Mad Men

[Uri]

I'm a devoted fan of the show and I'm so lucky to be living in Israel – apart from all the other great stuff we are blessed with, the Mad Men new episodes are aired here only 6 days after they've premiered in the states (supposedly the earliest in the world) and available on VOD even earlier. I don't have anything profound to say about the show, but I believe it's time for a little quiz.

What do Mona Sterling, Fred Rumsen, Lane Pryce, Father John Gill and Joyce Ramsay have in common and who's the odd man/woman out among them?

[Damien]

Franz Ferdinand, haven't heard from you in awhile; glad to see you're still hanging around this seemingly dwindling community.

I've been part of the dwindled, but it's only because AMC are such assholes when it comes to View on Demand.

I was watching last year's shows on demand earlier this year when AMC pulled the shows without warning, and I had 3 more to go from Season 3. Last week I rented those episodes on DVD from my local video store and was all set to start Season 4 this week. But episode 1 was already yanked just a couple weeks after airing. They were gracious enough to post clips from the first episode, although from it you wouldn't have guessed a year had passed since the end of Season 3.

Now I've seen the first three episodes of Season 4, ending with the New Year's stuff.

Couple of general thoughts. Goings on at the new firm are not nearly as interesting or fun as they were at Sterling Cooper.

I can't believe they passed over 1964 -- it means the show missed Beatlemania and the whole British Invasion, as well as the Freedom Riders summer, including the murders of Andy Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman. And surely Don would have taken the kids to the New York World's Fair. WOuld have loved to see how these Northeast (i.e. "liberal") Republicans reacted to Barry Goldwater's nomination.

Why is Don living in such a dreary, rundown apartment. Surely a man of his means (and pride) would have at least beeni in a white brick post-war building like the one Peter and Trudy live in. Manhattan rentals weren't all that high back then, so Don would have done better than this.

I can't imagine anyone was dying to see the return of Freddy Rumson. Sal, yes. Freddy no (and he seems to have been brought back solely to be a foil in the field of alcohol.)

The scenes in which the prick from Lucky Strike humiliated Roger by making him don the Santa Claus outfit was a too-obvious, heavy-handed attempt to show that adverisers are whores at the disposal of their clients. Equally heavy-handed are the scenes with the California niece, hitting us over the head that Don is not keeping up with the volatile, changing times that were the 60s. (And Don never seemed more sleazy than when he put the moves on the girl.)

All the domestic scenes are pretty uninteresting.

There are still wonderful moments, but I am sensing that the show has begun its decline into irrelevance. I hope I'm wrong.



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[flipp525]

Many have also gone a step further than you with Sally/Betty/Gene -- there's some suspicion Gene was molesting Sally. I didn't see it myself, but we'll have to wait the plot out and see if Weiner is going that direction.

I'm starting to think that Gene actually didn't abuse Sally. He was the only one who ever made Sally feel like she was smart or capable enough to achieve anything. Even in his compromised mental state, he seemed to realize the mistake he had made in raising Betty and sought to do better in the short time he had with Sally. Her current aimlessness and attention-seeking is likely the result of the divorce/"Betty as Mommie Dearest" double whammy.

Dr. Edna seems like a great addition to Sally's life and I hope she sticks around long enough to make a difference. She picked up pretty quickly on the fact that Betty has some rather deep issues of her own to work out.



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[Mister Tee]

I feel like I'd need to take notes during this show in order to come up with anything cogent to say about it.

I also feel like this show makes me want to not pursue any kind of creative career because there's just no way I'd ever be able to create something as good as this is.

And along those lines, I think Mad Men's output this year has aesthetically trumped every movie I've seen in a theater so far in '10.

Agreed on 2 of 3 -- the exception being that seeing realized popular art inspires me to further creation rather than depressing me about matching it (which may just mean I have an over-inflated ego).

But on the other two, absolutely. I think the reason I don't write regularly about the show is, it's the equivalent of writing a full piece on one of the year's best films week after week. I can work it up for a Children of Men on rare occasions, but not regularly (at least, not without being paid for it). As for comparison to films -- when the show's cast was on Charlie Rose a year or so ago, Charlie asked, Would they like to do movies, and John Slattery answered that he looked at what movies come out every week and it's all super-hero crap and why would he rather do that than a show this good? In a sense I understand where Charlie is coming from, because I, too, grew up in the era when movies semi-regularly provided the same sort of artistic satisfaction Mad Men does. But right now, cable TV is the place to do the strongest work.

flipp, a number of people have noted the analogy to the mosque brouhaha. In fact, Joan's response to Roger -- essentially, You made a better world, and it involves integrating others into it -- is what you want to drum into the heads of those morons who made a spectacle of themselves yesterday afternoon.

Many have also gone a step further than you with Sally/Betty/Gene -- there's some suspicion Gene was molesting Sally. I didn't see it myself, but we'll have to wait the plot out and see if Weiner is going that direction.

[flipp525]

What I found most interesting about this episode was how, to a certain extent, Roger's inability to accept potential Japanese clients because of their previous aggressions during WWII mirrored the ongoing Mosque debate. It's not a straight-up analogy, but certainly the most vicious attacks on the cultural center have come from a subset of those who are still reeling from 9/11.

Don, of course, is not someone who dwells in the past, so his ability to accept the clients was not surprising. And with the Honda commerical ruse, I think we saw glimpses of the confidence and ad-man finesse Don Draper of season 1 reguarly exhibited (culminating in the closing moments of "The Wheel"). Roger's increasing irrelevance in the office is becoming more apparent now that we're at SCDP. If the firms loses Lucky Strike for some reason, he's toast.

That child specialist was perfectly cast. I'm glad that Carla, Sally's primary caregiver and ostensibly the woman she feels most comfortable with, was the one bringing her to Dr. Edna's office, and not her mother.

There seems to be a piece missing with all this Betty business. Did her father molest her at some point? And, if so, is she jealous of the close relationship Sally shared with her now-deceased grandfather? The way she wistfully stared at that dollhouse had me wondering.

What's with the antagonism between Don and that new cute guy in creative who wears the sweater vests?

And, yes, Peggy riding the motorcycle in circles around the empty sound stage was utterly priceless.

For some reason, the actor playing Don's supposed "rival" from the other agency (although, let's be honest, not even in the same league as Don) came off as too modern for me. Maybe it's my association with him from Desperate Housewives, but the casting on this show is always so spot on that the more glaring ones stick out.



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[The Original BJ]

I feel like I'd need to take notes during this show in order to come up with anything cogent to say about it.

I also feel like this show makes me want to not pursue any kind of creative career because there's just no way I'd ever be able to create something as good as this is.

And along those lines, I think Mad Men's output this year has aesthetically trumped every movie I've seen in a theater so far in '10.

[Mister Tee]

No time to write a full reaction to tonight's show, but "How do they not fall over?" was a killer moment. As was Sally discovering the pleasures of David McCallum. And Peggy riding the motorcycle. And seeing Top Cat again!

I could write reams about this show every week, if I only had time.

[Franz Ferdinand]

Right before Pete and Peggy shared their wistful looks through the glass was a great contrast that seems to become more prominent as the series goes on: the crowd of young, casually dressed "intellectuals" from Life magazine, and the stuffy "lions" in immaculate suits. They seem to be setting Peggy up for a flirtation with an alternative lifestyle (going back to her pot-smoking scene), but would she really leave her job?

- Great showdown between Don and Allison, and later on between Don and Faye. He just can't win with women these days!

[kaytodd]

Good episode last night. I have time for one quick point: I know Peggy and Pete have a soft spot for each other but I cannot believe Peggy really thinks she would have been better off married to Pete and the mother of his acknowledged child. Would Pete have allowed her to work? Peggy is proud and fulfilled as a career girl with real responsibilities and making good money. Pete comes from a socially prominent and wealthy family and, at the time of his fling with Peggy, was engaged to a beautiful girl from a similar family. Both Pete and Trudy's families would have been appalled if Pete dumped Trudy for a pregnant Peggy from a working class family. Given the social prominence of both families both of their careers could have been threatened.

But the heart wants what the heart wants. The scene in the break room when Peggy finds out about Trudy was heartbreaking. Great work by Elisabeth Moss.

Glad to see that it looks like we will get an update on Betty and Henry next week.



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[Mike Kelly]

I also saw It's a Mad World at the Warner Theater, but I don't remember when exactly, probably early 1964. You're right that some movies played for well over a year back then.

Was Layne's 'no' remark about "Send Me No Flowers" in response to the movie itself, or to the fiasco with his secretary sending the wrong bouquet and card to his wife?

[Mister Tee]

I haven't seen any of Season 4 yet, so I don't know where in 1964 they're supposed to be

This episode was set during the Christmas to New Years week.

[Big Magilla]

I haven't seen any of Season 4 yet, so I don't know where in 1964 they're supposed to be but The Umbrellas of Cherbourg opened at the Sutton on December 16th when Send Me No Flowers, a November release, would have been gone from Radio City Music Hall - the Christmas attraction, then playing, was Father Goose.

Godzilla vs. Mothra was originally released in the U.S. as Godzilla vs. the Thing. It opened at the Palace on a double bill with Voyage to the End of the Universe on November 25th. Here's the N.Y. Times' review in its entirety:

A title such as "Godzilla vs. the Thing" poses only one real question. What sort of thing is it, anyway?

Well, there are three Things, not counting the movie. One has wings and green eyes and looks like a big bee. The other two are hatched from the first Thing's egg, after quite a bit of worshipful kootch dancing from a pair of foot-tall native goddesses.

This Thing's progeny are big worms. They squirt juice all over Godzilla, and it turns into a spider web. Godzilla himself is still breathing fire and swatting his tail upon the Japanese landscape, exactly as he did the last time out.

For further information, try the Palace. It opened there yesterday, along with another thing called "Voyage to the End of the Universe."



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[Mister Tee]

The release dates of the last two were spot on - late 1964, but It's a Mad World had been out a year already.

Since it was a Cinerama picture, it played a long time at the one theatre near Times Square. I know my parents took me to see it sometime in late summer, so it was definitely still playing at that point.

I loved Lane's instant no on Send Me No Flowers.

[Mike Kelly]

I just love the cultural references. Don and Layne trying to decide on a movie: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Send Me No Flowers, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Don: mmm, Catherine Deneuve)." The release dates of the last two were spot on - late 1964, but It's a Mad World had been out a year already. I guess they ended up seeing Godzilla vs. Mothra.

[Mister Tee]

Maybe I'm obtuse but I do not know why Don cannot get laid anymore. Is he showing fear or hesitation to these women, since both he and women know he is now available and these flings can now lead to marriage?

I'd say Don's confidence is gone, as he essentially acknowledged this week when he talked about Betty leaving once she saw who he really was. He still goes through the motions of making pass, but without his standard expectation of success. (He was, of course, successful with his secretary)

I'm watching with the same avidity. I haven't posted because usually there's so much to say about each episode I feel like I can't condense my thoughts to post size.

I loved this past episode. I love that Don is a totally different person with Anna (with literally a different name), and lament that he's about to lose this haven. I liked having a moment where Joan's husband isn't a jerk. I loved everything about Layne -- his proclamation of indifference to Joan's powers, his screw-up with his wife, his seemingly sincere friendly feeling for Don, his believable "thank you for the welcome distraction" (where a lesser script might have riddled him with guilt). It was a great chance to go further with characters who haven't been central up till now.

Franz Ferdinand, haven't heard from you in awhile; glad to see you're still hanging around this seemingly dwindling community.