# Mad Men has ruined my viewing pleasure **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704 "2011-01-07T02:40:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704/41 "2011-01-13T02:51:24Z")
I do enjoy “Mad Men” but my show-that-ruined-other-shows for me was The Wire, which made other police dramas unbearable. I used to find “Law & Order” passable, for instance, but the solve a crime every episode shtick just seems lame now. I watched the first season of “The Shield” and while it seemed like they were trying to break out of the villain/issue of the week mold, it was also over-wrought and predictable. I’ve also only watched the first season of “Breaking Bad” but will watch the rest eventually. The first episode is the best series opener I can remember. I don’t particularly dislike any of the major characters. Jesse was a dick but they showed more about him and now he just seems like somebody who screwed up a lot. Tucco is a dangerous psycho, of course, but I don’t dislike him the way, for instance, people hate Betty Draper. I really don’t get that, incidentally. Betty doesn’t seem any worse to me than Don. I’ve seen several recommendations for “The Walking Dead”. It’s pretty far from what the OP was asking after but it probably bears a mention in a thread about shows that don’t suck. ---
**Author:** ![Proudest\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/proudest_monkey/32/13257_2.png) [@Proudest\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Proudest_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704/42 "2011-01-15T00:37:11Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > **Proudest Monkey** , That is one of my two favorite episodes. Part tearjerker, part belly laughs. > > Jesse: “Spooge? You let yourself get jacked by someone name Spooge? Not Mad Dog, or Diesel? Spooge?” That line cracked me up. 😃I said two favorites. The other one was this one (don’t read this spoiler if you haven’t seen all of season 2). > > Where Walt and Jesse are stuck in the desert because Jesse left the key in the ignition of the RV.I imagine that you’re curious as hell about the business with the swimming pool. 😕 Yes I am curious about the swimming pool and the eye and the stuffed toy, etc. And I steeled my resolve to not click your spoiler, but wlll return to this thread (or possibly another) when I’ve reached that point of discussion. Oh yeah, the stuck-in-the-desert episode was awesome; my favorite quotes so far are “Wanna cook?” and “Stay out of my territory.” Both from Walt. Perhaps I need to find myself a \*\*Breaking Bad \*\*thread and stop hijacking this one. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704/43 "2011-01-15T01:31:06Z")
> [@Proudest\_Monkey](#): > > Yes I am curious about the swimming pool and the eye and the stuffed toy, etc. And I steeled my resolve to not click your spoiler, but wlll return to this thread (or possibly another) when I’ve reached that point of discussion. > > Oh yeah, the stuck-in-the-desert episode was awesome; my favorite quotes so far are “Wanna cook?” and “Stay out of my territory.” Both from Walt. > > Perhaps I need to find myself a \*\*Breaking Bad \*\*thread and stop hijacking this one. The second spoiler was about the desert episode so, since you’ve seen it already, it’s safe to click. BB is definitely one of my all time favorite shows. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704/44 "2011-01-15T01:50:05Z")
Okay, so my husband is recuperating from surgery and watching every available season of Mad Men from bed. I’m sort of watching half of them, and I have one question he can’t answer. What is UP with that creepy ten-year-old kid that keeps hitting on Betty Draper? ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704/45 "2011-01-15T02:26:03Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > What is UP with that creepy ten-year-old kid that keeps hitting on Betty Draper? That’s Matt Weiner’s son. Weiner insists that the kid is behaving like a normal ten year old would. The real weirdo is Betty Draper, who didn’t stop the child’s weird behavior once it started. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704/46 "2011-01-15T02:33:28Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > What is UP with that creepy ten-year-old kid that keeps hitting on Betty Draper? Well, in a factual sense, he’s the son of a divorced (gasp!) woman who recently moved into the Drapers’ neighborhood. Betty baby-sat for him once while his mom went to volunteer for Kennedy. Why he hits on Betty is anyone’s guess. Mommy issues + she’s pretty? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704/47 "2011-01-15T07:27:02Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > That’s Matt Weiner’s son. Weiner insists that the kid is behaving like a normal ten year old would. > > The real weirdo is Betty Draper, who didn’t stop the child’s weird behavior once it started. It doesn’t get better. By Season 4, the kid is getting my vote for Future Serial Stalkers of America, and Betty isn’t going to be nominated for Mother of the Decade by _Better Homes And Divorces_ magazine. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704/48 "2011-01-15T16:41:19Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Okay, so my husband is recuperating from surgery and watching every available season of Mad Men from bed. I’m sort of watching half of them, and I have one question he can’t answer. > > What is UP with that creepy ten-year-old kid that keeps hitting on Betty Draper? He’s just got a crush on her. When I was a kid I had them, long before I even knew what sex was. She’s obviously unhappy all the time, I think even a kid could pick up on that. Then you have this comic book idea that the hero, who every little boy ever thinks is what he’s supposed to be, should rescue the girl. Of course I never barged in on anybody in the bathroom or asked for their hair anything quite so creepy. I think my method was to throw things at them. Incidentally, that tactic does not work. Not at all. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704/49 "2011-01-16T01:53:14Z")
As long as we’re discussing compelling TV, I’ll put in a word for _Justified_, an FX series about a deputy U.S. marshal (Tim Olyphant, who was also on _Deadwood_) who reluctantly returns to his home turf in Kentucky, and finds it hard to draw a line between his job and his personal life. Highly recommended! ---
**Author:** ![McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McDeath_the_Mad)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704/50 "2011-01-17T16:02:41Z")
I throw my $0.02 CAN in here as well. I was a “Soprano’s” fanatic while it was on. I haven’t re-watched it for a few years but I’m sure it holds up. I just finished watching all of the seasons of “The Wire”. The last season was the most diasappointing, but was still really really good. I can’t wait to watch “Breaking Bad” when it returns this year, the acting is top notch. I was a “Six Feet Under” fan, but never finished the file season, it got pretty dark (well darker) and my wife didn’t want to watch it. I can also recomend “Rescue Me”. Great show about New York firemen starring Dennis Leary on FX. My new joy is “The Sheild”. I’m only 5 episodes into season 1 but seems to be promissing (there are 7 seasons in total). MtM [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-has-ruined-my-viewing-pleasure/566704.md?page=2)