Love "Mad Men"! ...smoking on show?
 

first off let me say that i bought this blind. heard great things, but never saw on first run. loved the packaging of course, so i bit. wanted to get into it to see if i liked enough to continue with S2 on Sunday.

i was hooked instantly. it just transports you to another time and you get utterly lost in its' world. just fantastic writing and acting. as much as i like the other shows nominated, would love to see this take the Best Drama Emmy. Jon Hamm is excellent, portrays this complex, haunted by the past man with seemingly little emotion, as are the other actors, all perfect for their roles.

i even saw the 1 hour documentary on the making of which i don't even do on favorite movie DVD's, but i just wanted more. very good overview on the realism of the show, how it all came together and the casting. really good stuff!

one thing i was hoping they would touch on but never did was all the smoking on the show. i don't really know how it works when acting, but i am positive all those actors do not smoke like the chimneys portrayed on show.

so my question...are they really smoking or do they not inhale or are there cigarette props with some harmless herb or something? really fascinated by this process and can't believe this is how it was back in the early 60's.

Probably herbal cigarettes like the ones William B. Davis (a non-smoker) smoked in the X-Files

Yeah, I was thinking herbals as well: http://www.everyonedoesit.co.uk/onli...ProductID=4658

I also blind bought this as well. I'm through the 1st six episodes and I also love it. The sets, costumes and of course the writing make this truly a gem. The opening credits are great as well.

Jon Hamm is great, but I also think that John Slattery is great as his boss. I wonder why Slatterry is credited as a "special guest star" when he is pretty much in every episode that I have seen. He needs to be a regular. Anyways, he definitely has the "look" for this era. As for the female characters, I like Christina Hendricks and Elizabeth Moss very much.

Yeah I am also wondering about the heavy smoking in this show. I wonder if any of these actors smoke in real life.

BTW, Season 2 starts this Sunday at 10pm. I don't think I can finish 7 more epiosdes by then, so I will DVR it.

Jon Hamm is supposed to be on Letterman tonight.

i never thought i would get through 13 eps, but i can't stop and will take me 3 nights to finish is all. i just want to watch it, which i don't say often.

Matt Weiner, the creator, kinda hinted (on the documentary) Slattery was the biggest star they landed (though he still had to audition) and i think he gets that credit ala Heather Locklear on "Melrose Place" even though she was there since the end of S1. he probably gets paid the most.

he is! thanks for the heads up.

Great show. I'm almost finished going through the DVD's, which is the 2nd time I've seen the season; it's even better the 2nd time through. Can't wait until Sunday.

As far as the smoking, I remember reading (though I can't find the article now) that all cigarettes are in fact herbal, and that "real" smoking isn't allowed on set.

Glad so many people are getting into this show. :up:

I was hollering from the rooftops about it last summer. Can't wait for season 2.

I also read last year they used herbals. Also, the creator only let actors who had ever smoked in real life smoke. The actor who plays Pete never smoked, no his character doesn't. The creator thinks non-smokers aren't good at faking it.

While watching the show last season I did pick up that the actors that smoked seemed to really do it "right". I smoke so I really picked up on the small mannerisms that made it seem authentic. So that theory makes sense. (By the way to other smokers, don't watch this show on a 8 hour trans-atlantic flight. It will really make you want to have a smoke)

I just finished watching the whole first season on On-Demand, and man, did that last episode kick my ass. This is a terrific show and I'm definitely spreading the word as quickly as I can. I don't smoke, but with all the drinking I can say I've been tempted to pour myself a glass of whiskey nearly as often as they do on the show. I can't wait to see what they do with a second season.

I just wish I had an option for viewing it in Hi Def (other than waiting for the eventual release of season 2 on DVD--no way I can wait that long!).

It would be funny if all the scotch and bourbon they drink was real. ;)

That definitely sucks. I can't believe that AMC hasn't rolled out AMC-HD considering their movie collection.

I read that as well, and they also mentioned that they TASTED and SMELLED horrible - so the set would always reek... which makes the acting on this show all the more impressive, since they're smoking A LOT.

We do have AMC-HD. At least my local Comcast does.

Most of their library movies are show strecth-o-vision, though.

Props to the showrunners for realizing that "never-have" nonsmokers simply *can't* fake-smoke correctly. It has to have "lived in your fingers" for years for it to look realisticly unconscious and for it to properly punctuate your actions and emotions. So few directors ever get that.

If you want to know if someone's inhaling, it's easy to tell by the shape of the smoke being exhaled. Smoke that hasn't gone down to the lungs is more cloudlike and billowy, the typical look for cigars and pipes. Inhaled smoke comes out in flat, thin streams and lays in the air like smog.

As for using the herbals, I realize it is necessary for a variety of reasons, but it's so stupid. People demonize tobacco, yet remain in denial about pot and herbal smokes. They're no better for you. It's just trading a known evil for an unknown evil and pretending it's a lesser issue for convenience' sake.

Haven't seen *any* of this yet. Very high on my mental queue, and really look forward to it.

I know this probably falls under your "variety of reasons", but it's mentioned in the season 1 commentaries that they're legally prohibited from having the actors smoke tobacco cigarettes. Something about the fact that the set is considered a workplace.

Great show, did anybody else catch when the kids were playing spaceman that the little girl had a plastic bag on, and the only thing the mom was woried about was that her stuff not be on the floor. This is one of the best shows that I have watched in a long time.

that was purposeful. like the rest of the show. smoking, drinking, eating what they do, fornicating as much as they do. all things that are considered bad now, but not even a glimmer back then. just the time.

they need to get rid of ads, tv edits, and P&S nightmares first. it's a worthless fucking channel.

and the fact that they are nicotine free - so you don't have to worry about getting addicted to them if you aren't already a smoker.

eh, the amc hd that i recieve sometimes does show movies in true hd (magnificent 7, good bad ugly, although cropped, T2 and the 70's king kong in oar, and Mad Men in hd)

Agreed. Though ads can be somewhat tolerable during movies depending on the flick. The new original scripted shows like Mad Men are the only thing that draws much interest from me.

After hearng good things about this show - but having missed it when it first ran - I decided to give it a try this week after I noticed it was finally on demand. Finished it up last night. Wow. I LOVED it.

Christina Hendricks :drool:

Oh, to have been alive and of working age in the 60s: smoking, drinking, dirty jokes, secretarial pools.