Why Daytime Sucks: It's Not "Mad Men"

I had a student last term start an argument with me. I was showing how television narratives are created for specific demographics. So, I show a scene from The Sopranos when Tony strangles Ralphie. Then, I show a scene where Todd strangles Sam from One Life to Live. Same action, completely different interpretation, motivation, and result. One for men, one for women. There are a lot of other factors, of course, but that's  the gist.

At any rate, the kid in the front, an arrogant film major, was laughing. He said, "Well, that's a soap opera. You can't compare it to The Sopranos".  As you might expect, I looked at him blankly.  And then I drilled him with a number of questions, saying that they were both serialized dramas with a large cast, focus on relationships, and no narrative closure. How could it not be a soap opera? He said it was that The Sopranos was "good".

Okay. So I simplified it for him and said that he was then saying that entertainment for men was "good" when entertainment for women was "bad". I got it. He then stopped speaking and sat in the back of the class for the rest of the term. Not my fault his value judgments were sexist in nature. I was just trying to clarify his thinking process for him.

At any rate, I don't care what any elitest bastard says. Mad Men, arguably the best show ever, IMO, is a soap- pure and simple. Like any other serialized drama, it's within the genre and may change some of it's conventions in terms of interpretation, but it's the same genre. And if you look at the difference between this spectacular show and what soaps have become, you see the problem.

Now, I will agree with that some things can't be compared. The current state of daytime is SO bad, IMO, that I won't make any direct comparisons. And putting Nimnuts in the same category as Matthew Weiner is an insult I would never make to Mr. Weiner. But, let's use generalities and see why not only is the current state of daytime so crappy, but why Mad Men is so good.  It is my argument that if daytime took back some of the elements shows such as Mad Men have kept alive, you wouldn't have the downward spiral and seeming extinction of the form on traditional television.

Mad Men, like The Sopranos and Six Feet Under, is a serialized show built around cliffhangers and complex relationships. I always tell students that films are interested in the one night stand. You know, the nice dinner, a quick bang, and then home in bed, maybe to call again "soon".  However, television is in to the long term relationship. They want to get to know you, move in together, nest, and then marry you and keep you forever. However, often television is the abusive spouse who treats you like crap and then woos you back with promises of "never again" and a "honeymoon period". You know what comes after that. The same old cycle.

Shows like Mad Men don't abuse you as a fan. They don't manipulate you. They don't try to give you the "gotcha" moment. They have them, like the end of last night's episode, but it's there for the story, not to manipulate the fans. In daytime, I can almost hear the writers laughing at the audience. I don't think the writers of Mad Men care what they audience does. They're writing a show because it makes sense and is interesting. They aren't manipulating anyone but the characters. 

That's the point. Their material is good enough to hold the audience. They don't need to pander or play games.  They just write a quality product. Even when Mad Men sucks, it sucks so much less than anything else. I've seen some people were disappointed last night. I wasn't. I thought it was great. It was a bit slow, sure, but so what?

You see, this show is so quiet, it can be slow. Don doesn't need to talk as he's fascinating as he's an enigma. I can't make heads or tails of this guy. When he looked out the window in his office last night, I knew he was thinking of Hawaii but what or why he  was thinking it, I don't know. I could go on and on with possibilities, but I don't want to do that. It ruins it. Don is complex and confusing and dysfunctional and that makes him interesting. But he's true. Of course he's cheating again. He's Don. Who that is, I don't know, but I know what he does. And I'm mesmerized by  it.

I can love looking at a hot dude as much as any heterosexual woman or gay man, but, ya know what? I don't even see John Hamm, hot hot man, when I see Don. I see Don as a really fucked up dude who I can't figure out and who keeps me watching. I am ready to get on a plane, find the studio, bitchslap Talia Balsom, and jump Slattery as he's the greatest thing I've seen on TV for years, but I don't love Roger for that. I love watching Roger because he, like Don, fascinates me. Well, I don't want to bitchslap Talia. I like her. But I'm jealous. Slattery and Clooney?  My God, you have to admire that...

But I digress.

It's about not pandering to the fangurl crap. It's about not dumbing down characters to get a ratings point. It's about respecting your audience and thinking maybe, just maybe, they're not all crazed lunatics who watch for porn. There are some of us who would like to see something interesting once in a while.

When I grew up with soaps, they were character studies. They were about complex people in complex situations. Not any more. And, since they aren't, I don't see the numbers going up. The opposite, in fact. But I see shows like Mad Men and such surviving. I know the argument. Daytime needs higher numbers because they're not on basic cable. Okay. Fine. So, move them! Maybe terrestrial networks aren't the place for them anymore. I expect PP's shows to be more Mad Men than GH.  Well, I can hope anyway.

What I'm saying is Mad Men is a show about life. And it shows it to me- unvarnished and ugly. But I still like it. I don't need to love everyone. I hate Pete! But I like watching him. He and his one-dimensional, clueless wife are very interesting. And I liked her more and more every time I saw her. But he's a scumbag pig. As he should be. And Betty. I detest Betty. But I love watching her. And how ballsy to make her gain weight as woman often do. That rocks. It's real.

At any rate, Mad Men reminds me why I love this form as it's so much of what it was. It's about watching people over time and being interested in them and invested in them. It's about watching the small moments and having them be compelling. It's about NOT getting all of it and it being okay. We don't always know everything in real life. That's okay in "reel" life, too. It's about building drama internally, not externally.

What daytime lost is what Mad Men kept. The moments. The quiet. The feeling. I could watch Peter Bergman's face express an emotion all day. It's beautiful to see. It's real and compelling. I don't care about Balls and Bombs and Spies. It's stupid crap. 

Give me a scene of Don Draper looking out a window or Roger Sterling crying over a shoe shine guy, and I'm riveted. Know why? I care.