Mad Men is back!

[improbus]

Anyone watch last nights episode? Anyone concerned for Don's change? Anyone else enjoy Megan? I really missed the show.

[Ohayou]

There's definitely something wrong with Megan.

[Chip R]

I watched it. Pretty good show. I'm not sure there's something wrong with Megan as much as there is with Don.

[bucksfan2]

I didn't like the whole Don getting married to Megan storyline. I liked pretty much all of the other girls he was with much better than Megan. Oh well I figure Don Draper's womanizing days are going to be back soon.

[Roy Tucker]

There is a definite kink in Don and Megan's relationship.

But she can clean my house any day. ;)

[RichRed]

I give the marriage about six months of real time or a season and a half of TV time, whichever comes first.

[RBA]

The last scene with the job applicants was telegraphed as soon as they put that want ad out. Did anyone not see that coming?

[RBA]

Don's apartment was pretty nice. With the sunken living room, it reminded me of the Dick Van Dyke Show a tad.

[RichRed]

I like the conflict within the Lane character. Had a black girlfriend but didn't trust the black cab driver with the wallet. He's back with his wife but still desperately lonely. Master of efficiency in the workplace but an awkward mess in certain social situations.

Also, anything that gets Joan back in the office more is OK by me.

[RichRed]

Don's apartment was pretty nice. With the sunken living room, it reminded me of the Dick Van Dyke Show a tad.

The wardrobe and the sets in "Mad Men" are terrific.

[Roy Tucker]

The wardrobe and the sets in "Mad Men" are terrific.

Yep. From one who grew up in the 50's and 60's and had a father in the advertising biz during that time, it's a little spooky to see how dead-on the sets are. The whole show, really.

[RFS62]

There's definitely something wrong with Megan.



European sensibilities, incredibly beautiful, sensuous and sexy.... yeah, I'll take all of that kind of "wrong" I can get!!!

[Ohayou]

Sure, until she goes nuts and offs herself.

[RBA]

Sure, until she goes nuts and offs herself.

Yup, when she went out to the balcony, I thought she was going to jump and police were going to be knocking at the door.

[gilpdawg]

No love for Roger's great line? "Is it just me, or is our lobby full of Negros?" Also cracked up when Roger asked Jane how come you don't dance like her, and she said how come you don't look like him. Burn.

[gilpdawg]

Sure, until she goes nuts and offs herself.

I've seen that theory floating around the interwebs. I don't see that for some reason. I see her more turning into a Betty type, or even Jane.

Did anybody else notice that Pete kind of has turned into Don without the demons? Used to live in the city, now he lives out in the burbs, Trudy is so into being a mom that she's not turning his crank anymore, and now Don has the place in the city and the sex kitten wife. Pete and Roger both want what Don has, but is that what Don wants? It's going to be a great season, because all the main characters are in flux. Can't wait until next week. Zooby zooby zoo. :)

[bucksfan2]

There is something about Megan that I just don't like. Even when she first was on the show something bugged me about her.

I watched the previous seasons of Mad Men on DVD and DVR which I thought made it much better. Sometimes it takes some time to grasp what made an episode good or even great. I thought Roger and Harry stole the show yesterday. I do think the performance of Zou Bisou Bisou is what is being talked about and also the akward house cleaning scene.

It seems like Don has what he wants, an apartment in the city with a young girl. Althought it seemed that the only time Don has been at peace was when he was in California being Dick Whitman with the real Mrs. Draper. It probably was my favorite theme until they killed her off. I wonder if that will make an appearance again.

[RichRed]

It seems like Don has what he wants, an apartment in the city with a young girl. Althought it seemed that the only time Don has been at peace was when he was in California being Dick Whitman with the real Mrs. Draper. It probably was my favorite theme until they killed her off. I wonder if that will make an appearance again.

Don thinks he knows what he wants...until he gets it and realizes it doesn't measure up. Actually, that applies to several of the main characters: Roger, Pete, Joan...

[Redsfaithful]

“The only thing worse than not getting what you want is someone else getting it.”

Quote of the episode.

[top6]

Don thinks he knows what he wants...until he gets it and realizes it doesn't measure up. Actually, that applies to several of the main characters: Roger, Pete, Joan...

And it probably applies to about 100% of the human race at some point in their lives, which is one of many things that make the show so great.

[top6]

“The only thing worse than not getting what you want is someone else getting it.”

Quote of the episode.

"Why can't you sing like that?"

"Why don't you look like him?"

[RichRed]

"Why can't you sing like that?"

"Why don't you look like him?"

That was great. Roger on the business end of a sharp jab, for a change.

[improbus]

Episode two, or the Ten Reasons Roger Sterling is going to have Pete thrown out a window.

Roger Sterling = Colonel Henry Blake
Pete Campbell = An Infinitely more competent version of Dr. Frank Burns. But, just as conniving and petty.

[Homer Bailey]

Never been a fan of dream sequence/hallucinations in which you're unclear whether or not its real. I've always thought that was pretty cheap, and last night was no exception.

[RBA]

Never been a fan of dream sequence/hallucinations in which you're unclear whether or not its real. I've always thought that was pretty cheap, and last night was no exception.

I think it was the fact that Don is sick, the Richard Speck murders are in the news, and Don is trying to get rid of his vices (affairs).

[RollyInRaleigh]

How long before Lane and Don's new secretary have a time? Particularly with her sleeping in the office.

[Homer Bailey]

I think it was the fact that Don is sick, the Richard Speck murders are in the news, and Don is trying to get rid of his vices (affairs).

I've got no problem with doing a dream sequence, as long as its clear it is a dream to the viewer. Otherwise, it's kind of a cheap way to shock the viewer. Just my opinion.

[gilpdawg]

I've got no problem with doing a dream sequence, as long as its clear it is a dream to the viewer. Otherwise, it's kind of a cheap way to shock the viewer. Just my opinion.
Most people I've talked to said they thought it was a dream right away. Well, they fooled me, so I must be an idiot. I didn't know it was a dream until he slid the body under the bed, because no matter how sick he was, he's not gonna kill a chick and then go back to sleep.

Great episode though. Glad Joan finally put Dr. Rapey McRaperson in his place.

[Ohayou]

Was I the only one who burst out laughing during that scene?

[WMR]

Is Joan's baby Roger Sterling's?

[Chip R]

Is Joan's baby Roger Sterling's?

Yes.

[WMR]

I CANNOT believe Peggy left Sterling Cooper. Obviously, Don could not believe it either.

Surely she will return to Sterling Cooper some day...

[MWM]

This season lost me somewhat. I was afraid this was going to happen with all the fanfare coming into it. What made this show so great, IMO, was that it was pure character exploration. There weren't that many wild plot twists. It was very subtle in that regard. The plot was secondary to the characters.

This season the characters have become much more one dimensional and they've littered us with all these fantastical plots that don't seem fitting with the previous seasons of the show. It appears to me they're reaching for a more mass audience now and have lost much of the genius of the show. This almost always happens to these kinds of shows.

[WMR]

I've enjoyed this season. I'm glad Betty is getting less and less attention. What a boring character.

[RiverRat13]

This season the characters have become much more one dimensional and they've littered us with all these fantastical plots that don't seem fitting with the previous seasons of the show.

Such as?

[MWM]

Such as?

Pete and his train car buddy's wife. The whole Joan being asked to prostitute herself to land a big account (just a stupid story line, IMO). Kinsey and the Hari Krishna thing with his girl seducing Harry. Lane has become a pathetic whiner of a character with no redeeming qualities and I want to fast forward every time he's on screen.

It's just my opinion, but what I loved about the show was the depth of the characters and how little the underlying plots really mattered in my enjoyment of the show. It was all about exploring the complexity of these people. My perception of season 5 is that they've said "ooooo, everyone's watching now, let's see how creative we can get with 'intriguing' plot twists." It's become way to soap opera like for my taste.

All the characters seem to have lost that depth that I liked so much. They have one characteristic they're focusing on this season at the expense of all others. Every character could be labeled pretty easily in season 5 if you ask me. Even Don has become someone very uninteresting. I have no problem evolving a character, even maturing in Don's case which is what he seems to have done. But there's nothing all the "interesting" about him anymore. He's all googly-eyed over his new wife and struggles some with her chosen career path, but he's become boring, IMO. That's something I never thought could happen. I can't think of any characters that are all that interesting this season.

I still like the show and look forward to watching it. It's just lost some of its appeal for me.

[Razor Shines]

Should have searched for this thread before posting in the TV thread. This past episode may have been my favorite episode in the show's history. I may be forgetting some but either way it's up there.

I thought Peggy smiling just before she got on the elevator was perfect. I'm sure she's going to battle SCDP for some accounts and that will be fun.

[RiverRat13]

Pete and his train car buddy's wife. The whole Joan being asked to prostitute herself to land a big account (just a stupid story line, IMO). Kinsey and the Hari Krishna thing with his girl seducing Harry. Lane has become a pathetic whiner of a character with no redeeming qualities and I want to fast forward every time he's on screen.

It's just my opinion, but what I loved about the show was the depth of the characters and how little the underlying plots really mattered in my enjoyment of the show. It was all about exploring the complexity of these people. My perception of season 5 is that they've said "ooooo, everyone's watching now, let's see how creative we can get with 'intriguing' plot twists." It's become way to soap opera like for my taste.

All the characters seem to have lost that depth that I liked so much. They have one characteristic they're focusing on this season at the expense of all others. Every character could be labeled pretty easily in season 5 if you ask me. Even Don has become someone very uninteresting. I have no problem evolving a character, even maturing in Don's case which is what he seems to have done. But there's nothing all the "interesting" about him anymore. He's all googly-eyed over his new wife and struggles some with her chosen career path, but he's become boring, IMO. That's something I never thought could happen. I can't think of any characters that are all that interesting this season.

I still like the show and look forward to watching it. It's just lost some of its appeal for me.

I disagree. I think this season has been fantastic. The Joan storyline parallels Sal when Don basically asked him to prostitute himself out to keep Lucky Strike. It was interesting to see that Don had no problem asking Sal to do what he would not even think of asking Joan. Pete is morphing into old Don... bored with the suburban life and figuring there has to be more out there. Of course, he doesn't have the Don factor to be Don but he's a guy who thought that work alone would fulfill him and is finding out that isn't the case. I don't see how Pete sleeping with the train guy's wife is any more of a soap opera than Don sleeping with Jimmy Barrett's wife. I totally agree with you that old Don is better and I think we'll eventually see that Don back, but there has to be some sort of change or attempt at changing of your main character over five seasons. Especially a character like Don.

I can see where you don't like the storylines as you're going to like what you're going to like. But I can't see where you'd characterize them to be out of the ordinary for Mad Men. I don't see it being more of a soap opera than past seasons at all.

[RBA]

Lane has become a pathetic whiner of a character with no redeeming qualities and I want to fast forward every time he's on screen.



I didn't expect it until Joan tried to open his office door. I guess, fewer fast forwarding for you?

[gilpdawg]

Ho-lee CRAP! Amazing episode. Amazing season. This may be the best Mad Men season so far. It's very rare that a 5th season of any show is such high quality, usually you're on the downswing by then. If this isn't the best show of the past 10 or so years I don't know what is. I guess you could throw Breaking Bad in the running.

[Redsfaithful]

Ho-lee CRAP! Amazing episode. Amazing season. This may be the best Mad Men season so far. It's very rare that a 5th season of any show is such high quality, usually you're on the downswing by then. If this isn't the best show of the past 10 or so years I don't know what is. I guess you could throw Breaking Bad in the running.

The Wire actually made it's debut 10 years ago.

But Mad Men and Breaking Bad would be my 2/3 in some order.

[gilpdawg]

The Wire actually made it's debut 10 years ago.

But Mad Men and Breaking Bad would be my 2/3 in some order.

Forgot about The Wire. :eek:

[bucksfan2]

The Wire actually made it's debut 10 years ago.

But Mad Men and Breaking Bad would be my 2/3 in some order.

I think the wire puts those two series to shame. I am 3 seasons through Breaking Bad and it continues to get better. The first season was a little slow to get started but it really picked up. I would go 1. The Wire 2. Mad Men 3. Breaking Bad. But that is up for debate.

[MWM]

You have The Wire, Lost, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Rescue Me (I liked better than Mad Men), Curb Your Enthusiasm (if we're counting comedies). But Mad Men is definitely on the list. This was actually my least favorite of the seasons, but it was still very good and I look forward to watching every week.

I think Lost was genius until the last season, maybe the best thing I've ever seen. But the ending left me a little empty as I just don't think they had any good way to wind things down.

[Unassisted]

It's just my opinion, but what I loved about the show was the depth of the characters and how little the underlying plots really mattered in my enjoyment of the show. It was all about exploring the complexity of these people. My perception of season 5 is that they've said "ooooo, everyone's watching now, let's see how creative we can get with 'intriguing' plot twists." It's become way to soap opera like for my taste.
IMO, the long delay between seasons gave Matthew Weiner so much time to come up with ideas that he's struggling to fit all of the story arcs into a single season. This season seems to be aimed so heavily at giving every character in the ensemble something meaty to do, that it's sacrificing depth.

Frankly, in previous seasons, I was turned off by some of the pugnacious quotes by the actors about the earth-shattering importance of this show to the medium. It's still just a show, it's not a cure for cancer. But it's also a good show and if the mistakes of this season take some of the air out of those inflated egos, I don't mind if it slips a bit.

[MWM]

IMO, the long delay between seasons gave Matthew Weiner so much time to come up with ideas that he's struggling to fit all of the story arcs into a single season. This season seems to be aimed so heavily at giving every character in the ensemble something meaty to do, that it's sacrificing depth.

Frankly, in previous seasons, I was turned off by some of the pugnacious quotes by the actors about the earth-shattering importance of this show to the medium. It's still just a show, it's not a cure for cancer. But it's also a good show and if the mistakes of this season take some of the air out of those inflated egos, I don't mind if it slips a bit.

Fair points. It's tough to maintain the same artistry of a show like this once it reaches the masses. Few have been able to do it. I remember watching the first two seasons and thinking "that's it?" I was expecting things to resolve and reach a conclusion but they just kind of stopped leaving you thinking. That was the genius of the show. There was very little in the way of typical plots that have clear climaxes and resolutions. After a while, I accepted it was a character exploration show and I loved it. It was almost more of a day in the life rather than linear story lines like most dramas.

I still really like it, it's just taken on a different character to me. As someone who works in brand marketing and has worked extensively with very well known ad agencies, some of the portrayals annoy me a little as they aren't close to reality, even back then. For example, the whole meeting with the Dow executives this last week was just asinine. It seemed to me a forced scene they needed in order to bring the old Don back and show that this season's virtuous and boring Don was only temporary. They needed a device that would do that, so they forced that scene.

[Redsfaithful]

Not saying you are inaccurate, but how do you know how it was 45 years ago?

[MWM]

Not saying you are inaccurate, but how do you know how it was 45 years ago?

Mad Men is one of the dominant topics of conversation with any creative agency, whether it's an advertising or a branding one. I've talked to people who have been around a long time and their view has pretty much been that the show nails the culture of working in an agency at that point in time, but they miss by a wide margin on the actual pitch and creative process, and how they manage clients. They may not have been around in the 60s, but they started pretty close to then. Plus, I just can't imagine that agencies ever went about it that way. I'm sure there were some differences, but it's hard for me to believe these pitch meetings ever happened the way they are portrayed.

But i think their portrayal of that process really doesn't matter much. Getting the culture is much more central to the show. It's kind of like doctors who laugh at how the actual medical stuff is portrayed in shows like Grey's Anatomy. They say the same thing, that it's much closer on the social culture of working in hospitals amongst docs, but way off on the medical stuff. Lawyers say the same about the Law and Order's of the world. Real life tactics are much less dramatic, and as a result much less interesting.

I will say this, the perception within ad agencies that they are the smart ones and have all the great ideas while the clients are dumb and stubborn and can't see what's obviously best for them is pretty accurate even to this day. That's how agencies think. Most of the casting and directing of those on the client side consistently makes them look slow and unintelligent, lacking real business sense. If a show was created from the client side of the relationship it would look a lot different.

[Redsfaithful]

Interesting insight, thanks.

[Tony Cloninger]

I have read where the show will end in another 2 seasons and that they wanted to show Don...into the 80's and even today. How the heck are they going to fit that in?
Is the 70's going to be a blur? Which i am sure it was for most who lived through that.

[Razor Shines]

"We can do that?". Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MWM]

I will say this, the perception within ad agencies that they are the smart ones and have all the great ideas while the clients are dumb and stubborn and can't see what's obviously best for them is pretty accurate even to this day. That's how agencies think. Most of the casting and directing of those on the client side consistently makes them look slow and unintelligent, lacking real business sense. If a show was created from the client side of the relationship it would look a lot different.

Case in point tonight with the Topaz meeting. The client guys looked a couple of nitwits. The one agency guy said, "we love it and the client hates it. That's how we know it's good." This is the commonly held view of agency creatives. It's also why you see so much bad advertising out there. Agencies want to create stuff they'll have fun doing or makes them feel "artistic". Good marketing people from the clients have to make sure the creative is meeting the strategic objectives they laid out in the creative brief. It's very common for this to be a somewhat contentious relationship.

If someone like Ginsberg ever spoke to a client like he did these guys even one time, his desk would be packed for him before the meeting was over and he'd likely not be able to find work another good agency. Actually, Ginsberg is the one character that seems completely unrealistic to me. He's more a caricature.