The Calculations Behind "Mad Men"!

You know that we are big fans of AMC's Mad Men around here at The Flaming Nose, but we also like to read articles that eschew sentiment and delve into the nitty-gritty of television economics, such as this fascinating article at TV By The Numbers! Is Mad Men worth it? the article asks. It depends, as you will read. Lots of discussion in the comments section also, don't skip that part...

"Mad Men" Comedy Promo

Have you seen the "Comedy" version in AMC's series of Mad Men promos? It's nutty.

"Mad Men" -- The Sexiest Show on TV? Yeah, Probably!

Another in the Mad Men promos for Season 3, which begins this coming Sunday on AMC!

"Mad Men" Season 3 Photo Gallery -- Sublime!

Be sure to check out the complete Mad Men Season Three Photo gallery, which is now online. If you go to the AMC site there are only 12 photos posted, but the Mad Men Facebook page gives the whole 37 different shots, all worth perusing! The photo above is just one of several stunningly gorgeous Jon Hamm as Don Draper poses.

Beautiful photography, swanky imagery, and so much style you'll choke on it!

Of course we all remember that Season Three of Mad Men begins this coming Sunday night! More here later on the return of this terrific series!

"Mad Men" Season 3 Promo -- Romance!

Another promo highlighting Mad Men's many delights -- this time the romance!

"Mad Men" Yourself at AMC's Website!

Flaming Nose favorite Mad Men returns next month on Sunday, August 16th, and AMC has a nifty and very fun promotion going on! Go to their "Mad Men Yourself" website here -- with illustrations created by the talented Dyna Moe (be sure to check out the full set of her Mad Men-inspired work) -- and you can turn yourself into a Mad Men-esque character, or just make one up.

It's tremendously amusing, and you can download your creations and use them as avatars and also they are beautiful as desktop images. You won't want to stop at making one, either. It's addicting! I made several, including a hard-drinking lady who doesn't smile much --

A blowhard guy with an eyepatch and a drink --

And a career lady I tried to make look like Edith Prickley from SCTV --

Definitely check this wonderful website out and congrats to Dyna Moe!

Variety Loves "Mad Men" Star Jon Hamm, Too!

Sigh...The Flaming Nose is certainly not the only place touting Jon Hamm's emergence as one of the most fascinating leading men of the day. Variety.com deputy editor Anne Thompson had a terrific article last week about his burgeoning career possibilities. You can read it here.

He's certainly yummy, and talented! As our Jane previously reported, we're crossing our fingers that he does get picked to romance 30 Rock's Liz Lemon, as played by Tina Fey, this season!

Mad Men Season Finale: Great Leaders Don't Blink

Mad Men on AMC ended its second season Sunday night, and as usual, I recorded the episode. I watched it tonight, and I wish I hadn't. There is a terrible hollow feeling when a series this brilliant ends, and there is nothing left to console me in its absence but the long wait for the boxed set on DVD, and even longer drought until Season Three.

Episode 13, "Meditations in an Emergency" had all the hallmarks that have made this series great, weaving the real life drama of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis into the Sturm and Drang of Sterling-Cooper's takeover (so relevant 40+ years later) and the timeless angst of betrayed families and broken promises. This final episode was all about power, leadership, and the redemption of confession.

The amazing and always riveting footage of JFK on TV in the background served as a litmus test and catalyst for Mad Men's characters, who always seem on the brink of something. A power grab, a nervous breakdown, a furtive and hopeless tryst in the back room of a dark bar. The looming nuclear apocalypse causes different reactions for our cast of mad men and women. Panic for some (who cares about the bomb...what about my JOB?), indifference for others. Peggy the budding star who gained a new office after landing the Popsicle account, fears for the loss of her soul. She confesses, finally, bringing last season's cliff hanger full circle. But the truth is told to a bewildered Campbell, and not to her weasel faced priest.

JFK draws a line in the sand for the Soviets, on a fuzzy black and white television. Don Draper draws a line in the conference room at Sterling Cooper after Duck (the darkest character of all to be sure...who could forget what he did to his beautiful Irish Setter) says creative will no longer be a part of the agency's primary directive. Don Draper, back from his A.W.O.L. Southern California sojourn, wants no part of it. He's gone. "I don't sell advertising", Don says, cool and measured as a fighter pilot. "I sell products. If the world is still here on Monday, we can talk".

This final episode was a poem to the subtle but essential qualities of leadership, at a time when we all yearn for its example. Don't blink. Don't stand down. Watch Mad Men.

And for heaven's sake...don't forget to vote.

Below, JFK's address to the nation in 1962.