"Mad Men" recap: How I learned to drive

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" recap: Things that go bump in the night

Spoilers on this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" recap: Less attractive Betty

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" season premiere recap: You can be a real Dick on your birthday

After more than a year's hiatus, AMC's "Mad Men" returned to air last night with a two-hour episode. Spoilers are below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

The 10 Best Shows of 2010

When it comes to TV, 2010 was really a mixed bag, wasn't it? Yes, it was the year that gave us "The Glades," "Bridalplasty" and scads of fairly worthless freshmen series on the broadcast networks. It was a year when one of the few promising network series, "LoneStar," died a quick death, and when one of the more promising cable series, "Terriers," died a slightly longer death.
It was year when some dear old friends left us, including "Lost" and "24," creating a bit of a gap in the TV landscape.
Yet this was also the year that gave us the best season yet of AMC's "Breaking Bad." It was the year that gave us perhaps the best "Mad Men" episode to date, "The Suitcase." It was a year in which we were introduced to some fine new cable shows, including the nifty "Justified" and the elegant "Boardwalk Empire."
It was, as I said, a mixed bag. But there was plenty to be happy about. Below is my list of the 10 best shows of 2010. Some are what you would expect. Some aren't (I'm as surprised by my number 10 choice as you are). But all represent some of my best TV watching experiences of the year.

"Mad Men" season finale recap: "Tomorrowland"

Spoilers for the season four finale of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men' recap: Hell hath no fury like Don Draper scorned

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" recap: The troubled vessel

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" recap: Can't get no satisfication

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" recap: It's an honor just to be so drunk you black out and lose your award

Recap of this week's "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

My Emmy picks

I think we can all agree that this year's Emmy nominations, while overlooking a lot of great shows and performers, were a bit better than normal. After all, the academy finally gave nods to eternally snubbed "Friday Night Lights" leads Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler, and gave lots of love to some promising newbies, like "Glee" and "Modern Family."
But, no matter what they say, it's the win that matters. When the awards are handed out on Aug. 29, who will win? Here are my predictions on who will win in the major categories -- and my thoughts on who SHOULD win in the major categories.

Mad Men recap: Flora and bladed weaponry

Roger Sterling expresses some mild displeasure over WWII with Mr. Saito.

 Spoilers for this week's "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

A matter of housekeeping

Just wanted to let you know that I'm taking a much needed week's vacation, during which I will be more or less blog free. Don't fret, though -- I've already assigned a pair of dogged guest bloggers to write this week's "True Blood" and "Mad Men" recaps, and I've loaded up a piece about my Emmy predictions, which will run next Saturday. I should be back on the blog in time to write next week's recaps.
In the meantime, please go enjoy the rest of your summer.
Oh! And go vote in the I Screen You Screen alternative Emmy poll if you haven't already!

Jack&Liz = Don&Peggy: Think about it

When "30 Rock" debuted, lots of people were comparing the relationship between independent but vulnerable career gal Liz Lemon and her imperious but good-hearted boss Jack Donaghy to classic TV pair Mary Richards and Lou Grant.
But a few years have passed, and another show has emerging with a core relationship that's eerily similar to that of Jack and Liz: "Mad Men." Seriously -- aren't "Mad Men" protagonist Don Draper and his foil/protegee Peggy sort of the dramatic version of Jack and Liz?
On both shows, the male character considers himself a guide to the female, and she considers him a mentor who is more experienced in the ways of the world than she. Both pairs have an odd -- but platonic -- bond that unites them, and makes them each other's touchstone in times of trouble. Don shepherds Peggy through the aftermath of her unplanned pregnancy. Jack is there for Liz when she learns that her unplanned pregnancy isn't a pregnancy at all, but a reaction to some cheap cheese curls.
Peggy picks Don up in the middle of the night after he gets in an accident with an extramarital paramour. Liz once picked Jack up from night court.
Of course, neither pair is immune to conflict. This week, on both shows, we saw both pairs reach a possible turning point in their relationship with the man. In this week's "30 Rock" episode (titled "The Problem Solvers"), we saw Liz wrestling with something that Peggy struggled with a lot this season on "Mad Men" -- Liz wanted to be independent, and act like an adult businesswoman, while Jack wanted to keep her under his thumb. When Jack proposes that Liz have her own talk show, she agrees. But her friends tell her she should shop around before accepting Jack's offer. She does, and Jack isn't happy, freezing her out and threatening to replace her with Padma Lakshmi ("Then who will host 'Top Chef?'" Liz wails.) Liz is angry that Jack doesn't respect her enough to let her be independent. Jack is hurt that Liz doesn't trust him. In the end, they realize that they're happier together than apart, and that they do really care about/trust each other.
In a much more emotional episode, the season finale of "Mad Men" had Peggy finally standing up to Don, refusing to follow him on his new venture "like a nervous poodle," because she feels Don doesn't respect her. But, like Jack, Don realizes he needs Peggy, and wants to be a positive force in her life. He tells her he needs her for his new venture and that, if she says no, he'll spend the rest of his life trying to hire her. Yes, it's more of a tear-jerker than Liz and Jack reuniting in Rockefeller Plaza, but you get my point.
Watching the "Mad Men" finale and "The Problem Solvers" just days apart, it's hard to ignore the similarities.
Of course, there is one major difference: In no language does "Peggy Olson" translate into "Lesbian YellowSourFruit."