mad binge

As of this afternoon, I have officially completed my four-month binge of Mad Men.

Now what am I supposed to do?

What are the chances there is a third series out there as good as Mad Men and Breaking Bad for me to binge-watch?

I've been very spoiled by these two well-written, superbly acted and highly-addictive series flying out of my Netflix queue the last 16 months...neither of which I watched when they originally aired, coincidentally both on AMC.

I actually had no desire to watch Breaking Bad until it was over and had won every award imaginable. I had to know why. How could a show about a high school teacher who gets cancer and decides to cook crystal meth so his family will be financially taken care of when he dies be that good? Well, I was hooked by the end of the first episode. It won all the acting and writing and series awards because all of that was that good.

And with Mad Men, many people I know were addicted to it the last few years. (Some even had viewing parties and bought props in an auction after the show wrapped.) I knew I'd end up watching it eventually, but I was too far behind by the time I realized that. So I purposely avoided social media about it and even totally skipped the year-end TV wrap-ups last month so as not to have Don, Peggy, Joan, Roger and Betty's end stories spoiled.

Now that I've learned them, I'm kind of at a loss.

With Breaking Bad, let's just say the ending for most characters left little to the imagination. My questions (well except for one) were answered and there is nothing left to tell.

With Mad Men, while they showed the paths the main characters were headed down, I still want more...I want to see them in those next chapters... especially Peggy and Joan (aka the "Unmarried Professional  Women" of the DVD extras featurette). They were just heading into their "kick some major ass and take names" phase. That would be awesome to watch. But alas....

So I ask again, now what?

I added practically no new shows this fall because my quality gauge was set at "Is this show going to be more entertaining than another episode of Mad Men?" The answer was no. 

What is? 

If I don't start binging another show, I might actually get bored enough to read my book pile :p  Help!!

random thoughts on the emmy awards...

Rather than live tweet about the Emmys like everyone else did tonight, I decided to hold all (and I mean ALL) my commentary for the end of the show and have complied all the thoughts that ran through my head for the last three hours here, in one handy blog post for your reading amusement. Enjoy.... this has to be funnier than the show was :)

- While I love Neil Patrick Harris, I think this show would've be way funnier if Tina and Amy were hosting. (Note: the show started 4 minutes ago, and Amy and Tina just crawled up the stairs to present the first award after heckling NPH from the front row in 3D glasses.)

- Thank god Lena Dunham hasn't won't anything yet tonight. "Girls" is such an over-hyped icky (yes that's the word that describes it best: icky) show that needs to go away. Thank you Julia Louis Dreyfuss and female Modern Family director for beating her.

- Two tributes in, these special tributes to the chosen five performers who died this year are a real downer...and we're not even to the two really tragic deaths yet.

- Had I known Elton John was performing live I would have shelled out the $300 for a ticket in the balcony I'm allowed to purchase as a former winner/nobody member of the ATAAS...(plus a dress and shoes and ride...) Oh wait, he just sang just one depressing song? Nevermind.

- Just when I was gonna say "Yay Homeland won something!" They say the winner (Henry Bromell) died earlier this year and his sad wife comes out to accept Best Writing in a Drama on his behalf. Depression is starting to set in.

- What!?!?! Christine Baranski didn't win best supporting actress in a drama for The Good Wife?? This show is sad.

- I really wish it was next Sunday already. Then I'd be watching the season premieres of The Good Wife and Homeland instead of this. 

- Cory Monteith tribute. More depression, peppered with a "drugs are bad" PSA.

- Yes! The Voice is Best Reality Show! Finally something I watch won! Yay! And isn't this like the first or maybe only second time The Amazing Race has NOT won this category? Interesting...

- Wow. Jeff Daniels wins Best Actor in a Drama for The Newsroom. I watch that too but that's a real shocker. For him too: "Well crap. Didn't expect this." Tough category. Wonder if the top contenders cancelled each other out?

- I don't even watch Breaking Bad (yet), but I feel like I should say Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul were robbed tonight.

- Clip of Walter Cronkite tearing up as he delivers the news President Kennedy died, followed by Carrie Underwood singing "Yesterday." Anybody got a Prozac?

- Is the microphone moving up and down on Jimmy Fallon supposed to be funny? He's better than that.

- Best Lead Actress in a Drama? Claire Danes, suffering from Gwyneth Paltrow's "My Boobs Are Too Small for This Dress" syndrome, and talking about her writer who won earlier and died. Prozac? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

- Standing O for Bob Newhart. Finally an alive old person being acknowledged. Yay.

- NPH knows this is the Emmys and not the Tony's right? At least the Choreography segment wasn't depressing. And Derek Hough wins an Emmy to go with his 17 billion DWTS Mirrorball trophies.

- James Gandolfini tribute from Edie Falco. Okay, where are the tissues?

- James Cromwell wins best supporting actor in a movies/miniseries for American Horror Story, another show I will watch one day. All I'm thinking in my head is "That'll do pig, that'll do," while my mom is wondering aloud what happened to his hair.

- Steven Soderbergh of Behind the Candelabra wins for Best Director - Movie/Miniseries. That's a shocker. (And that's sarcasm.) Just like Michael Douglas winning for Best Actor and Behind the Candelabra winning for Best Movie/Miniseries in about 6-10 minutes will be. (More sarcasm.)

- Bryan Cranston congratulates Claire Danes on her win. She just looks at him sadly as he says he's still got his fingers crossed in his category. Sad. Then they present Michael Douglas with his Emmy. Oh my gosh! That's the most shocking win of the night! (Did that sound authentic? ;)

- Behind the Candelabra wins for Best Movie/Miniseries. Did I call that or what? (Zzzzzz.)

- I just told my mom I'm adding her quote about James Cromwell's lack of hair to my blog. She would like me to add that she also said he is very deserving and that it's great to see actors with such a large body of work, like him and Ellen Burstyn (who she would also like me to note "is very elegant"), win. Okay. Noted.

- Will Ferrell's outfit. Now that's funny.

- Steven Levitan just agreed with me that this is the "saddest Emmys ever" while accepting Modern Family's Best Comedy Emmy. WIN! (Oh, and Yay Modern Family!)

- Breaking Bad wins Best Drama. Good for them (I assume...I'll tell you for sure after I binge-watch it on Netflix during December rerun season).

And that's all folks!

19 years ago today Friends premiered. Nine years ago today LOST premiered. September 22 is apparently a good day to premiere excellent TV shows.

And to air depressing awards shows about TV shows.