and, therefore, doing my part to help secure a re-order for next season, I wanted to write about something I learned on a recent episode (gotta love shows that work all kinds of cool, accurate trivia into their storylines). I had no idea, but apparently there’s a code of symbols that vagrants once relied on (and perhaps still do) when stopping for the night. With a piece of chalk, or a knife, they’d etch a symbol like the ones you see below into a fence post or a backdoor to alert future tramps who might be passing through. The images below come from this site, which has many more for the mildly curious. For the very curious, I really do urge you to catch the reruns on AMC or head over to iTunes and download the episodes. I’d be surprised if you didn’t like ‘em.
Anyone agree? Disagree?
Comments (14)
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Sounds like a good series to watch.
Oh, you don’t know hobo-language? For shame! As someone who grew up before the advent of the WWW, I learned it, and most other things, from Worldbook Encyclopedia’s Childcraft series. :)
posted by Dan on 9-12-2007 at 4:11 am
Mad Men is my new favorite show. Drinking, smoking, adultery and great clothes. John Hodgman’s book, The Areas of My Expertise contains lots of (hysterical)information about hobo life including the code of symbols.
posted by kar on 9-12-2007 at 4:46 am
This is absolutely the best thing on television. Visually, it is like watching a mini movie every episode. It is so interesting to see things that illustrate how many changes we have lived through.
I have an initial reaction to things that happen, then a quick realization that times were different, and then I’m brought back to think about the scene from two very different perspectives.
I LOVE this show!
posted by Karen on 9-12-2007 at 7:04 am
its one of my favorites too. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!
posted by mri on 9-12-2007 at 7:12 am
Actually, I like Rescue Me much more (the Denis Leary firehouse show). The fire stunts/sequences are very realistic – Leary takes great pride in that fact.
posted by Shane on 9-12-2007 at 8:11 am
Yes!! Mad Men rocks! And where has that actor who plays Don Draper been all this time? He’s stellar.
posted by Johnny Cat on 9-12-2007 at 9:36 am
Started watching Mad Med from the first episode and I’m loving it more and more each week. It’s spot on in so many ways, brilliantly acted, and they intermingle the characters’ stories so well. Funny that you should mention Aaron Sorkin…my mom doesn’t watch much TV, with her last obsession being the West Wing, but Mad Men has her hooked. I’ve bigged it up to many of my friends, and I’m yet to hear a word of disappointment, so I certainly hope a second season is in the offing.
posted by Evil Timmy on 9-12-2007 at 10:20 am
Mad Men is amazing. I started watching from the first episode, but I don’t anymore.
The all-too realistic “treatment of women and minorities” have made me shy away. As good as the rest of the show is, I could not get over that part – and it is inseparable for the plot. Raw chauvinism and bigotry are not something that I want to make a part of my Tuesday evening.
Ironically, I am hooked on the FX series “Damages”. Sure it is brutal and everyone is some shade of gray, but at least they are cruel to everyone equally.
posted by n2y2 on 9-12-2007 at 12:28 pm
Don’t get AMC but wish I did. Your description reminds me of the Doris Day/Rock Hudson ad agency movie I recently saw in a bar on a big screen tv – no sound but who needed it – the set, the clothes, spunky Doris Day…it was awesome! Then somebody got the idea to turn on closed caption. Fine, but now I’m READING and forgetting to look at the pictures. Same reason I don’t enjoy comic books, I guess….
posted by JoAnne on 9-12-2007 at 12:49 pm
Jon Hamm is a little known actor who has thankfully found his big break here. He remind me of a young Gregory Peck. Mad Men really is growing on me. I hated the first few episodes becuause there wasn’t much going on with character development, but now it’s getting good. I’ve also discovered some very, very funny revisionist recaps of each Mad Men episode at UnboundEdition.com (I tried to put in a link but they’re banned. Sorry, but you will enjoy them like I did.)
posted by Cheri on 9-12-2007 at 1:38 pm
Just FYI, the symbols above are British tramp sign, not American hobo sign. I mention this just in case anyone was planning to time travel and communicate with American hobos.
posted by Coeli on 9-12-2007 at 3:13 pm
So glad you found Mad Men. A group of us at my work are fans, thanks to word of mouth and, here’s the part you might find interesting, On Demand.
Not sure what cable company you have, but if you have access to On Demand service, go to Cable Showcase or Free Cable, something like that and, in our area anyway, you’ll see AMC — Mad Men. ALL episodes are there. And I urge you to watch the early ones at your leisure.
I’m actually bummed that I’m watching them On Demand, as AMC/Mad Men does a brilliant thing. They have a factoid about one of the commercials/sponsors you see during the break. Since I find the early days of advertising the most fascinating part of the series, I actually watch the commercials!!!
posted by Daune on 9-12-2007 at 5:15 pm
While I forget which symbol they had etched on their fence – my grandpa has talked about that system being very common during the depression when he was a kid on a farm in MN.
posted by Julia Rae on 9-12-2007 at 9:40 pm
I really like Mad Men and I wouldn’t have heard anything about it if Marketplace didn’t have a story about it right before the pilot aired. (Can’t post links here, but if you go to Marketplace dot org, I am sure you can find it.)
Even since, I haven’t seen any advertising or marketing. Maybe it is because I live in SC and probably not their target market, but I am worried the show won’t make it to another season.
posted by al on 9-13-2007 at 6:50 pm