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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 11, 2014 2 By Christina Davies TV Media D ust off the hi-fi and pull out the Canadian Club. The high-pow- ered men and women of AMC's hit drama "Mad Men" return for season 7 on Sunday, April 13. But don't get too comfort- able — much like it did with another of its wildly-suc- cessful series, "Breaking Bad," the network will air the seventh and final season of the show in two parts. The first seven episodes will air this spring, with the remain- der of the season slated to air in 2015. Creator Mat- thew Weiner told the "Washington Post" he "real- ly didn't fight" the decision. "The interesting thing is the show is always kind of struc- tured in halves, whether the audience notices or not," he said, referring to the fact that major plot points in the series often come at the midway point of a season rather than only at the end, as they do in most other se- ries. Based on that interview with the "Post," the notori- ously tight-lipped showrun- ner hinted that the final sea- son would wrap up as the cultural backdrop of the show, the turbulent 1960s, are coming to a close. This may come as a disappoint- ment to fans and speculative bloggers, who were excited at the prospect of the final season taking place in the early '70s, mostly based on some of the clothing worn by actors in the promotional material released for this up- coming season. Nonetheless, 1969 certainly had its own share of potential plot-en- hancing events that could add spice to the show, in- cluding the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Stonewall riots and the Tate-LaBianca mur- ders carried out by the Man- son Family. The real question fans want an answer to, though, is what has become of our favorite characters? When we left Don Draper (Jon Hamm, "Bridesmaids," 2011), he was coming to terms with his lifelong iden- tity crisis. After ceding his position as head of Sterling Cooper & Partners' new L.A. office to Teddy Chaough (Kevin Rahm, "Desperate Housewives"), his wife, Me- gan, (Jessica Paré, "Wicker Park," 2004) had apparently reached her wits' end, hav- ing already been written off her successful daytime soap opera to follow Don to Cali- fornia. Following a break- down in front of executives from Hershey in which he re- vealed his painful childhood for the first time to his busi- ness partners, Don is asked to take leave "for a few months," after which he takes his kids to see the now-dilapidated former brothel where he was raised. These are perhaps signs that Don is preparing to face his demons and is finally ready to reveal his tumultuous past to those close to him. But Don revealing details to his loved ones doesn't mean we should expect a total 180 from the handsome-yet- deeply-troubled ad man, says Weiner. "I definitely think that affected him, but there are a lot of other con- sequences that are hanging in the balance. You can say he's a survivor, he's going to start over, but what does that mean?" Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss, "On the Road," 2012), torn for the better half of season 6 between her loyal- ty to Don as her mentor and her romantic feelings for Ted Chaough, was left without a love interest at the end of last season after Ted made the decision to move to L.A. to get away from her and at- tempt to save his marriage. She finally seemed to be on even footing, career-wise, after struggling through the boys' club of Madison Ave- nue since season 1, but with Don and Ted both gone and the bulk of the agency's cre- ative work resting on her shoulders, she'll presumably need to prove her worth once more as acting creative director of the firm's New York office. Ever since Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks, "Drive," 2011) earned her partnership at the firm in a less-than-honorable way, she's been faced with judg- ment and resentment from other executives. Close to the end of last season, she saw a way to legitimize her position by bringing in big business from Avon, a For- tune 500 company then as now, and met the wrath of Ted and Pete by trying to stake her claim as the ac- count lead. While we haven't learned the outcome of that bold move, we can hope to see Joan advocate for her- self and her role at the firm some more in the upcoming season. Based on the air travel- themed season 7 trailer and the premiere's tagline (the new season of Mad Men "takes off" April 13), we can expect some major changes on the horizon for the char- acters, many of whom we expect to see followed to their new lives in Los Ange- les. The show appears to be going bicoastal, and fans can't wait to go along for the ride — even if it will be another year before that plane finally lands. Hope you've got lots of leg room. Christopher's Coins 2 x 2 coverstory Christina Hendricks as seen in "Mad Men" Method to the madness New season of AMC's 'Mad Men' returns, one half at a time By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Where can I send an email to Hallmark regarding its wonderful new series, "When Calls the Heart?" Thanks so much. A: Unfortunately, Hallmark doesn't offer an email address to which you can send your appreciation directly, but we live in the social media age, so you have plenty of other options. The Hallmark Channel has profiles on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, where you can visit and send messages of love for your favorite show. Otherwise, you can go to the network's website, HallmarkChannel.com, and fill out the feedback form, which is the closest option to an email. While there, you can go to the show's own website, Hall- markChannel.com/WhenCallstheHeart, and post on the fan forums. There are a number of people already on there ex- pressing their fandom and even offering suggestions of what they'd like to happen next in the fictional town of Coal Valley. The show, which debuted just a few months ago in Janu- ary, has proven to be a hit for the network. Of course, Hall- mark had an idea that this would be the case, since it aired a movie-length pilot episode of the show in October. The series, about a young teacher from the city who gets a job in the rural Canadian West (it's set in the 19th century), features former "Army Wives" star Erin Krakow and former "Full House" star Lori Loughlin. It's based on a series of books, known as the Canadian West series, by Janette Oke. Q: Can you tell me when "Longmire" will start this year? I have tried to find a date, but alas I can't. A: Alas, we can't either. "Longmire," a crime drama about a troubled sheriff en- forcing the law in a small Wyoming town, has definitely been renewed for another season on A&E, but the network still hasn't announced a premiere date. The previous two seasons debuted in late May or early June, so it's likely this next one will as well, but again, the network hasn't confirmed this. The network has only ordered 10 episodes for this third season — that's three fewer than the last season, but the same number as the first. This isn't an expression of the show's popularity, though. In fact, "Longmire" has been doing quite well in the ratings — its season 2 finale was the most-watched show on cable. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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