I hate John Powers. A lot.

John Powers. The worst critic alive?

If you know me, you know I'm not one to hate people other than political pundits. But Fresh Air's critic-at-large John Powers is an exception. He is the worst paid critic I know of. Of anything.

He loves getting the preview DVDs from the studios and giving away plot points as far into the future as possible. He ruined HBO's In Treatment for me by revealing who's sleeping with whom weeks into the episodes before the show even started.

Here's his criticism of Mad Men [mild spoilers]:

"Most of the characters are less three dimensional human beings than concepts. Even their darkest secrets feel schematic. The hero, Don Draper, is a type. The disillusioned adman who's fleeing his past... Peggy is a young copywriter who's battling sexism with history on her side."

I have never seen these 'types' before. Really. The adman with a completely fictional past? I've seen that with spies in spy novels, but not advertising. And the copywriter battling sexism with history on her side? Seriously, WTF?

Beyond that, all storytelling is an attempt to reinvigorate old tropes with new life. Mad Men does this beautifully. The heroes are incredibly dark. Peggy is the most complex, with huge dark secrets that are always underplayed. You won't find anything like her in 9 to 5 or Private Benjamin. The villains are often nobler folks than the heroes. I'm thinking of "Duck" Phillips here, who becomes Don's antagonist by doing his job exactly the way Don asked him to. With subtle changes in presentation, the villains could be the heroes and vice versa, with no changes in plot.

NPR Fresh Air Critic-at large John Powers is incompetent, evil, and unable to keep a plot secret. A very common type nowadays.