"Mad Men" vs. TMZ

An Open Letter to Matthew Wiener, Producer of "Mad Men"

Many thanks for the excellent show. Everything about it-- acting, writing, all the little bits-- is sublime. There is just one small thing I would like to request.

Actually shoot some part of an upcoming episode-- even just a scene or two-- in greater New York City.

It takes a while to figure it out while watching the show-- and that is entirely due to superb set design and cinematography-- but "Mad Men" is entirely a TMZ deal. The show is produced entirely in the Studio Zone, a thirty-mile radius (TMZ=Thirty Mile Zone) centered on the corner Of Beverly and La Cienega (Between Beverly Connection and Beverly Center, two blocks south of Trashy Lingerie). This is done to keep production at lower "studio rates" with IATSE, the Teamsters and the like.

What's setting in, now that I've been onboard for three seasons, is a sort of claustrophobia. The show consists of interior sets-- offices, houses, and apartments-- with scenic cycloramas outside the windows. They're really good cycs, but for every shot they look effective there's another where the interior and exterior perspective and horizon lines are out of whack, sometimes hilariously so. The few exteriors tend to be of well-manicured places-- backyards and country clubs and such. The production team does a very good job with these, and are as nitpicky and thorough about the outdoor settings as they are about period set decorations and costumes, but it's like the show is never allowed off the front lawn.

And take my word for it-- Not everyone can pull it off. I remember watching an episode of "thirtysomething" back when it was on. In one scene in the Philadelphia-set show, one whiny character was saying goodbye to another whiny character in his driveway. The car door slams closed-- and in the the window's reflection could be seen, in bold silhouette, a row of stately Washingtonia palm trees. Authenticity blown. Apropos, I'm not sure what anybody can do about outdoor shooting this week, with the LA skies turned burnt umber from the wildfires.

The good work done so far notwithstanding, the only time the show really opened up its vistas was towards the end of Season two, when protagonist Don Draper, his marriage in trouble, escapes to the West Coast. He makes out in a pool in Palm Springs, hangs loose on a porch in San Pedro, swims in the Pacific. It's as if his character is relieved to be outside.

So Mr. Weiner: I know relocating to Silvercup studios in Queens is out of the question, but consider flying the cast out for a tiny little bit of location work here and there. Unlike Los Angeles, there are plenty of places in and around NYC that have not significantly changed since 1963. Give the Drapers an outing in Playland Beach in Rye or the Great Meadow in Central Park. Bertram Cooper could preside over a Japanese Art show at the Met. Peggy Olsen could spend the day at Coney Island-- better hurry on this one, because the whole place is gonna be history soon.

One of the many delights in "The Sopranos" (in many ways, this show's immediate predecessor) was it's North Jersey locations. It positively reveled in it. It added incredibly to the immediacy of the show: it was authenticity you could feel right through the screen. "Mad Men" is about New York in the 1960s, and a bit of authenticity sprinkled into the mix here and there would open up the feel of the show and liberate it from the confines of the Studio Zone.

Thanks for your consideration, and keep up the great work.

p.s. Titillating title, huh?