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

So awesome that Peggy got those account men to tear up a little with the intro to her pitch. Let's see a computer do THAT!

Leave us not forget: the best thing Harry ever did, non-professionally, was, when he discovered that his former colleague (who got left behind for McCann, when Sterling Cooper etc escaped the Brits' sale, and took some of the staff with them) was also in the clutches of an increasingly aggressive cult, and losing his mind---Harry talked the guy into taking his Star Trek drafts to Hollywood, and gave him a lot of money(if he still went crazy, at least he could go in style).

Agree that was his finest moment

"What I am arguing against is that Harry has been historically invaluable to the firm, even though there is zero evidence for that on screen."

Who has been "historically invaluable" to the firm based on the on screen evidence (even Don is ultimately replaceable as this season proves)? Everyone's vision of their own self-worth is either grossly inflated (Bert, Roger, Pete, Harry) or they've actually LEFT the firm for periods of time and it just marched on (Joan, Peggy, Ken).

Welcome to the machine

I get that. What I am arguing against is that Harry has been historically invaluable to the firm, even though there is zero evidence for that on screen.

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, May 28, 2014 7:12 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Let's put it another way: He created his own job title & department. Sure Joan could do it better, but only the two of them know that. In fact, since he set his own terms, it's highly likely nobody in the office quite understands his job, or that he can be replaced, He spends loads of time away from the office on the coast doing business, so he isn't under the microscope as much. And apparently when he's back he can pull a "Broadway Joe" rabbit out of the proverbial hat and save the day.

Also i think clients love him because he can make with the whores, aspiring actresses etc. on the quick.

I love that this clip is the first one that comes up when you search Harry on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z47MfkSHX44

only the two of them know that - i don't think either of them know it tbh! she was disappointed but not outraged cuz ultimately she buys into the patriarchy in ways that even peg (who's hardly a radical) doesn't.

Harry seems like one of the few somewhat forward looking people at SC&P (television department, computer) and I would guess that makes him valuable to the company. I'm sure he could be replaced, but he does seem to possess qualities which are lacking elsewhere in the main characters.

of course, when you last 7 seasons you can do that
― display name changed. (amateurist)
shhh don't tell David Thomson
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, May 28, 2014 7:07 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i don't get the reference. what did he say about Mad Men?

my favorite example of harry's fecklessness is when he and don are trying to get the rolling stones, and he gets high and eats all the white castle burgers he was supposed to bring home to his family.

there's not going to be any resolution explaining Harry "realistically." harry is a character who (a) has done things on the show that suggest he is forward-thinking (b) is typically portrayed on the same show as a bumbler and a lech and as profoundly uncharismatic.

yeah what good would he be if he were unlikable and incompetent? he would be lou, who couldn't last longer than a half-season.

always took harry to be this joke that he's sort of behind the scenes doing all the heavy lifting that makes the agency profitable but he's boring and unpalatable so we focus on these ineffectual show ponies with tortured inner lives. maybe that's a bit fanciful.

like Harry's away from all the drama, actually making money for them, while they strut around on the "tv" he makes possible. like a meta character.

v. generous reading, lol

haha yes.

also I saw Harry, the actor who plays him, on the F train in Brooklyn once. so that supports my thesis.

you guys have the weirdest harry-blindness just because he's a shmuck

dude started the agency's tv department and forged all the links with the networks that led to very profitable media buys

otm

or yes, what ryan said

it does amuse me how he sort of enrages people in these mad men threads, maybe because he's the most like a message board poster irl??

yeah he's been a valuable employee but more importantly he's a schmuck

Always thought he was a (relatively speaking) likable schmuck tho. Don't get why people genuinely seem to HATE the guy.

he doesn't seem to have many core values, but then not many characters on the show do

i don't hate him but his comparative misfortune is funny.

from the central casting facebook feed:

*Union Submissions only*
Mandy is currently taking union submissions only for a 1960s television show. We are looking for Caucasian looking men and women who appear to be 18-25 yrs. You should also be okay with atmospheric smoke. Ladies you must be okay having your hair cut to your shoulders, and gentlemen you must be okay getting a conservative haircut. You must be available for a fitting Thurs 6/5 to work Monday 6/9. Please submit to centralman✧✧✧@gm✧✧✧.c✧✧ and put UNIVERSITY in the subject line.

is sally checking out colleges already?

It's probably for something else. I know some people attached to a "early days of NASA" pilot that's due to start shooting here later this year/early '15. There's bound to be more. #panamtaughtthemnothing

that reminds me - anyone watch the halt and catch fire pilot? any good?

Has it already aired? I thought it was this coming Sunday.

was Pan Am really that bad? i'm not sure it even aired over here.

AMC put the Halt and Catch Fire pilot up on tumblr for some weird reason

also that early days of NASA show is from a couple of Mad Men writers

c'mon everyone who works for a bureaucracy knows a Harry: "dependable," often valuable, but you groan having to sit next to him at the annual company awards dinner. He's forgettable.

led to very profitable media buys

see, here's the thing, NO ONE on the show has ever acknowledged that Harry's efforts have any significant impact on the firm's bottom line. to assume that this is the case, that he is somehow the one bringing in all the money, is just bizarre.

Cutler didn't get him a computer because he saw Harry as the firm's golden calf, he did it because a NYT article made him nervous about the competition.

haha why because they've never had a scene where they directly point to their ledgers??

your harry fixation is the thing that's bizarre

like over and over again the show has made it clear that nobody likes him but they tolerate him, even almost elevate him to partner, because he brings in the cash

i can't even imagine what you think is going on in this show if you don't grasp that

yes he performs a role. it is not the central moneymaking role.

weird thread

are you guys still talking about harry ffs

*changes channel*

we have no idea how much money he brings in, it could be central!

zzzz

I think it's implied pretty strongly, if not said outright at some point, that Harry was at minimum very important to the survival of the firm in past seasons.

loved this 7 episode run but feel weirdly unsatisfied. hope this is the end of these half seasons.

oh it's the end allright

Season 7(b): Weird Scenes Inside The Creative Lounge

there is no creative lounge

Not with that attitude.

The evidence that Harry is important is in the fact that they took him with them when they left Sterling Cooper when they could have left him behind with Kinsey and the other lamerz, despite the fact that he's clearly the guy who no one likes. And they're still making major investments on his say so. Buy everyone else exists in their own rarefied strata that they think is the single most important thing, that's how most office dynamics work.

It was also kinda lol that Don could have hated Megan's party so much that he'd rather go for a drink with Harry, who he hates.

that was super lol