POLL: MAD MEN: Which tier?

[emdasher]

Is there some way to attach a poll to the top of this thread? Something in the way of "Is Mad Men a tier 1 show?"

[Edit: Got it.]

[jbissell]

What would be examples of tier 3 and 4 shows?

[emdasher]

What would be examples of tier 3 and 4 shows?

I've been kind of thinking about it like this--

Tier 1 is "Sopranos"-worthy, must-watch TV. Tier 2 is still very good, but not mandatory viewing. Tier 3 you might watch if it happens to be on. Tier 4 you avoid if at all possible.

"Keeping Up with the Kardashians" is in my tier 4.

[yesno]

I would say that "Tier 2" is still possibly must watch, but not the very, very peak.  Sopranos, the Wire.  I can't think of any other show that I like enough for Tier 1 status.

Tier 2 for me would be Mad Men, Rome, Battlestar Galactica when it's good, John Adams (costume shows, mostly).  Also Twin Peaks.  All of these shows would be Tier 1 were it not for Sopranos/Wire.

Comedies don't fit into this as well.  Tier 1 comedies for me would be Brass Eye, peak Simpsons, and Mr. Show, with almost everything else that I am a fan of as Tier 2.

Tier 3 shows are "good," but you don't need to sweat tracking them down.

[Days of Se7en]

Acknowledging that it's not (yet) at Wire/Sopranos level, I still think Mad Men deserves to be called a top-tier drama.  There is room on the top tier for more than those two shows even if nothing else is as good as those two shows, y'know?

Don Draper's as complex and fascinating a character as has ever been on TV.  I love how this character-based show is able to spin so much meaty, compelling drama out of such basically thin plotlines (what happened in the season 2 premiere, plotwise, other than the office getting a copy machine and Sterling-Cooper starting to "think young"?  not much, is what, and yet the episode was brilliant anyway).

Having watched all of season 1 in the space of a few days thanks to On Demand, waiting a week between episodes this season is going to be torture. SHEER TORTURE.  Top tier all the way!

[derkins]

tier 2 now.  but still at the level of a lot of hbo shows.  solid stuff

[Chris L]

Acknowledging that it's not (yet) at Wire/Sopranos level, I still think Mad Men deserves to be called a top-tier drama.  There is room on the top tier for more than those two shows even if nothing else is as good as those two shows, y'know?

Deadwood completes the Tier 1 triumvirate, at least for me. 

Anyways...

[Son of Dorvid]

For me, Tier Two means see every episode. Tier One means see every not only seeing every episode between three and twenty times.

Tier One - The Wire, Sopranos, Homicide, Larry Sanders, Mr. Show, The Corner, When the Levees Broke, Generation Kill.

Tier Two - Mad Men, Deadwood, The Simpsons, 30 Rock, Flight of the Conchords

Tier Eleven - Tourgasm, Mind of Mencia

Tier Eighty - The Two Coreys,  Fox News "Red Eye"

[fyodor]

Tier Two - Mad Men, Deadwood, The Simpsons, 30 Rock, Flight of the Conchords

Deadwood next to 30 Rock? Boioioioioing! <--- my eyes popping out

30 Rock is funny, but Deadwood is funnier. Tier 1!

[jamesp]

Is it fair right now to judge shows in certain tiers compared to shows that have already finished? I feel like it's much easier for us to look back at the Sopranos or other shows (now that they are done) and forget that it had several episodes that are just so weak. I loved the show and would call it a classic, but it feels like we are just being nostalgic and unfair to current shows that we're still only just getting into.

Tier Eighty - The Two Coreys,  Fox News "Red Eye"

I've lost respect for some comedians who are willing to appear on crap like Red Eye. I understand somebody like Michael Ian Black appearing when he's doing the rounds to promote his book, but why''s Neil Hamburger a frequent guest?

[Son of Dorvid]

Yeah, the great Natasha Leggero has done that show, too.  I just hope they pay well.

[emdasher]

Jon Hamm is hosting SNL this week, which caught me off guard. I watch "Mad Men," but when this was announced on last week's show, it took me a solid five minutes to remember who Jon Hamm was.

Is it customary for SNL to have one "who the fuck is that?"-type host each season?

By the way, has anyone changed their opinion of "Mad Men" now that season 2 is almost finished?

[todd]

I just marathon'd season 1 this weekend. I hate hate hated the first episode... lame period jokes and awful dialogue, like the gay guy who says "You mean a person lives life one way, but secretly lives it another way!? IMPOSSIBLE!" Ugh.

Anyway, it picks up a ton. There are moments where it gets not stellar, but I like it! I think its funny how the plot is almost unimportant, its so focused on exposition.

[Chris L]

TIER 1!!!1!

[jbissell]

I just marathon'd season 1 this weekend. I hate hate hated the first episode... lame period jokes and awful dialogue, like the gay guy who says "You mean a person lives life one way, but secretly lives it another way!? IMPOSSIBLE!" Ugh.

Anyway, it picks up a ton. There are moments where it gets not stellar, but I like it! I think its funny how the plot is almost unimportant, its so focused on exposition.

Yeah, the pilot put off more than a few of my friends from watching any more until I had them watch some of the later season 1 episodes when it really found its footing.