For the next 10 weeks, my two favorite ongoing series will be airing back to back every Sunday: “Game of Thrones” at 9 p.m. followed by “Mad Men” at 10 p.m. I am one happy Hercules.
Especially so because “Thrones” launches its second season magnificently. Howard Hawks -- whose eyebrow-raising filmography includes everything from “His Girl Friday” and the 1932 “Scarface” to “The Thing From Another World” and “Rio Bravo” – described the secret to moviemaking success thusly: “Three great scenes and no bad ones.”
“Thrones” overseers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss seem to continue to traffic only in the great scenes. It’s like 11 great shows packed into a single serial. I cannot wait to complete this post so I can finish watching the new season’s third and fourth episodes.
HBO Says of tonight’s season premiere, “The North Remembers”:
As Robb Stark and his northern army continue the war against the Lannisters, Tyrion arrives in King’s Landing to counsel Joffrey and temper the young king’s excesses. On the island of Dragonstone, Stannis Baratheon plots an invasion to claim his late brother’s throne, allying himself with the fiery Melisandre, a strange priestess of a stranger god. Across the sea, Daenerys, her three young dragons and khalasar trek through the Red Waste in search of allies, or water. In the North, Bran presides over a threadbare Winterfell, while beyond the Wall, Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch must shelter with a devious wildling. Written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss; directed by Alan Taylor.
More in the text invisible.
* The season opens on a high castle wall in King’s Landing, and I’ll be darned if somebody dressed slightly (slightly!) like Captain America doesn’t show up before the first scene is concluded.
* The Hound appears in this first scene and cements my love for him with a single line to his king.
* All the Lannisters seem rather less blonde this season.
* Brainy Tyrion gets Ned Stark’s old job, and he seems rather well suited to it.
* With Ned dead and Robb off defeating Lannisters, it is great fun see how young Bran copes with being the new Lord of Winterfell.
* Despite the punishing heat, fireproof dragonmistress Daenerys keeps her clothes on this week.
* The ongoing tale of the Night Watch remains one of the series best elements as the bastard Jon Snow is confronted by the “foul” practices of Watch ally Craster.
* Theon Greyjoy, the son a Stark enemy raised by House Stark, assumes a more impactful role this week.
* Stannis Baratheon, much discussed in season one, finally appears midway through tonight’s installment. Like the Cylons, he believes only in One True God. I adore him for his disdain for compromise. I’m also impressed with the hot witch with whom he now consorts.
* Now that Stannis is front and center, brother Renly Baratheon (though still a key player in the ongoing tale), now lurks only offscreen.
* Baelish, a.k.a. Littlefinger, gets one of the more memorable scenes this week.
* Possibly the week’s best line? “A bit corpse-y, yes.”
AMC Says Of tonight’s two-hour season premiere of “The Killing”:
In the aftermath of the shooting at City Hall and Linden's discovery that the photo leading to Councilman Darren Richmond's arrest was forged, Sarah returns to Seattle to investigate a possible cover up and wonders if she can trust her partner.
* Even though season two picks up minutes after season one, the great Michelle Forbes is missing from the season opener. Stan Larsen, we learn, is having trouble contacting Mitch.
* We learn definitively this week why detective Stephen Holder did what he did.
* TV characters get shot all the time with little consequence. Darren Richmond, it turns out, is no J.R. Ewing or Boyd Crowder or Carl Grimes.
* How does it end? Stan Larsen explains what he wants.
Last week we learned that “Mad Men” had settled into the summer of 1966 (the summer of “Last Train To Clarksville” and “Paint It Black”), that Megan and Don married, that Megan learned pretty quickly that Don Draper and Dick Whitman have different birthdays, that Megan likes to tidy in her undies, that Bert Cooper returned to SCDP, that Rebecca Pryce is back in New York, that Pete Campbell craves Roger Sterling’s office, and that Joan Holloway has a building supervisor named Apollo.
Did anybody besides me think Megan was going to tumble to her death at the end of the first hour?
AMC Says Of “Tea Leaves”:
As Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce tries to build upon its current business, Peggy is given new responsibility. Don and Harry indulge a client.
AMC’s “Mad Men” garnered its best ratings ever with last week’s 5th season premiere. It clobbered NBC’s “Harry’s Law,” which fell to another new low:
Sundays, Jan. 29-March 25, 2012
(Adults 18-49; repeats in gray; older weeks in parentheses)
2.9 (2.9) (2.9) (3.4) (---) (3.1) (3.0) (---) (3.5) Once Upon A Time
2.6 (2.7) (2.9) (2.8) (2.2) (2.8) (---) (---) (---) The Amazing Race
2.6 (2.6) (2.6) (2.5) (---) (2.2) (1.8) (---) (---) Desperate Housewives
2.3 (2.2) (1.7) (1.6) (1.3) (1.8) (2.8) (0.5) (1.5) 60 Minutes
2.1 (1.8) (2.1) (2.1) (1.1) (2.2) (---) (0.6) (2.3) CSI Miami
2.1 (2.8) (2.8) (2.8) (1.6) (2.8) (2.5) (1.1) (3.1) Family Guy
2.1 (2.0) (2.3) (2.2) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) GCB
2.0 (2.2) (2.2) (2.1) (1.5) (2.2) (1.8) (1.0) (2.4) American Dad
2.0 (2.1) (1.9) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Bob’s Burgers
1.9 (2.4) (2.3) (2.5) (1.6) (2.6) (2.0) (0.8) (2.4) The Simpsons
1.8 (1.8) (2.0) (2.3) (1.8) (2.6) (---) (---) (---) Celebrity Apprentice
1.8 (1.9) (1.7) (1.9) (---) (2.1) (---) (---) (2.2) The Good Wife
1.6 (0.8) (---) (0.9) (3.3) (0.7) (1.0) (---) (0.6) NBA Basketball
1.5 (1.5) (1.6) (1.5) (1.0) (1.2) (1.2) (0.8) (1.3) Cleveland Show
1.4 (1.2) (1.2) (1.5) (0.9) (---) (1.3) (1.2) (2.1) Real Housewives Atl
1.3 (0.9) (1.2) (1.0) (1.2) (1.0) (1.1) (---) (1.3) Ax Men
1.2 (1.3) (1.4) (2.2) (---) (2.0) (2.0) (0.7) (1.9) AFH Videos
1.2 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Mad Men
1.0 (1.1) (0.9) (1.0) (1.1) (---) (1.6) (---) (---) Dateline
0.9 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Long Island Medium
0.8 (0.9) (1.0) (1.2) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Army Wives
0.8 (1.0) (1.1) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Harry’s Law
0.8 (0.5) (0.6) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Shahs Of Sunset
0.8 (0.6) (0.7) (0.8) (---) (0.8) (0.8) (0.5) (0.7) Shameless
0.8 (0.7) (1.0) (0.9) (0.8) (0.9) (0.6) (---) (---) Worst Cooks
0.7 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Loiter Squad
0.7 (0.7) (0.6) (0.7) (---) (0.8) (0.7) (---) (1.1) Mob Wives
0.7 (---) (0.5) (0.5) (---) (---) (---) (---) (0.7) Watch What Happens
0.6 (0.5) (0.7) (0.5) (0.4) (---) (---) (---) (0.6) Cupcake Wars
0.6 (0.6) (0.8) (0.6) (0.5) (0.6) (0.9) (---) (---) Full Metal Jousting
0.6 (0.4) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Unchained Reaction
0.5 (0.7) (0.7) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Breakout Kings
0.4 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Leave It To Niecy
