I wish I was as smart as you. I wish it all came easy. But it doesn’t…when I was in sixth grade, they told us that when we got to junior high, we would be either Track One, Track Two, or Track Three. Track One is the smart kids, Track Two is the normal kids, [...]
May 242013
Don Draper and Number Six
During The Crash last week, how many of you caught the fleeting moment that Bobby, Sally, and Megan were watching The Prisoner in the bedroom? I had to smile at that. My siblings were crazy about the series, especially the super-cool Patrick McGoohan, who gave the title character vulnerability, brains, and steely determination to overcome his obstacles.
Knowing that practically nothing on Mad Men is unintentional, this was both a great 60′s pop culture reference and, without doubt a veiled reference to Don’s life. Before I get into the specifics, a quick review of The Prisoner. Continue reading »
May 242013
Jessica Pare, interviewed by Allison Hope Weiner:
(via polly draper. And Deborah.)
Elisabeth Moss visited Jimmy Fallon. Ms. Moss is also the sole Mad nominee for the Critics’ Choice Television Awards. (Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey and Homeland fare better.)
Gothamist unpacks “The Crash,” from Dr. Feelgood to Rosemary’s Baby.
Did you catch the Muhammad Ali reference in “The Crash”?
Vulture’s Margaret Lyons argues “The Crash” retells “My Old Kentucky Home.”
Slate’s discussion of “The Crash” includes pieces on Matthew Weiner‘s Freudian view of human nature and the oily, soulless Jim Cutler.
Slate also asks, “Is the Chevy account Mad Men’s Vietnam?”
Conversely, USA Today asks whether MM will boost GM like it did Jaguar.
Jay R. Ferguson talks to GQ about Stan’s feelings for Peggy, the cast’s facial hair hijinks, and what was actually in those needles. Continue reading »
May 232013
Ted is losing his mentor. One of his partners, Frank Gleason, has pancreatic cancer, and is most likely dying, although Ted wants to think that Gleason can beat it. He recently told Peggy that Gleason has been balancing him out for the past 20 years. When Ted feels frustrated that Don is getting the better of him, he goes to Gleason for advice.
“If I wait patiently by the river, the body of my enemy will float by.” Gleason tells Ted, from his hospital bed. (Note that Ted, sitting at Gleason’s bedside, looks especially boyish in this scene.) Gleason also suggests that Ted let Don “win the early rounds,” and that he should “go home, shower, walk back in there like you own half the place.”
Don has always been Peggy’s mentor. Maybe he still is, but she’s never viewed him through rose-colored glasses, and in Man With a Plan, her vision is particularly clear. Talking about Ted, she tells Don that she was hoping that Ted’s influence would rub off on Don, “not the other way around.” She sees Don’s excessive drinking–and encouraging that kind of behavior in Ted–as a pissing match. When Don defends himself by saying Ted is a grown man, Peggy says, “So are you. Move forward.”
Some call backs to Season 4:
In Man With a Plan, Peggy tells Don he looks “fresh.” She also said that to him in The Suitcase.
In Man With a Plan, Gleason suggests Ted go home and shower before resuming work. In The Suitcase, Don suggests Peggy go home and shower and then come back to work.
Ted desperately needs his mentor for advice on how to handle Don. Peggy doesn’t want her mentor, Don, ruining Ted.
Is Ted becoming Peggy’s new mentor?
May 232013
Here’s three more prints from cartoonist Wes Tyrell –Joan reminds me of a Russian Doll here, Lane gives Don a raspberry , and Peggy looks just a li-i-i-i-tle manic!
May 222013
By far, John Slattery’s finest directing job for Mad Men. Brilliant angles, blocking, scenery, movement, and acting all around.
There had to be a slower-paced episode following For Immediate Release – but I truly loved this installment. I’d call it deliberate, but not slow by any means.
ELEVATOR
Don presses “Lobby” – going down, indeed.
Sylvia screaming at Arnie – shades of Sharon Stone in Casino. Only less crazy.
“Don’t forget to take some money!!” – money again tied to relationships, love.
SCDP OFFICES
Feels crowded. “First day of school.” Heh.
Musical EchoingMay 21, 2013 Deb mentioned this in her recap; it was a nice little musical connection in The Crash…. In a young-Dick-Whitman-in-the-whorehouse scene, we hear Dream a Little Dream of Me. (I’m not sure which of the early versions it was; there were many. It may have been Ozzie Nelson; does anyone have this definitively?) Most of us [...] |
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 A Real BoyMay 21, 2013 ‘Does someone love me?’ That’s what your question was. That’s everyone’s question. – Wendy, The Crash What will it take to make Don Draper real? That’s the question that drives Don to stand silent outside Sylvia’s door, smoking and listening to her domestic chatter with her husband. It leaves him sleepless, bereft of ideas; after [...] |
 Movie Review: Iron Man 3May 20, 2013 Iron Man 3 (2013) 10/10 I’m a little frustrated with myself. It was never my intention to confine my movie reviews to blockbusters, but lately I’ve reviewed quite a few. Yet Iron Man 3 does some things so uniquely and well that I find it is worth discussion. You see, I have a pet peeve [...] |
 Crashing the WhorehouseMay 20, 2013 I’m sorry, Ted, but every time we get a car, this place turns into a whorehouse. Before we leap into a discussion of What It All Means, let’s pause to marvel at the weird. Mad Men Episode 6.08 was some seriously weird shit. We’ve heard Matt Weiner say that Mad Men doesn’t have a genre, [...] |
Open Thread: The CrashMay 19, 2013 Episode 8 is here already! My, this season is flying by. Hey there, if you’re new, please note that, before joining the conversation, we really want you to read our comment and spoiler policies. Anything that has already aired on the East Coast at the time of posting is not a spoiler. |
 Winners and LosersMay 18, 2013 Everyone who’s worked in a company that has gone through a merger knows the drill. It’s like when a young couple decides to move in together and combine two households. Everything that is duplicated – television, sofa, salad spinner – is at risk. Which TV has the bigger screen? Which sofa is more comfortable? Whose [...] |
 Matt Weiner reveals: Why the show is so damn popularMay 17, 2013 Matt said the most bold, interesting thing at the 92nd St Y a few weeks ago. He’s always asked why the show is so successful; why it’s become iconic, why there are Mad Men themed parties and the fashion influence, all that–aside from some of the obvious visual glamor. And he said: he’s always said [...] |
