Mad Men

[Mister Tee]

There's a piece in the NY Times Magazine this week that I'd describe as...odd.

The premise is that Jon Hamm is short-changing the show by failing to let Don Draper's innate evil shine through. The writer, Virginia Heffernan, compares him unfavorably to Gandolfini on The Sopranos, and Glenn Close on Damages, and suggests he has the actor's failing of wanting the audience to like him, something not the case with those other two. (She also seems to take him to task for not having the stage/method background they had)

Is it just me -- or is the fact she considers Don Draper evil a rather complete misunderstanding on her part?



Edited By Mister Tee on 1223235388

[Mister Tee]

Just saw the episode tonight. (TimeWarner Cable here in New York has the show on an On Demand channel starting the day after it airs, which is a much better way of viewing it because you only have one single commercial break -- albeit for Viagara.)

I watch the show the exact same way, Damien...I don't know if I could watch it with commercial breaks.

Isn't it just as easy to tape it and zap through commercials?

Or am I the only one still has a functioning VCR?

[flipp525]

Heads up: Jon Hamm (my TV boyfriend) will be hosting Saturday Night Live on October 25th with musical guest, Coldplay.



Edited By flipp525 on 1223139661

[FilmFan720]

Just saw the episode tonight. (TimeWarner Cable here in New York has the show on an On Demand channel starting the day after it airs, which is a much better way of viewing it because you only have one single commercial break -- albeit for Viagara.)

I watch the show the exact same way, Damien...I don't know if I could watch it with commercial breaks.

[Damien]

Just saw the episode tonight. (TimeWarner Cable here in New York has the show on an On Demand channel starting the day after it airs, which is a much better way of viewing it because you only have one single commercial break -- albeit for Viagara.)

I swear, I'm on the verge of feeling this show is getting almost too sad to bear -- there is just so much unhappiness, even with characters who don't realize they're unhappy.

Murray's performance here is certainly Emmy-worthy. And I love the loyalty and tenderness Don feels towards him -- prior to his own marital problems he wouldn't have felt that way. He wouldn't have probably joined in the lambasting laughter but he probably would have stayed apart from the situation.

Loved the way subtle wisdom came from the black characters (oopps, are we venturing into Magic Negro territory here?) But I was surprised that the boxer at the gambling den was Floyd Patterson and not Cassius Clay.

Stickler complaint. Marilyn Monroe's death was discovered on a Sunday, not a Monday as on the show. I know this because one of most vivid childhood memories (at age 7) was that my parents and I were going to a seafood restaurant over an hour from my home on a Sunday afternoon, and on the radio (WNEW for people like Tee and Magilla for whom those four letters will have meaning) there were constant reports on Monroe's death -- so much so that I said to the rents, "Why do they keep repeating this. Everyone knows about it by now." And when I saw the front page of the Daily News the next day, I said "Why's this on the front page? Everyone heard about it yesterday." The reaction to her death on the show, however, was accurate.

By the way FilmFan, in case you didn't know, Talia Balsam is John Slattery's wife in real life. Her mother is the wonderful actress Joyce van Patten (which makes her Dick van Patten's niece).

January Jones without make-up. There's a very certain type of woman who turns me into a latent heterosexual. That's the type.



Edited By Damien on 1223019276

[FilmFan720]

I had forgotten about Colin Hanks, and didn't know the Martin Balsam connection. Interesting.

[Mike Kelly]

FilmFan, besides Murray, there's Tom Hanks's son Colin playing the priest, and Martin Balsam's (maybe not a big star, but an academy award winning character actor) daughter playing Roger Sterling's wife.

Tee, Freddie's character really got to shine in this episode. Before this he was pretty much a minor supporting player. Too bad; it looks like he's written out of the show for now.

[kaytodd]

I think Freddie first took notice of Peggy during the episode when the secretaries at Sterling Cooper were trying on the Belle Joile lipstick. She told Freddie something like "a basket full of kisses" and he liked the line and suggested she come up with some copy for the Belle Jolie campaign. At that time, Peggy was still Don's secretary.

[FilmFan720]

(Mad Men seems to have a few family members of big stars in its cast)

Who are the others?

[flipp525]

To be honest, I can't say I greatly remember Freddie's past contributions to the show. Peggy said if not for him she'd still be a secretary -- is there something specific he did that I'm not remembering?

I seem to recall Freddie Rumson being one of Peggy's earlier champions. It was no more than on-the-fringe support at the time, but I think he was her cheerleader when Don was first bandying around the idea of giving her that female exercising contraption to write some copy for.

That wierd zipper song from a couple weeks ago should've been an indicator to us all that he was on his way out.



Edited By flipp525 on 1222981564

[Mister Tee]

I guess he's the brother of Bill Murray (Mad Men seems to have a few family members of big stars in its cast)

Wow, I didn't realize that, Mike. There's a family that's yielded alot of actors.

To be honest, I can't say I greatly remember Freddie's past contributions to the show. Peggy said if not for him she'd still be a secretary -- is there something specific he did that I'm not remembering?

[Mike Kelly]

The entire Freddie's farewell scene was brilliantly written and played. I'm not familiar with the actor portraying Freddie, but he has an old-school Gene Lockhart look and style about him. I guess he's the brother of Bill Murray (Mad Men seems to have a few family members of big stars in its cast)

[Mister Tee]

This episode packed an uncharacteristic punch. The show has in the past usually stayed in a quiet vein. But the last fifteen minutes of this edition -- Freddy's farewell, the encounter with Jimmy Barrett, Betty's bold lunch gambit, and the shocking final encounter in Don's office -- brought an intensity level that recalled old prime-time soaps like Dallas. (Not that I'd remotely conflate them: those shows worked strictly for audience effect; this show reached a dramatic peak without sacrificing a bit of verisimilitude)

An interesting leitmotif: the use of offices -- Freddy being essentially quarantined in his; Don shutting the door when realizing Jane is dealing in personal information; Joan caught taking refuge in Roger's lair; and, most disconcerting, Mona's burst-in on Don at the end. All seemed to be reflective of the fuzzy line between personal and business at Sterling Cooper.

Another striking element: two black characters -- the elevator operator and Carla -- speaking out more boldly than expected. And the mention of the black guy working at another agency.

A few stray observations:

I have to disagree about Pete Campbell. Whatever the merits of Freddy's employment, my only feeling about Campbell was, What a scumbag. And such a SMUG scumbag -- his "Okay, I'll go first" bit was so repellent I wanted Peggy to scratch his eyes out.

Peggy and Don have lots of faults, but they seem to share the most highly developed consciences when it comes to business behavior. Neither can step over another without at least feeling guilt over it.

I've been assuming for weeks that Duck was a recovering alcoholic. Is Don's "teetotaler" description more apt -- or is the latter masking the former?

MY wife and I both thought Freddy was having a seizure, at first. Oh, great funny moment in that scene: Sal's reaction to the filled-to-the-brim glass.

Don's sense of betrayal in the final scene was manifold. First, Roger had used his drinking-buddies-camaraderie admission as rationalization for dumping Mona. (And, granting Don mentioned it as a relief, I can't fathom Roger took that conversation as a signal to jettison his wife) Then, Roger had pretended he'd simply intuited Don's situation, where it was now clear he'd been tipped off by Jane. And then of course the big realization, that this affair had been going on right under his nose, came as a shock -- much as it did to us in the audience: it was adequately set up with Jane's firing-day scene with Roger, but dramatically caught us totally unawares.

Is it possible this show actually keeps getting better?

[kaytodd]

I agree with you, flipp, 100% about January Jones. I thought she was sexier without the makeup. She was sexy and adorable in The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada as Barry Pepper's unhappy wife.

Peggy's confrontation with Pete was sort of interesting. She was upset with Pete telling Duck and Sterling about what happened with Freddie (Pete knew better than to go to Don first, even thought that would have been the protocol). But when Pete laid things out for her, she knew there was nothing she could do about it. When Pete congratulated her, she gave him a cold congratulations and left his office. Pete thinks he and Peggy have just scored great victories. But I think Peggy will rocket past Pete in the company and things will not end up very well for him.

[flipp525]

The reveal that Roger was leaving Mona for Jane came as an absolute shock to me.

Also, it seems like Peggy just continues to ascend the corporate ladder almost effortlessly. I think that Freddy Rumson was one of her earlier champions which would explain why she felt some sort of loyalty toward him. However, I think Pete was right - he was a liability and an embarrassment to the firm and had to go. Loved how they took an alocholic out for a night of drinking in order to fire him. So 60's!

January Jones still looks stunning without a lick of makeup. Betty Draper needs to make a decision about what she's going to do with her marriage and family. Did anyone notice that Don Draper is living in Room 5G at that hotel? Nice throwback to last season.