Thirty-nine is the new 26. Eps, that is.
Time to take stock, reevaluate, ruminate and marinate. I was tempted to make it a Top 15 or something, on account of there being, you know, so many good episodes. But 10 it shall remain.
Some are up, some are down … some just are. Up? How could an episode rise on the list when new episodes compete for real estate? Well, some play better a year later.
Overall, this reflects my bias toward Season 1 episodes. Season 3, with 4 entries in the Top 10, had in some ways a greater number of superior episodes, but less interesting plots.
Without further ado …
#10 – The Jet Set (last year: not ranked)
Some of us (okay probably just me) didn’t realize how important this episode was until way after it aired. It sets the stage for so much, with payoffs coming way down the line (even in Love Among the Ruins). What seemed at the time like Don’s jaunt in sunny SoCal was really a reawakening leading him to visit Anna and begin to take stock. Without this, he probably doesn’t consider starting a new agency. Plus, that house … jeez.
#9 – The Color Blue (last year: not ranked)
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer
This is what I think of, looking back on this episode. Betty’s state of mind is slowly unraveling. Her faith in Don, already shot and covered over with Gene’s birth, is evaporating with every passing second. And that’s before she opens his secret drawer. The Waldorf scene alone makes this a keeper.
#8 – Mountain King (last year: #8)
Anna Draper still packs a punch. Coming on the heels of Don’s Cali-vanting, Anna grounds him and washes him with security and love. In other news, Joan’s rape continues to reverberate.
#7 – The New Girl (last year: #9)
Number seven with a bullet. This makes a move because in retrospect, it meant something very important. Peggy Olson was one person in all the episodes prior to TNG, and another after. Peggy absorbed Bobbie Barrett’s advice like challah in hot chicken soup, and is better for it. Think she turns Don down in Shut the Door if not for Bobbie? Also, it’s Melinda McGraw’s best work on the series.
#6 – My Old Kentucky Home (last year: not rated)
I was sorely tempted to put this in the top five, it’s that good. It’s far and away the standout of the first half of S3. The three-performance arc, Pete & Trudy cutting a rug, showing Roger in black-face, Peggy demanding the doobage, Connie from New Mexico … so, so, so much here. C’est Magnifique.
#5 – 5G (last year: #6)
Keeps getting better. Adam’s hold on Don – all of two episodes-worth – is permanent and pervades everything we’ve seen of Don since. Try watching their final scene together without tearing up.
#4 – Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency (last year: unranked)
It’s worth noting that Matt Weiner was known as a comedy writer before landing on The Sopranos. This one shows us why. Every line is pitch perfect. The crashing of brutal violence and brilliant humor is a wonderful play. An hour with those PPL boys is always jolly fun!
#3 – The Grown Ups (last year: unranked)
He was pulling our chain the entire time. I don’t buy for a minute he was unsure if he would tackle JFK. Margaret’s wedding day was ruined – a family story told each Thanksgiving forevermore. Don’s world finally comes crashing down. Harry, the only guy with a tv in front of his nose, misses the flash.
#2 Babylon (last year: #3)
This nearly came off the list, and after considering, it’s actually better than I thought. Less for the plot (several revelations, Don/Midge/Roy at The Gaslight), than for defining the mood, the ethos, the soul of the series. It’s all here. The ending montage still haunts, providing the basis for all the characters, their places, their roles and realities. Also, Kruschev and that poor chicken.
#1 The Hobo Code (last year: #1)
Two and half years since its airing, nothing lays a glove on it. Archie’s role in Don’s life has only grown. Something may have snapped when Don kicked down the door of the art department – exorcising the vision of that horse kicking old Archie. But it would never have mattered if that “gentleman of the rails” never schooled young Dick on detachment and symbolism. This show pays off. Bigtime. Never more than this.
There you have it … 10 for the ages, until next year. Love the debate, the ruckus. Let’s hear it: no Smoke, no Shoot, no Shut the Door. Have a Seat. Let’s see some alternate lists …
34 Responses to “New! Improved! Mad Men Top 10!”
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I just recently posted my own Top 10 list on my LJ.
http://falafel-musings.livejournal.com/58782.html…
It's quite different! I've got Hobo, Kentucky and Guy Walks into an Ad Agency on mine but none of the others. I would cause a ruckus over the lack of Nixon Vs Kennedy and Meditations on an Emergency. I know the S3 finale is still very new but it has already become my new no.1.
I like your choices though. Except for 'The Colour Blue'. I actually thought that was one of the weakest episodes so far. Well, any episode with a lot of Miss Farrell in is going to rank very low on my list.
Three Sundays remains one of my favorite episodes. The scenes with Peggy and Father Gill throughout season two added a new, important dimension to her character: her faith. I'm not religious at all, but I loved that portrayal of Peggy, and I think it made me like and understand Peggy more.
Was it in Meditations that Father Gill visits the office, or was it earlier? His scene in Peggy's office was also really great.
VH1 years ago had a show titled "The List," which it advertised with the tag line, something everyone can disagree on. I thought it was one of the best taglines I had ever seen. Half the fun of lists is disagreeing with them. I don't have the time to rank, but I will protest the lack of "Shut the Door, Have a Seat," and "Meditations in an Emergency."
I would've replaced The Color Blue with "The gypsy and the hobo"
Here's my list, compiled in roughly 5 minutes. Season 2 remains my favorite overall.
10. The Wheel
9. Seven Twenty Three
8. Meditations in an Emergency
7. The Gold Violin
6. Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency
5. The Gypsy and the Hobo
4. The Mountain King
3. "Shut the Door. Have a Seat."
2. Nixon Vs. Kennedy
1. A Night to Remember
Breakdown: 2 from S1, 4 from S2 and S3 (the quality of the episodes were about even, but I just preferred the way S2's arc built up and culminated into Don fleeing to California and reconnecting with his past. And even though season 1 was more focused on happenings at S-C, which I liked, the writing, at times, was a bit too self-conscious.)
Also, just for diversity, here are the top 3 MM episodes (I couldn't find more than that) that I've had a bit of trouble fully enjoying:
3) For Those Who Think Young
2) Souvenir
1) Ladies' Room
I love the list, but I would agree with #2 Lissie and place 3 Sundays somewhere in it. Just as The Hobo Code helped to define Don for the audience, 3 Sundays gives us an insight into Peggy, her upbringing, her family, her Catholicism and struggles with it, her struggles with her family, etc….
I think rankings are kinda dumb in the end, but eps I really love that the OP fails to mention are Three Sundays, Shoot and Meditations.
I'm not sure about a Top Ten, but IMO, any list is incomplete without the last three episodes of Season 3. At the very least, "The Gypsy and the Hobo" and "Shut the Door. Have a Seat." have to make any list. It's hard to rank 39 pretty perfect hours of television in any order, but the two I named certainly rank among the best. "The Wheel" is still great, too.
The Gypsy and The Hobo doesn't even make the list? That's just wrong. My list would go somewhat like this:
10) The Jet Set
Nixon vs Kennedy
9) Meditations in an Emergency
7) Shut the Door, Have a Seat
6) The Hobo
5) The Wheel
4) Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency
3) The Mountain King
2) 5G
1) The Gypsy and The Hobo
Oof, anything with Adam Whitman just hits me in the heart. That last scene between Don and his brother was incredible. You're so right that it resonates permanently in the series. It still kinda hurts my heart that that's how they parted.
I feel like it's an oft-overlooked episode, but "Indian Summer" is one of my favorites of the entire series – you know: Don gets made partner, Peggy gets props for her Belle Jolie campaign, "we've both had very good days," Betty and the air-conditioning salesmen … Pete takes Don's Mystery Backstory Box off his desk. It dragged at the Ossining parts, but it was also one of the more light, uplifting episodes. It was really an episode of exposition and transition, but kind of a bebop-y mood piece – from the camaraderie in the classroom to the feeling of summer heat.
Other than that, I love "Nixon v. Kennedy." Incredible payoff of the Dick/Don story with that failed blackmail attempt by Pete. And heartbreaking way for Don to screw it up with Rachel – that is also something that resonates through the rest of the series. Don never really got over Rachel.
And, and … maybe it'd be easier to make a list of episodes that I didn't like? Hehe.
sigh.
how many days left till Season 4?
I think I love every episode. just had a little too much Suzanne/Betty action for me in S3. but now I'll have to go back and watch all three seasons.
as if I wouldn't anyway.
Nixion vs Kennedy is my favorite – when Pete tries to blackmail Don – then Don runs to Rachel – comes back and confronts Pete, then they rush to Bert's ofc, etc – I always liked the show before – but after that Ep I was totally hooked.
"You haven't thought this through" – I love to use that line on occasion.
I kind of agree with Donny Brook@#8 about rankings and enthusiastically agree that Three Sundays and Meditations are top-notch.
I can do five episodes right now:
1. "The Grown Ups"
2. "A Night to Remember"
3. "The Marriage of Figaro"
4. "The Gypsy and the Hobo"
5. "The New Girl"
DRush76, yay to Marriage of Figaro! I was thinking I was alone on that, but it will always remain on my list.
The one I'm most suprised not to see on there is Gypsy and The Hobo… but anyway these are my top ten favorites:
1. The Gypsy and The Hobo
2.The Hobo Code
3. Shut The Door. Have a Seat.
4. Five G (First episode I saw, so it will always be special!)
5. Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency
6. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
7. The New Girl
8. My Old Kentucky Home
9. Meditations in an Emergency
10. Babylon
Aaaand my runners up in order of episode were:
New Amsterdam, Red in the Face, Nixon vs. Kennedy, Three Sundays, A Night to Remember, The Mountain King, Out of Town, and The Grown Ups.
Oh…I want to play! Have to get all the eps and events in my head straight then I can post later. However, 'Babylon' definitely one of my faves as it is the quintessential essence of Mad Men(a good episode to introduce the show to new people) and it is the inspiration for this here site, which I also love. Also absolutely love 'A Night to Remember'. Never realized that it was because it is such a 'girl power' episode with the three principal female characters' stories taking center stage.
thanks for backing me up on this… I have been telling everyone The Hobo Code has been the best for two years now
I can do stories. but I don't think I can rank them. or I'd have to have a graph or something.
Stories I love-
Peggy gets an office, but that means Fred's dead…or Peggy gets a job but doesn't know about the maternity benefits…or she's Peggy Olson and she wants to smoke some marijuana and I guess Paul's thesis wasn't that great after all, huh?
Don and Bobbie are nasty. So what, Peggy says. Betty says bllllllaaaeeeeeekkk in the car.
Sal lives as a closeted male who really should have a fantastic sex life but the gods are cruel.
Roger sells his Sterling-Cooper soul, Guy gets severance pay-back, but Don-o-matic decides to pull a heist. Mastermind Pryce oils the gears. Bert and his Rothko do the a-go-go.
Joan and Pete exist.
oh, and MW's Hitchcock thing with Betty and his own son as Glen.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Glen.
When Betty finds Glen in the playhouse in the backyard…it reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. Betty and Glen are soulmates. And doomed to be forever apart.
Tragic. Comic. Weird. Mad Men at its best.
When Betty finds Glen in the playhouse in the backyard…it reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.
Deb, THAT'S what I was trying to think of yesterday!
Great list, I have to rewatch seasons 1&2 to make any list myself, but this is a nice one.
I suppose I'm the only Basketcase who adores both 'Maidenform' and 'Red in the Face'. The latter I love for its devotion to its theme, and Betty's painful aside on her identification with her looks, and 'Maidenform'…just so powerful.
Lists are so arbitrary.
Here at B.Cooper Central, we love arbitrary. If everything were black and white, BoK would have shut its doors long ago.
Some really great episodes got bumped this year (Wheel, NvK, Gold Violin); the reasons have to do with how they play now versus a year ago. Jet Set, for instance has greater importance to the story now, and greater impact on the characters, than Wheel does. The climax of Pete revealing Don's identity in NvK doesn't resonate the same now as it did then.
Important middle episodes, like 5G, Babylon and The New Girl, tend to have more lasting moments and show us the kind of depth that we sometimes only recognize in retrospect.
Mari, you are my Mad Men twin soul for you've listed episodes and moments that I love as well…and I'm a lit major. I understand how episodes connect to the overall story are very important. But, I look at my favorites as the ones that really resonated with me as a viewer. Still need to do my list, so I'll hush until then.
Boy, it's tough to pick a top 10 of 39 episodes. I'm not that fond of Jet Set other than Kurt's coming-out scene, which is so hilarious I'm sorry we didn't get much more out of him (yet?).
I probably like The Fog more than most people do; it's a very "girly" episode, which I actually like, but for me what cinches it is Pete doing "market research" on Hollis in the elevator. That scene for me sums up everything that's right and everything that's wrong with Pete Campbell.
I rank Mountain King number one, though, because it shows a side of both Don and Joan that you can't really watch this series not knowing about and still appreciate it fully. And my love for Anna knows no limits.
So here's mine:
1) The Mountain King (see above)
Maidenform (Peggy learns the price of fitting in)
2) Nixon vs. Kennedy ("Mr. Campbell, who cares?")
3) The Wheel (Don gives the pitch of his lifetime, Peggy directs a commercial, sends an actress home crying, and gives birth on the same day — practically a whole season in itself!)
4) Shut the Door, Have a Seat (more laughs and war whoops than any other episode, despite the disintegration of the Drapers)
5) Meditations in an Emergency (the Peggy-Pete scene alone places it, but the rest of it ain't cold rumaki)
6) My Old Kentucky Home (all singing! all dancing! all toking!)
7) Babylon (Peggy's hidden talent is discovered — did she know exactly what she was doing when she said, "Here's your basket of kisses"?)
9) Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency ("the doctors say he'll never golf again"!)
10) The Fog (see above)
But really, none of them stink.
I never said arbitrary was a bad thing, B. Cooper. I’m a lit major!
But for me, a punch in the face plotwise won’t hit me as hard as the capturable still images of an episode. Peggy in her bathwater, Don unable to shave. The little curl of Don’s lip over dinner with Roger that reveals how deep his rage was.
God I love those episodes!
Jet Set, for instance has greater importance to the story now, and greater impact on the characters, than Wheel does.
Depends on which characters. It’s always going to be a watershed episode for Peggy, even if it’s less significant for Don (other than to demonstrate his talent).
The climax of Pete revealing Don’s identity in NvK doesn’t resonate the same now as it did then.
Maybe not in the same way, since other people (Betty, maybe Henry?) know, and that knowledge has already blown up the Draper marriage. But Bert Cooper’s behavior in Seven Twenty Three gives his behavior in NvK a new dimension. He may have feigned indifference to Pete, but we know now that the old man was squirreling the info away for when he’d need it. And boy, did he find a use for it.
#20 esme, I loved all the Glenn Bishop stories too. So weird. So moving. We'll see Betty divorced next season so I hope that'll mean the return of her connection with Helen and Glenn. That was when I liked Betty's story the most.
#24 I put Maidenform in my Top 10 and I do think Red in the Face is underrated. Pete's Chip-n-Dip adventure alone makes it very memorable.
#28 I loved 'The Fog' too. It was a little uneven but had some excellent individual moments. 'Mountain King' is great too even if it didn't quite make my 10. 'Jet Set' is a difficult one for me. I don't think it's bad but it didn't feel like an episode of Mad Men. As a weird one-off it was very absorbing, but I wouldn't know where to place it on a favourite list. I loved the Kurt scene too, but found the Joy character terribly pretentious.
after this post, I’ll have to rewatch the series and think about it as episodes.
but my S1 dvd is with my son. he gave me a video game to play (which I didn’t) and I gave him S1 to watch (he watched the first few episodes.) then we found common ground watching old Arrested Development episodes together via Hulu.
ah, the great American electric (pixilated) hearth.
mari – it’s true. there are so many ways to watch this series.
falafel – I don’t know if Glen will be back, but his story was a gem. I enjoy reading your posts, btw, if I never said anything. Jet Set was weird. I think Don was weirded out to be asked to be a kept man by Joy’s father. The two kids of the eurotrash guy sort of put Don on a mental trajectory that led back to Ossining.
he didn’t want to be a hobo after all. not even one that got great digs.
Wow, I'm kind of shocked. I really thought Souvenir was a great episode. At least in the top ten for sure.
Okay, this is agonizing for me. I culled ruthlessly and ended up with 19 in my top ten. I can’t believe I was finally able to get it to ten:
1. The Gypsy and the Hobo
2. The Hobo Code
3. My Old Kentucky Home
4. Shut the Door. Have a Seat
5. The Mountain King
6. Babylon
7. Maidenform
8. 5G
9. Flight 1
10. The Inheritance
[...] cheating by starting with Numero Uno on my own personal Top 10 – two years running – but why not start at the [...]