Very good start to the season, a lot more action than usually occurs in season premieres for this show.
Some thoughts that are kept purposely vague, but could possibly still be thought of as spoilers:
I'm going to love Betty's new mother-in-law.
Don seems to be developing some new...ummmm...issues with women. It clearly stems from the divorce, but I am very curious where they'll take it.
I continue to love Peggy and Pete together when they aren't dealing with their past.
I hope there is a spin off of this show for Sally Draper as a high school/college student. She is going to be one messed up member of the counter culture.
Don seems to be developing some new...ummmm...issues with women.
I'll say! For a guy who looks like he shouldn't have to pay for it, and this hooker is obviously a repeat that know he wants slapped...well. That was a shocker.
The date Roger set him up with was another Betty, I thought....just younger. I'd like to see him hook with a Marge-type from the first season to get the creative juices flowing, and really piss Betty off.
Good tie-in with his daughter getting hippy.
So they jumped one year into the future...enough so we didn't see the pains of them moving into the Time Bldg, but enough to see Lane saying that 71% revenue came from Lucky Strike...and it was a precarious position....
Oh, I am going to be posting only spoilers from now on, so don't look here if you don't want it. SInce it's Craig and me, you're flapping the wind on that one.
I actually disagree on her being another Betty. She was obviously in charge, and the fact that she brought up the Mississippi deaths tells me she is at least paying a bit of attention to the world around her, which Betty never has. I'm actually hoping she stays around because she seems like she might well put Don in his place for once.
They are certainly doing everything they can to make Don even more miserable than he was for the first three seasons. That employee was right when he said he is pathetic. Interesting, though, that they seem to have set the season up for him to find happiness and get married, and have already given us at least 4 possible new spouses (the date from last week, his secretary, the market research woman, and Phoebe the nurse). My hunch is he'll end up with the market research woman.
Lee Garmin, Jr. is quite the asshole. Pete and Harry's faces when they were forced to sit on Santa Sterling's lap were fantastic.
Joan continues to be the single greatest character in TV history.
Sally is starting down her path to rebellion a lot quicker than I expected.
Why is no one wearing a lampshade on their head? Isn't that another thing folks were supposed to do at office parties back then, in addition to the conga line?
Can't wait for tonight's new show. I would like to see Joan bonk her hubbie over the head with something again.
I agree, the market research woman seems to have the best possibilities of a good story line. For a minute there, I thought he was going to fire his secretary. My take on the gal mentioning Mississippi was to show she was somehow up there in society by having a friend who knew someone...gossip instead of news. I don't think the nurse neighbor is even in the running.
Call me slow on the uptake, but I forgot about Lee Garmin being such a twit, and that means Sal will never come back unless they drop Lucky Strike. I almost thought Roger was going to refuse to be Santa for a moment. I love the subtle build up of scenes like that. Was it last week's show? Maybe 2 weeks ago...for a moment, I thought Don was going to find Betty & NewHub dead in the garage due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
I'm loving this season, too.
Last episode, Don cracked a beer and laid the tab on the table.
We used to make chains from those pop-tops. I had them draped all around my bedroom when I was 13., my home-made version of a beaded curtain.
I like the direction the show is going - Don writing in his journal, Don making out with gals in cabs but not inviting them in, Joan & her husband's good-byes, Peggy trying to figure things out - all of it.
Wow. Sally ran away! What is she, 12 yrs old? Already stowing away on trains? Poor kid. Can't believe that doctor apologized to Don - he has no idea what to do with her other than throw money in her direction.
Ho many times has Roger been mugged, do you think? He knew all about keeping his head down.
As I have resolved not to pay those rat bastards for cable access for some years now, I tend to miss a few things on cable.
However, I have just discovered that I can view selected episodes of Mad Men on my trusty cell phone, woo hoo!
I am familiar with the hype but not the storyline. Could one of you please be so kind as post a brief paragraph to bring me up to speed without ruining any of the surprises.
Well I can tell you about that, without ruining any story line in any episode.
People smoked like fiends in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. It was considered a glamorous, adult activity. The main characters work at an ad agency and their biggest client is Lucky Strike cigarattes. Things were going swimmingly; ashtrays everywhere. Then the mean old surgeon general insisted smoking was bad for the health. The US govt began limiting ad placement for cigarettes, which naturally affected ad agencies who carried that line of business.
Oh...oh...if you get to see one of the earlier episodes, you will also see people littering in daylight, with no shame.
Oh, I was horrified, too....a whole blanket-full of trash just thrown into the breeze...then realized the "Don't be a Litterbug" ads probably weren't widespread yet.
I'm surprised they haven't had someone start a forest fire with their incessant smoking so they can trot out the Smoky the Bear image, already.
Wheee! It's on again!
I had to laugh out loud at several scenes - Harry in the break room, unaware that Megan waas standind behind him; and Pete sending Roger on a wild goose chase at 6:30am.
It was an excellent episode, especially for a season premiere. The early season episodes of that show are always a bit slow as Weiner builds to a climax, but this one had a surprising amount of things going on: SPOILERS: The race issue will interesting to watch; Each character's personal balance of work and home life was set up nicely for conflict, led of course by the Drapers and the overlap therein; and Pryce's apparent personal money issues could be interesting.
Other things that struck me: Kiernan Shipka is seriously growing up...dang she's tall; the Francis' home looks awesome; and it appears Henry Francis' mom will be back to torment Betty next week...awesome.
I had almost been unaware of the extra long time between this new season and the previous season. I don't have cable so have to wait for shows to come out on DVD for Netflix. I had been thinking a month or so ago that a new season of Mad Men should be out soon on DVD. Oops. Until then.
choiceweb - Yeah, I knew it had been a long time, but my wife pointed out last week that our son wasn't even born yet when the last new episode aired and he's 17 months old!
LOL, 17 months. Fun times, fun times. Walking and not talking so schreeching.
I love this Mad Men's show attention to detail, but details I noticed:
Draper makes a reference to Morticia & Lurch when the kids are getting out of the car
hmm. Not the right timeframe for that to spill from someone's lips like that. Time trip writing.
Pete makes a snarky comment about Masters & Johnson.Again, a reference about what was going on at the time, but too soon for that pair to be on everyone's lips.
I do not watch Mad Men (I know, I know...my wife and son wonder whats wrong with me). Anyway, that means I don't know what year is currently being done. The Addams Family was on TV from 1964-1966 (and in the New Yorker from 1938). I thought that Weiner was meticulous about that sort of thing. Human Sexual Response came out in 1966. The band Human Sexual Response released their first album in 1980 (to stay with the musical theme), and is available for download on Amazon (but not Emusic or mtraks).
Comments
Some thoughts that are kept purposely vague, but could possibly still be thought of as spoilers:
I'm going to love Betty's new mother-in-law.
Don seems to be developing some new...ummmm...issues with women. It clearly stems from the divorce, but I am very curious where they'll take it.
I continue to love Peggy and Pete together when they aren't dealing with their past.
I hope there is a spin off of this show for Sally Draper as a high school/college student. She is going to be one messed up member of the counter culture.
Craig
The date Roger set him up with was another Betty, I thought....just younger. I'd like to see him hook with a Marge-type from the first season to get the creative juices flowing, and really piss Betty off.
Good tie-in with his daughter getting hippy.
So they jumped one year into the future...enough so we didn't see the pains of them moving into the Time Bldg, but enough to see Lane saying that 71% revenue came from Lucky Strike...and it was a precarious position....
You've been cited/warned off/let know
Craig
They are certainly doing everything they can to make Don even more miserable than he was for the first three seasons. That employee was right when he said he is pathetic. Interesting, though, that they seem to have set the season up for him to find happiness and get married, and have already given us at least 4 possible new spouses (the date from last week, his secretary, the market research woman, and Phoebe the nurse). My hunch is he'll end up with the market research woman.
Lee Garmin, Jr. is quite the asshole. Pete and Harry's faces when they were forced to sit on Santa Sterling's lap were fantastic.
Joan continues to be the single greatest character in TV history.
Sally is starting down her path to rebellion a lot quicker than I expected.
And:
Craig
Can't wait for tonight's new show. I would like to see Joan bonk her hubbie over the head with something again.
I agree, the market research woman seems to have the best possibilities of a good story line. For a minute there, I thought he was going to fire his secretary. My take on the gal mentioning Mississippi was to show she was somehow up there in society by having a friend who knew someone...gossip instead of news. I don't think the nurse neighbor is even in the running.
Call me slow on the uptake, but I forgot about Lee Garmin being such a twit, and that means Sal will never come back unless they drop Lucky Strike. I almost thought Roger was going to refuse to be Santa for a moment. I love the subtle build up of scenes like that. Was it last week's show? Maybe 2 weeks ago...for a moment, I thought Don was going to find Betty & NewHub dead in the garage due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Last episode, Don cracked a beer and laid the tab on the table.
We used to make chains from those pop-tops. I had them draped all around my bedroom when I was 13., my home-made version of a beaded curtain.
I like the direction the show is going - Don writing in his journal, Don making out with gals in cabs but not inviting them in, Joan & her husband's good-byes, Peggy trying to figure things out - all of it.
Ho many times has Roger been mugged, do you think? He knew all about keeping his head down.
Roger has been mugged, many, many times. Joan hasn't.
Craig
However, I have just discovered that I can view selected episodes of Mad Men on my trusty cell phone, woo hoo!
I am familiar with the hype but not the storyline. Could one of you please be so kind as post a brief paragraph to bring me up to speed without ruining any of the surprises.
And what is with all that smoking
Craig
People smoked like fiends in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. It was considered a glamorous, adult activity. The main characters work at an ad agency and their biggest client is Lucky Strike cigarattes. Things were going swimmingly; ashtrays everywhere. Then the mean old surgeon general insisted smoking was bad for the health. The US govt began limiting ad placement for cigarettes, which naturally affected ad agencies who carried that line of business.
Oh...oh...if you get to see one of the earlier episodes, you will also see people littering in daylight, with no shame.
I'm so bummed there are only two episodes left this season. It just started!
Craig
I'm surprised they haven't had someone start a forest fire with their incessant smoking so they can trot out the Smoky the Bear image, already.
Christmas comes but once a year
and
Public Relations
But hell I can't even finish watching those two so I guess they know what they are doing.
OK so I see that Draper is paying the mortgage on the home for his ex and her new boyfriend. Classic!
I had to laugh out loud at several scenes - Harry in the break room, unaware that Megan waas standind behind him; and Pete sending Roger on a wild goose chase at 6:30am.
Other things that struck me: Kiernan Shipka is seriously growing up...dang she's tall; the Francis' home looks awesome; and it appears Henry Francis' mom will be back to torment Betty next week...awesome.
Craig
Craig
I love this Mad Men's show attention to detail, but details I noticed:
Draper makes a reference to Morticia & Lurch when the kids are getting out of the car
hmm. Not the right timeframe for that to spill from someone's lips like that. Time trip writing.
Pete makes a snarky comment about Masters & Johnson.Again, a reference about what was going on at the time, but too soon for that pair to be on everyone's lips.
Craig