Mad Men Fans, We feel your pain. Odds are you’ve spent the last week wallowing somewhere in the seven stages of grieving. No one can blame you for not wanting to end your relationship with Matt Weiner’s sublimely developed characters- But do you really want a spin-off? Hell No! That’s bargaining at its finest.
What we, the mourning fans of Mad Men really need are 3 movies, every 5 years for the next 15 years. A five to six-year time structure would allow Weiner to move the show ahead in its timeline and gives the writers five years to create a deft script and study of the era in question. Following that structure we’d next see our beloved in 1976-1977 (the Bicentennial would make a great “jumping back in” point for these characters. Imagine Sally Draper discovering the Sex Pistols?!) then on to 1982-1983 (Bobbi and Gene get an Atari!) and then 1988 -1989 (Peggy Olson in a Shoulder-Padded Power Suit? Yes, Please!) for three very different, defining eras of America these beloved characters would be poised to explore in their 2 hours and 20 minutes of (what we can only imagine will be) dramatic perfection.
Given the cast are notoriously tight, reuniting these folks every few years seem like a no-brainer. And because, if nothing else God Dammit, JOAN HOLLOWAY-HARRIS was a character born for the big screen- Television never did her justice.