My Favorite Modern Period TV Shows - 50's & 60's edition

So this is my first blog post of the new year! And this post is about TV shows that have come out in the 2000's that are period dramas taken place in the 50's 60's like: Magic City (1959), Mad Men (1960-1970), Pan Am (1961), Vegas (1961), and an Amazon original Good Girls (1969). I will give ratings and why they are my favorite and why you should check them out!

1. Magic City

2. Mad Men

3. Pan Am

4. Vegas

5. Good Girls Revolt

Magic City

So let's start from the beginning shall we? I first heard of Magic City while I was walking down the street in North Hollywood and kept seeing the poster (the first picture) everywhere on Subway billboards and on the streets of L.A. So I was finally able to see it and the first episode I was sold. I can't even tell you how amazing the clothing was. I was going to school as a fashion designer and loved every stitch of clothing, beautifully and wonderfully made. And the set was impeccable and the cars! Oh my goodness the cars! So the story line is about a good guy, who runs a hotel but his "silent partner" is not so silent with how he does his business, he's a mafioso and kills without batting an eye, even something as small as the dog was barking, why? In his words, "I'm on the phone." The mobster played so evilly wonderful by Danny Huston, son of John Huston famous director of The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The African Queen (1951), Maltese Falcon (1941) and other great movies from the 40's, 50's, and 60's. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was an absolute dream who was totally in love with his wife, children, and loved being a hotel owner. But he was a conflicted man in terms of wanting to be a good guy, but to have what he wants at any cost, yet  not wanting to resort to conflict and dangerous means to have live his life. It's a very glamorous and nail biting show. I'm sad that it ended after only two seasons. As of December 2017 Jeffrey Dean Morgan said that there will be a movie of Magic City! You can see the complete series on Netflix and if you're an addict like me, purchase it on Amazon.com I know you will enjoy!
5 stars

Mad Men

So Mad Men....oh Mad Men! I had such an interesting introduction to this show. I actually didn't like it. I saw the first episode and didn't like it. And this was after the big hoopla and everyone telling me that I should get into it. So I have spoken to a few people who also told me that they had a hard time getting into the show because of the slow (and quiet) start of the first few episodes. It took me FOUR times to get into this show! And I will admit I was so pissed at Don Draper! Oh my gosh was I so mad at how he was treating Betty, and then later on as the show went on I began to loathe her character and somewhat like Don. Oh the irony! As a girl that watches classic movies, and studies fashion, Mad Men nailed the 1960's era. And I loved that it successfully went from 1960-1970. My favorite characters were in order: Joan, Roger, Megan, Don, and later Pete as the series went on. I would say it really got better in the third season. A show about men in the ad business and their love affairs. It definitely gives you an insight on how times were in the 1960's. This will be added to my collection in the upcoming months, after all I'm preparing for Viva Las Vegas!

4.5 stars

Pan Am

Pan Am. It is so unfortunate that this was only on for one season because there were so many questions and it was so awesome! I remember when this show first came out I was living in North Hollywood and it was great! There is a Burbank boutique by the name of Audrey K! And they sold Pan Am replicas, they had the bags, hat, travel cases, pins, travel tags and dressed their window mannequins and displays in Pan Am wear, we're talking blue uniforms and hats. The story line is a bit of all over the place from secret spy, to love triangle, to party adventurous girl and so on.  But it makes for great entertainment and gives the show more dimensional. The downside is sometimes the green screen is very obvious, but it's such a cute show. I would say my favorite character is definitely Cristina Ricci's who I think is an underrated actress speaking of Cristina, be sure to see her in Amazon's original, Z: The Beginning of Everything she's great in it!

3.5 stars

Vegas

I just recently ordered and watched Vegas! I watched it when it was on TV back 2012. This show takes place in Las Vegas in 1961 based on real life events of Ralph Lamb, a former Clark County Deputy Sheriff in Las Vegas. Dennis Quaid plays Sheriff Lamb and Michael Chiklis, most known for his role in The Shield as LAPD  Detective Vic Mackey who plays the mobster. I really like this show it's different from the previous shows in the list. It's not glamorous and polished like Pan Am, Mad Men, and Magic City. This is Vegas in it's pre-corporate days, and in the beginning stages of glam Vegas. This show is about a mobster trying to run his casino and the Sheriff trying to keep his town clean. Back then a lot of casinos were run with blood and dirty money from mobsters; fronted by honest guys as to keep the feds out of their hair. It is definitely a cowboy show but enjoyable especially Dixon Lamb played by Taylor Handley. It has humor, danger, drama, love, and Vegas! It's definitely a worth a watch! It's just unfortunate it was only for one season. But at least you will get 21 hour long episodes out of it!
3.5 stars

Good Girls Revolt 

Last on the list is an Amazon original called Good Girls Revolt. Based on real life events as told by Patti Robinson who worked at News of the Week in 1969. This was such a great series and I was rooting for all of them at the end. The clothing was great and they even used Besame (Dusty Rose) lipstick in one of their scenes! You know how much I LOVE Besame! True to form that when I like anything that is a period drama it gets cancelled. Unfortunately this happened to the show, cancelled after one season. But it was good to see a show based on the work place and the treatment of women and how they fought for equality in a series. All of the shows I mentioned above with the exception of Pan Am were men based and created kind of a glamour of the time with beautiful clothing, sets, and music, and makeup. This show showed what women had to go through and how they took charge and made a change. I was really impressed with it.

So that is my top 5 favorite shows, shows that I own and love. I don't know if Good Girls Revolt will be available as a DVD set or not. So check out a few of the episodes of each show if you haven't and tell me what you think. I hope one day there will be a long running series of period drama like how Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire lasted, seven seasons and five season respectively. I will post another blog on my top 5 favorite shows from the 1900's-1940's so stay tuned!

3.5 stars