Episode 612: 'The Quality of Mercy,' or, Jewish Mothers, Crying Babies, And They Shot Kenny! Posted by Barbara Lippert on Jun 17, 9:19 PM

The title of this season's second-to-last episode (yikes!) is "The Quality of Mercy," which comes from Portia's famous speech in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice." Lest Shakespeare seem too highfalutin' a reference, the writers also liberally sprinkle in allusions to "South Park," Patty Duke, The Monkees, "Plop plop fizz fizz" and Roman Polanski.» 12 Comments

The Trouble with Advertising, Part 15,662: Awards Shows Are A Boys' Club Posted by Barbara Lippert on Jun 14, 6:39 PM

The big daddy of all advertising award shows, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, kicks off on June 15. But this season, alongside all the usual cocktail-fueled networking, client-stealing, and wee-hours frolicking, a less fun reality has surfaced: how shockingly few women are on award show juries in general.» 7 Comments

'Mad Men' Episode 611: 'Favors,' Or Comforting Mrs. Rosen Posted by Barbara Lippert on Jun 11, 10:51 AM

Titled "Favors," this was one of the season's most surprising, brilliant, but difficult-to-watch episodes, featuring extraordinary performances from the entire cast -- but actors Jon Hamm and Kiernan Shipka deserve extra kudos. bHow many times can poor Sally lose her innocence? And how many times can Don survive all hell (or his inner Dick) breaking loose?» 29 Comments

'Mad Men' Episode 610: A Tale Of Two Cities, Or 'You're The Guy Who Came In A Taxi?' Posted by Barbara Lippert on Jun 4, 11:59 AM

Uh, oh. Whenever I hear the phrase "L.A. trip" combined with "Don," I reach for my revolver. Flashbacks! Sadness! Pools! Suits! Weirdness! Anna!» 22 Comments

Episode 609: The Better Half -- Or, He Climbed Her Because She Was There? Posted by Barbara Lippert on May 28, 11:33 AM

A killer episode that takes a stab at some of Mad Men's major themes, "The Better Half" answers one of the leading existential questions of our time: "Who wears short shorts?"» 28 Comments

How Do You Solve A Problem Like A. Weiner? Posted by Barbara Lippert on May 24, 2:36 PM

"I'm Anthony Weiner and I'll always be frank with you." One of the few printable responses I received after asking my Facebook friends to come up with appropriate taglines for the disgraced former congressman who has announced his run for mayor of New York City.» 10 Comments

Episode 608: "The Crash: She's My Mother/ She's My Sister/ Don Gets His Heart Examined." Posted by Barbara Lippert on May 20, 8:02 PM

Called "The Crash," this week's episode reflected a fresh focus for Mad Men: Whores and death and death and whores.» 31 Comments

Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Comes Out Ahead Posted by Barbara Lippert on May 17, 11:20 AM

Have you noticed that things tend to get more interesting when Kirstie Alley weighs in on a subject and gets bleeped out? "Dude, you're a #(#*#! @@!!!$!," the self-proclaimed "Fat Actress" told "Entertainment Tonight," referring to Michael Jeffries, the CEO of Motherfucker Industries, I mean, Abercrombie & Fitch.» 9 Comments

Ep. 607 "The Best Laid Plans," Or Little Headaches And 50 Shades Of Earl Gray Or Major Gray." Posted by Barbara Lippert on May 13, 6:52 PM

Beware the Weiner doctrine: It seems that any unexpected bit of sunshine, energy or pleasure offered one week inevitably brings a downpour of existential gloom and disorientation the next.» 23 Comments

Mountain Dew, Part Deux Posted by Barbara Lippert on May 10, 3:21 PM

Last week, I wrote about a series of gag-inducing videos for Mountain Dew. Created by 22-year-old rapper Tyler the Entertainer, the spots were equal parts racism, misogyny, and WTF?» 4 Comments

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