MAD MEN on AMC - Seasons 7(a) & & 7(b)

"Not great, AMC!"

OH fuuuuuuck this noise

http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/DonDraperBukes.gif

http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/GlenBishipGif.gif

huh. it worked for breaking bad cuz breaking bad hasn't traditionally taken two thirds of the season to really get going.

at this point i hardly remember what happened last season. don cheated a lot and was emo a lot and drank a lot, then he got fired, the end.

They were all on drugs all the time.

And it only halfly worked on BB. 5B has been all-time-great, but 5A was mostly dull.

Shorty punched Roger in the balls.

Peggy's Clio dreams were sidelined once again and so she stabbed her boyfriend.

Bryan Cranston will do the voiceovers on the Mercedes ads that air during Mad Men.

Bob Benson brushed Blue Blood's bad-spot.

I'm so over this show, I realized.

When someone who constantly shows up with coffee and smiles can command everyone's attention for an entire season, then yes, the wheels may have fallen off.

i'm PRETTY SURE i enjoyed the last season but in retrospect it all seems so uninteresting. maybe i've just become a breaking bad monogamist.

is this really that surprising?

Bobby watched Planet of the Apes. Pete fell down the stairs. His mother fell over board. Ken got shot in the face. So many great things happened, though overall it wasn't as insanly good as seasons 3-5.

Pete doesn't get to see Annie's boobs anymore.

Yeah, I really struggled to give a damn through last season.

Don contacted by Nixon's Plumbers unit.

Last season was worth it for making me not hate Betty anymore.

idg people who complain that "nothing happens" in this show. it's not a cop/crime show!

come on then seeing as we've nothing better to do. season rankings?

mine:

season 4
season 3
season 1
season 6
season 2
season 5

5,4,3,1,6,2

How can you have five as the worst?

^^^

it was just such a comedown after the dizzy heights of season 4!

I should give 6 another shot. Fell asleep in the middle two weeks in a row and never bothered trying to catch up.

But, but, but... Roger on LSD! Pete being punched in the face! Repeatedly! Zou Bisou Bisou!

I think season 5 might be the bravest and most thematically complex season they ever did. After reinventing the show completely after both seasons 3 and 4, they then went and undercut all of that with what was pretty much a return to the status quo before the show started. While really in the few seasons before that it seemed as if everything was changing, and in such exciting ways, then all of a sudden it turned out that everything would stay the same (most brilliantly played out in At the Codfish Ball, one of my favorite episodes in the whole show) But I might be giving the season too many bonus points for difficulty, perhaps it isn't quite as good as season 4.

1,4,5,2,3,6

Later seasons are more accomplished than the first, but it's my favourite cos it seemed so fresh at the time, and because it has the most traditional narrative structure (I'm quite conservative about storytelling in some ways).

3 > 5 > 2 > 6 > 4 > 1

didnt begin to watch this show til a year ago. So good. Last season was a slowburner but really great and weird and inexplicably spooky.

Part of the fun of 6 was all the online Megan conspiracies that ultimately resulted in nothing. It was the most fun of that nature I'd had since LOST.

JF so otm. I've noticed I am impartial to MM being drawn out over more years. It will hopefully prolong the fun for longer, because at this rate, after season six, I will not care about MM a whole lot after it ends I think.

Incidentally, I only watched the last three episodes of Lost last weekend. For the first time, having seen all the episodes, all seasons when they first aired, being hugely engaged in it all. But then love happened and I forgot about Lost for... Years. The final episode was a bag of cock. I enjoyed anticipating watching it way more than actually watching it.

Yes! In general, the internet-fandom has been so fun these last few years. In general, Mad Men still has a reputation as being this really slow, dour, self-important show, but it's also an endless gif-generator and morbidly funny show. Like, for all the heavyness there is this really big joy to the show and it's fanbase.

otm. it's just so weird and off kilter and dreamlike. could watch a whole season where barely anything happens.

Absolutely. And it's something I haven't completely reconciled with, for I want to love the show for the show alone. But for me, in the case of Mad Men, that internet buzz only heavily started in season 3 or 4, which makes that I'm not sick of it yet, it is at its prime. And I don't mean checking buzzfeed or whatever. Reveling in the MM thread right here is enough to add to the enjoyment.

(That was an xp, but Ryan otm)

frederik otm, one thing about mad men i didn't expect before watching it was how hilarious it is.

what's the season where the secretary runs over the guy's foot w/ the lawnmover

3

that was a good one

this is cliche but it's so funny in a really satisfying why because the characters are so richly drawn--so much of the humor comes from a very careful build up of motivations and tendencies. and it's great because the show does a great job of placing each episode in the timeline of that character's development. the whole history of the show seems to weigh on every scene.

lawnmower foot vs. Ken face-shooting is a tough call for me

dude on the other side of the translucent glass squeegeeing the blood off coupled with ashen-faced harry and roger's jokes was an all-time great MM moment.

"and just when he got it in the door"

"the doctor said he'll never golf again"

That might be the funniest episode ever.

MM supercuts on YouTube are the best.

Oh god, remember when Miss Blankenship died? Driven out covered by Harry's blanket.

Well, this is interesting. Robert Towne has joined the writing staff:
http://variety.com/2013/tv/news/screenwriter-robert-towne-joins-writing-staff-of-mad-men-exclusive-1200615261/

!

wait

I don't really speak tv behind-the-scenes --- what does 'consulting producer' entail exactly?

From what I gather as someone who just reads websites and stuff, titles like that vary from show to show and may be based on the terms of one's contract more than one's actual duties. It looks like everyone who's been a consulting producer on Mad Men has also been part of the writing room, and most have been credited with writing (or cowriting) at least one episode.

predict MW will give himself two writing credits on every episode

partially-ordered season rankings:

3 > {1,2,4,5,6}

2 < {1,3,4,5,6}

4 > 5?

I dunno.

They picked up a new scribe

http://variety.com/2013/tv/news/screenwriter-robert-towne-joins-writing-staff-of-mad-men-exclusive-1200615261/

She's my secretary! She's my copywriter! She's my secretary! She's my copywriter!

surely I'm the first and only person to make that joke.

who's doing the slapping in this scenario

Don:"I fucked 'em! I fucked them all!"

"I am the motherfucking senior partner, motherfucker!"

Small talk @ the '69 Clios:

Peggy: You must be a very important executive.

Cutler: Well, whatever I am, I could get you whatever you want.

Peggy: Hm?

[points to Ted Chaough*]

Peggy: Well, what I really want is to suck his cock.

when does this happen

in like 6 years probably

"Spring of 2014"

god dammit, for some reason i thought it def began in january

i think i had a dream that it started january 14th??? ive been acting like that was a reality

http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/GlenBishipGif.gif

(I just wanna post this all the time)

agree but this is my favorite

http://img.pandawhale.com/81256-Peggy-I-really-dont-care-gif-M-ZQOa.gif

oh i meant the spring 2014 premiere date, not your dream.

haha i know!

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/culture_test/ted%20aviators.gif

YES

I have almost completely forgotten the last season of this show

is Don still married to Freddie Mercury

this last season i thought was incredible, kind of haunting. once i felt the particular rhythms of where it was going i plowed through it.

freddie mercury?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EuCENfyqLlY/Ue6wwoV9uWI/AAAAAAAACpY/c5ou6U54VA4/s400/freddie+mercury+jessica+pare.jpg

huh. anyway i think she's really good. quite touching in the role, somehow.

I like Megan. Even still. iirc she left him at the end of the last season, though.

Shakey Mo you take that back before I track you down and avenge my Mad Men Wife's honour.

Has there been word on whether or not Meagan and Trudy are aboard this season?

part 1 of Season 7 is to be called "The Beginning" and part 2 "The End of an Era." :/

we might know when we see photos but this is matthew weiner, dude probably wouldn't confirm don draper will be on the show this season if directly asked. i kinda like having no idea (well little idea) what this show is gonna be like when we come back.

"the end of an era", srsly?

MAD MEN IN BEING 'ON THE NOSE' SHOCKAH

lol

seasons have names?

Season 7(A) Debuts April 13th

reason for the (awful) 'season names' is explained here

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/11/5298460/mad-men-final-season-premiere-date-2014

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4912983?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

Damn, can't watch it in the UK.

it's a fifteen second slo-mo shot of jon hamm walking out of a plane

*yawn*

altho I appreciate them not giving anything away. would just as soon they don't bother with these bullshit trailers at all.

I'm really starting to buy the DB Cooper idea. I mean how hard would it have been for Matt Weiner to say "DB Cooper! We know how that story ended, but how did it begin?" and then work his way 11 years backwards.

trailer should've used "Yakety Sax"

jesus - spoilers people!

I like the DB Cooper idea, it fits neatly and is funny but come on

I think I'd actually be disappointed if that's what happens, but speculation is half the fun of the show (or, as with the case of LOST, all the fun of the show).

I wonder if they will do some sort of bi-coastal thing w/Don, Ted, and/or Pete in Cali.

*yawn*

altho I appreciate them not giving anything away. would just as soon they don't bother with these bullshit trailers at all.

― How dare you tarnish the reputation of Turturro's yodel (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, March 6, 2014 4:50 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, they should really not bother marketing their product!! *yawn*

are you guys sleepy or something.

db cooper thing would be *amazing* but only for the portion of the audience that isn't already aware of that theory. Don poetically fading into boring late middle age and obsolescence seems more likely.

advertising should be outlawed

hoping this season is all Bobby Draper

...and Bob Benson... and they rename it My Two Bobs.

The Bobsy Twins

What About Bobs

"Not Great, Bob!"

Not Great, Bobs!

E1: Bobbing for Apples
The bobs compete for the Mott's account

e2: house and techno bobbins 1970
the bobs struggle with how to sell -- and how to use -- fancy new high-tech gadgets for the modern home.

http://www.avclub.com/article/lets-overanalyze-teaser-mad-mens-final-season-201897

damn why can't i see this trailer anywhere in the Uk??

It's barred as part of the Jon Hamm Getting Off A Plane Act of 2012.

like.. woaah

https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1/1891045_10153912133810327_395865554_n.jpg

omg

cue "White Rabbit"

haha wow is that for real

yeah it's the the official advert.

Don Draper finds a time machine and travels to 1905 France. Can't wait.

Apparently Don lives long enough to see JPEG compression wreak havoc on the Mad Men logo.

"rococo is the way we live now"

Around The World In A Draper

The Ballad of You and Me and Peteneil

Bob and Bob and Ted and Peggy

Easy Cooper

it's by Milton Glaser apparently

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/arts/design/mad-men-enlists-the-graphics-guru-milton-glaser.html

rewatching S6 man there is so much great/funny stuff in this season. the Sylvia subplot is mostly a snore but man, so many other classic scenes.

Tapdancing Ken and "Not great, Bob!" Pete are two of my favorite things from the entire series up to this point.

Don's portrayal of a crying baby

Stan's "you're wig will be ready on Monday ma'am"

Harry, on Peggy's new look:"Vixen by night."

Also K-lassic:

http://31.media.tumblr.com/837eefc1274b67aad7b9096104b38b07/tumblr_mowvjlR8HW1rkdtsao1_500.gif

Ted and Don in Ted's airplane

http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2013/05/12/13-madmen2.o.jpg/a_560x375.jpg
http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2013/05/12/13-madmen3.o.jpg/a_560x375.jpg

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ykhGqXBZPbA

Joan and Bonnie And Clyde.

How bout Cosgrove rolling with those 2 Crazy Clients! Hope he's still writing the science fiction.

Don's portrayal of a crying baby

lol i'd forgotten this

http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2013/06/16/donwah.o.jpg/a_560x0.jpg

http://photos.vanityfair.com/2014/03/11/531f834801faa2a452f15db7_mad-men-3.jpg

*more here!*

http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/mad-men-season-7-images

this show is completely compelling when i watch it but someone seems completely disposable when I'm not watching it

how is that possible?

That's entertainment.

and by compelling I don't just mean "seizes and holds your attention" but "makes you think it's complex and profound"

http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/photo-galleries/mad-men-season-7-cast-photos/#/0

Cosgrove got his eye back!

still re-watching S6. man, I love how Pete has the air and mannerisms of someone twice or maybe even three times his age. he even sort of proto-dodders.

Whoa that photo of Megan is severe.

Sally ready to join the Brady Bunch

"Here's the story/of a girl named Sally/who walked in on her dad boning Lindsay Weir..."

So after all that, Bob Benson's gone?

He went on to found Starbucks.

Welcome to MATCH GAME with your depressed passive-aggressive host, BEEEETTTTYYY FRAAAANCIS!!

photo of megan in the taxi is A+

so they're going to be flying a lot in this episode or

lovin stan's jacket game

yes!

it reminds me of this though & it makes me lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNc9phYujWY

Xps I think the planes symbolize the Ad world's gradual move to LA at the end of the '60s; it could also mean Don & Roger double team some stewardesses in the premiere.

mad men: exploring new horizons *sound of plane taking off*

interesting 'recaps' of Season 6 from the 'orange couch' people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG0K1aYFL3Y

Pete's hairline has been receding in exactly the same way (and general timeframe) as mine since 2007. :/

xps didn't they just get a plane to advertise? wasn't that part of the plot?

new season definitely set in the 70s? hmm

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/mar/28/mad-men-meets-70s-don-draper-final-season

what a bullshit article theyre going by the pictures????

Pretty sure these pictures are about as revealing as the "What?" "But...no!" "How DARE you!" *door slam* *exasperated sigh* "on the next Mad Men" teasers.

UK/ US 'simulcast' alert

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/apr/01/mad-men-final-series-simulcast-uk-us

i don't recall there being press screenings for season premieres before but anyway. mild spoilers ahead

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/546465/20140403/mad-men-season-7-final-episode-1.htm

great recap of the season 6 finale here http://www.buzzfeed.com/kateaurthur/mad-men-season-6-finale-season-7-premiere

Is tonight's ep 1 or 2 hours?

it's a shorter season (or longer 'half season') so i'm guessing only one

i like the painting in ken's office

Spencer Davis Group!

i have a serious crush on megan. her idiosyncratic teeth seem very period-appropriate.

man it's amazing how much these older guys look like Nixon men (Haldeman was in advertising).

this ep was abt don biting into sandwiches

I think this was the first time I've ever not had a negative reaction to Neve Campbell.

i can't believe i'm going to keep watching this

pete seems happy at least

true, impressive anyone could be happy while having that hairline

the sideburns aren't doing him any favors either.

pete's contentment in this episode reminded me of the ending of madame bovary, where the narrator relates that in the wake of doctor bovary's downfall the sleazy, opportunistic pharmacist achieved major success and added that it was his type -- the schemers of the world -- who are posed to inherit the earth. or something.

cad otm

i can't believe i'm going to keep watching this

― call all destroyer, Sunday, April 13, 2014 8:25 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah this just seems like a chore tbh

This really needed to be a 2-hour ep, just to get the rhythm going and the characters more in motion than what we got. Loving California Pete & Drug Orgy Roger already tho.

I shall celebrate this, my post 11,000, with some Vanilla Fudge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFabNBveHOk

Off to a brisker start than last year's filler season, even if the "meaningful" moment (disheveled Don's final moment on the balcony) felt forced as usual and the camera lingered a bit too long on the young man in bed with Roger and his tryst.

Man I can't believe they are stretching this thing out over two "seasons" when does season 7b begin?

Oh and this was awesome

man it's amazing how much these older guys look like Nixon men

I was thinking about something I saw on Pawn Stars (!) when Don was riding the people mover with his hat on. The old man in the pawn shop said Kennedy never wore hats and by doing so pretty much killed off the trend of men wearing hats by the early 60s. So here's Don, in 1969, still wearing hats like a throwback to another time.

so does Megan not know that Don isn't working?

Sorta get the sense Megan doesn't really care much what Don's doing, period. So it's not too hard for him to keep her in the dark about his not-job.

she's gonna die

7(b) is spring 2015 iirc

ugh

I am pretty dense when it comes to symbolism, but last night even I understood how that damned door to the balcony is just like Don Draper's life right now: It's broken, the pitiful effort he is giving cannot fix it so he deals with the misery it causes him starkly alone.

Draper for all of his faults always at least had sex to fall back on but now even that doesn't work for him anymore: His hot wife lays back and thinks of England and he rejects his emotionally vulnerable, cooing co-pilot, using the same lie about having work to do to explain brushing both of them off.

If the show was taking place now, Don would either be self-medicating himself into a coma (Roger Sterling has morphed from an anachronism to a man ahead of his time in this regard) or breaking down (Peggy Olson is going that route, but in private since the times mandate that she - and Joan Holloway for that matter - cannot dare show weakness).

Don is either going to hit rock bottom and start to fight to regain all of the things he has lost (which is pretty much everything when you get right down to it - he symbolically can't get it up and his advertising brilliance is relegated to trading pitches to Freddy Rumsen for sandwiches) or the fall will continue and then it's only a matter of whom he takes down with him.

I hope it's the former since, for all of Dandy Don's faults, which have seemed to be exacerbated every season, I still liked him best when he was he was able to pull the wool over everyone's eyes (including his own) but a case can be made that watching his character implode would make for even more compelling viewing as the season and series winds down.

I think this 1/2 season will be his rise up and then the next one he will head down again--

Neve Campbell was good enough to survive her character saying her husband "died of thirst."

that scene was so bad

I think it was supposed to be? One critic suggested in might have been a Don fantasy/daydream

Really good description here of the whole (Don)-Freddy-Peggy-Lou dynamic, re the way Peggy, "improves" the proposed Accutron slogan and then pushes it (acting first in reflexive self-protection, also like "doing it because I can" male manager reflex, then with self-righteous inadvertant self-parody of her signature professionalism/idealism)---also the shit Joan has to deal with, though I followed that better while watching: http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/mad-men-recap-season-7-premiere.html He doesn't mention that this is probably the first time Draper's ever turned down a proposition---does the fact that the woman's the one putting the moves on him, rather than the other way around, tip the scales, turn him off? Especially since, as this recapper enumerates, Megan's been tossing off a bunch of house rules for her hunka-hubby guest. Of course the world's *still* grooving past him...

they seem to be treading a lot of water thematically (what, Don's down and out AGAIN? how many times have we seen this arc w him by now) but it's still a joy to watch. genuine lolz at Ken's earring toss. and enjoyed the Don/Rumsen front reveal. That "conversation piece" tag is from a real ad, isn't it? sounded familiar.

Cosgrove gets hotter every season.

I appreciate that Cosgrove doesn't get overused, but I do wish they'd use him a little more often than they do.

He's kinda one note though

Stan is too, but I feel like they use Stan just the right amount.

Yep.

Don seemed different--more restrained. Did we actually see him take a drink? Remember when he lived in that apartment by himself and wrote in a journal? Hope he returns to that place and finds some peace--seems like he's testing himself next week with the grease pencils on the bottles?

"One note"? Well, he was never the same after riding the storm in that Buddy Holly plane with those "WHEEE is my Co-pilot" maniac Motor City clients (where he lost his eye, right?) Remember when he was having so much fun, riding the mini-John Deere over the newly crowned UK boss's foot, and writing science fiction short stories (incl. at least one inspired by a visit to Pete's homebase, plausibly enough). Hope he gets his mojo back, but looks like he's going to be the third office casualty, most likely by stressed-out spontaneous combustion.

remember the time he rode one of those girls like a horse

I just don't think he has much depth as a character--Harry's way more interesting (because he's a dope).

No depth, but as a good MM supporting tool must, he makes himself useful, plot-twist-wise: cutting off feet, refusing to meet, etc.

dancing kinda sweet

http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/vulture/2013/05/20/itsmyjob.o.jpg/a_560x375.jpg

Miss Sal hitting on Cosgrove :(

stressed-out eyepatch ken was one of the few things i liked in this episode

Surely everyone here pissed themselves laughing at Pete just sauntering in wearing that outfit?

Did Don call Pete a hippie? I thought that was weird.

his clothes looked hamptons or newport, not cali, i guess that was the joke?

He said you talk like a hippie but you dont dress like one

And I hope Pete ends up ok

These guys are gonna go ham(m) in 1975, like every thirty and fortysomething for whom the sixties were too late.

Also who do we think is going to die

What do we think Roger's daughter told him at lunch?

Sounded like she was twelve-stepping or something similar.

gonna be interesting how they handle Manson, seems inevitable w Megan's proximity

also lol at her sub-Paul Lynde agent

agreed the 12 stepping

also, man, is Megan gonna die? I think so. I don't know.

Surely everyone here pissed themselves laughing at Pete just sauntering in wearing that outfit?
― Matt DC

poor old one-eyed ken cosgrove

This has mutated into a very odd show. Two seasons ago I adored it, now I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. The tone of this episode was some weird midpoint between madcap and elegiac.

^^ odd show otm, but I love it for it, how it is getting more undefinable, fleeting. Dust in the wind.

If the episode itself doesn't do it for you, there's always Molly Lambert's exquisite reviews. I kind of love her just for her Mad Men recaps.

Roger's daughter sounded like she's been going to Al-Anon

Megan in the LA hills certainly had a Manson family vibe to it but I'm not sure.

this show is seeming pretty muddled and boring

but boy is neve campbell looking good

how else would she be looking?

hopefully no other way, ever

Since they went to the trouble of giving her character a full name in the end credits, I assume we'll be seeing her again.

Megan in the LA hills certainly had a Manson family vibe to it

i had the same feeling, but it could be a red herring.

...it could also mean she's in the running for backing singer gig w/Leon Russell.

Ever so slightly thought the cgi cold breath of Don was a bit rubbish

i was feeling pretty eh about mad men's return before watching the new episode but now i'm on board again. i don't like downward-spiral don but i do like this new twist where he's too depressed to fuck random women. pete's real estate agent was a dead ringer for young betty.

pete's real estate agent was a dead ringer for young betty.

oh hells yes.

I thought she looked like the girl Don ate chicken Kiev with, though I guess she was probably supposed to look like Betty.
Also Ken didn't run over that guys foot it was Doris the idiotic switchboard operator.

http://i.imgur.com/ItfiaWO.gif

Best gif ever. My bad, but Cosgrove did proudly ride the li'l instrument into the office party, thus providing Doris with her simple twist of wheel and fate. Lookin' good on the resume, D. Wonder what that actress is doing now?

Remind me: what happened to Cosgrove's eye?

hunting accident w/ chevy suits

His tossing Joan's earring at her and missing by a few feet was the best laugh of the episode.

yes, someone tell me when *that gif is ready pls

what happened in the last scene? my VOD cacked out

also btw do you guys realize you are all re-enacting yet again the whole miffed reaction to mad men's perennial slow burn

it's almost like we're sick of it

I love this show and how "boring" it is. But this episode seemed full of action

it's almost like we're sick of it

― call all destroyer, Tuesday, April 15, 2014 10:35 AM (30 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

you'll all be loving it by episode 5

what happened in the last scene? my VOD cacked out

Don went and tried to fix his busted sliding door that Freddy complained about, couldn't do it, and sat out on the freezing cold balcony in his underwear, LITERALLY out in the cold, get it?

I usually don't mind my metaphors ladeled on thick but that one + Meghan being IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT, DO YOU SEE? were a bit much

liked the episode overall though

One of the ATK eps that's up on Prime now has male test kitchen chefs on screen for recipes and I was stunned.

also btw do you guys realize you are all re-enacting yet again the whole miffed reaction to mad men's perennial slow burn

Lol

Whoops stupid zing drafts catching me off-guard.

Major lols at Pete's outfit, Kenny's desperation. Really wish Don would just jump already and let this show be about Joan and Peggy.

his clothes looked hamptons or newport, not cali, i guess that was the joke?

Actually Pete's outfit was pretty much spot-on as to what I remember of early 70s Newport Beach/Orange County. Big push back to remake surfer/CA beach town into something like Martha's Vineyard.

lol ok, good to know!

maybe it was simply the amount of time that's lapsed since the last season (which i was very, very "iffy" about) but the first episode of this new season struck me as a revelation -- of how much this series relies on the same tired visual and dramatic (I'm tempted to put that last word in scare quotes) tropes, the same "meaningful" ellipses and tactfully withheld reactions and information, the same grandiose final shots, the same offbeat narrative rhythms which themselves now feel tremendously stale and just serve at this point to disguise the lack of interesting plotlines and the flatly declarative dialogue. it's the kind of thing that makes me wonder if this show was _ever_ fresh and lively. probably it was, though i have better things to do than to start back at season 1 to find out.

good riddance to this show.

this isn't about the show having "slow burn" or "being boring"—if anything, the straining for quasi-operatic catharsis at the end was bombastic. it's just about it being poorly made.

and the next-day exegesis all over the 'net (which i haven't even bothered to look at this time) has always made this show worse for me, not better. makes it feel like a con's game.

mad men threads are a flat circle.

I just got schooled on fb by a friend of a friend who says '60s radio was completely different than radio as we know it today, and two songs from 1968 (Turtles and Zombies) would likely have already fallen out of rotation for good by February 1969.

my dvr crapped out last week, only got to first ep today so real quick

- megan's freddie metcury teeth when she was lying down in the dark made me lol, I'm so mean

- i was rmde at the dying of thirst thing but I buy into that all being a dream so it's ok

- peggy is gonna get her ass fired if she doesnt cut it out

- pete! with the shoulder sweater! god he's such a goob i love him

I kinda hate Peggy now and it makes me sad because I've always been Team Peggy.

yeah i feel for her but she's kinda spiralling back into old peggy & she needs to sack up

http://images.moviepilot-cdn.com/madcast-s7-e1-time-zones-madmenpod-com-la-pete-is-happypete.jpeg?width=620&height=436

real estate gal is wacky christian cult gal from true blood

cute as a bug's ear

that is not actually anna camp (who gave draper a bj in the backseat a few seasons back), it's definitely another betty type though

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessy_Schram

Based on her resume, I know I've seen her before. Nothing sticks out, though.

oh whoa she's not the true blood gal! i stand corrected

she was cuet in veronica mars though

Oh wait, I bet it's Last Resort.

She was whatshisname's wife back on the mainland.

aha!

"just cash the checks, you're gonna die someday"

this show is hilarious. HUGE lol @ who joan picked to be lou's new secretary.

I love how Dawn and Shirley call each other by the other's name, because presumably that happens in the office all the time.

peg and shirley and those roses

peggy gurl you gotta stop it right now

lou avery is a diiiiiiiiiiiiick ugh

would watch a don n sally spin-off and/or poker tournament

someone needs to throw yay parties for dawn & joan

I just got schooled on fb by a friend of a friend who says '60s radio was completely different than radio as we know it today, and two songs from 1968 (Turtles and Zombies) would likely have already fallen out of rotation for good by February 1969.

― Johnny Fever, Sunday, April 20, 2014 10:46 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

According to wiki, "Elenore" was the final Turtles single of '68 (its parent album came out in November), so it's not completely out of the question that it would still be on air on Valentine's '69. And the Zombies song was regular soundtrack, not radio source music. SO THERE you can tell your friend.

Going deeper: "Elenore" was released in September '68, and the followup, "You Showed Me", appeared on 45 rpm in March '69.

But back to the ep itself: Such an improvement over last week. Don in the beginning, with the Ritz and the robe and the nostalgia tv--I, uh, know the feeling..

ALSO: “She has plans. Look at her calendar: Febuary 14, masturbate gloomily.”

Comcast started going crazy so I missed the last 20 minutes, and not for the first time either.

You missed the best part!

http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/mad-men-recap-season-7-valentines-day-sally-funeral.html

There are hints of reconciliation afterwards — Don’s check skip fake-out makes light of their shared skill at deception while reassuring Sally that he’s not a monster — but their final moment in the car cements the fact that something pure that once existed between them has gone. “I love you,” she says, then shuts the door and goes inside, not giving Don a chance to respond.

I think this guy has it all wrong. Sally telling her father I love you is a sign that she is willing to trust him again. When's the last time anyone said those three words on this show?

Don looked stunned

yeah that's a bizarre misreading imo. don and sally stuff was great. i know thematically there's alot of sopranos 2.0 going on here but i still think this is gonna have a much less cynical conclusion. peg's a mess.

yeah that's a funky reading of that scene, do not agree with vulture at all on that count

I agree. I thought maybe it was a bit on the nose, but the Zombies song that kicked in right away, I read that as Don and Sally coming to terms. He's finally revealing all his lies to her and in letting her in he's shocked by her love and support. Plus the bonding over deceit, which was great...

The warmth of your love
is like the warmth of the sun
and this will be our year
took a long time to come

don't let go of my hand
now darkness has gone
and this will be our year
took a long time to come

and I won't forget
the way you held me up when I was down
and I won't forget the way you said,
"Darling I love you"
You gave me faith to go on

Now we're there and we've only just begun
This will be our year
took a long time to come

yeah I think he has that childish thing of 'if I tell the truth I'm going to get in trouble' and even as an adult he is still surprised by the fact that Sally could forgive him and/or love him anyway

Dawn and Shirley call each other by the other's name

yeah loved this

I didn't buy Sally's identity confusion. Not that she wouldn't say it, but that the show hasn't written scenes between those two that would prepare us for the pseudo-profundity of the observation or that she's capable of it.

Seemed like a classic teenage thing, which might actually get articulated, given a disarming situation or three or more: like seeing him bang the big hair neighbor lady, and the family field trip to that House across the road, and the funeral ("in Queens by the racetrack...it was horrible: her mother was yellow and wearing a wig"); going to his office, and another man was there; "You don't know what it was like for me to come back here, what if I had to get on the elevator with her; he hairspray would make me want to vomit"); then in the diner, a conversation she'd prob never thought she'd have with him.
Including "Why don't you tell her you don't want to move to California?," see,just like that, and his expression...

why doesn't Don want to move to California?

Maybe he hasn't decided, but he looks surprised, as if she's seen this as the crux, as he might also---if he moves out there, it won't be like checking in (and trying not to do yet another remake of A Star Is Born) with young wifey, or recharging/confiding in long-gone Anna, or always having Manhattan to go homebase to. And stories will follow him; long as he's still in the ad biz,or something related, can't be like when he scammed dead drunk Roger into hiring him, as the genius from nowhere, the truly self-made man. And he'll be that far from from his kids, incl. the one he's suddenly, for the moment at least, kind of close to, who just told him she---loved him---damn!

What office did Dawn get?

Joan's!

and Joan got... Pete's?

Don could totally take Sally, surely Betty would be glad to be rid of her

it seems like the bigger question is yeah he doesn't really fit into Megan's world/life and doesn't want to admit it. and business-wise what would he do, just start another agency himself? that seems crazy. maybe he could start a cult.

that was much, much better than last week

sally's outburst about going to the apartment was so good

xpost Shakey Mo: That's what I always thought he might do---Anna's niece gets busted in Berkeley, pressured by feds to snitch, since she's a *radical*. She informs on Draper/Whitman's desertion/identity theft, having heard his story from her aunt, thinking he'll prob just get fined--but somebody wants to please J. Edgar and maybe the White House by making an example of that Mad Ave turncoat who scorned the great American campaign contributors who run tobacco companies--so off to Leavenworth a couple years maybe, then he resurfaces in the Human Potential Movement, like EST etc--don't say cult! A consultant, a discreet mentor, in a Palm Springs suit. But then I discovered that Elizabeth Moss is a child of Scientology--might not matter though/

Hope Matt Weiner doesn't see this, or not in time to change such an arc (I'm sure if this is the ending, he's twisted it in ways I've never thunk of)(but also, now I think Draper/Whitman wants to stay way in the background, and not have to deal directly with clients, followers, whatever)

do you guys know if i can pay for a download of this or any other show that I can put on a flash drive and watch on my TV? b/c I bought the first ep on iTunes and they seem to have done something where I can't transfer it to a flash drive or anything else—I can't even delete it! I'd rather not pay for a 1080 HD download and then watch it on my goddam laptop.

Dawn got Joan's job, not just her office

yeah--dawn telling lou to fuck off convinced joan she could handle it

i love how much lou sucks, i hope he remains a one-dimensional sucky character

"If his son Earle calls, always put him through."

I suspect he'd name his son Earle, not just Earl.

lou is so terrible. when it was obvious that he was totally in the wrong w/r/t him blaming dawn, he kept flat-out saying how he's not responsible or to blame for anything - but peggy acted the exact same way with shirley, just being angry and taking it out on someone who works for her.. for no reason, really. i felt like next week's promo was hinting at peggy being on thin ice at the agency

Allan Havey is really knocking it out of the park as the resentful past-his-prime office mook

Ted was awesome this episode. This episode was excellent. And:

I love how Dawn and Shirley call each other by the other's name, because presumably that happens in the office all the time.

Yes! And love how subtly this was done, too.

Yeah, made me think of "Max" in Annie Hall

Also, the two of them went silent when white colleagues came into the office kitchen, and carried on talking after the white colleagues left.

Don looked stunned

― How dare you tarnish the reputation of Turturro's yodel (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, April 21, 2014 11:13 AM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

did you guys really not get that was don realizing it was valentine's day?!?!

Oh shit, yeah. Sorry Megan.

The thing that probably pained him more than that realization is knowing that had he not been on "vacation" he'd have been pitching some of his drippiest romantic ideas to clients.

Sally's roomie really looks like Judee Sill

Didn't Dawn remind him it was VDay?

Dawn sorted flowers for Megan and told him it was V-day at their debrief.

yeah that's what i figured

he didnt call her!

I don't know if Megan is even expecting him to at this point.

he still has time, it's three hours earlier on in la, just find a payphone or something don.

yeah it was def. because of what sally said

like i said a few days ago, how often do you hear i love you on this show

how often do you hear "happy valentines day" tho

i feel like i hear it once a year or so

#humblebrag

He just got her a TV...Happy Valentine's Day

awful betty <3
so mean to other women. for no reason

just realized i can see most of these guys trying to push peggy out and give don her job, it seems like lou isn't going anywhere

aw Draper having a Coke at that small table

aw poor inept Betty

I was hoping she'd have a lesbian fling with that teacher whose blouse she was looking down.

The season is still young.

This was one of those episodes that felt three hours long. When the repeat started on AMC, it was like I was watching scenes from two weeks ago.

Did they rehire him with these harsh conditions just so they can fire him for real without having to buy him out? It seems like he's going to violate this contract eventually

Yeah, I mean how long is he going to last having to answer to Lou Adler?

also we'd like you to wear this easter bonnet and you'll receive your tuesday spankings from bert

The Model Shop!

gotta hand it to jon hamm, the way he delivered that "okay" at the very end was great.

He ate a lot of shit this episode, pretty great

The other partners can't point their plastic fingers at Don; he's gonna wave his freak flag high.

can't wait until Peggy and Don go after Lou

For some reason, I think Lou would be perfectly fine with being described as "adequate".

i guess the offer from jag guy was a bit of a lowball but they sure did seem like they really wanted him. deal seemed an obv 'we are going to fuck you', much of it seemed very justified but the ability to absorb his share if he fucks up again - good lord, call their bluff. just cash the checks you're gonna die soon. write a book or something. anyhow it was fun seeing ppl reacting to don just showing up - ken really misses him, joan clearly past the point of no return w/ him (which is sad considering how great the scenes they had together in the past were), peg so angry and bitter she can't even recognize and opportunity to change things ('you haven't been missed' - bs), cutler's clearly got joan and bert on his side even w/ the open acknowledgement that they're a mediocre ad agency now. cutler downplaying creative in favor of crane seemed like a sign of things to come. don in lane's office, yikes.

waterface otm -- already picturing the Don/Peggy tagteam for Lou smackdown

and yeah, lane's office D:

even if its only as an unrelated powerplay, hooray for Harry getting some fraction of acknowledgement for carrying the firm for the last few years

Harry's awful! loved Rogers instant dismissal of him.

yeah huge lol at rog immediately assuming cutler wanted crane fired when he brought him up

i didnt really like how a lot of this was the art of pretend forgetfulness abt 'how did we leave things w/ don?' like cutler just seemed really overly incompetent to not know dons a partner and not in breach of his contract who has to be bought out and a drunk sterling having to explain everything

remind me very much of the management of the company I work for -- or how I imagine their meetings go

also I loved Betty's field trip -- smoking on the bus, the teacher with no bra, the sandwich fiasco, betty in her shades surrounded by plumes of smoke on the picnic blanket with Bobby

classic Betty. she's so terrible

"why don't they love me?"

because you are a childish harpy

Must've been a helluva sandwich.

BUT BETTY YOU NEVER EAT (except for shots of whipped cream from the fridge in the middle of the night)

At least she got some milk

betty milkbucket was definite lolz

was half expecting her to barf

Funny how in every scene after that one, she's super bitter. Maybe it was just the milk.

those Draper boys will grow up to become child molesters or rock critis.

?????

The only future rock critic in this series is Glen.

Rolo looked like a rock critic

"C'mon baby, let's listen to CSNY"

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-muMpWT6XUZM/Ub96hMOOlwI/AAAAAAAADIc/8jZX510EJAI/s1600/sally_rolo.gif

When I saw this scene last night, I thought "that was made for a gif".

https://24.media.tumblr.com/665d9971256fa67f8a7ac69d5eeabcd0/tumblr_n4qvm0RKWs1qzqoygo3_500.gif

lol

ughhhh little bobby four was so happy!!! someone pointed out that betty wasn't around to see him self-importantly tell that kid "you can't sit there, that's my mom's spot!"

I love the despondent way Bobby says 'I wish it was yesterday' when Henry asked what happened

Ha, that made me worried that the episode-ending song would be "Yesterday."

loved that they used If 6 was 9

the last shot was genuinely tense, felt like Don could've said "fuck you" and it would have been just as believable as his tight-lipped "ok"

I was surprised. Can't tell if he just wants to disappear under Lou and call it a life, or spend the next few months scheming and working his way back up to a real (non-neutered) partner...

Loved that scene where Don goes to the office, intercut with the flashback of him sitting alone in his room, getting the courage to leave. The music, the camera-movements.

yeah that was awesome, find myself sympathizing w/ new don way more than i should

Didn't his wristwatch say 9? I initially thought he was late, but now I think it could have been him at home day or night before or after the meeting.

felt bad for New Don and the almost spiritual sense of self-abnegation to order tomato juice from an attractive stewardess

loved that they used If 6 was 9

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, April 28, 2014 5:51 PM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Totally. Perfect -- and unexpected -- choice.

And yep, his wristwatch said 9.

xp

Definitely the best of the season yet, I had no idea how the Don squatting in the office situation would resolve itself.

and Don there in his brown suit with his hat really underlined that whole 'man out of time' thing that someone noticed a couple of weeks back, don in his hat striding through the airport... he looks like a relic now, where before he always looked like the most together dude in the room

where the fuck is bob benson

Why am I still watching this

^

he's in detroit smarmily doing the job he embarrassed pete out of.

Benson's arc seems done to me

except for clashing with Pete cf last week

Bobby wishing it was yesterday is a clue that Bob Benson is future Bobby who travelled back in time.

maybe bob benson is really bobbie barrett

Loved the "Model Shop" clip and "That Girl" clip last week.

In "That Girl" I don't think Anne Marie ever becomes an actress? The whole show about her pursuing this dream and getting into ridiculous situations... Was this supposed to point at Megan and how her trying to be an actress is just plain silly to Don? Maybe making too much of it. This weeks Model Shop about a doomed relationship...

I really got the sense that the partners (except Roger) were consciously putting together a package of conditions they were sure Don would reject therefore triggering his resignation.

The bit when Don knocked on the hotel door only to find Roger on the other side was lol.

The Roger/Don relationship has always been one of my favourites on the show.

Who was the blonde girl in the restaurant? I'm sure she's been in it before.

I really got the sense that the partners (except Roger) were consciously putting together a package of conditions they were sure Don would reject therefore triggering his resignation.

yep, same. lanes office was the kicker

I think that was Bethany van Neuys xp

Why is Joan so vexed w/Don? I can't remember the last series very clearly. Is it because she thinks he's going to upset the good thing she's got going there?

Love this show to death btw.

Because Don took a big dump in a meeting with a major client in a business in which she's now a partner.

Don flippantly bounced the account that she'd slept with a man to secure.

also Joan just got given an empty upstairs office & now don's back, i think she's also worried they'll bounce her back out

blew off jag business cuz of his pride (the whole 'will not be alone w/ clients' thing was due to this), general fuckup and loose cannon that she's lost her patience w/ and potential threat to stability she's enjoying.

plus her default in meetings seems to be to defer to jim and bert

yeah i feel like it's not just the hershey's thing he was checked out for a long time

I love how Bert is basically back in control of the firm, with a new japanese office and shoe-rules. It mirrors how Nixon was seen as this hopelessly backwards figure in season 1, and now the last season begins on his inauguration. I think people complaining about this show going in circles is missing the point: The sixties basically went in a circle This show took so many chances in seasons 3,4,5, constantly blowing up the status quo, mirroring the times. And now it's showing that most of that was basically window-dressing, putting it all back in order.

cf bert w/ don's tobacco letter. they're so over that guy.

except that it isn't going back in order, as Nixon's first term proved.

bert cooper is a flat circle

Well, Nixon's second term was probably even more disorderly... But the squares are back in charge.

But there is this whole glorious 'the more things change...' thing with the show. Like that great shot of the five partners on their new floor from the finale of season five, which is the five original driving forces in the firm, before Peggy and Lane shook things up. Or the fact that the big fusion in season six gave the firm it's old name back. It's so much more than the show just repeating itself.

i think there's something to that

tom and lorenzo have noted new conservatism nods in the fashion, it's definitely a theme.

Kind of hoped on some level the episode would have a "getting back to business / getting the gang back together" vibe like the episode where they started the firm. But I kind of think it's never going to get back to that bright spot, is it?

that would be pretty wrong in tone I think

the 50s conservative mentality didn't really thoroughly re-assert itself until the 80s

Nixon's "Silent Majority" speech is coming up in November 1969.

Kind of hoped on some level the episode would have a "getting back to business / getting the gang back together" vibe like the episode where they started the firm. But I kind of think it's never going to get back to that bright spot, is it?

― it definitely wasn't designed to be a pants pocket player (stevie)

can't see this happening anymore than meaghan feeling the way she felt about him when she sang 'zou bisou bisou'. my best case scenario is he doesn't get fucked as hard and easily as they're looking to fuck him, he regains his footing and in some way becomes don draper again as opposed to the guy that used to be don draper, maybe at most (and this is really stretching plausibility) becomes creative director again or something close to it. this is all unlikely but then again it wouldn't be the only miracle to happen in new york in 1969.

it would be crazy if this whole thing is just leading to the gradual degradation and humiliation of Don as he just becomes some outdated relic that the office can't get rid of, the butt of jokes, a has-been, just trying to scrape by

Don is no more outdated than Sterling, Cooper and Cutler, so that's not where this is going. The first episode of the season also showed, that he still has his old pitching magic, what with the Rumsen-pitch. The problem isn't whether or not he can get back to being Don Draper, that was what happened at the end of season five - with him going into a bar, ready to cheat - but whether or not he can commit to sorta being a bit Dick Whitman again.

Dick Whitman was a weaselly reject

he does have his pitching magic, seems they are setting up the question of whether or not that matters

Yeah, Lou wasn't that impressed when Peggy took Rumsen/Don's work to him.

Geez Mo, that's in the back of my mind too and it would just be too depressing. Though I don't want a happily ever after ending I don't want Don Draper toppling off anything and drowning in a great abyss of any kind. I would hope if he does go falling it is magestically and not so leisure suit sad.

Gotta admit I have no idea where this is going. . . and I like it

Is Cutler particularly outdated? He seems to be the reasonable and competent one out of the main dude partners.

Cutler's not outdated but it seems like Lou is?

I fucking hate Lou and want a comeuppance to befall him with extreme prejudice.

I really got the sense that the partners (except Roger) were consciously putting together a package of conditions they were sure Don would reject therefore triggering his resignation.

Ah, but that would be considered constructive dismissal, and hence totally against the law! They really should have hired a lawyer to negotiate that contract...

Lou wasn't that impressed when Peggy took Rumsen/Don's work to him.

Lou is a fuckbag though

I'm fond of Lou. A refreshing reminder that people don't need reasons to be dicks.

how come Ginsberg was so pleased to see Don? i thought they kinda hated each other.

Ginsburg hates whoever has the most authority over him at the moment.

mm that makes sense.

this explains who Mary Wells is by the way, i had no idea

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2002/05/real-life-peggy-olson-mad-men-advertising

Ginsberg knows that Don is more creative than Lou, thinks he might be helpful kibitzing on current work

also possibly out of general human decency, pleased to see he's alive and well

My friend has an interesting theory that Don is scheming to take the whole place down with him - hence him agreeing to all their crazy stipulations.

Well, it's a theory. I see absolutely zero motivation for Don to be that vindictive, though. He's aware of how HE ruined his own life and not SC&P and seems at least halfway eager to straight arrow it again for however long.

Yeah, I agree. But I could see him going into this with good intentions and then losing it. Esp considering how difficult his relationships w/creative, Lou and Peggy will be.

yeah he's aware of his flaws and sincerely wants to change but the question is is he capable of change? the sopranos was (among other things) about how ppl are fundamentally incapable of changing who they are, that they might recognize how and why they must change, that they can have epiphany after epiphany, but ultimately ppl are corrupt and weak and will fall back into the patterns of being themselves. mad men has shown at times a potential to be a rebuttal to this (and the emphasis on aa, beyond just being good period detail, would seem to work w/ this; if you wanted to argue 'yes change is difficult but sometimes possible' then addicts would present a good case study), we know that in many ways alot of the finale to last season was originally supposed to be in the season finale and you can debate how much of what happened there represented don being incapable of change (meg obv, alot of what happened w/ work) and what represented actual breakthrough (sally obv, and weirdly i'd argue the actual hershey's pitch), so in a way we have a rough idea of where idea of where wiener might want this to go and at the same time we can argue about where exactly that is. if i'm writing a show about how change isn't possible though i'm not sure i set it in the sixties.

was originally supposed to be in the series finale rather

really? i didn't know that?

hella amount of references to previous episodes this week; Lane's office, Ken's Carousel mention, Megan banging on about Don's behaviour when she was his secretary, Roger reminding Don he found him "at the bottom of a fur box" etc etc

plus the return of the great anne dudek!

And yet no mention of Peggy's fat period.

...or Betty's!

Or Harry's!

or gene's!

oh yeah anne dudek.

who was the blonde who came to the table by the way? do we know her? i thought for a second it was Anna Draper's niece.

I thought she was the stewardess from the plane

i still dont really understand the blonde table thing tbh, it was kind of disorienting

man all the don in the office stuff was so uncomfortable and awful

i dug how roger showed up like a total drunk asshole, almost forgetting that he asked don to come in, then just snaps to it in that first tense meeting, and is totally otm

i still dont really understand the blonde table thing tbh, it was kind of disorienting

feel like that was the intention - Don couldn't remember the girl/tell if it was a setup and neither could the audience

Tom and Lorenzo say:

As for the woman in the scene, there seems to be a lot of confusion as to who she is and what she meant. We think there was meant to be. First off, she’s not Anna Draper’s niece, although both actresses resemble each other quite strongly. Second, Roger didn’t send her. When Don went to Roger’s place, it was clear he wasn’t expected. To our way of thinking, either the guys from Wells Rich Greene were lying and she was, in fact, a call girl they hired, or Don’s giving off good mojo now that he’s trying to put things in order and she’s just another lady who found it irresistible.

ah so it wasn't just me with the niece thing. i forget about her straight away anyway as i was too busy enjoying The Don And Roger Show.

Count me as not confused here; the chance of an episode of Mad Men featuring a random woman hitting on Don Draper is pretty high.

i loved that scene--typical mad men weirdness. the whole nearly lynchian field trip--where for whatever reason i was convinced something crazy was gonna happen--was great too.

i can't believe we have to wait another whole year to find out what becomes of everyone. despite everything i'm hoping for a happy ending for Don and Megan, either that or he walks off into some kind of sunset with Rachel Menken.

i dug how roger showed up like a total drunk asshole, almost forgetting that he asked don to come in, then just snaps to it in that first tense meeting, and is totally otm

― socki (s1ocki), Wednesday, April 30, 2014 12:52 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ha otm

does this show have shippers?

it would be weird if it didn't

i would like to be a miss farrell shipper. i don't care who she's with, as long as that's who the show ends up being about, her and whoever. she can still make a comeback.

I liked Dr. Faye.

what's a shipper

no idea

I liked her a lot too, but can't really see them bringing her back.

Similarly, during the whole tense "what do we do with Don" thing I didn't know if he was going to make it back to the firm but it seemed patently obvious he wasn't going to take the other job offer - there's no way they were going to introduce a whole new office of characters with just half a season to go.

if you introduce a Draper in the first act he must go off in the third

what's a shipper

It's slang for "relationshipper," the loons online who obsesses about couples on tv shows and give them dumb names like "Jam" (Jim + Pam from The Office, etc).

ugh

Most Mad Men viewers want each and every one of these characters to die alone and miserable.

no they dont

Just Pete.

obviously pete should be with crazy rory gilmore, but there will inevitably be peggy + pete shippers out there somewhere

stop talking about shippers

the point of this show is not who gets together in the end. it's about who can make real changes in their life

really?

I thought it was "Let's see who can best survive this decade with his or her dignity intact before catching HIV at the Anvil."

that's a different show

shippers are not about what the show is actually about, but it would be interesting if the show proved to be resistant to them, because it is otherwise a show that attracts all the trappings of online commentary-community

the show is resistant to them because no one really cares if peggy and pete get together or if they do they are insane

there's no way they were going to introduce a whole new office of characters with just half a season to go.

― PLATYPUS OF DOOM (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, April 30, 2014 2:37 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

they kind of did that once already!

Yeah but over a longer timeframe. Ted appeared pretty early iirc

i didnt think it was gonna happen and clearly neither did he, it was pretty obv leveraging

"they did a good job of not making it look like a demotion!"

Photos from the set: http://imgur.com/a/uyZxh

I have no idea why, but I thought they were filming out in the real world and not on a soundstage. Those backdrops are super convincing.

I went through the complete "Crime Story" last year, and was surprised how hard it was already by the 80s to do real locales+'60s period settings.

so cool

fuck all y'all i'm a peggy/stan shipper, steggy 4 lyfe.

our logo is a stegosaurus wearing a tan fringed jacket

lololol

...or Betty's!

her eating disorders were brought up a few times, eg Bobby assuming she wouldn't eat the sandwich

Molly Lambert has been killing it re Mad Men this season over at Grantland. Worth checking out. She's developing a VERY interesting voice in these reviews/critiques, and she seems to take the time to develop a take on most things in most episodes, which for me aides my enjoyment of the show.

otm - I've loved her Mad Men reviews even when she was doing them back at thisrecording some years back, and they've only gotten better since.

Don drunk and w/Freddy - ew.

Freddy saved the day!

Has Bert ever been that hateful before? Jesus.

Bert is a Randian. Makes sense, I think.

http://previously.tv/m/2014-05-04-mad-men-stare-anim.gif

Watched with the idea that Don is taking everyone down with him but dropped the idea after Freddy handed him the line.

i really just wanted all the marigold stuff to be over with so we could get back to don and his crazy orbit. the show doesn't handle the counterculture well.

the show doesn't handle the counterculture well.

It really doesn't; this was even worse than when Betty went to the lower east side. I assume the only reason we didn't hear someone on the commune say, "Hey, who brought John Q. Establishment from Squaresville?" when Roger arrived is because it didn't make the final edit.

I don't at all like the idea of Don in AA.

i do!

He emerges in 1970 as a proto-Romney.

wrong draper

I understand there was "Meet the Mets"

mittens = these guys

http://pixel.nymag.com/content/dam/daily/vulture/2012/03/26/26_bobbydraper.jpg

The first time Don went to the office was once again so greatly filmed. The first symmetrical shots, the silent horror in the empty office. Also, lol at Don throwing the mets stuff in the trash, then the next time we see it it is hanging on the wall. The editing of this show is so great.

Amazing episode

Ginsburg's couch full of farts line cracked me up

commune stuff was lolz. don drunk at the office was painful, just wanted to look away from the flailing desperation. loved his stoneface when he got his assignment from Peggy.

loved his stoneface when he got his assignment from Peggy.

^ this! It was perfection.

The first symmetrical shots, the silent horror in the empty office. Also, lol at Don throwing the mets stuff in the trash, then the next time we see it it is hanging on the wall. The editing of this show is so great.

― Frederik B, Monday, May 5, 2014 11:17 AM (23 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

also chucking his typewriter against the window, end of ep hes working on the typewriter

and the Hollies! ref'ing back to his Kodak slide projector pitch

been killing it with the music this season imho

I hope this season is not as dumb as it looks in this picture

http://cdn.thewire.com/media/img/upload/wire/2014/05/05/a11c0df2_f0eb_9342_5f08_f267b89ea443_MM_704_JM_1212_0445/lead_large.jpg

Ginsberg only owns two shirts

yeah hollies' 'on a carousel' was so perfect

I thought it was a little on-the-nose, but eh, who cares, Bobby Elliott rules.

heeey, finally started watching this season and catching up

Seeing Don throw the typewriter and get shitfaced at the office was depressing as hell. I've got to hand it to Joel Murray, his Rumsen-presenting-Draper performance was excellent. It'll be great if we get to see Draper-as-Draper in the series again, but no one is going to let Don do that for now.

I appreciate that I really have no idea where this is going, what the endgame is for Don etc. Obviously he's got to remove a few obstacles (Lou, and Cutler to a lesser extent, possibly Crane) before he's anywhere near back on top. But maybe that just isn't gonna happen and this is going to be a total downward spiral ending.

Bert being super-harsh not entirely unwarranted or uncharacteristic. He's pragmatic, above all else.

Lou is the worst sort of middle manager. I don't think the dude has any idea what is good. SCP really seems dated with Lou not giving a shit about awards or creativity.

I kind of thinks this ties back to the question the business school guy had for Joan -- how many of their accounts are on contract, and how many are on commission? The ration went from zero commissions sixteen years ago to 50% commission now. If they're just churning out shit work, half their business is going to melt away.

ratio, rather

In the early 1970s, the chain introduced first the Funburger, followed by the Funmeal, with specially-printed packaging that included stories about Burger Chef and Jeff's adventures and friends (including the magician Burgerini, vampire Count Fangburger, talking ape Burgerilla, and Cackleburger the witch), with riddles, puzzles, and small toys.

I had never heard of this chain before

I can see this show making Don work his ass off getting back in the good graces of the SC&P people only to have to company fold simply by virtue of being old and out of touch.

There was a Burger Chef close to my house when I was a kid, and I remember their Funmeals once came in the shape of a Indy-style racecar (it was just a molded plastic lid on a cardboard box, but I remember it vividly for some reason).

it seems like a company with Joan, Peggy and Crane on top is the logical direction - where Don fits into that scheme is not clear

great ep. said this a bunch of times, but they've done so much great work with the characters over the seasons that they can pretty much just thrust them into sorta contrived situations (don working for peggy!) and let them write themselves and it's compelling as hell.

that tim conway show they mentioned - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn-On_(TV_series)

Liked don reading Portnoy's Complaint

more convincing than Don reading Inferno.

ah was wondering what that was, I couldn't make it out