Television Recap: "Mad Men", "Game of Thrones", "Fringe"

I now feel comfortable in once more sharing my thoughts on the latest happenings in television with you guys! This is mostly due to the return of two shows that most deserve review: "Mad Men" and "Game of Thrones". I already launched my sparse opinions on the former's two hour season premiere, and it seemed like too much of a tease not to delve even further into my obsession with the guesswork and continued passion involving this unique form of entertainment. And it would of course be nice to get back home to a place of talking about "Fringe", whose prospects for a final season 15-episode pickup are looking unexpectedly bright. It's a win in all corners. Well, not all corners. "The Killing" is still on the air.

"Mad Men: Tea Leaves"

Directed by Jon Hamm

Oh Betty, what has this world done to you? It seems that when most television actresses become pregnant, they factor that quite literally into the show. Leave it to a genius like Matthew Weiner to not cop to that and instead go for something more dynamic to Betty's character: She's let herself go. It's an eerie move that strikes me like a dagger, since it seems so natural for her to eventually become that sort of overweight mother. It's the start of a story arc that will prove quintessential to her character, I'm certain already. Though it is admittedly an overt move for the show, but it pays off broadly, and not quite so dishonestly. The cancer scare is somewhat too much of a push, even if it does strike a desire for death in Betty.

The rapid death of the Primetime Emmys

Not that it's worth mention in the slightest, but last night's Emmy broadcast cemented every flaw and discrepancy in the ceremony, and in the awards themselves. I set aside my own prejudice for them never once rewarding "Fringe" with even a nomination. What I won't set aside is my anger at the clear disdain they show for it. In their montage of the year in Drama television, they set aside time for even mediocrity like "Smallville" and "True Blood". They don't spare a second for the sci-fi drama, which says a great deal about what respect they hold the show in. It's a display of boorish ignorance that only inspires disgust.

As for the ceremony itself, gaudy and repulsive from start to finish is all I can really say for it. I could tell I was in for an embarrassing show from that painful opening number. Jane Lynch is quite possibly the worst host in recent memory for the telecast, no offense towards her. She's just gotten remarkably stale with all of her appearances. I just don't care for her anymore, which is a sad statement indeed. If there was a slight moment of levity it was "The Office" parody, most specifically the moment that Jesse comes in and sells Creed meth. It reminded me that there were better things I could be watching right now, instead of this crap.

THEY KILLED SEAN BEAN!!!! YOU BASTARDS!!!!

SPOILER ALERT in case you haven't seen Airborne, Caravaggio, Clarissa, Equilibrium, Don't Say A Word, Essex Boys, Far North, The Field, Golden Eye, Henry VIII, The Island, Six-Echo, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Lorna Doone, Outlaw, Patriot Games, Scarlett, Tell Me That You Love Me, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, The Hitcher, War Requiem, or the first season of Game of Thrones.

So who won the spring television battle?

As far as I'm concerned, this late spring television season has been a battle between AMC and HBO for their own respective new series. Not a one-on-one fight to death, as the two are juxtaposed at slightly different timeslots, with Game of Thrones on at 9 p.m. at HBO, and The Killing placed in the typical AMC slot of 10 p.m. Still, it seems like there's been something of a quarrel between the two shows. Throughout the entire season, I've been slowing switching from show's side to the other's, and I am surprisingly left bashing an AMC show.

When The Killing started off, I was very reluctant to give it a pass, because not only did it lack any hint of the subtlety in Mad Men or Breaking Bad, but it was just plain boring. Then, as the season progressed, it just continued on the same dull slope of absolutely nothing happening. There was one gem late in the season which was pretty much just one-on-one between Holder and Linden. Then the show seemingly started to pick up speed towards the finale, and we got an idea of who we thought was Rosie Larsen's killer? Then what? It was proved false, and the season ended with no real shock, horror, or satisfaction.

Where did this series go so terribly wrong in its depiction of a crime drama? For one thing, I doubt that there'd be only one significant murder in a 13 day period. Somebody dies, and the world just keeps on turning. We didn't get that sort of feeling. Furthermore, it felt like there weren't enough legitimate revelations in the case to make it worth watching beyond six or seven episodes. It wasn't even that much of a tragic loss. And the finale gave us nothing to goad us into continuing on with the series next season. Nothing truly shocking happened. I thought that it might have been a wonderful move to have Mitch drown her remaining children. That would've been awesome and redeeming of this series. It just never happened.

So where does my allegiance go? Right over to HBO which has been really hitting it out of the park with Game of Thrones this season. If you're looking for powerful shock value, look no further than the final few episodes of the season. The tides turn against our main characters, there are betrayals of enormous strength, and the man who many assumed to be the lead was killed off in the penultimate episode. Of course, being based on the book series will give you that sort of thing. People will die, and cruelty will happen a plenty, and you haven't a clue when it will happen.