Mad Men

[Franz Ferdinand]

An embarrassment of riches. If this episode doesn't win Mad Men two acting Emmys next year (FINALLY) then there is no justice in the world.

kaytodd, I had forgotten about that moment in season 1! A beautiful gesture by Draper. I really hope his character pulls himself as together, altogether, as he did in the final two minutes of this episode.

[Damien]

For me, Peggy has always been the most fascinating character in Mad Men, so I was delighted that she was on screen for almost the entire episode this week. As Flipp points out, the interaction between Moss and Hamm was wonderful, and what was particularly memorable were the many understated moments of deep communication and interaction of their two characters.

Also loved having another look at Peggy's family (and "the roommate").

Greg, I know someone who worked as a secretary for a major New York law firm in the 1970s, and he says that there was alcohol everywhere in the office -- and even the secretaries were encouraged to partake; it supposedly led to a more conducive work environment.

In the mid-80s, I worked for a year-and-a-half at the advertising agency, BBD&O (which sometimes gets referenced in Mad Men). There weren't bottles of liquor on the cradenzas in people's offices, but there actually was an on-site pub, open only to employees and you'd pay for drinks with scrip. Also anytime we were out on a shoot, we would always all have dinner together -- I've never in my life before or after seen so much consumption of alcohol. (But somehow the next morning we were all fine.)

[Greg]

One thing about Mad Men that strikes me is the large amount of on-the-job alcohol consumption. I know this is an ad agency and not a hospital/laboratory/factory/etc. and also that this is the 1960's; but, still I'm surprised to see all those open liquor bottles all around their offices. Does anyone here old enough to have adult or near-adult memories of the 1960's know if such copious alcohol consumption was commonplace in ad-agency-type workplaces back then?

[kaytodd]

I find Duck's return to the show disturbing. I thought his drunken rant at the award show was to just give an update to those of us who were wondering if he is still a threat to break up SCDP. But he drunkenly begs Peggy to start seeing him again and join him in a business venture that is doomed to fail. Peggy's quick switch during their telephone conversation from being intrigued and excited by Duck's offer to disappointment and ptiy for him was more good work by Elisabeth. Everyone in the New York ad biz knows he is off the wagon big time. His off the chart weird nocturnal visit to SCDP's offices and violent behavior during that visit makes me wonder what he is capable of. It is a feeling similar to when the kid Glenn showed Sally his knife and later trashes her house. I hope Glenn and Duck don't contribute to the story in tragic ways.

I loved the look on Peggy's face when Don put his hand on hers. It was an obvious reference to the start of the series, when Peggy put her hand on Don's and he rebuffed her. It was five years ago but I am sure she remembers. She has known for some time that she is probably the most important creative person at that firm, given Don's current condition. Now Don is giving her some recognition, acknowledging to her that she is important to him. This is what she has wanted for a long time. Whether this leads to a romance is not important. Don has opened up to her like he has with nobody other than Anna and Peggy knows it.



Edited By kaytodd on 1283790336

[flipp525]

"The Suitcase" might be the greatest episode of the entire series. Absolutely breathtaking performances by Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss. It proved why Don and Peggy's relationship is really the heart of the show.



Edited By flipp525 on 1283787891

[Damien]

Thanks, Uri, for clearing things up regarding Don's apartment. This season's first episode is the only episode of Mad Men I missed since it began (without warning, AMC pulled it from View On Demand before I had a chance to watch it). I did see a 5 minute wrap up of the episode but it left a lot of points unanswered or unexamined, including Don's living conditions. Now it all makes a lot of sense -- thanks again.

One other question about that episode -- did it indicate why Henry moved into the Draper house, rather than his own place or a new home?

One additional little qualm about the show. Bert Cooper makes a disparaging remark about the Civil Rights marchers in Selma. Wouldn't he and his colleagues have more likely been "liberal Republicans" (socially liberal, fiscally conservative) a la Nelson Rockefeller, Charles Percy, Jacob Javits and Prescott Bush, the family patriarch who was both a liberal Republican senator AND a big time advertising executive?

[Uri]

I still think that -- typical of well-off single and divorced men of his era -- Don would have found a place that would serve as more of a bachelor pad. Nothing elaborate but certainly a brighter, more inviting "chick magnet." A very successful advertising professional living in a tenement strains credibilty.

Damien, since, unfortunately, Mad Men is too remote from my own '60s experience, I don't look at it as my own personal alternate biography, so I can enjoy it full heartily. Hopefully Matt Wiener will eventually come to his senses and bring a nun or two to the show.

Now – Don had nothing to do with picking his apartment. It was Joan who did it, on the day they started the new firm, and it was obvious that there was no place for being extravagant at that time. But there was more to it, and since this episode had a lot to say about the special connection between Don and Joan, the apartment issue can also be read accordingly.

Putting aside the fact that Joan is the reason Don had his career – if it wasn't for the fact that Roger wonted to seduce her, he wouldn't get into the second rate shop Don's worked in, where he wouldn't run into people who knew him and Mona - there are far more concrete reasons for them to be connected. Don and Joan started working at Sterling Cooper at the same time. Both were probably looked down on by the snotty members of this upscale, old money organization as what they really were - two ally cats picked up by the pampered son of the boss. And they did have a lot in common – they were young, self made people from the wrong side of the track, overtly sexual yet extremely good at what they did, and eventually – and simultaneously – they took over that same organization, each in his or her own field and by doing so, they always each respected the other's authority and status. They fought in the trenches together. And as it often the case, people who quite randomly happened to arrive together at a school, an army unit or indeed a workplace form a very concrete and lasting bond. It doesn't have to be manifested on a daily basis or as being close buddies, but this bond is subtly there. From the first MM episode it was obvious Joan was nurturing Don, being very involved with the way his secretaries operated, stepping in when needed and so on. And at times like when Roger was hospitalized or when she left the firm, the warmth and understanding they shares were very apparent, as was the case in this week episode in the award ceremony.

For all her active sexual history, in a way Joan is quite the prude. Or at least a traditionalist. She doesn't get feminism or the civil rights movement and she definitely believes in the sanctity of marriage. She would happily be the other woman but there is no way she'd agree to be the one breaking Roger and Mona's marriage. And when she finely do wed (to a pretty poster boy who's totally wrong for her – just like Don) she won't stray away – she'd be the perfect wife. So when Don left home, I guess she wasn't approving, and by picking him this humble place, she made it clear to him – and since he himself felt he was due for punishment, he totally submitted himself to it.

And the same can be implied to Miss Blankenship – Don knows he cross the line and undermine Joan's authority in the way he treated Alison and he fully accept the Joan treatment so he will never fire Miss B, - it's up to Joan.

[Damien]

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.

I'm the same age as Sally (which is to say, I, too, was 10 years old in 1965). I had one of the most vivid dreams of my life that year, and I can remember it in detail today. I dreamed that David McCallum was my Best Friend. I was distraught when I woke up and realized it wasn't real.

Woe, that scene in the show really got to me.

[Damien]

I'm finally caught up with the show, so I can again comment in real time. The latest episode was rather hard to watch because seeing Don unravel and let alcohol be his behavioral compass is very dispiriting. The shot of Don's face in bed as he's getting oral sex changing into him in the same position a day and a half later with a different woman in bed was one of the most brilliant sequences I've seen in any movie or TV show -- and the follow up was equally good. A crumpled waitress uniform the only clue as to who this woman may be. And Don only knowing her name because of her uniform name tag.

Also subtly brilliant, the depths of Don's degradation are so much that it is ROGER who retrieves his Clio.

I've had my reservations about the show so far this season, but I think this week it came roaring back. And I suddenly have great affection for Roger Sterling -- he prefers my beloved Laurel & Hardy to Charlie Chaplin, a man after my own heart. Picking up on what Franz said, it's very telling that while the firm is moving forward, Roger spends his time narrating lines about his long-ago childhood. And I prefer the episodes where Peggy is prominently featured, much more so than where Betsy is the primary female character.

My reservations: the new art director is not nearly as interesting a character as Sal. I keep hoping that somehow they'll bring Bryan Batt back to the show, Don's loopy secretary was amusing for an episode or two but now the schtick is forced and tiresome. Fire her! (Actually, it's not very believable that she wouldn't have been fired. Don wouldn't have the patience to put up with her, and he could certainly get a primo secretary, especially since he's such an advertising hot shot.) Still, it is emblematic of the show's great small touches that when we see her doing a crossword puzzle, it's from the Daily News and not the New York Times.



Edited By Damien on 1283503690

[flipp525]

(It certainly would have been more trenchant and sudden than having those free-spiirited kids come into the button down office to pick up Peggy -- John Slattery should stick to acting and forget about directing.)

I have to agree with you there, Damien. That old guard versus the young, new free-thinkers scene was really heavy-handed for such an intelligent show.

[Damien]

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.

Stripped of his secrets and the accoutrements of status (the perfect wife in the suburbs, the 2.5 children, etc.), Don doesn't think he deserves anything more than the dingy bachelor pad we've seen him in this season. It's sort of a penance for being found out; it's where the "Dick Whitman" in him still thinks he deserves to live. To me, it would be out of character to suddenly find Don living the high life someplace much nicer. I also think he hasn't "let go" of the Ossining house in much the same way that Betty hasn't.

I'm much more interested in character development than the exhaustive detailing of every historical event of the 60's. Do we really need to hear about the World's Fair or have an obligatory scene of Sally and Bobby walking through it? The show does best when it uses these historical events liberally to augment character development and plot (i.e., the Cuban Missile crisis leading to Pete's confession, the Nixon-JFK debate underscoring the accidental ascension of Harry and his television credentials, etc.)

And the point of the Christmas episode seemed to be to highlight the precarious position the new firm is in with Lucky Strike accounting for such a large part of billings rather than making broad generalizations about the advertising industry. If anything is slipping into irrelevance this season it would be Roger Sterling whose very much the representative of the old guard.

The end of season 3 was a definite risk by Matthew Weiner. It effectively revamped the show. I think this season has been successful so far.

I still think that -- typical of well-off single and divorced men of his era -- Don would have found a place that would serve as more of a bachelor pad. Nothing elaborate but certainly a brighter, more inviting "chick magnet." A very successful advertising professional living in a tenement strains credibilty.

Character development is essential, of course, but what has made Mad Men so special is first three years is how historic cultural evcents illuminated the characterizations. So far this season, the characters exist in a soap opera vacuum -- the events could be happening at most any time.

Maybe you had to be there, but to be a kid in the Northeast in 1964 meant that your life revolved around the NY World's Fair -- and we went many times. (Think Margaret O'Brien in meet Me In St. Louis.) Because the theme of the Fair was the hope and promise of the future, it could have been employed ingeniously and ironically both as a counterpoint to the downward spiral the character's lives are taking as well as setting the foundation for how such optimism was ultimately shown to be misplaced. (It certainly would have been more trenchant and sudden than having those free-spiirited kids come into the button down office to pick up Peggy -- John Slattery should stick to acting and forget about directing.)

1964 was such a volatile year -- it's a shame Matthew Weiner decided to eschew it.

[kaytodd]

Roger's flashbacks remind us how sharp and charming Don has been up until this season. If he does not get his act together soon he will destroy SCDP. I am reminded of Peggy angrily reminding Don earlier this season that "You're the reason we all came here." But I have not seen him make a contribution to the firm this season. I have seen him do things to hurt the firm. Peggy and Bert have expressed their displeasure to Don. Soon others at SCDP will. Interesting to see how Don will react.

[Franz Ferdinand]

With so much talk about Sterling being of the old guard and falling behind the times, how appropriate that he spent much of the episode reveling in his acolyte's award win and narrating his biography? Great flashbacks, would love to see some more.

[kaytodd]

Don Draper's behavior this season should cause me to no longer root for him but I cannot help it. I think he is headed for either a major fall or a glorious comeback in his personal and professional life. I hope it is the latter for that will be a lot more fun to watch. His drinking is causing him to make a lot of self destructive decisions in his personal and professional life. And he is getting careless, after all these years, about his Big Secret. I think we are going to find out a lot more about Don's Lost Half Weekend. He picked up one girl Friday night, then suddenly it is Sunday morning. He is in bed with a waitress who refers to him as Dick. And she tells Don he was at her diner with his sister.

Who was with Don at the diner? Was it someone who could hurt Don and SCDP with this information? Was it the woman Don brought home Friday night? Joan was acquainted with her. Is she someone in the advertising biz? Because of the quality of the writing and acting, I am looking forward to finding out. I'll bet Weiner and company will have entertaining answers to those questions.



Edited By kaytodd on 1283216725

[flipp525]

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.

Stripped of his secrets and the accoutrements of status (the perfect wife in the suburbs, the 2.5 children, etc.), Don doesn't think he deserves anything more than the dingy bachelor pad we've seen him in this season. It's sort of a penance for being found out; it's where the "Dick Whitman" in him still thinks he deserves to live. To me, it would be out of character to suddenly find Don living the high life someplace much nicer. I also think he hasn't "let go" of the Ossining house in much the same way that Betty hasn't.

I'm much more interested in character development than the exhaustive detailing of every historical event of the 60's. Do we really need to hear about the World's Fair or have an obligatory scene of Sally and Bobby walking through it? The show does best when it uses these historical events liberally to augment character development and plot (i.e., the Cuban Missile crisis leading to Pete's confession, the Nixon-JFK debate underscoring the accidental ascension of Harry and his television credentials, etc.)

And the point of the Christmas episode seemed to be to highlight the precarious position the new firm is in with Lucky Strike accounting for such a large part of billings rather than making broad generalizations about the advertising industry. If anything is slipping into irrelevance this season it would be Roger Sterling whose very much the representative of the old guard.

The end of season 3 was a definite risk by Matthew Weiner. It effectively revamped the show. I think this season has been successful so far.



Edited By flipp525 on 1283027409