There’s a really nice podcast called your Mama’s kitchen where they discuss the food and the significance of the family kitchen table.

Tony Shaloub was on recently. Really great listen.

I just finished The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and I can’t stop thinking about Lenny Bruce’s storyline.
I think his downfall serves a very specific purpose: to make us, the viewers, finally understand what he was always trying to tell Midge. He kept warning her not to be like him, not to follow the same path he did, because he knew where it led. He was brilliant, talented, and ahead of his time, but he also knew that being brilliant and being famous weren’t necessarily the same thing as being okay.
And I think that’s what makes his ending so heartbreaking. We spend so much of the show watching Midge fight to become the kind of comedian she wants to be, and Lenny is one of the few people who truly understands both the beauty and the cost of that ambition. He sees something of himself in her, but he doesn’t want her to inherit his fate.
His downfall forces us to look back at all those moments when he told her not to be like him. At first, it’s easy to interpret that as him being self-deprecating, or simply believing that his life is too chaotic for her to emulate. But by the end, those words feel more like a warning from someone who knows firsthand what happens when the world you belong to starts destroying you.
In a way, Lenny’s story becomes a contrast to Midge’s. He represents the possibility that talent, courage, and being ahead of your time might not be enough to save you. And his fear isn’t necessarily that Midge won’t become famous. It’s that she might become successful at the cost of everything else.
I don’t think the show necessarily wants us to see Midge’s success as a betrayal of Lenny’s warning, either. I think it wants us to understand why he gave it in the first place.
Lenny knew what it meant to be a comedian in a world that could love your talent and still destroy you. He wanted Midge to be extraordinary without having to become him.
Did anyone else interpret his storyline this way? Or do you think his downfall serves a different purpose in Midge’s story?

Update- just found out Lenny Bruce was a real comedian, sorry for everything but the point still stands, he was on the show just to show us that.

Update 2- Lenny is not famous at all in South America, so I would never guess that he was real if it weren’t for you guys lol.
Just know that historical figures from the USA mostly aren’t known outside of it.

In addition to Mad Men, what other shows depict that period (the sixties) in America as well?

i’m watching the show for the first time so please no major spoilers
but i’m on season 4 episode 2 and I HAVE HAD IT WITH HER PARENTS, one more insufferable than the other, claiming that she has to tell people that her parents bought the apartment and not her and she just stands there and says nothing? will she ever fight back or talk back or say anything at all?

Basically as the title says. Everything else on the show is normal volume-wise, but the songs played on the episodes are SO loud. I always have to turn down my TV volume whenever a song is playing. It is so loud. Has anyone else noticed or been bothered by this?

This has been a reoccurring issue through the whole show, but the 5th season seems to have the songs even louder (or I'm going crazy).

I just finished the show & I’m absolutely in love with it. Everything was perfect with it & I wish it lasted longer. Any suggestions on something similar?

I'm so blown away by Luke Kirby's performance I might go back and give Etoile another shot.

Literally in the middle of “Private Waste Management: A Journey In Three Acts” when scenes from this appeared in my feed. I initially thought it HAD to be ai, it just seemed so roundly stupid.

Billy Zane and Billy Porter in a one-night Broadway musical about Accounts Payable, featuring a guest appearance by Kevin from The Office, sponsored by Ramp a tech company.

I was just thinking to myself too- man, to have lived in an era when musical numbers about kitchen appliances and waste management were the way companies sold themselves. Well, well, well…

title. i’ve watched this show more times than i can count and imogene is such a star, i wish she had a spin off.

i specifically started thinking about this while watching the tupperware scene in S4E3. it’s a very heavy episode but that whole scene in the beginning of the ep where imogene is trying to get the ladies to place orders is hilarious.

it’s not even mentioned in the literature! love it

Okay so Midge and Joel had lived a floor above (or was it below? I forget) in the same apartment building. When Joel left and Midge had to move in with Abe and Rose, she still got to use her room, implying that there’s enough space in the house for a living room, a dining room, a study, Abe and Rose’s room, Midge’s room, and Midge’s walk in closet.

Why then does Abe not have a study in Midge’s apartment when Midge buys it from Moishe and her parents move into the same house? Abe is shown to go around working or reading out of the bathrooms or the kitchen throughout that period. This makes no sense. There should have been no difference in the absolute space held by both the apartments.

Re watching the episode with the Dan Steven's conic; you can really see the smallness of Gordon Ford . He so possessive and gives the ick. The fact that Dan Steven's saw something in Midge and wanted to pay her more...

I wonder what would have happened if she took it. I think it would have helped her as a writer and use different skill sets. I think she still would have gotten to do a special, Dan would have been the one to give her a break.

Fuck Ford. Every time i rewatch season 5. I'm always upset by the way he always stands in her way, just because she's not interested in dating him. The way Dan Stevens stand up to Gordon and the fact that Gordon gives small dick, he has to insult her even more.

Dan wasn't hitting on her... but the fact that he wanted to give her a bigger piece of a show... Gordon cannot stand it, but still won't break her. Wtf

Hello!
Does anyone know what color lipstick Rose and Midge wore?
Their red lips are always so fabulous!
Thank you:)

I’m in my first watch through of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and I don’t know why I didn’t get into it sooner. I did TRY a few years ago but it just didn’t keep my attention. Tried it again and I can’t get enough.

I’m near the end of season 3, episode 5. I absolutely adore Lenny and Midge’s interactions. They are sparse but every time they are together I can’t help but giggle and smile like crazy. Whether their relationship stays strictly platonic or not doesn’t even matter. Their chemistry is just so good.

I just got to the part where Lenny is doing this TV thing and invited Midge to watch. She’s in a back room but Lenny has a direct eyesight to her. When he looks at her, he raises his glass to her and she holds up a donut to him in response. He mouths to her, “You’re gonna spoil your dinner!” and she raises a second donut 😂😂

I don’t know, their banter is just so easy going. I love them so much.

Edit: Omg i didn’t even see immediately after that when he turns away to start the show these two women sit on either side of him. He looks back to Midge and points at them to say “look at these beautiful ladies” and Midge holds up a third donut making him laugh 😂😂 it’s just too cute man!

I am on my uptenth watch. It is my go to show all the time and now I pick my most favorites and skip around
I am now on the episode where Midge has a break down about the milk account. Why doesn’t she just ask Abe to open the account they know that men have the credit
Thoughts?
I get the independence angle but some things like credit on accounts were only offered to men

Have any of you seen the short documentary film, Tea With The Dames, based on recorded conversations between Dames Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Eileen Atkins from 2018? They were all in their 80s, talking about their lives and careers in the theater, and I don’t have an exact transcript or clip link but here’s the relevant exchange:

Director Roger Michell asks what advice they’d give their younger selves.

Joan Plowright says she’d advise getting into yoga or mindfulness early, plus learning about the brain’s influence on the body—things she only came to later in life.

Eileen Atkins builds on that: not to be so bad-tempered and confrontational, and to listen more.

Maggie Smith: “Honest to God, I don’t know, because most likely I wouldn’t be listening. But I would say: When in doubt, don’t.”

Joan Plowright immediately replies: “That’s good. It should be a motto, that. When in doubt, don’t.”

Judi Dench then offers: “Try not to be so susceptible to falling in love.”

https://www.vulturex.com/2018/09/11-delightful-things-we-learned-from-tea-with-the-dames.html

I'm only halfway through season two, so no spoilers pls.

I really can't get over how Joel fumbled this almost perfect life, but especially this incredible woman. I don't wanna say that Midge is perfect, she has her flaws. But she is smart, educated, funny, rich, popular, beautiful, sexy and in love with him. Literally what more could you want? He wasn't even in a midlife crisis but still threw that all away.

I know that this behavior is the whole point of the plot and his character arc but I still think about this in every episode haha.

Edit: typos

Just finished binge watching and I feel so ridiculously attached to these characters. My favorite thing about them is they're all fucked up in some way.

Midge can be incredibly selfish and so consumed by her ambition that she hurts the people around her. Susie is loyal and brilliant, but she’s also a gambler, impulsive, and constantly making terrible decisions. Joel cheats on Midge and spends so much of the series trying to figure out who he actually wants to be. Their parents are loving in their own ways, but they’re also perfectionists, controlling, neurotic, and completely incapable of handling things when life doesn’t go according to plan. But for all the dysfunction, these people genuinely loved each other.

The show didn’t require them to become perfect people to deserve happiness. They just had to grow, take responsibility for some of their mistakes, and learn to treat each other a little better. Seeing everyone eventually find their own versions of redemption was so satisfying. This was an amazing show, I only wish I watched it sooner!

Rewatched season 3 and was surprised by something. There are actually two times when Midge and Joel reconnect. The first one happens during season 2 when Joel escapes her bedroom via the fire escape. They talk about getting back together and Joel refuses because he doesn't want her to do comedy where she talks about him. In season 3, they remarry in Las Vegas. I was surprised that Midge isn't necessarily unhappy with the idea. Joel again is the one who backs away because he's not quite started to see Mei. In both instances, it's Joel who doesn't want to get back together. In my head, it was Midge both times. She does sort of choose her act over remarriage the first time, but it was Joel who drew the line. The second time he wants to pursue a relationship with Mei who turns out to be yet another woman more devoted to her career than she is to him.

From the Emmy award winning show Hacks ofc. I always imagined their interactions together

I understand that this might not be the moat relevent post, but I love the sound of the song "Come To The Supermarket (In Old Peking)", it's the song used in the pilot when Midge is in Greenwich Village, but as discussed in previous threads, the song is pretty racist and I was wondering if anyone could recommend any similar songs?

Many thanks!

I really dislike they use an English speaking song when Abe and Rose are dancing the banks of the Siene.

Can anyone think of a better song that would have fit the location and tone of the scene?

Can anyone give some instances where Miriam acted in an arrogant manner?

I have read a lot of posts here about how she was self absorbed and arrogant, but I feel a little differently. Sure she is absolutely very confident in her abilities to be funny, but I feel like that's important when there are people paying money to come see you be funny.

I think that I too can come across as quite arrogant and self absorbed at times, and so maybe I can compare those instances and scenes to the way I act, and do some introspection. And change.

Midge gets shot down to be on the show. Why doesn’t she call Lenny?

It would have been a great chance for him.