Sublime "Mad Men" and "Damages" Tower Over Broadcast Freshmen

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Published: October 11, 2007 at 08:33 PM GMT
Last Updated: October 11, 2007 at 08:33 PM GMT

By Ed Martin

It's week three of the 2007-08 broadcast season, and as predicted in this column and elsewhere none of the networks' new efforts have become breakout hits. Perhaps that's because, with the exception of ABC's Pushing Daisies, not one of these shows has delivered storytelling that is compelling enough to warrant the time or ongoing attention of the audience.

Compare any new series on the networks right now to AMC's Mad Men or FX's Damages, the two freshman dramas from basic cable's super summer that are still in first run, and you'll see what I mean. These two shows are mopping the floor with everything else that is "fresh" and "new" on television right now.

Mad Men, a powerful period drama about the men who brought advertising into the modern era and the women in their lives, seems almost too rich and literate for television. Indeed, the two most recent episodes have been filled with unforgettable sequences: Hard-living Roger Sterling, a partner in the prestigious Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency, suffering a heart attack while having sex with a young model after hours in his office and later sobbing uncontrollably when his wife and daughter visit him in the hospital; bottled-up creative director Don Draper finally allowing himself to be vulnerable in the presence of a woman (not his wife) and talking about the horrors of his childhood; Don's desperately lonely wife Betty giving in to her desire for a handsome traveling air-conditioner salesman, not by having sex with him but by fantasizing while pressing herself against a vibrating washing machine; cool, confident and controlling executive secretary Joan remaining skillfully unfazed while her freshly fired friend Cathy poured out her heart and revealed that she is attracted to her; naïve new secretary Peggy discovering that she has a talent for copywriting and trying to advance in an industry controlled by sexist males; Joan thoughtfully tending to Roger when he prematurely returns to work (even as he belittles her, possibly without meaning to), and Roger's terrifying collapse during an important meeting, to name just a few.

From the start, the lovingly and meticulously detailed Mad Men has been deeply enthralling in its subversion of the warm nostalgia people have for the so-called "simpler" times of recent decades gone by. (The first season ends next Thursday, October 18. Mad Men will return for its second season next summer.)

Similarly, the legal drama Damages has been an unparalleled thrill ride from the beginning. I haven't been as riveted by an ongoing television mystery since the story of The Carver on Nip/Tuck. Of course, that mystery ended in a contrived mess that left viewers feeling as if they had wasted their time and the cast members similarly pissed. So nothing can be taken for granted. I am confident, though, that Damages will continue to deliver shocks and surprises and will knock me over time and again during the remaining two episodes of the season. (Damages, which as of this writing has yet to be renewed for a second run, ends its first season on October 23.)

There are dozens of good reasons to call industry attention to these shows, but for purposes of this column, I do so only because they are two dazzling current examples of television writing at its bar-raising best. Which brings me back to broadcast television's unremarkable new season, one off to a sorry start, as far as new shows are concerned.

One cannot blame the networks' publicity and marketing teams for broadcast's disappointments, because there was plenty of awareness for the many new shows that were eagerly sampled by millions of people who are plainly eager and willing to seek out new programs. Indeed, there should be no complaints in these ferociously competitive times about the opening week numbers (including Live Plus 7 Day data) for ABC's Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Big Shots and Cavemen; CBS' Kid Nation, Cane and Moonlight; NBC's Chuck, Bionic Woman and Life; Fox' Back to You, and The CW's Reaper and Gossip Girl. But most of these shows are losing ground fast. That's the unfortunate result of uninspired writing (or, in the case of the unscripted Kid Nation, increasingly repugnant content).

I dare say that three shows largely dismissed by critics -- Private Practice, Big Shots and Moonlight -- showed some creative improvement in their second episodes -- enough to warrant watching for another week, at least. (As of this writing the second episode of media favorite Pushing Daisies was not available for advance viewing, but I trust it will be just as fine as the first.) And Reaper may be a keeper, if it can avoid becoming repetitive, a challenge for all new genre series. (Smallville and Supernatural both suffered from Repetitive Story Syndrome early in their freshman seasons. They quickly tweaked their basic narrative constructs and became enduring audience favorites.) But the rest of these shows, and all the other new series from the networks that didn't open well to begin with are, in a word, boring. (The promising Bionic Woman and Chuck are especially disappointing.) Again, how can we not blame the writers?

Maybe the freshmen report card will look better in another week or two. Two series that are set to debut next week, ABC's single-camera comedy Samantha Who? and CBS' Viva Laughlin, are both funky and original enough to warrant sampling at the start, and ABC's very traditional but highly appealing Women's Murder Club (debuting tomorrow at 9 p.m.) looks like the sleeper success of the season. And here’s another note of interest about a new series: The CW's Gossip Girl is making news with its success on iTunes, in much the same way that NBC's The Office generated a strong fan base there when it was young and near-terminal. iTunes saved The Office, and it may save Gossip Girl, but the latter would also benefit from better dialogue, characters that are not tired clichés and the occasional episode that does not include a grand social event. It might also help if the young women in this show were not made to look so old.

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