By Drew Grant 4/16 4:18pm

Exclusive video

Video

Don Draper, killing it. (AMC)

Update: Exclusive: Every ‘Next Week, on Mad Men‘ Promo on AMC (Video)

Update: Matt Zoller Seitz of Indiewire’s Press Play blog noted that the this concept had a predecessor in their own “The Ultimate ‘Next on Mad Men‘ Preview Clip“. We’ve added it after the jump, so you can compare for yourselves.

There has to be some sort of running gag over at AMC HQ regarding the ridiculousness of their Mad Men promos. Nothing happens! Every week, we find out that if we stay tuned next Sunday, we can watch Don pick up a phone, Betty furrow her eyebrows, and Roger say “Well, that was something!” Pete is shown changing TV stations as some sort of meta-commentary on what we wish we were doing, instead of watching Mad Men commercials.

Whatever the answer, if you’ve never seen one of these advertisements, The Observer made a ultimate compilation mix. Feel free to play on a loop as a substitute for actually watching the show. Read More

By Drew Grant 7/16/12 1:34pm

Cable Wars

Breaking Bad (AMC)

Never Look a Meth Horse in the Mouth: AMC and DISH Offer Tempting Gifts for Taking Sides in Contract Dispute

The battle of the networks vs. cable providers reached a boiling point last night, when some 14 million viewers subscribed to DISH Networks were unable to watch the fifth season premiere of AMC’s highly popular, uplifting show about overcoming cancer with meth labs, Breaking Bad.

Whether negotiations between DISH and AMC broke down because of a breach of contract (says AMC) or because the network was charging too much for its service (says Dish), the outcome is hurtful to both parties. The ratings for Breaking Bad will be skewed negatively in the short term, since Nielsen only counts people who watch Walt and Jesse make meth during their original time-slot.

Meanwhile, AMC is enticing viewers away from DISH Networks with some pretty clever tactics. Read More

By Drew Grant 7/11/12 12:17pm

TV Wars

Time Warner, Dish Network, and DirecTv: the Summer of their discontent

DirecTv, Dish Network, and Time Warner: A Guide to How Your Cable Provider Will Be Screwing You This Summer

Several of us watching Jersey Shore reruns  last night suffered a rude shock when DirecTv rudely cut off our programming at midnight. Of course, we had been warned–a vague phone call earlier in the day, a hushed, automated voice telling us to call back our service provider, which we didn’t because we thought they were going to try to upgrade us again– but DirecTv’s  inability to negotiate with Viacom portends a summer of bad news, television-wise.

No matter who you pick to serve up your TV, it looks like you’ll be getting screwed. Here’s how it breaks down. Read More

By Drew Grant 4/30/12 4:39pm

television

The funny ladies of HBO get second season (HBO.com)

HBO Renews Girls After Three Episodes, Veep After Two

With its crushing lineup right now, HBO would be fools not to re-up on two of its most hype-producing shows: Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ cringe-y comedy Veep (Curb Your Enthusiasm for the White House, with Buster bonus), and Lena Dunham‘s cringe-y (for totally different reasons) Apatow production, Girls.

Luckily, fools they are not, and both shows have been renewed for second seasons before we’ve had time to learn most of the characters’ names. Read More

By Drew Grant 2/07/12 4:17pm

Kevin Smith

The sausage fest of 'Comic Book Men' (AMC)

Kevin Smith on Lack of Women on AMC Comic Book Show: ‘That’s Reality’

Today over a long lunch at Caroline’s, actor/director/oversized advocate Kevin Smith discussed his new AMC reality show, Comic Book Men. The series, which focuses on Mr. Smith’s own New Jersey comic shop Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash (as well as the kooky individuals who both work at and patronize the store), has been given a prime spot on the channel: directly after the zombie drama The Walking Dead.

After various mentions of how high he was, Mr. Smith took questions from the audience. The Observer enjoys a good comic book now and then, so we just had one question about the “reality” show…where were the female comic geeks? Read More