Stay Tuned

The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, March 23, 2012 2 coverstory Going 'Mad' AMC series fi nally returns after lengthy hiatus By Christina Davies TV Media A fter nearly a year and a half, fans of Don Draper finally get to tune back into the advertising antics on AMC's "Mad Men," when the series hits the air for its fifth season on Sunday, March 25. The cable network's first original series was on hiatus following its fourth season while showrunner Matthew Weiner went up against net- work and studio executives to fight a tough contract rene- gotiation battle — a battle, Weiner told the New York Times, he feared the show might not win. "I quit," Weiner told Times reporter David Itzkoff. "I had come to terms with the fact that it was over. And then they compromised, and I compromised. A little." At issue during the renego- tiation standoff that had fans holding their breath all this time was mainly the show's cast size and running time, both of which execs wanted to reduce in order to cut costs. "We got this far this way," Weiner said. "Why would you change the brand? It reeked of New Coke to me." Speaking of brands, the polished "Mad Men" aes- thetic that has become so ad- mired by fans has not been lost on a few major brands that have decided to capital- ize on it (a move that would almost certainly be praised by the ardent capitalists who fill the Madison Avenue offices on the show). In the summer of 2010, Mattel released a line of collectible "Mad Men" Barbie dolls, featuring Don, Betty, Joan and agency part- ner Roger Sterling (played on the show by war-movie veter- an John Slattery). Banana Republic has teamed up with the show's Jon Hamm stars in "Mad Men" Emmy Award-winning cos- tume designer Janie Bryant again to produce a second line of '"Mad Men"-inspired work wear that was just re- leased with the brand's spring collection. The first line was released for Banana Repub- lic's 2011 fall collection. And what would a fashionable woman of the times wear with her floral house dress — besides the faux-pearl neck- lace of course — but lipstick and rouge from the Estée Lauder limited edition "Mad Men" collection? It isn't only big business that has recognized the se- ries' strengths, however. "Mad Men" is historically sig- nificant for not only being the first cable series to win an Emmy for outstanding drama, but it's also the only cable se- ries to win that title and the Golden Globe for best dra- matic television series for three consecutive years. In a two-hour season pre- miere, viewers will at last be able to sit down with their Rob Roys or highball glasses of Canadian Club and catch up on the '60s-set world of advertising, the social change that came with the times and the personal changes that each of the characters were going through when the se- ries left off in October 2010. Fans of the cast weren't completely deprived while the show was on the back burner, however. Many of the cast members could be found on the big screen in 2011 while their main small-screen stint was on hold. The series' main man, the smoldering Jon Hamm, who plays advertising creative di- rector Don Draper, made ap- pearances in "Bridesmaids," and teamed up with much of the same crew (Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Chris O'Dowd) in "Friends With Kids," also released last year and directed, written and pro- duced by Hamm's romantic partner of 14 years, Jennifer Westfeldt. January Jones, who plays Betty Draper — Don's now ex-wife— on the series, land- ed a role in "X-Men: First Class" as telepathic mutant Emma Frost, and red-headed bombshell Christina Hen- dricks, who takes on the role of office manager Joan Harris on "Mad Men," appeared in "Drive" alongside Ryan Gos- ling and in "I Don't Know How She Does It," starring Sarah Jessica Parker. At the end of Season 4, set in the fall of 1964, Joan is pregnant with Roger Ster- ling's child while her husband has been sent to the escalat- ing war in Vietnam, the fairly straight-laced upstart copy- writer Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) is gaining more and more exposure to the emerg- ing '60s counter-culture and civil rights movements, the future success of the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce advertis- ing agency is still in question, and Draper has proposed out of the blue to his secretary, Megan (played by Montreal- born actress Jessica Paré). As for wedding bells, they remain to be seen in Season 5. The cast and crew are re- maining tight-lipped as usual about specific plot-lines. Hamm told the Times "We don't know if, in fact, they are married. A lot can happen be- tween here and there." It's still a mystery which year this new season will even take place in. Will it pick up right where it left off? Will it start a little later to reflect the time fans have been miss- ing the scoundrels at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce? Every- one will be eagerly awaiting the answers to these ques- tions on the night of the pre- miere on Sunday, March 25. Chirstopher's Coins 2 x 2 hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Will "Curb Your Enthusiasm" return for another season? A: Apparently, that depends entirely on Larry David. The frequently tight-lipped creator-writer-producer-star of the series hasn't made a decision yet, but quite a few people are waiting for it, and they're speculating while they do so. The most recent guess was not optimistic. When asked by the Orlando Sentinel just a few weeks ago whether the show would return for a ninth season, Cheryl Hines, who plays Larry's wife, said, "If I was a gambling women -- and I am, I love to gamble -- I would probably say not." She add- ed, however, that, "Larry is full of surprises. You never know." However another series star, JB Smoove, told the Huffing- ton Post back in September, after the show aired its 80th ep- isode, that he was sure it would be returning. "He's going to make it an even hundred episodes. A hun- dred always looks good in a box," he said. Indicating how much power they've given to David, HBO has publicly stated it wanted another season, but it is basi- cally powerless to make it happen. HBO programming presi- dent Michael Lombardo told Deadline.com that he's "cau- tiously optimistic," since "for the first time ever after this season, Larry didn't say 'I never want to do this again.'" Q: Does Jeff Dunham ever explain what kind of creature Peanut is? A: Perhaps because of his burgeoning fame, or perhaps because he's done hundreds of shows and needs to switch things up for his own sanity, ventriloquist comedian Jeff Dunham has dropped the part of his act in which he ex- plains what Peanut is. But in previous routines, Peanut is described as a "Woo- zle," and he hails from a small island in Micronesia (a group- ing of thousands of islands in the western Pacific Ocean). Of course, he looks like nothing naturally occurring in Mi- cronesia -- or anywhere else for that matter -- with his pur- ple skin, white fur and small tuft of green hair. Peanut him- self tells Dunham on stage that he must have been on drugs to come up with a puppet like Peanut. Peanut is one of Dunham's oldest characters, along with cantankerous retiree Walter, and José the jalapeno ("on a steek"). Dunham only later came up with the others who now appear in his act, including arguably his most famous creation, Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town.

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