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“Mad Men” recapped via Facebook updates

Wed, 01 May 2013 21:15:00 +0000

If you are behind on the current season of "Mad Men," you could read Heather Havrilesky's recaps to understand how the ad execs at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce are faring in 1968.

But if you're really short on time, you should check out these amusing Facebook recaps, via HappyPlace.com.

Here are a few from season 6:

Head over to HappyPlace.com for more.

“Game of Thrones”: “Or is the little girl the bravest one here?”

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 02:00:00 +0000

At the beginning of this season, one of “Game of Thrones'” TV overlords, David Benioff, told Grantland’s Andy Greenwald that "Themes are for eighth-grade book reports.” There is a reason the people who make stuff don’t get the final say on the meaning of that stuff. “And Now His Watch Is Ended” was particularly theme-y — the theme being revenge — but it also demostrated how little “Game of Thrones” cares about creating “normal” episodes of television. The huge cast of characters have been flitting in and out all season. Now they are starting to show up for what amount to special appearances, both short — Bran appeared in one scene — and long — Daenerys gets the most fist-pumping segment of the season thus far, but only in the episode’s last 10 minutes. Four episodes in, it still feels like the season’s pieces are being put into place, and it seems that the best way to watch would be to wait and binge on it all at once.

“Game of Thrones” recap: Follow the leader

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 02:15:00 +0000

“Game of Thrones” is upon us once again, and in addition to being a warning not to stare too long at giants, the first episode is a set of riffs on how — and how not to — position oneself in relationship to power. What’s the best way to get close to a king? Jon Snow, overdressed in black fur, needs to make an impression on the King Beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds). First he tries fealty, gets laughed out almost into the snow by a warrior who chomps rodents straight out of the fire, before settling on the appropriate tone to woo wildings: feisty flattery. “If I’m a traitor then you are too,” he tells Rayder, a former member of the Night’s Watch, who turns out a little susceptible to negging. But Jon follows that up with a macho compliment: “I want to fight for the side that fights for the living. Did I come to the right place?” He sure did.

“Girls” recap: Picking up

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:20:00 +0000

Can anything bad happen when Bob Balaban and Carol Kane show up? Is it humanly possible? It's certainly not dramatically possible — which is why, even though it seems at first that these titans have been cast into the rather luckless and confining roles of wacky mother and distant therapist, this episode may be one of the wisest, and — in terms of Lena Dunham's goal to actually replicate this slice of generational functionality now — the most effective.

Adam! Adam Adam Adam! There's Adam! Thank God! I am always terrified we will lose Adam! There he is, lying on his customary bed. And even though it's the same apartment where he and Hannah first had their unbearable and bizarre couplings, it now look like an entirely different, even warm, apartment — what Freud (there is a therapist!) might term heimlich. It's a common but surprising shift: the one that occurs between when you first see a place and you know it.

Speaking of the changing spaces, Hannah, now one month out from Adam (we learn) and still not finished with the book, appears to be counting everything she does — literally. She eats a certain number of chips, counts a certain number of taps at her own door. Is she practicing being OCD for a piece? Is this actually the episode's first dream sequence? Or has Hannah crumpled before she’s even begun?

“Downton Abbey” recap: “I just can’t see a happy ending”

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 03:40:00 +0000

All together now, let’s get this out of the way:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

That feels marginally better. Marginally.

Sweet, floppy-haired Matthew is dead by the side of the road. Maybe in a few months this will fill me with sadness, for now I feel nothing but outrage. They killed Matthew? So soon after Sybil? Matthew has been a dull, eager drip for weeks and weeks and weeks and the actor who plays him, Dan Stevens, wanted out of his contract, but still. This is like killing Mr. Darcy. And why would you ever kill Mr. Darcy?! It solidifies for me the sense that “Downton Abbey” doesn’t know or care why I like to watch it: Needless to say, not for the tragedy.

“SNL” recap: Justin Bieber sexts Hillary Clinton for Valentine’s Day

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 14:17:00 +0000

It's always a risk having a musical guest take on hosting duties — not everyone has the gift for sketch comedy — but so far, "SNL" has been lucky, with Justin Timberlake over the years, Bruno Mars earlier this season, and now the 18-year-old teen heartthrob. Does the Bieb have Timberlake comic chops? Not quite. But the kid was game for anything, and after reportedly being waylaid by food poisoning during rehearsals this week, he demonstrated himself to be a real trouper, letting the cast and writers make fun of his homeboy posturing, naïveté, lack of textbook smarts, recent weed "scandal (for which he apologized, in a Miley Cyrus sketch), his barely pubescent presence (does he shave yet? That face is smooove) and the throngs of girls (and women) who worship him because or in spite of it. I finally sort of see the appeal — not of his music (oh God, it's bad), but of him. He's the Leif Garrett of the 21st century, an aspiring badass pinup — albeit one with a sweet face and killer eyebrows.

“Downton Abbey” recap: The world isn’t going your way, not anymore

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 03:00:00 +0000

Honoring the gravity of last week’s events, this episode of “Downton” picks up pretty much where we left off, with Sybil’s sad, sad, sad death casting a pall over everything and everyone. The residents of Downton are reeling, wearing black, and in desperate need of cheering up, none more so than Cora. Cora, bereft and at an understandable loss to explain how her beautiful, healthy 24-year-old daughter up and died, has channeled much of her grief into anger at her husband. There was a chance Sybil could be saved, but Robert believed Sir Philip because “He’s knighted and fashionable” and he “let all that nonsense weigh against saving our daughter’s life.” Cora cannot bear even the sight of him, in her bed and outside of it.

Robert doesn’t know how to deal with Cora’s anger, in part because he feels he deserves it and in part because, British as he is, he’s terrified of it. This is perhaps the stiffest upper-lipped episode of “Downton” ever, with everyone struggling mightily to keep a straight face, and the Dowager and Robert going so far as to discuss sending Cora off to America because, less than a week after her daughter’s death, she has not calmed down sufficiently. (Just because when these Brits panic, they talk very calmly about shipping someone overseas, it does not mean it’s not panic.)

“Downton Abbey” recap: Tragedy strikes

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Sometimes, when I feel like staring into the abyss, I think about what it is that I like about TV so much. It’s lucky for me that TV shows have gotten so good in the past decade or so, because it offers me cover. Shows like “The Sopranos” and “Breaking Bad” and “30 Rock” are, in their own distinct ways, ambitious and meaty. And while they are not always art, they are always cleverly structured, deeply thought-out entertainments. These types of series have helped elevate TV and the discussion around it into the super-vibrant, cultural touchstone that it is today, which is wonderful and convenient because it makes intellectually acceptable the truth that I would have happily watched thousands of hours of much, much worse.

When I started to really watch TV, I loved “Saved By the Bell” and “Full House” and “90210” and “Dawson’s Creek” and “Buffy.” I can now write lots of sound, well-reasoned sentences about these programs' respective merits (or lack of merits), but that’s ret-conning my younger self because what I loved about those shows at the time would be best expressed by thoughtlets like “Brenda and Dylan ahhhh!!!!" “How rude! Hahaha,””Angel swoooon," but even less coherent and with more excited sound effects. I watched for the plot, for the story, for what happened next to these, incidentally, fake people. I don’t watch nearly as blithely as I used to, but for me the deep, fundamental pleasure of watching TV remains the same. It’s just the simple, sweet, silly act of caring way too much about people that don’t really exist.

“Girls” recap: Gloves — and clothes — are off!

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 04:30:00 +0000

Well, it was June; it is now January. We have re-elected Obama, and shaken off Sandy's dousing of the entire Northeast. Gay marriage advocates are increasingly winning; global-warming activists, not so much. India is rocked by an uproar about violence against women, a soccer team has followed their teammate off the pitch in protest after he's harassed by racist taunts, and 27 children and teachers have been massacred in a shooting in Newton, Connecticut. It's not an entirely differently world, but it's not exactly the same one either. And how does "Girls" choose to enter it?

Right away, there's a black person. A black man. On screen. Having sex with Hannah. “You wanted this,” he huffs to viewers. “You're finally getting this. It's about fucking time.” Yes, thank you, Lena. We did.

It's season two, and if Lena Dunham has taken her critics' comments on race, sex, and class somewhat to heart, the song remains the same. In the first few scenes, instead of Marnie flung around Hannah in her bedroom, it's new roommate Elijah, who has a boner. (“It's not for you.”) Trim Marnie has now been dumped not only by her boyfriend but, despite that great blue dress, her boss. Shoshanna faces her post-virgin life sporting a Katherine Hepburn–like frigidity belied by her frilled, Freudian fascinator; and Jessa, who is mostly absent from this episode, heads back from her honeymoon tanned, corn-rowed, and still not knowing her husband's address.

“SNL” has a blue Christmas

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000

The specter of Sandy Hook looms heavy this weekend, but "Saturday Night Live" proves time and again that they are at their best when they have to put on a show for a grieving nation. The somber cold open, with the New York Children's Chorus singing "Silent Night," paid quiet tribute to the 26 lives lost on Friday while providing a necessary buffer for the episode that followed. It acknowledged, tastefully, how uncomfortable it can be to laugh in the wake of incomprehensible violence. But after the song finished, the screen faded to black and it was back to business as usual.

Actually, better business than usual.

SNL brought the winning combo of having a beloved alum Martin Short host the year's penultimate "SNL" (or the last one ever, if the Mayans are to be believed), and a Beatle! And the writers and cast really brought it. Alum shows tend to have a gaggle of surprise guests anyway, but with every celebrity on Earth in New York for the 12-12-12 Sandy relief concert, this one packed heavier than usual star power.

“Homeland” recap: The dodge

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 04:00:00 +0000

This episode of “Homeland” is titled “Two Hats,” but I think of it as “The Dodge.” Even though it had the most action-movie-like plot of the season, it was the season’s dullest episode, with the story and the characters feinting one way to go another, yet leaving us — for now — with just the feint. ("Homeland" is a true psychological, not action, thriller and this was further proof: Secret identities and explosive batteries are nowhere near as fascinating as Carrie Mathison's brain.) As the episode begins Abu Nazir, Quinn, Brody and Carrie are all pretending and obfuscating about their true missions and motivations. “Homeland” itself is being tricky about what really went down between Nazir and Brody. At episode’s end, even with Roya and her crew in custody, all that pretending and obfuscating remains in effect. The CIA is still trying to determine Abu Nazir’s next plot. This episode was like a stutter step, a flashy motion to stay in the same place.

“Homeland” recap: A way out for both of us

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Inside the Gordian’s knot that is the Brody-Carrie power dynamic, Carrie plays the sub to be the dom. Carrie opens herself up to Brody, she makes herself vulnerable to him, she wants him, she attests to wanting him, she forgives him, all to give Brody the sense — but not just the sense — that he’s the partner with the power. An empowered Brody is a calmer Brody, a more reasonable Brody, a Brody Carrie can control.

Carrie successfully turned Brody into a double agent using this strategy. During his initial interrogation (just three episodes but a couple seasons' worth of plot ago), Carrie led with “You broke my heart, you know? Was that easy? Was that fun?” She laid herself open to push Brody out of his victim mentality, into his perpetrator mentality, the one with whom she can make a deal, the one with enough agency to make choices and amends. Last week, as Brody was going off the rails because he felt overwhelmed and put upon, like everyone’s victim and pawn, Carrie kissed him to give him, as Quinn put it, some control. It worked.

“Homeland”: Saul blows it

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Last night’s “Homeland” contained three studies on guardianship — failed guardianship. Three people in positions of authority — two handlers and a father — led their charges astray by letting their charges take the lead. Saul inadvertently enabled Aileen to kill herself because he wanted to believe the story she was telling. Brody betrayed Dana’s remarkable sense of personal responsibility because his own is compromised. Carrie willfully upended the balance of power between herself and Brody to make him feel better in the short term, but she only wound up complicating his increasingly implausible predicament.

To start with Carrie and Brody: In this season’s third episode, Brody decided to kill a guy rather than hang up the phone on his wife. (The kinder reading of Brody’s behavior would be that overwhelmed, frenzied, cornered and unable to see a way out of his predicament, he broke the Gettysburg tailor’s neck out of fear and instinct. You say murder, I say murdah.) That third episode, the weakest of the season, was the last before Brody’s taped confession made the rounds at the CIA. It was the episode before the madness began. And “Homeland’s” creators used it to re-emphasize the depths of Carrie’s instability — she tried to kill herself — and the shallowness of Brody’s civility. His self-control is little more than a façade, liable to shatter under stress.

“SNL” recap: Louis C.K. for President

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 14:00:00 +0000

It's the big weekend before Election Day, which for "Saturday Night Live" often involves a surprise political cameo — a final appeal for a candidate to voters to show us how funny and charming he or she can be. Four years ago, Sarah Palin dropped by Studio 8H, facing off with Tina Fey's fake Sarah Palin, and later, on "Weekend Update," she bopped merrily along as she was getting skewered by a very pregnant rapmaster, Amy Poehler. Obviously, it didn't help, but it didn't hurt her either.

There were no surprise guests on this edition of "SNL:" not Mitt, nor Paul. No Barry or Joe. Not even Chris Christie or Mike Bloomberg. This was Sandy's week, and just as the hurricane gave us a kind of reprieve from tedious 24-7 candidate-stumping coverage, so too did "SNL" keep it a lot lighter on political fare than you'd expect. This isn't to say the episode ignored the fact of Tuesday; it just didn't have that special edition feeling. It relied instead on its wonderfully droll host, Louis C.K., and Sandy, to set the tone.

“Homeland”: Are you a monster?

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 02:59:00 +0000

Previously on “Homeland”: Everything we thought the entire season was going to be about took place in two episodes. Over the course of these past two episodes (4 and 5) — less than 120 minutes of television — Brody’s terrorist tendencies became known to the CIA, he was brought in, detained, turned and sent back out into the world, a troubled double agent. It’s as if “Homeland” jumped into the air, but instead of coming back down to Earth, landed — like Super Mario could — on some invisible platform in the sky and walked through a previously unseen door into a whole new world. Except that unlike a video game, all the intense, tempestuous, shocking developments involved two people sitting very, very still and talking, vulnerably to each other. Give or take a hand stabbing and a hit and run, last night’s episode was a restrained classical duet, so much more thrilling for being oh so quiet.

“Homeland”: The reckoning

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:59:00 +0000

There’s a reckoning on the horizon and we’re getting closer and closer to that moment where the full extent of Brody’s damage and duplicity will be revealed. It’s bittersweet to realize there may be no happily ever after for Brody. We have long known that Brody endured the unendurable. We have seen how he was tormented and how he is still tormented. The depths of his suffering have made us root for him, have made us want there to be some way for Brody to find a way back to himself but that possibility grows ever dimmer.

Saul turns up at David Estes' house to show him the video of Brody. Estes tries to grapple with this new complication. They decide to put a full surveillance team on Brody, to try and smoke out his handler. Saul suggests running the operation off campus, with outsiders and, of course, Carrie. Estes approves but is sending Saul “a guy” to run the operation. Estes can't believe Carrie "called it” — but of course we can. Time to exhale a sigh of relief as he states the obvious, a skill Estes has honed quite nicely since we’ve gotten to know him.

“Homeland”: In Carrie we (should) trust

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 06:00:00 +0000

We’re two episodes into the season, and already the major narrative threads for each of the main characters have revealed themselves: For Brody, they regard how long he can conceal the truth of his allegiance to Abu Nazir, and the depth of his mental damage. And, for Carrie, how long the CIA will leave her out in the cold because they believe her to be too mentally unstable. If tonight’s episode is any indication, the answer is, not long.

The title of this episode is called “Beirut Is Back,” but it could have just as easily be called, “Carrie Is Back” because we see her on top of her game, lucid, sharp and ready to get the job done. We’re in Beirut as the morning call to prayer sounds throughout the city. In a mosque, women pray, and among them, Fatima Ali, Carrie’s CIA asset, who is the first wife of Hezbolla district commander Abbas Ali. Outside of the mosque, Carrie is there to greet Fatima who wants to know if the $5 million reward for Abu Nazir is still on offer — there are bills to pay, you know. She also has other requests: passage to the United States, which is always an interesting prospect, this idea of the United States as a promised land, even in this day and age. Carrie assures her safety, so Ali gives up the goods: Nazir is meeting her husband the next day in Beirut. The CIA can kill them both, Ali says blithely. Marriage is complicated.

“Homeland”: Pledging allegiance

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 04:01:00 +0000

The last we saw of Carrie in season one, she was rewinding memories in her mind of the time she spent with Brody, desperately trying to recall the name “Issa” before pulses of electricity were applied to her temples — an attempt for Carrie to lighten her burden. Our final image of her as the season finale wrapped: Carrie’s body, convulsing from the ECT. We are left with the exquisite torment of knowing she isn’t crazy at all, that the dangers she foretold are real not imagined, that she loves a man who seemingly doesn’t love her back, and that she is alone with all these burdens.

The second season opens with Carrie convalescing at home, under the care of her shrink sister Maggie, living with her father, and teaching ESL classes to Middle Eastern students to keep busy. She is desperately trying to suppress the pangs of yearning for her former life — the one she loved even though it drove her mad, even though she was betrayed. But she is still recovering from her breakdown, vulnerable: It won’t take much to lure her back in. And indeed she will be tempted.