Mad Men

[livius drusus]

Man, I am so relieved Don is at least trying to get his shit together. Also props to Bethany for giving him a blowie in the cab. That's pretty balls.

I loved Joan crushing the boys with her Vietnam dig, but I think she was way harsh to Peggy. I mean, she's probably right about the social consequences, but Peggy wasn't playing self-aggrandizing politics when she fired that dude. Joan is a genius at navigating this world on its own terms. Peggy is busting out.

[Janet]

I don't think Joan was right about the social consequences, or at least telling Peggy anything she didn't already know. That particular consequence was exactly what caused Peggy to take action the way she did. I doubt anyone will be using that particular insult to Peggy again, at least not to her face.

I know that's hopelessly vague, but I decided it was easier than spoiler tags.

[livius drusus]

I don't get it, I'm afraid.

What insult? Peggy got him fired because the drawing was demeaning to Joan and offensive to Peggy, not to be seen as a humorless bitch.

[Janet]

Peggy fired him when he told her she had no sense of humor. The drawing started the problem, but it was the "Women can't take a joke" line that directly resulted in the firing. And it probably sent a message to the others that they had better not express that opinion to Peggy's face if they liked their jobs. So, being warned that doing what she did would only result in the men calling her a humorless bitch was both too late, and more than a bit pointless.

[Chris Porter]

This thread is giving me flashbacks to my youth, when my dad was in advertising, and my mother threw dinner parties.

[livius drusus]

Peggy fired him when he told her she had no sense of humor. The drawing started the problem, but it was the "Women can't take a joke" line that directly resulted in the firing. And it probably sent a message to the others that they had better not express that opinion to Peggy's face if they liked their jobs. So, being warned that doing what she did would only result in the men calling her a humorless bitch was both too late, and more than a bit pointless.

I didn't think Peggy fired him because of the can't take a joke line per se. She gave him a chance to take the hit and apologize. When he blew her off, she fired him. He also didn't actually tell the guys how it all went down. There was no discussion of the exchange, so I don't see how he could have conveyed a message that calling Peggy a humorless bitch = firing, rather than sticking pornographic drawings to Joan's door = firing.

[Janet]

I didn't think Peggy fired him because of the can't take a joke line per se. She gave him a chance to take the hit and apologize. When he blew her off, she fired him. He also didn't actually tell the guys how it all went down. There was no discussion of the exchange, so I don't see how he could have conveyed a message that calling Peggy a humorless bitch = firing, rather than sticking pornographic drawings to Joan's door = firing.

I think she fired him because of all of it. Even if that wasn't the full reason, the fact is that by the time Joan warned her she had already heard and dealt with that insult regularly.

On the second point, I admit I am assuming that they will talk later outside of the office and he will tell them the full story. Like many people, I tend to read into what happens or will happen outside the scenes we actually see.

[vremya]

Farewell Blankenship! She was a riot.

I really don't like Don and Dr. Faye together, but I really can't put my finger on why.

Betty is a rigid bitch and her character is getting really, really boring. Actually, the non-office storylines don't really interest me right now - Betty, Sally and all that dramarama is background noise more than anything.

[livius drusus]

I quite like Sally. She's smart as fuck and she and Don are so sweet together, even when she's going insane. The rum pancakes were awesome.

Best thing about the episode: Joan and Roger doing it against the stoop two steps away from where they just got mugged. I heart them so. Why oh why did he dump his wife to marry that gold digging whore when he had years to do it for Joan?

[Janet]

I'm fairly certain that Joan turned him down in the episode where we first learned of their affair. It's been years since I saw it, but I remember getting the impression it wasn't the fist time she had done so. Perhaps she learned well the adage my mother taught me, "If he'll do it with you, he'll do it to you."

[livius drusus]

That was a crazy, crazy episode. I can't even believe Lane's dad. I'm also thinking of starting the I Hate Lee Garner, Jr., Newsletter. On a more lighthearted note, here's (http://eater.com/archives/2010/09/27/the-new-york-playboy-club-on-mad-men.php) an article about the Playboy Clubs.

[Ensign Steve]

Maybe if Lee is really and truly gone, we can get Sal back? :praying:

[vremya]

That was a crazy episode. Betty smiled! Lane's dad was a total ass, Lee was an ass, but I'll be happy to see him gone. Bring back Sal and get rid of that other guy. Did Joan actually have the abortion? I'm not so sure now.

[Ensign Steve]

I'm not sure either. As much as I love abortion, in this case I hope she didn't. She wanted a baby before her husband left, and honestly I think this one was close enough in the timing that nobody will talk. And if they do, Joan would have an awesome comeback anyway.

[wildernesse]

!!!!!!!!

That is all. Our household thought we were watching a dream sequence for a while there.

[vremya]

Same here.

[freemonkey]

Us too. That was crazy!

And I just knew Joan hadn't done it.

[livius drusus]

I saw it last night and I'm still keening. I had to watch it through my fingers like a horror movie. The ring... Oh God I can't take it. :explode:

Great to see Joan and Peggy finally get their sisterhood on.

[livius drusus]

YouTube - Mad Men: Don Draper Says "What?"

[Ensign Steve]

I finally watched the finale last night. I liked it despite having already been spoiled for the engagement and the pregnancy.

[vremya]

Good news - Mad Men will be back. :w00t:

Not so good news - not till March 2012. :sadcheer:

[Ensign Steve]

Dayum. It better take place in the eighties given that the actors do age. ;)

[Crumb]

So did everyone else know that this was available to stream on Netflix and just didn't tell me? So here I am watching it for the first time. :) Good so far. The gf doesn't seem to like it so it may be slow going finding times I can watch.

[livius drusus]

Dear Jon Hamm, - YouTube

[SharonDee]

Why did I rush through all 4 seasons of this show if it doesn't return until next spring? I feel cheated. :(

[lisarea]

If anyone cares, the Mad Man DVD sets are $10 per season at Best Buy today only, I think.

SharonDee, this is my first time posting in this thread, just so that you know.

[livius drusus]

Our long national nightmare is almost over. Just eleven days more until season five starts. :wriggle:

[Ensign Steve]

Community tomorrow and Mad Men this month? What did I do to deserve all this? :aww:

[Crumb]

:coolness: I've been watching on the Netflix. Good to hear that it is still going. It seems to just keep getting better.

[livius drusus]

There's an interesting interview with Matt Weiner on Salon (http://www.salon.com/2012/03/18/matt_weiner_mad_men_is_about_today/). There are no spoilers whatsoever (Weiner wouldn't even let her say what year the new season takes place in).

Do you feel complimented by all the ersatz-”Mad Men” period-shows [like "Playboy Club" and "Pan Am"] that have popped up?

The compliment for me is that the companies that are making them all hated my script! They were so incredibly dismissive to me. Some of the people who were involved in one of these new shows literally rejected me four times. And to see them jumping on the bandwagon, and to see their perception of why the show succeeded, that it was somehow about haircuts and bra cups. On the other hand, part of me is like, I’m in TV, and there have been plenty of period TV shows.

When I grew up, the biggest TV shows were “Happy Days” and “MASH.” I don’t own this concept. And from a writer’s standpoint, any writer who goes through that entire process with a major network and ends up with the show on the air, all they have is my heartfelt congratulations. It is a hard road to hoe. And they don’t need me sitting out here wishing failure on them. I don’t.

But creatively, I’ve got to say, why don’t they take a risk doing something else? This was a huge risk for AMC. No one thought that anyone would give a crap about this show. It had no stars, and we were on a channel with no time slot. It had no audience and this is what happened. I bet most networks have a dozen scripts hanging out there that are bold and amazing and new and they never want to do that. They try to make people do stuff that is already out there.

[livius drusus]

This (http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/03/18/mad-men-goes-back-to-the-office.html) is the most interesting thing Eleanor Clift has ever written, imo. It's about her early days at Newsweek where she started out as a secretary Peggy Olson style. Also holy shit she married Montgomery Clift's brother!1

[livius drusus]

Dude.

<iframe id="NBC Video Widget" width="512" height="347" src="http://www.nbc.com/assets/video/widget/widget.html?vid=1391826" frameborder="0"></iframe>

[vremya]

Turns out that the Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell) is from Minneapolis and is a big fan of the local public radio station, The Current. (http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/the_current/) Props to you, dude!

[vremya]

I think Don married Betty again.

[Ensign Steve]

So good! I covet the apartment, obviously.

[livius drusus]

I think Don married Betty again.

Now that I have finished my marathon of season four and watched the new episode, I can say that I disagree.

He married a genius! That apparent meltdown she had while "cleaning" was nothing short of brilliant. It was a full-on domination role play and intentionally so. She knows what only hookers have previously known about Don and she used it to regain the upper hand after he rejected her.

I was also shocked that he told her the truth about himself. When he gave her Anna's ring at the end of last season, I thought it was a total capitulation to the fantasy of Don Draper, that he was walking away from his attempts earlier in the season to integrate Dick and Don and be a whole human being. Clearly I was wrong, because Megan knows everything.

Other things I adored: The party. The mixture of people -- from pot smoking beatniks to Don's accountant -- was hilarious. I would love to have been at that party, and not just for the Lola Falana sixtiesness of it.
the whole scene between Lane and Joan. He was so sweet to her and his Zou Bisou imitation was just the best.
Pete Campbell's new suburban home looking pretty much exactly like Don and Betty's old Ossining place.
Everything else.

[vremya]

I think Megan's scene with Peggy when she snapped at her about what she said at the party, when she was actually pissed about Don's reaction to the party, was very Betty-ish.

Don's marrying Megan rings false to me - I could see him eventually marrying Megan, but not this fast. And I don't think it's going to last. They really don't know each other at all (I thought you wanted the white carpet - no I thought you wanted it) and partly because I think Megan is super manipulative. I wonder what the comment that she's a good actress means.

I loved Lane and Joan's scene. I love Joan's glasses. The subplot with Lane and the wallet felt weird to me.

[lisarea]

There is an article about Betty Draper on Tiger Beatdown that might be of some interest to you nattering ninnies.

Tiger Beatdown: Betty Draper Francis Needs Your… Ice Cream? A Few Notes on the Evil TV Ex-Wife (http://tigerbeatdown.com/2012/04/03/betty-draper-francis-needs-your-ice-cream-a-few-notes-on-the-evil-tv-ex-wife/)

[livius drusus]

I'm not sure I entirely buy the premise. She didn't steal that ice cream, for one thing, and I actually found her rather sympathetic, especially in that scene with Henry's mom.

[lisarea]

Sady Doyle is SO EXTREMELY HYPERBOLIC THAT SHE WILL LITERALLY BLOW YOUR FACE OFF, so you gots to read the STEALING ICE CREAM thing with that extreme grain of salt.

I have to say, I don't trust that my judgment is relevant because I never got all the hate for Betty Draper. She is a mean, miserable character, but I've always found her sympathetic, because she has plenty of good reasons for it. As such, I'm a little disheartened at the prospect of her undergoing some kind of transformation, which I am scared is what this is all leading to.

[livius drusus]

I don't know where it's all leading and I'm a terrible predictor of plots, but it seems unlikely to me that Weiner would give up on subtlety and blend the character into a contemptible puree, particularly since the whole storyline was a result of January Jones' unexpected pregnancy rather than a planned out narrative arc.

He's said before in interviews that he has an idea of where things are going, how the show will end. I don't really see him fuxoring that up just to make Betty a fat joke.

[lisarea]

I don't get the whole article there, largely because I don't even know what that other show she's talking about is, and also because I don't trust my character and story-parsing because I regularly find the wrong characters sympathetic. In this case, I don't find Don Draper sympathetic at all. When your boyfriend was being all tormented on that show, Id' be like, "No, please, CRY MORE, YOU BIG STUPID BABY. HAHAHAHA." And I always found Betty way more sympathetic, and totally justified in being mean to everyone. So my concern is almost the opposite of hers--I'm worried they're ramping up to give her some Grinch treatment where her heart is going to grow three sizes.

Like I said, though, I do not trust my assessments to have any relevance in the outside world. I'm happy just knowing that I am secretly right.

[davidm]

I like your new user title or whatever they call that shit, lisarea, lifted from Ayn what's his face in Mommy's basement, but then I also liked the old one and kind of miss it. :sadcheer:

[lisarea]

I like your new user title or whatever they call that shit, lisarea, lifted from Ayn what's his face in Mommy's basement, but then I also liked the old one and kind of miss it. :sadcheer:

TY, mr. m. It's only really short-term amusing to me, so Hobbes should be back p. soon.

[davidm]

I like your new user title or whatever they call that shit, lisarea, lifted from Ayn what's his face in Mommy's basement, but then I also liked the old one and kind of miss it. :sadcheer:

TY, mr. m. It's only really short-term amusing to me, so Hobbes should be back p. soon.

:yes!:

[Ensign Steve]

Yeah, I have to say I have loved and sympathized with Betty since the beginning. My personal idea of hell is being a smart, talented woman whose opportunities are limited to keeping her house and raising her kids, especially when one doesn't necessarily even like raising kids. Remember how appalled we all were when her shrink started calling Don after their sessions? And then when the other doctor talked her out of getting an abortion, because nice married ladies don't do that, and a year later she was divorced? I think every crazy, bitchy thing she's ever done was a totally obvious cry for help or otherwise some kind of lashing out against this situation she is in because she's expected to be, not because she wanted to be.

Putting the fat suit on her only serves to make her even more sympathetic to me, if you can imagine that.

[livius drusus]

I'd love to see Betty comment on Don getting Megan the copyrighting job. He was such a prick he was to Bets when she wanted to model again.

[vremya]

Yay Joan! About time you kicked that guy to the curb!

[livius drusus]

I just caught up with the last two episodes.

I second vremya's yay for Joan. I assumed that the rape would just be swept under the rug forever once she married the creep. It was great to see her lay him bare with such cold, concise, pinpoint accuracy. Enjoy your second tour, asshole.

I loved all of Sally's scenes. Her phone conversation with Don was funny and cute and so perfectly adolescent. She was awesome with that termagant of a step-grandmother, especially when she reacted to gramma's fucked up story about her abusive father by pointing out that it was fucked up. Also loved that final shot of her sleeping under the couch like the one nurse who survived Speck's murder spree.

Don's fever dream seemed dreamy to me from the beginning. How did she know where he lived if it was the first time she had ever been there? Even so, the strangling was intense.

Cut to the next episode and let's take a moment of silence in honor of Don's impromptu plumbing routine. God that man... Also, slow clap for him not cheating on Megan. :golfclap: to Pete's hooker for getting him in three. She knows her trade.

Speaking of Pete, I can't believe Lane beat him so soundly with that crazy turn-of-the-century boxer pose. I guess his psycho of a father taught him one useful thing.

I'm amazed at how quickly Pete is spiraling downwards. He's always looked very young to me, but when he was hitting on that high school girl, then cavorting with the pro, then getting whupped by Lane, I swear he aged 20 years in an episode. There has been some discussion in the press about whether the falling man in the credits is going to turn out to be Pete. It's looking more and more likely a scenario.

I really like Cosgrove this season. I like his smoking weed with the homos and artists on the balcony at Megan's party, his pact with Peggy, his relationship with his adorable wife, his refusal to dive into the wine-n-dine void like Pete has to such notably awful effect, and that story about Pete and his stereo he wrote at the end.

[Ensign Steve]

I almost shit myself when mom said, "You know, Joanie plays the accordion."

[vremya]

Born Freeeeeee
:singing:

[rigorist]

I will never think of Elsa the same way again.

[Janet]

Going back a few episodes, but it's a testament to how good an actor Jared Harris is that despite seeing him play a badass numerous times, I still wondered if Lane could actually beat Pete.

[Ensign Steve]

I don't want to live in a world where the actress that played the most recent Sabrina is old enough to be cast as Don's mother in law. :shakecane:

[vremya]

National Treasure John Hamm is perfect even at bowling!

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5M-iiIpzEfU

And Play-Doh smells better than it tastes - according to Vince.

[Escapegoat]

I am starting to think that it is draper falling in the intro.
Did we just witness the beginning of the end for our intrepid (anti)hero?

So much to lose..so many ways to blow it. "Studied manner," closet full of secrets, animosity from the very people who could make or break him, crazy wife.....

I would still trade places with him in a heartbeat, but lotta land mines in that terrain.

When do the legal ramifications of fraud rear their ugly little noggin(s)? Season eleventy?

[livius drusus]

Sally is a genius. That is all.

[vremya]

I hate to say it, but I'm disappointed with the writing thus far this season. I think it's very soap opera-ish, not subtle at all, which is what drew me in in the first place.

And enough with Megan. There's NO chemistry between her and Don. Nada.

And Ginsburg grates on me something fierce, but I think he's supposed to.

[vremya]

Love love LOVE the interplay between Don and Joan.

[freemonkey]

Sally is a genius. That is all.

I'm having fun guessing what her future career will be. So far, I'm thinking psychiatrist or novelist. Or reality TV show creator.

[livius drusus]

Love love LOVE the interplay between Don and Joan.

That was truly epic.

I can't believe Layne. Surely he could have asked someone to loan him the money.

lol @ Krishna Kinsey. Lakshmi's hard bargain-driving surprised me, but not as much as Harry's kindness to Paul in the end. I found it genuinely touching.

[livius drusus]

And another thing. Just what exactly is Megan's just-like-mamman-used-to-make spaghetti dish supposed to be? There's no identifiable sauce, and apparently the default doesn't even have cheese since she asked Don if he wanted some. It looks completely plain, like a pile of string.

[lisarea]

I don't know what that's supposed to be, but spaghetti has been a recurring theme lately.

I didn't see it that clearly, but it looked like some kind of giant square mold or something, so maybe it's some gross recipe from those old timey books.

So I started looking to see if I could find some period-appropriate recipe that would look like that, but then I found this (http://www.flickr.com/photos/coopgirlkiz/3756513001/in/pool-649528@N21/), and I decided I'd accomplished all I could have ever hoped.

[livius drusus]

What. The. Jesus. Fuck.

[livius drusus]

Bort says I should ban you for linking me to that picture. What do you have to say in your defense?

[lisarea]

You just think it's gross because it's vegan!

Josie's Vegan Spaghetti Mold | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/coopgirlkiz/3757311428/in/set-72157621708755509/)

Seriously, come on. The Horrors of Cooking Invitational! At least it took your mind off that nagging question about spaghetti on The Mad Mens! That counts for something!

[livius drusus]

lemons olives tomato wedges ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod :projectilevomit::projectilevomit::projectilevomit::projectilevomit::projectilevomit::projectilevomit::projectilevomit::projectilevomit::projectilevomit::projectilevomit::projectilevomit::projectilevomit:

[freemonkey]

i love the little sign "it's not gross because it's vegan. It's just gross" LOL

[Ymir's blood]

Now I have to monitor this thread for more awesome.

[livius drusus]

I can't even.

[livius drusus]

This show, man.

[livius drusus]

I have officially lost my mind.

[vremya]

:mindblow:

[rigorist]

G-r-r-r-r-imy pimp, indeed.

[livius drusus]

I'm still in complete shock. Every minute of the montage between pitch and "date" had me keening. Then the twist ending of it nearly gave me a heart attack. Then her in the partners' meeting with Don... The looks between them... His mother... It was just too much.

Of course 10 minutes later I yearned for the simple agony of that subplot. Unbelievable. Elizabeth isn't leaving the show is she? Sal was bad enough. Peggy leaving rends the fundamental fabric of the show.

[livius drusus]

G-r-r-r-r-imy pimp, indeed.

I loved that look Layne gave Pete on the way out the door. Of course, Layne proved willing to go grimy pimp himself when it came to covering his ass.

[freemonkey]

That was a great episode, so layered and complicated. I hate Pete.

[Treetop]

Yes, I was feeling a bit disappointed until the last two episodes.

Only TV show I keep up with, unless you count the Braves.

[livius drusus]

Welcome to :ff:, Treetop! I like your avatar, and of course your taste in television dramas. :welcome1:

[Janet]

I finally caught up with this last night. For me it seemed like it was the episode where women don't do what Don Draper wants them to do. Just another sign that his power is slipping, perhaps.

[vremya]

:mindblow:

[freemonkey]

saw that coming, I guess, but who knew Don would be the little extra shove?

imo, the only difference between Don and what Lane did is that when Don got caught he was given a generous helping of compassion. In so many ways, he's still a clueless, selfish man.

[livius drusus]

I am so sad right now. :(

freemonkey, what did Don get caught doing? You mean when Pete told Bert about the Dick Whittman thing? I think there's a significant difference between Don stealing a dead man's identity and Lane's embezzling from the company and forging Don's signature. The latter is a crime specifically committed against the interests of SCDP and Don in particular. Also, Bert wasn't compassionate. He just didn't give a shit because it didn't affect the company.

I still think Don should have just let it go, but I don't think he was a total dick in his handling of it. He gave him the start over pep talk and meant it; he let him resign instead of firing him publicly; he took the hit from Bert about him playing the kid while the rest of the partners keep the company afloat like grown ups.

Something that occurred to me: this is the second time someone hanged himself after Don cut him off. You know Don had to be thinking of Adam in his reaction to Lane's suicide.

I'm going to go watch Lane's greatest hits now (the episode where they screw over PPL and start SCDP, and the one where he and Don spend the day together after Lane's wife gets the wrong flowers) and pour out liquor for my homie. I hated him when he first started on the show, but he became one of my favorites. :tremble:

[SharonDee]

Also, let's remember him punching out Pete. Great stuff.

[freemonkey]

I am so sad right now. :(

freemonkey, what did Don get caught doing?

I mean everyone who kept Don's secret.

[livius drusus]

I am so sad right now. :(

freemonkey, what did Don get caught doing?

I mean everyone who kept Don's secret.

Ah, okay. It's true that he's been treated with compassion, or at least consideration, by most everyone (except for Pete in season one and Bert in season three when he blackmailed Don into signing a contract to snag the Hilton account). Even Betty was pretty nice to him about it and she had every reason to tear off his head and piss down his neck.

I still see that as different, though, or at least, I see Don's dealings with Lane as a business decision while the Dick situation is usually personal. (When it has been about business compassion wasn't in the equation, see above examples.) I think Don thought he was cutting Lane a break by letting him resign and by not telling people he embezzled and forged which would have destroyed his hard-won reputation as a great guy with the books.

He also meant what he said about starting over. Don can cut and run on a dime, so he probably couldn't even conceive that someone would envision the prospect as worse than death. Lane flipped PPL the bird, kept the SCDP going when Lucky Strike left and beat the shit out of Pete. The Lane Don knew was way tougher than him.

[freemonkey]

I am so sad right now. :(

freemonkey, what did Don get caught doing?

I mean everyone who kept Don's secret.

Ah, okay. It's true that he's been treated with compassion, or at least consideration, by most everyone (except for Pete in season one and Bert in season three when he blackmailed Don into signing a contract to snag the Hilton account). Even Betty was pretty nice to him about it and she had every reason to tear off his head and piss down his neck.

I still see that as different, though, or at least, I see Don's dealings with Lane as a business decision while the Dick situation is usually personal. (When it has been about business compassion wasn't in the equation, see above examples.) I think Don thought he was cutting Lane a break by letting him resign and by not telling people he embezzled and forged which would have destroyed his hard-won reputation as a great guy with the books.

He also meant what he said about starting over. Don can cut and run on a dime, so he probably couldn't even conceive that someone would envision the prospect as worse than death. Lane flipped PPL the bird, kept the SCDP going when Lucky Strike left and beat the shit out of Pete. The Lane Don knew was way tougher than him.

I just want to say that what Don did was illegal and exposure would probably have cost him dearly in the business world for a time. Though, knowing Don, he could probably have spun it as an awesome re-branding campaign.

[Janet]

Does anyone know what song that was over the end credits? There's an instrumental version in Blow-Up, and at first I thought that was what they were playing. I never even knew there was a vocal version. As a dyed-in-the-wool Blow-Up fangirl, I'm thrilled at two references to my movie in this episode.

[lisarea]

Was it this?

Butchie's Tune by Lovin' Spoonful on Mono 1967 Kama Sutra LP. - YouTube

[Janet]

Why yes, yes it was! Interesting that Lovin' Spoonful is also responsible for the other non-Herbie Hancock snippet of music that didn't make it on the Blow-Up soundtrack. Antonioni must have been a fan.

[Escapegoat]

I sure hope Jared Harris has jobs lined up. I liked him.

[Ensign Steve]

From the horse's mouth:

Mad Men's Jared Harris on Lane's Sad Fate -- Vulture (http://www.vulture.com/2012/06/mad-mens-jared-harris-interview.html)

[vremya]

Meh.

I expected more, I guess, but this has been a pretty meh season for me.

But Peggy did make an appearance, so I'm cool with that.

[Zehava]

I just spent the last few days watching seasons 1-4 again off Netflix. Does Betty become less self absorbed after season 4?

I really tried to like the character, but she keeps coming off as a petulant child.

[wildernesse]

I finally caught up. I really liked the ending and the final few episodes, but the first part was very meh. I can't wait for the last season.

[vremya]

Mad Men hits Hawaii for Season Premiere (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/25/mad-men-hawaii-season-6-premiere_n_2016893.html#slide=1685575)

I hear that the plot involves Pete buying an idol the natives claim is cursed, and hilarious hijinks ensue.

[livius drusus]

It took them until season six to think of it, but they finally commissioned an actual 60s commercial illustrator to make an advertising poster. Brian Sanders Creates Mad Men Poster for New Season (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/arts/television/brian-sanders-creates-mad-men-poster-for-new-season.html?_r=0).

Matthew Weiner, inspired by a childhood memory of lush, painterly illustrations on T.W.A. flight menus, decided to turn back the promotional clock. He pored over commercial illustration books from the 1960s and ’70s and sent images to the show’s marketing team, which couldn't quite recreate the look he was after.

"Finally," he said, "they just looked up the person who had done all these drawings that I really loved, and they said: 'Hey, we've got the guy who did them. And he's still working. His name is Brian Sanders.'" [...]

"What it did was take me right back, about 50 years," said Mr. Sanders, who added that he was familiar enough with "Mad Men" to be in a bit of disbelief when the show came calling for his drawing board and brushes. The impressionistic image he created uses a scumbled acrylic technique that in its jazzy, textured effects instantly conjures 1960s illustration.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/livius/MM6.jpg

[vremya]

Some promotional pics for Season Six (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/mad-men-season-6-gallery-1.1288366?pmSlide=0)

[livius drusus]

So I've been watching season 1 again in preparation for the season 6 premiere on April 7th (mark your calendars) and I just realized something that was probably completely obvious to everyone else but I didn't notice at all.

You know that episode where Roger eats all those oysters then has to climb the stairs to get back in time for the meeting with the Nixon people and when he finally gets there he hurls like an avalanche of oyster puke at their feet? I've probably watched this episode during marathons at least 3 times, but I never noticed until last night that Don bribes the elevator guy to LIE about the elevator being down for maintenance. He set the whole thing up, playing the good buddy, encouraging the second round of oysters, the martinis, the cheesecake, all to make Roger look at the very least sick and exhausted at the big meeting. It was revenge for Roger macking on Betty.

I guess every other time I saw it, I was distracted by Pete's return to the office with the chip-n-dip rifle so I missed those two seconds before the elevator doors close on Don asking Hollis to do something for him while he peels off bills from a roll in his pocket. Amazing.

[wildernesse]

I'm glad this thread exists because fb has apparently screwed up my news feed so that Mad Men isn't showing up saying WATCH ME like it has in previous seasons. I would be terribly annoyed not to dvr those suckers. Then, in six months I'll be able to watch them.

[livius drusus]

Well, I just watched it. Christ that was depressing.

[Ensign Steve]

Okay, what the hell was up with that conversation Betty had in bed with Francis about Sally's friend? Was it supposed to be a joke? Are we supposed to be even more worried about Betty now? Because I totally am. Holy shit, girl.

[livius drusus]

That was fucked. Up. I have no idea what tone she imagined she was striking, but I guess teasing given her big wide smile at the end.

[vremya]

Disappointing. The episode was too long and had too much in it - and not enough Peggy and Stan.

[lisarea]

Betty is mad at life and she's very depressed. She was joking, but she's also pretty genuinely misanthropic and specifically pretty misanderic, I think. She didn't want to be a housewife and probably didn't want to have kids at all, but she got stuck in that role, like so many women did at that time, and she's bitter and resentful.

She's joking and trying to make Francis uncomfortable, but there's a grain of truth to it. She really thinks people are evil because everyone around her has treated her like shit.

That's my theory, anyways.

[livius drusus]

Henry hasn't treated her like shit. The closest he ever came to a dick move was when he told her he was going to take care of her and her children so she didn't need Don's money. It was paternalistic and controlling, but not in an ugly way and it was entirely in keeping with her plan. Like Don said, she was building a life raft, securing the loving Daddy Don had proved not to be.

A few things I really liked about this episode: the return of old friends -- Mohawk Airlines! Burt Peterson! -- what a phenomenal sarcastic teenager Sally is and how frikking old she looks, Peggy on the phone gossiping with Stan late at night, Peggy getting a great idea.

[lisarea]

True, he hasn't really treated her badly, but she still doesn't really seem to like him much.

She's pretty much the archetypal frustrated, bored housewife, and she's been burned by a man before. She's really proud of the few things she did before getting stuck in that role--her college education and her modeling--but all of her potential is gone now and she needs a man to take care of her. So she's going to resent that man, no matter what, and to add to that, he's also an old man and kind of paternalistic, like you said, which probably adds to her frustration and boredom.

So I think she was sort of joking, but she also really does sort of mistrust and dislike him.

[vremya]

We just ditched cable, so I hope Mad Men is on Netflicks.

[livius drusus]

Past seasons are but the new one won't be out for a while, I suspect.

[Crumb]

livius is correct.

[livius drusus]

Oh, me too.

[wildernesse]

Wow, I finally finished watching this first episode. It only took 3 days, since I watch during naptime.

Grim. I almost couldn't watch anymore after the Betty/Francis scene already mentioned, it was just horrifying.

[wildernesse]

Ok, that was a pretty good episode. Trudi is pretty fantastic, as usual.

[vremya]

Best headline: Trudy Can't Fail (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-mad-men-recap-don-sylvia-pete-trudy-tet-offensive-20130415,0,2173510.story)

[viscousmemories]

Having never seen Mad Men, I may be the only person in the world whose first thought upon seeing Christina Hendricks on The Daily Show was "Hey, she's from Firefly!"

[Ensign Steve]

Dude, when Peggy says, "What are we doing? They're really still having the awards?" and then Don says, "What else are we going to do?" I was like, yep, that's pretty much it.

Also, I think Peggy's opinion of her boyfriend is not that different from Megan's opinion of her papa. Intellectual, applauding the escalation of decay. Only not as mirthless. Maybe mirth goes with age.

[Janet]

True confession time. When I was a child my mother had to replace the wallpaper in our bedroom because my sister and I kept tearing it off. I'm told my brother, who is not far off Bobby Draper's age, started the practice. It was even blue and beige, like Bobby's, only ours had ugly blue pineapples on it. It also had cowboy paper underneath, which is why we kept tearing it off.

In short, I found this episode wandered into the uncanny valley for me.

[vremya]

Meh. Maybe the JFK assassination episode set the bar impossibly high.

WTF was the deal with the insurance guy?

[lisarea]

True confession time. When I was a child my mother had to replace the wallpaper in our bedroom because my sister and I kept tearing it off. I'm told my brother, who is not far off Bobby Draper's age, started the practice. It was even blue and beige, like Bobby's, only ours had ugly blue pineapples on it. It also had cowboy paper underneath, which is why we kept tearing it off.

In short, I found this episode wandered into the uncanny valley for me.

Holy crap, J.

My sister and I had horrible wallpaper in our bedroom, too. Ours was raised white squiggles on a blue background. The design was supposed to look like it was random and non-repeating, but it was just repeated over a large area is all. And it also didn't line up, like with Bobby's, so it drove me crazy and I tried to subtly 'repair' it by scratching off some of the squiggles and extending them using lines of white Elmer's glue. You couldn't even tell that I'd modified it unless you knew what to look for, but it made the wallpaper slightly more tolerable for me.

But wait. One year, I came back from spending the summer at my grandparents' farm, and my mom told me she had redecorated my bedroom as a surprise! I WAS SO HAPPY until I saw it. She'd somehow managed to find a slightly different blue wallpaper with random white squiggles on it, with a slightly smaller repeating pattern, and it was misaligned in different ways.

It was as though she'd said, "Hey, Lisa, let's go to the stables to pick out YOUR NEW PONY" and then we got there and she was like, "LOL JK, actually you're just coming to this place to have all of your skin slowly peeled off one tiny ragged strip at a time!"

We should start a support group for people who survived shitty wallpaper as children.

Oh yeah, Mad Men. As a Betty defender myself, I really like this article about her. (http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/05/05/in-defense-of-betty/) That's a lot closer to my interpretation of her than most I've seen. The biggest difference is that I actually do sort of like or at least empathize with her character.

[Janet]

Is it just me, or have all Don's pitches this season been the same idea? I really think the man is slipping. Every pitch he does is just about leaving everything to the audience's imagination.

[Ensign Steve]

I had to have it pointed out to me (:derp:), but no, it's not just you. He left the hotel out of the Hawaii ad, and he didn't put the bottle in the Heinz ad. Were there more?

[Janet]

The GM pitch was all excited faces but no car for a couple weeks before they showed the car.