The Playboy Club

I'm about to be cynical and dismissive, but since the producers of this show have been lurking in those same waters then I feel no compunctions about returning the favor.

The main character is a total Don Draper analog, and many of the social issues woven into the fabric of the ongoing serial plot are identical to the social issues exploited on "Mad Men": women's lib, race integration, closeting of homosexuals, commoditization of sex, and on and on. And that was just on the first episode!

Yes, this is all, daring, cutting edge stuff for a network drama...or at least it would have been if this show came out before "Mad Men." Let's leave out the cynically gross amount of product placement inherent by Playboy Enterprises, up to and including the very title of the show itself. (Gee, I hope "Pan Am", another show picking through the "Mad Men" gold mine this season, is a little better.)

I have to place most of the blame on the producers and the network for greelighting this. The actors are just trying to do a job, same with the writers. This thing is just flawed from the ground up. I appreciate the try, but it just comes across as a pale shadow of a successful TV drama. Hey, I know that's how the entertainment industry works: success breeds copycatism. That doesn't mean I have to like it.

I'm really upset that this show was cancelled. What do we have to do to get it back on the air? - I don't care where, just get it back on the air. What did I love about The Playboy Club? - The plot was great, - there was great music, - I loved the intrigue - I loved the nostalgia - I thought the depiction of Chicago in the early '60's was really good - I believed that the show had a great storyline - I believed that the show had enormous potential - I believed the show had great acting

Is there another network or cable provider that could pick this show up and continue to run with it? I think NBC made a huge mistake by dropping this show.

The show had a few faults but not enough to warrant a cancellation after only 7 episodes, NBC never really gave it a chance to last. If the show had debuted on AMC, FX, HBO or any cable network it would have been allowed a better chance to build an audience. But nowadays networks assume that if you don't instantly have a 10% share of its time slot right off the bat that it's a failure and there's no point in even going on with the show. Which is a ridiculous way of trying to build and cultivate new shows for a channel.

The show had very beautiful ladies in the roles as the playmates, most notably Amber Heard who's drop dead gorgeous. With her appearance in The Rum Diary with Johnny Depp she should have a bright future ahead of her.

When I started watching The Playboy Club I wasn't very hopeful... I was expecting a dodgy half baked drama with girls running around topless... I found the pilot plot Interesting, maybe a tad cliché, but it is a pilot after all! You can't expect miracles.

Admittedly the dialogue was a little rough and amateurish but it feels like it's heading in some interesting directions and will get better over time. Strangely the secondary story line between Alice and her husband seems far more interesting to me.

As for the comparisons to Mad Men I don't think they are in any way fair. It's like comparing apples and oranges.

Personally, I think it's much more interesting than half of the television shows some channels are pumping out.

Definitely worth watching for the first few episodes to see where it goes.

I watched the premiere out of curiosity, and I was surprised to find a show that is both interesting and done in a very tasteful manner. I was worried about the depiction of female characters (for obvious reasons), but they are not depicted as simple sexual objects. On the contrary, these characters are shown as intelligent, independent, and resourceful.

Only two episodes aired to this day, but the potential for character development is there. The show manages to have some social and political themes, plus there is a bit of mystery, music, and humour.

The various actresses and actors (all people I didn't know) do a good job. I especially like Amber Heard, as Maureen (the main female character), Leah Renee Cudmore, and guest star Sean Maher.

Conclusion: it is a pretty decent show (and it changes from all the procedurals who stick to their unmovable, predictable, recipe).