The Little Drummer Girl (2018)

I usually find John le Carre's spy thrillers to be slow and boring. But honestly I thought The Little Drummer Girl was a brilliant slow burn. It was intense and legitimately thrilling. It's a tight six episodes. The Mossad don't mess around. They recruit an English actress to go undercover and infiltrate a Palestinian group plotting terrorist attacks in Europe. What's especially interesting about that is that she's an actress playing a part. Of course, that's all undercover work, but it's not usually framed as acting. Usually, the spy has certain sympathies but we're never quite sure where her sympathies lie. She waivers because she's an actress first. In the Mossad agents too, Gadi acknowledges that they may not be the good guys. That's a devastating admission for a spy. 

Park Chan-wook's production is ravishing. The colors, the composition and the camera movement are distinctive Park.  After watching Decision to Leave, I wanted more Park and I'm glad to have finally checked this one off the list. I hadn't realized what a great starry cast he had but was pleasantly surprised. The undercover actress is played by a never better Florence Pugh. She is good in everything. Her handler is played by Alexander Skarsgard. He too plays a part, her target. It allows her to rehearse and learn her character. It reminds me of In the Mood for Love because as they role play, they too begin to fall in love. They blur the line between acting and reality. Michael Shannon plays the leader of the Mossad team and he is fantastic.

Mad Men (2007-15)

Perhaps one of the greatest shows ever on television, Mad Men had excellent writing, phenomenal actors, and glamorous costumes. This is a look inside the rich lifestyles of 1960s-era advertising executives, so called mad men for their Madison Avenue offices. This is a world that I was not very familiar with, but Matthew Weiner painted such a gorgeous and intriguing portrait that you can't help being sucked into this glitzy world of luxury.  Everyone drinks and smokes a ton. They're all having affairs with beautiful people. They eat and drink and stay at the finest restaurants and hotels, fly first class, live on Park Avenue and attend elite schools. The bigwigs show up to work whenever they feel like it and live the life, and yet happiness and satisfaction eludes them.

The sixties was a great era for fashion, and throughout the seven seasons we watch the fashion evolve (that's costumes and hair styling).  The show soars in its use of history as a period drama.  Some of the most memorable depictions are of the milieu of the time, especially when it comes to gender roles, JFK's and MLK's assassinations, and the Vietnam War.  The personal and professional lives of these characters took place in the context of a broader (well-researched) history, a society and culture undergoing change during the Civil Rights Movement and the rise of counterculture.  For many, I suspect this show evokes nostalgia, but for me it is a reminder that we once lived in different times--rotary phones, pay phones, black-and-white television, typewriters--it's actually kind of funny.

Don Draper will go down as one of the best characters ever (and it's a mystery how Jon Hamm, nor any actor from Mad Men, has yet to win an Emmy). He has a very thoroughly fleshed out background that gives reason to his existence as an ad man.  He is complex and brilliant--his Kodak pitch was phenomenal.  Peggy is a lead too, paving the way for herself against the force of sexism as the only female copywriter . She works her way up the ladder and you find yourself always rooting for Peggy.  Amidst all of the affairs, the central relationship in the show is actually Don and Peggy's non-sexual relationship.  It starts out as a mentor-protege relationship, but it evolves as they learn that they are the only ones that really understand each other.  Some of the most important episodes (The Suitcase, The Strategy) thrive with just those two characters in a room together.

The finale provided a very satisfying ending.  The final seven episodes are really one long finale that culminates in the last hour.  All of the main story lines are resolved with room left for some interpretation as to where they will end up in a year's time as they continue their lives.  

Breaking Bad (2008-13)

I have finally finished Breaking Bad and it was certainly worth all the hype.  This was indisputably one of the best shows ever created.  It's so good that there is a Spanish language remake that has also found success.  All of the acting was superb--not just Emmy winners Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, and Aaron Paul, but everyone including the supporting cast and guest actors.  All of them are strong Emmy contenders.  But what makes this show so great?  It's the writing.  The plot is brilliant.  A high school chemistry teacher is diagnosed with cancer, and turns to cooking meth to pay his medical bills and support his family.  Walter White is a smart man who takes pride in his work.  Throughout the five seasons, Walter hatches intricately woven plans to achieve his goals and his been a joy watching them unfold slowly, deliberately, and perfectly.

In its final season, Breaking Bad really went above and beyond.  Every character (even those you might have since forgotten about) gets to wrap up his/her story line.  All loose ends are tied up and each person is given a satisfying ending.  Now, we have the spin-off Better Call Saul to look forward to.