Post: #1

I went through a bout of sickness recently and spent a lot of time watching these two shows.

Let's extract only the more glamorous aspects of these television shows - entourage having the whole LA celebrity thing and mad men having the whole suited up, classic, scotch and cigarettes, power/mistresses thing.

Which one better describes you?

Which one would you rather have?

Post: #2

I have never seen Mad Men but I have to go with that one obviously.

Entourage I saw a bunch of episodes, and that show always got on my nerves. They guys were typical LA dorks.

That being said, I guess it was pretty accurate.

That also being said, I have swooped a handful of girls that have been extras on Entourage, so I can't exactly hate it.

It is always kind of fun to watch that show and point to girls you have swooped.

Post: #3

entourage is a pretty fun show. i mean if you're a straight dude with friends who've you have known all of your life how would you not want to have that kind of lifestyle?

Post: #4

The first two or three episodes of Entourage were good. Then it turned in to a fucking soap opera. The premise was great - essentially college except lots of money, only hot chicks, and no school. That part represented a lifestyle I think a lot of guys wish they had.

Mad Men, guys smoking and drinking 24/7 and banging their secretaries. Its a good fantasy for guys stuck in a shitty office half their life.

Post: #5

I'd go with entourage.
It was the ultimate male fantasy show. Who wouldn't want to live that lifestyle? Living in sunny Southern California and smashing high end models.

(03-04-2012 01:01 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  That also being said, I have swooped a handful of girls that have been extras on Entourage, so I can't exactly hate it.

It is always kind of fun to watch that show and point to girls you have swooped.

The extras on that show were hot as shit! I know you dislike Socal but I'd count my blessings being around all those upper tier chics.

Post: #6

Never really got into Entourage but Mad Men is a really good show. It represents America in it's Golden Age.

Post: #7

I really liked the first season of Mad Men. Afterwards, it just seemed like they were worried about running out of materials, so they made storylines progress realllly slowly.

I liked the first 5 or 6 seasons of Entourage, but as it progressed, it started sucking. I really hated how 'E' just begged his way back into getting with Sloan - sure he's a pussy, but that never works in real life. I also didn't like how the female characters became more prominent over time (besides Mrs. Ari).

Feminists looove to hate on Entourage, supposedly because women are objectified relentlessly on the show. Yet they don't really have a problem with Mad Men or others (Californication too maybe, don't know well enough to say). I think the real reason is because women don't figure too prominently in the show, and that pisses them off to no end. The show is about guys having fun being themselves, and doing what guys like to do. The focus is on the camaraderie of the guys, and that's why it's so appealing to men. In the Mad Men atmosphere women can still scheme their way into importance and power. In Entourage, there's just no place for them. Women can't stand it when high value guys ignore girls and go off and do their own thing, when they never let women really enter the picture and their friendship precedes pussy. A woman can't win in that kind of atmosphere.

Post: #8

(03-04-2012 04:08 PM)basilransom Wrote:  Women can't stand it when high value guys ignore girls and go off and do their own thing, when they never let women really enter the picture and their friendship precedes pussy. A woman can't win in that kind of atmosphere.

btw, I really like Mad Men, one of the best tv shows I've ever watched .

Post: #9

Got to be Mad Men..best series I've seen in a long time.That must have been a fun era to be a player!

Post: #10

Mad Men is a better show. Don Draper is a classic GManifesto style baller, although certainly a slave to the corporate world. Very fascinating and entertaining drama though. I always hoped Gmanifesto would watch it and give his thoughts.

Post: #11

Two totally different shows. Entourage is a light hearted comedy, while Mad Men is a dramaedy. I love both for their iconic characters, Ari Gold and Roger Sterling. I'd watch for those two characters alone!

Post: #12

(03-04-2012 04:08 PM)basilransom Wrote:  Feminists looove to hate on Entourage, supposedly because women are objectified relentlessly on the show. Yet they don't really have a problem with Mad Men

Weiner, the director and creator, said that Mad Men is largely about the rise of women in the workplace.

Peggy is going to become a real feminist before the series is over. And arguably, Joan's, the traditional queen bee, is seen as less and less powerful.

Post: #13

Post: #14

Mad Men is the better show. As for the comparisons to real life here is a little inside info Advertising tends to be a very female friendly industry in Real life.

As WestIndianArchie said and I believe before Madmen is over the female characters will run the agency because that is what happened more or less in real life.

On a plus I will gladly admit all the agencies I've been employed by over the years still turn a blind eye to drinking on the job on a Friday afternoon nor do they drug test. Also summer hours make it a wonderful career.

Entourage was a fun idea that had its fair share of douche moments over the years as it kept airing though.

I know this is outside of the thread but Breaking Bad is a better show than Mad Men.

Post: #15

my avatar. as G would say "This shit is straight dope".

Post: #16

(03-05-2012 10:22 PM)Clyde Rules Wrote:  I know this is outside of the thread but Breaking Bad is a better show than Mad Men.

Why do you say that?

Post: #17

(03-05-2012 11:46 PM)Sebastian Wrote:  your question sounds really dumb.

How about Sarcozy? he is a short guy with a big nose. I am sure you are a lot hotter than him and can last longer on bed. his wife is carla bruni, so do you think you can do better than that?

(03-06-2012 11:07 AM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  

(03-05-2012 10:22 PM)Clyde Rules Wrote:  I know this is outside of the thread but Breaking Bad is a better show than Mad Men.

Why do you say that?

I Disagree , apples and oranges. It's like saying that I think that Homeland is a better show than Entourage.

Post: #18

Can't judge Entourage since I haven't seen it.

I am not in love with Madmen.

The acting is amateurish. The pacing is as slow as a snail on superglue, and I can't really believe in the complexity of a narrative when the vast majority of the characters are based on historical cardboard stereotypes.

Also, the sources of conflict in Mad Men, to me atleast, are not that big of a deal (interracial dating, drug addiction, extra-marital affairs). I can see if there were some exploration in those arenas, but nothing MadMen portrayed on those issues moved me emotionally. The exploration stopped at the superficial level.

Ironically, it is those historical portrayals that seems to be Mad Men's most potent weapon. The show gets its greatest strength in its style and feelings of nostalgia that are conjured up in the viewer.

Betty Draper is nice to look at as well.

I assert three series to be superior: The Wire, The Sopranos, and Breaking Bad.

The Wire for its complex narrative, great acting, realistic portrayal of American cities, perspective of African-American culture and society in an urban setting, and the character Omar.

The Sopranos for its exploration of American society, Psychology, American values, and the acting of James Gandolfini and Edie Falco.

Breaking Bad for Bryan Cranston's portrayal of Walter White and excellent, cathartic season finales.

Those series do have some weaknesses though ( Season 5 of the Wire, Sopranos post Season 2, and Breaking Bad's cast of actors outside of Bryan Cranson and Aaron Paul) but the quality is high enough that the weakness are mitigated. Each series is a worthy investment of your time.

Post: #19

Goodwriteup Commander Shepard.

Anyone know where I can watch Breaking Bad online for free?

Post: #20

breaking bad is one of those shows that needs to be torrented and on your hard drive. it's that good.

Post: #21

(03-06-2012 12:51 PM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  Goodwriteup Commander Shepard.

Anyone know where I can watch Breaking Bad online for free?

http://www.tvduck.com/Breaking-Bad.html

The megavideo links were the most reliable until they went down, maybe some of others work

Post: #22

I enjoy those two shows immensely along with californication. All 3 have entertainment qualities. However, mad men represents most of the population per we who have 9-5 jobs. The other 2 many cannot relate to. The few who do, good for you. In the end women love men who have power, so I would say mad men wins if you are aiming for the girls who dig men in suits.

Post: #23

(03-06-2012 12:23 PM)Commander Shepard Wrote:  Also, the sources of conflict in Mad Men, to me atleast, are not that big of a deal (interracial dating, drug addiction, extra-marital affairs). I can see if there were some exploration in those arenas, but nothing MadMen portrayed on those issues moved me emotionally. The exploration stopped at the superficial level.

Ironically, it is those historical portrayals that seems to be Mad Men's most potent weapon. The show gets its greatest strength in its style and feelings of nostalgia that are conjured up in the viewer.

That's why I don't like Mad Men, and much of modern entertainment. There's no depiction of the good and the beautiful. There's nothing uplifting about it. To the extent that it tries, it's often heavy-handed, immature, and moralizing, usually childish fare.

It's always depiction of things like catastrophe, tragedy, hardship, failure, loss, infidelity, violence. These are the only things which a serious auteur concerns himself with.

Alternatively, watching a film like Spartacus or Ten Commandments is an invigorating experience. Or The King's Speech.

Plus Mad Men, like most entertainment, revels in thrusting these liberal themes on its viewers, at the expense of a realistic portrayal. When I sit down to see a film, I want to see something beautiful and uplifting, without being maudlin and saccharin. Or something realistic. And not something that glamorizes dysfunction. So Mad Men fails on all these, for me. Plus as I and Shepherd said, the pacing is glacial.

Quote:Peggy is going to become a real feminist before the series is over.

Peggy was a strident feminist from the beginning. She bears a bastard and gives it up for adoption, and is completely shameless about the entire affair.

Post: #24

(03-06-2012 12:23 PM)Commander Shepard Wrote:  Can't judge Entourage since I haven't seen it.

I am not in love with Madmen.

The acting is amateurish. The pacing is as slow as a snail on superglue, and I can't really believe in the complexity of a narrative when the vast majority of the characters are based on historical cardboard stereotypes.

Also, the sources of conflict in Mad Men, to me atleast, are not that big of a deal (interracial dating, drug addiction, extra-marital affairs). I can see if there were some exploration in those arenas, but nothing MadMen portrayed on those issues moved me emotionally. The exploration stopped at the superficial level.

Ironically, it is those historical portrayals that seems to be Mad Men's most potent weapon. The show gets its greatest strength in its style and feelings of nostalgia that are conjured up in the viewer.

Betty Draper is nice to look at as well.

I assert three series to be superior: The Wire, The Sopranos, and Breaking Bad.

The Wire for its complex narrative, great acting, realistic portrayal of American cities, perspective of African-American culture and society in an urban setting, and the character Omar.

The Sopranos for its exploration of American society, Psychology, American values, and the acting of James Gandolfini and Edie Falco.

Breaking Bad for Bryan Cranston's portrayal of Walter White and excellent, cathartic season finales.

Those series do have some weaknesses though ( Season 5 of the Wire, Sopranos post Season 2, and Breaking Bad's cast of actors outside of Bryan Cranson and Aaron Paul) but the quality is high enough that the weakness are mitigated. Each series is a worthy investment of your time.

"Also, the sources of conflict in Mad Men, to me atleast, are not that big of a deal (interracial dating, drug addiction, extra-marital affairs). I can see if there were some exploration in those arenas, but nothing MadMen portrayed on those issues moved me emotionally. The exploration stopped at the superficial level. "

Have to disagree on the above.There's superficial stuff in it,but even that's well done or tells you something about the times.
Draper's packed with so many contradictions ,he gets more interesting as it goes on.
I think the writing is pretty damn good,and the acting too.This scene is pretty special:

Post: #25

Mad Men is awesome. Especially if you've ever worked in advertising. It just captures that era so perfectly. Not to mention, the characters are all suited down, drinking during business hours and holding down mistresses. I probably would have loved working on Madison Avenue in the 60s.