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"Too often we are asked for the facts, the proof of what happened before, so we can justify with..."

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:14:42 -0400

“Too often we are asked for the facts, the proof of what happened before, so we can justify with certainty what will happen next. By doing so, we modify our curiosity to focus on reporting the news versus making it. We begin to train ourselves to be historians rather than history makers. We become victims of other people’s thinking instead of discovering and developing our own unique and authentic point of view. We search for certainty, and by doing so we make certain the outcome of our journey will lack any sense of adventure or discovery. Then we sit back and wonder, “What happened?” when a colleague or competitor passes us by and redefines our reality. We are encouraged to turn off the bright light of curiosity to live in the shadows of certainty, reducing our risk of losing, while making certain that winning will never be on our future.”

- Gary Friedman, Chairman Emeritus, Creator and Curator, Restoration Hardware

#mantras | explore-blog: When things get tough, this is what...

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:28:31 -0400

#mantras |

explore-blog:

When things get tough, this is what you should do: Make good art. I’m serious. Husband runs off with a politician — make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by a mutated boa constrictor — make good art. IRS on your trail — make good art. Cat exploded — make good art. Someone on the Internet thinks what you’re doing is stupid or evil or it’s all been done before — make good art. Probably things will work out somehow, eventually time will take the sting away, and that doesn’t even matter. Do what only you can do best: Make good art. Make it on the bad days, make it on the good days, too.

Make Good Art – Neil Gaiman’s timeless advice on the creative life, adapted by design legend Chip Kidd.

I swear Nick didn’t draw this. | nevver: Mother’s Day...

Tue, 14 May 2013 20:21:35 -0400

I swear Nick didn’t draw this. |

nevver:

Mother’s Day in the real world

Mad Men Season 6 Episode 7 "Man With a Plan" | Review & Recap

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:30:00 -0400

Sometimes when you’re flying you think you’re right-side-up, but you’re really upside-down” – Ted Chaough

I always consult with Matthew Weiner before I write these recaps, and he’s assured me that “Man with a Plan” is about power. Throughout the episode our characters are grasping for it; wielding it in both responsible and irresponsible ways, and ultimately left without it.

Recap

Don is on an elevator again, no surprise here. But at a routine stop on the Rosens’ floor he’s privy to another tiff between the two. Sylvia orders Arnold to leave as his bags sit in front of the elevator. Later that morning, Peggy arrives at SCDH headquarters where everyone exchanges pleasantries but remains skeptical of the inevitable changes on the horizon. Joan directs the CGC transplants to their new spaces, but walks her old friend Peggy to her office personally. She winces as she welcomes her, massaging a sharp pain in her side.

Later still, Pete bursts into a partner’s meeting demanding a seat at the table. When Ted’s assistant Moira offers up hers, he erases chivalry from his vocabulary and gladly takes it. Ted adds further emphasis to his douchebaggery, then insisting she take his seat and hopping onto the credenza. The team discusses new business – Fleischmann’s wants in with the new merger. On the old business front, the NYS Thruway feels threatened by Mohawk Air, and the team must develop a way for both accounts to coexist. Don insists he and Pete (and Ted, an afterthought provided by Joan) will visit Mohawk and put out the fire. Ted; a pilot, says he’ll fly them up there. Pete is called out of the meeting to attend to his mother who appears to be suffering from dementia and/or Alzheimer’s.

Sylvia summons Don from the office. “I need you and nothing else will do,” she purrs. He tells her to meet him at the Sherry-Netherland. Roger calls Burt Peterson into his office and promptly lets him go again. “No one fought for you,” he states with subdued joy. Poor Bob Benson; who’s been instructed to report to him, introduces himself on the staircase. “…stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye,” Peterson advises.

Turned on by the fact that Sylvia “needs” him, Don blows off the creative meeting at 1:00pm. Meanwhile the creative team free associates on Margarine after Peggy fails to crack Dawn for Don’s whereabouts. “She’s an excellent secretary,” she observes. “She wouldn’t tell me anything.” Still reeling from their morning argument, Sylvia complains to Don about Arnold, which turns him all the way off. A power trip ensues.

Don shows up from his tryst asking what he missed. Ted adjourns the meeting and calls him out on being 40 minutes late. He phones Sylvia for more power tripping and then approaches Ted with an “olive branch.” (Read; attempt to get him shit-faced rendering him as powerless as he feels.)Pete’s brother lets him know it’s his turn to tend to their mother. Don sends Sylvia a sexy red dress from Saks and gets her hopes up for a night on the town. Bob Benson stumbles upon a sick Joan and helps her to the hospital. Sylvia waits; dolled up for Don, who asks “Why would you think we’re going anywhere?” when he finally arrives. “You are for me. You exist in this room for my pleasure.” He orders her to undress again.

Ted visits with Frank Gleason in the hospital. “Draper knocked me out. He seemed more interested in me than work,” he muses of Don. Frank urges him to take it on the chin. “Go home, shower, walk back in there like you own half the place,” which he basically does. Touché, Frank Gleason. Pete’s mother is on to the fact that Trudy is done with him, although he calls the city apartment their pied-à-terre.

The following morning our girl Peg awaits Don’s arrival, ready to champion her knight in shining armor, Ted Chaough. “I didn’t want to wait out there because this whole visit is confidential,” she tells him, followed by “I was hoping he’d rub off on you, not the other way around.” Don accuses her of taking sides. “If there were sides why did you do it?” she volleys. Don returns to his fantasy love shack to get his mind right after Peggy reads him for blood. Sylvia; wrapped up in the role play offers post-coital thoughts. “I don’t know what it is; I just don’t want to think about anything.” “Who told you, you were allowed to think?” Don retorts.

Pete gets pulled out of the office to deal with his mother again. Ted and Don fly out to Mohawk in bad weather. Bob Benson checks on Joan, bringing a gift for baby Kevin. We learn a cyst on her ovary was the culprit of her hospital visit. She downplays Bob’s attention, explaining to Gail that he’s worried about his job. “Every good deed is not a part of a plan,” she lectures. Pete returns to the office livid that the Mohawk meeting went on without him.

Sylvia kicks Don to the curb, one final blow to his ego and loss of power. “It’s over when I say it is,” he says, feebly attempting to hold on to his dominance. She relays her dream that he died in a plane crash and she went back to Arnold. “It’s time to really go home.” He pleads with her but her mind is made up. They leave Room 503, catching the elevator down to the lobby. She walks off and he remains. The doors close.

It’s Tuesday, June 4, 1968. Back in the office Joan attempts to save Bob’s job to no avail (we’re led to believe). Don returns home and does his best impersonation at paying attention to his wife. Peter’s mom wakes him from sleep to tell him RFK has been shot.

Review

We’re starting to believe that Harry is solely on the show for comic relief. He’s right, his demotion to smaller offices whenever there’s a staff change is so disrespectful.

“Everything is the same except you’re Partner.” Followed by, “And you’re Copy Chief.” We sort of think this exchange between Peggy and Joan denotes more than meets the eye. As these women ascend in the company’s ranks are things still the same? Are their positions for show? In both women’s case, decisions are being made left and right sans their input.

Peggy bought the BUILDING. In hindsight that poop on the steps seems mighty inconsequential.

“Don took the last one. That means you were here after Don.” followed by “Now that we’ve dispensed with the gallantry…” Roger has the best one-liners, we swear.

Oh, was the musical chairs scene in the partner’s meeting symbolic?

Did we mention that we love Harry Hamlin as Jim Cutler?

Wait, is this really going to be the end of Bob Benson? And just when we were getting used to the randomness of him. We adore how kind he was to Joan in her time of need.

Burt Peterson back. But not really though. Series faithfuls recall Episode 301, “Out of Town” when Lane (#RIP) puts a disgruntled Peterson out of his misery. “You’re the dying empire!” he shouts. (Foreshadowing?) Bonus points if you remember the following Episode 302 “Love Among the Ruins” when the previously Peterson led Campbell’s Soup account is lost due to failed communication. Our guy Roger jests, “Perhaps I should drag Burt Peterson in and fire him again?” Looks like he finally got his chance.

“Black or white?” Um, what the heck was that supposed to mean Ted? We’re going to give him a pass. His intonation hinted it came from sincere interest rather than prejudice.

“I can talk about anything I want.” We love Sylvia’s initial sass in the hotel scene with Don, though we almost wish she wouldn’t have indulged his domineering reveries.

By the way, it’s great that Sylvia’s an avid reader. He jacks her The Last Picture Show novel in this episode and pretends to read it on the plane with Ted although visibly scared to death. We wonder if the show will make it to the screen release in 1971.

Pete is ridiculously selfish, but we knew this already. From the way he’s handling his mother’s sickness to discovering he skipped over his brother’s firm when underwriting the agency for their public offering, he’s one shady character.

Ted’s conversation with Frank Gleason is spot on, as is his assessment of Don. Don portrays “himself” just the way Ted describes. “He’s mysterious and I can’t tell if he’s putting on. He doesn’t talk for long stretches and then he’s incredibly eloquent.”

“He’s a grown man.” “So are you. Move forward.” You better werk Peggy. We love it when she gives Don the business the way no other woman can.

“Yes, Peggy, we risked everything so I could have you back in this office complaining again.” There Don goes again doing that thing men do, trying to turn his shortcomings around on her. Historically he’s accused Peggy of needless complaint and selfishness whenever she’s pointed out his bullshit. Weak defense, Don.

“Does it matter? No matter what I say you’re the guy who flew us up here in his own plane.” Get a grip Dick. Although, that is pretty awesome.

“My mother can go to hell. Ted Chaough can fly her there.” Hilarious.

What was the significance of Friend & Lover’s “Reach Out of the Darkness” in the end credits? Check out the lyrics HERE. Any takers? Our guess is that the world our characters are living in is desperately in need of some love and understanding right now.

Who was the man with the plan?

Oh my, we’d forgotten the depths of Dick Whitman’s insecurity. From the start of the episode we find him spying on his lover’s spats with her husband, then being annoyed when she brings them up in his presence, sabotaging his office counterpart, and throwing subliminal jabs at his ability to fly. Because that’s all Don really wants to do isn’t it? Soar to heights beyond his humble beginnings. And he’s done just that, albeit under the guise of a concocted identity. Still, at his most vulnerable moments that poor son of a teenage prostitute resurfaces, fighting for pole position in the new world he’s thrust himself into.

It’s human nature that he lashes out at those closest to him. From Sylvia who he’s grown dependent on, to Peggy with whom he shares the purest love, untainted by an illicit affair. Both of these women assert their power over him in this episode, from ending a relationship before he’s ready, to challenging him to evolve. In the workplace, now that Ted Chaough is on the scene representing everything he doesn’t yet believe he is, his existence is threatened.

Ted on the other hand is reaching for ways to work together. He asserts his power; not over Don, but within the firm to find ways to collaborate and earn respect. The irony is that Frank Gleason; rendered powerless on his death bed, is the one to coach Chaough into this role.

Joan and Peggy (and Harry?) find themselves in the midst of changes out of their hands, but setting the best examples they always find ways to ride the wave and get their bearings. And then there’s Pete Campbell, once again spiraling out of control. Not only did Trudy boss up on him, but his brother’s passed the reigns of Dot’s care and called “no backsies.” When Don and Ted start taking meetings without him, he’s no idea what to expect, and that’s terrifying territory.

The culmination of the episode comes along with the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy; another leader cut down in cold blood. During a time of major unrest and on the heels of the shooting of Martin Luther King Jr. just months earlier, not only our characters, but the world in June 1968 thought they were flying right-side-up but were actually upside-down.

Mad Men Season 6 Episode 6 "For Immediate Release" | Recap & Review

Mon, 06 May 2013 15:00:26 -0400

“It’s a common mistake to not ask questions when you want something because you’re afraid of the answers.”

Some let it go, either wanting for an eternity or forgetting their desires altogether. Then there are those who act without asking. “This is a story about impulse,” Weiner declares in “Inside Episode 6” and all through this story we find our characters leaping before they look. They’re making snap decisions left and right before thinking about the consequences, and the next episodes will only tell whether they pay off handsomely or fail miserably.

Recap

SCDP (Can we just agree to say SCDH now?) toys with the idea of going public. An underwriter sifts through their paperwork regarding it spotless. He leaves, saying he’ll be in touch after further analysis. Roger canoodles with his new lover; a flight attendant named Daisy who he has spying on executive passengers in hopes of a lead. Meanwhile in Cos Cob, Peter climbs into bed with a still sleeping Trudy, only to be hit with the curve. “So we’ll just maintain every aspect of this marriage except the one that matters,” he asks sullenly when she refuses his advances. “You’re going to be sorry when this is over. I have big things coming,” he promises. Trudy doesn’t seem impressed.

At the Drapers’, Marie Calvet lets on that she hates her grandkids. We’re marginally surprised. Arnold Rosen drops by in search of wrapping paper for Sylvia’s Mother’s Day present. Marie regards him as talented and handsome and says she wouldn’t leave him alone. “There’s poop on the stairs again,” Peggy announces as she walks into her new fixer-upper. Apparently she and Abe moved to the west 80’s after all. At the office, Pete attempts a private dinner with Don after Jaguar cancels. Don proposes they enjoy their reprieve and enters his office to find Roger inside. According to him the meeting is on but Pete’s not invited, and he requests Megan’s presenceto prevent any major blow-outs. When Don rebuts that she has plans with Marie, he insists she come along also.

During a CGC creative meeting Frank Gleason breaks the news to Ted that he’s fighting pancreatic cancer. Daisy calls Roger with a tip and he heads to the airport, blowing off the Jaguar meeting. Megan admits to Marie that Don has been distant. Marie offers up the possibility he feels she’s slipping away. She encourages her to dress sexier and cater to the carnal more often. Without Roger’s charm at dinner, Marie is acutely disgusted with Herb Rennet’s wife Peaches.

Cooper tells Pete the agency has been valued at $11 a share and they enjoy celebratory drinks. Back at the Jaguar dinner the women go off to powder their noses and Herb drops the bomb that he wants a kid named Chris to take a look at Don’s work. Don tells him to let Chris handle his account from now on. Herb suggests Don remember where his bread is buttered, and proclaims he’s done with SCDH. “I’ve never felt better in my life,” Don says as they leave the restaurant. Roger calls Don to break the news about Chevy and Marie answers the phone. She’s promptly advises him to “forget her name.” Pete runs into his father-in-law at a “party house” after he’s had “the biggest blackest prostitute.”

The following day at the office Pete asks Ken for advice on the situation with his father-n-law. Ken assures their “mutually assured destruction” and urges him not to fret. As the two chat, Jaguar calls to confirm their split. After falling down the stairs, Pete reams Don in front of the staff, accusing him of ruining the public offering (which he never knew about). “You don’t care about the company you’re already rich!” After Joan ushers them into the (glass) conference room for privacy, Roger enters with his Chevy news. He tells Don they’ve only got a few days to come up with something. Don, with a look of excitement tells Pete to send Jaguar their things and Joan to get Creative into his office. Joan tells him to get them himself. “If I could deal with him, you could,” she says of Herb, venom dripping from her lips.

That night at CGC Peg finds Ted fiddling with a TV antenna in an attempt to watch Hazel. He’s anxious about going to Detroit to pitch Chevy. She asserts his strength, and he kisses her. He quickly apologizes, blaming it on his gratefulness. Don meets a dejected Arnold Rosen in the elevator. Unable to save a life due to hospital politics, he’s just quit his job. “I’m tired of fighting.” Don offers encouragement. “You make your own opportunities.”

Don and Roger sit in the airport and get hazed by DFS. They’ve gotten wind of the Vicks Chemical departure before SCDH. Pete tries desperately to get in touch with Tom but he won’t accept his calls. He goes down to his office to confront him. Tom tells Pete that Trudy is a princess and he doesn’t want him around her and Tammy. Pete tells him to look in the mirror but not before being called a lowlife. Peggy laments her new neighborhood and imagines it’s Ted she’s kissing instead of Abe.

Don can’t sleep in the Detroit hotel room, so he makes his way down to the bar. Lo and behold Ted discovers him there, and the two discuss their doom up against the other two giant ad agencies. “It’s the size of the team, it’s opening an office in Detroit,” Ted tells Don. They trade pitches, and Don takes Joan’s advice and considers “we.” The two decide to combine their resources.

A livid Pete Campbell heads out to Connecticut to tell let Trudy know he found her dad with a “200-pound Negro prostitute.” Ted and Don call Peggy in to share the big news. They’ve merged and gotten the Chevy account to boot. Her first assignment – penning the press release. “Make it sound like the agency you want to work for,” Don instructs.

Review

Everyone wants you don’t they?” Pete asks Joan after the underwriter appears to be making eyes at her. When are folks going to stop measuring Joan’s worth by her beauty? I suppose when she stops letting them.

Speaking of Joan’s worth, her shares coming in at close to a mil in 1968…good grief!

Marie at the Jaguar dinner. Fin.

Oh, and also Don threw all of the shade when this happened: “You know the somersaults I’m doing because you’re so touchy.” “A man of your size?”

But there goes Marie again taking the cake - “She’s the apple that goes in the pig’s mouth”

Oh wait, Don can’t resist this last jab - “Don’t you feel 300 pounds lighter?” Touché Don, touché.

Still, Joan did read him a bit with her “I would like to hear you use the word ‘we’.” It’s true; Don historically thinks he can make decisions for everyone without their input. He operates from a “Don knows best” standpoint, which hasn’t always worked out.

We didn’t miss Ginsberg’s “You had to write that down?” after Roger read off the list of the three other agencies up for the Chevy account.

I knew we weren’t imagining Ted’s “thing” for Peggy last week! Will things progress or will they leave it at that one stolen kiss?

“It’s one thing to want something it’s another to need it.” Ted’s words are telling here, because both SCDH and CGC need Chevy’s business, perhaps to stay afloat.

“I don’t like change; I want everything to stay the way it was.” Oh, dear Peggy, things are about to change more than you know.

Were Ted and Don thinking further than landing Chevy when they decided to merge? This split decision was a product of impulse and desperation; on Don’s end, riding off of the loss of Jaguar and Vicks Chemical, and the new knowledge of an attempt to go public. For Ted the fuel was learning of the imminent loss of a partner and the possible need to buy him out. But how will their other partners and staff assimilate to the merge? Which roles will change? Will any be phased out? Perhaps some will leave of their own accord.

Apropos that the very situations forcing Don’s impulsive hand were matters of impulse themselves. Don could have shown restraint but we’re sure his disdain for Herb Rennet had him handing over walking papers in his mind before they even reached the restaurant. Tom Vogel pulling Vicks Chemical was based completely on his emotions after discovering Pete’s indiscretions. We’re positive business came nowhere into play.

They go on. Did Peggy move to the West 80’s because she was smitten with the realization that Abe wanted a family with her? More than likely poop was not in the plans. Arnold quits his job after one bad day, but how will that affect his family? How much longer will they be able to afford that deluxe apartment in the sky on the east side? Megan’s spontaneity in the bedroom is charged by the need for more intimacy with Don. And good old Roger ditching a dinner and booking a last minute flight to score new business was the crux of this episode. For Immediate Release was aptly named. While it signified the media document Peggy began on May 17, 1968, those words can be taken literally. Our characters sought immediate release of their nagging desires. The liberation of their wants, or better yet needs, in the heat of the moment is sure to spawn some interesting lasting effects. We’ll stay tuned.

Mad Men Season 6 Episode 5 "The Flood" | Recap & Review

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:30:07 -0400

“This is an opportunity. The heavens are telling us to change.” – Randall Walsh

On the night of April 4, 1968 our Mad Men crew is grappling with the shocking assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For them, and no doubt the world, it called to question everything they held dear. Some clung to the ones closest to them, stuck in that moment of time; some grieved in silence and pushed forward; some avoided the pain. Others missed the mark altogether, failing to note the significance of the fall of a great man.

Recap

Peggy has her back to us– she’s staring at the East River from the windows of a potential new apartment. As a broker reads off a list of amenities she envisions herself in the space. Abe arrives and offers little feedback other than the obvious –the walk from First to York is a doozy. Cut to Bobby Draper showing the first signs of OCD likely brought on by his parents’ dysfunction. He peels away a section of wallpaper that doesn’t quite line up. Betty’s voice startles him as he’s called to dinner. He moves his bed to hide the tear.

Don and Megan run into the Rosen’s in the lobby. Don seems distracted as they tell him they’re off to DC for an event. They make small talk about the ANDY award that Megan’s up for. “My goodness, you’re really good at everything,” Sylvia says. Megan downplays it, saying she was just a member of the team. Ginsberg arrives home from work to find a young woman named Beverly sitting with his father in the living room. “I was led to believe that you knew about this,” Beverly apologized.

At the Advertising Club award ceremony Roger introduces Don to a trippy gentleman named Randall Walsh. In different parts of the city Megan and Peg discuss their successes while Ginsberg and Beverly discuss their parents’ motives over a meal. In typical neurotic Ginsberg fashion he discloses his virginity. “Michael, I’m just doing a favor for my parents,” she assures him, easing his expectations. Paul Newman takes the stage at the ANDY dinner and pledges his allegiance to McCarthy. Someone in the audience announces that MLK has been shot. There is uproar, and a break in the program.

Abe gets called to cover the reaction Uptown by the New York Times. The Francis family follows the events on news radio as Betty’s afraid of what they’ll show on the television. Henry rushes out to help Mayor Lindsay assess the situation in Harlem. Peter calls Trudy asking to go out to Cos Cob. He wants to make sure she and Tammy are safe, but we can tell he needs their comfort as well. Trudy says no. Ginsberg and Beverly hear the news and cut the date short. He returns home and watches reports of violence by “young negroes” around the country on the tube. There’s trouble in DC, and Don is worried about Sylvia. Megan calls her father, whose Marxist remarks upset her.

It’s a somber day at the office the next morning. Roger asks Don to take a meeting with Randall Walsh. Dawn is missing in action and Don is still worried sick over Sylvia. He calls Arnold’s message center and isn’t able to reach them. At CGC Peggy’s secretary Phyllis is present, but emotional. She says she knew it was going to happen. Peggy hugs her and tells her to go home. Meanwhile, Harry rubs Peter the wrong way when he expresses concern over the interruption of client ads during regularly scheduled programming by special news broadcasts covering the assassination. Peter calls Harry a racist, and marks it a shameful day.

Peggy’s broker urges her to make an offer on the Upper East Side apartment. Walsh meets with Rizzo, Ginsberg and Don, and proceeds to creep them all out with his hippy speak. Well, he creeps Don out – Stan and Ginsberg appear intrigued. After stating he was trying to communicate without words Walsh pitches an ad for his insurance company with a Molotov cocktail being lit with a match. He calls it a coded message that came to him when he was visited by the spirit of Dr. King the night before. Don thinks it’s in poor taste. “You’re right, I don’t want to think about it.”

That night, still wrapped up in the news of protests and violence Don forgets to pick up the kids. Betty calls and insists he drive through the melee to get them. “You get out of every opportunity to see them,” she chides. He drives to Rye through the sirens. Morris Ginsberg is sick of the news and of his son. He tells him during tragedy you should seek comfort with others, and asks why he isn’t with Beverly. “In The Flood the animals went in two by two. You gonna’ get on the ark with your father?” he asks. Don wakes up the next morning to find the kids and Megan getting for a vigil in the park. Bobby doesn’t feel well, but really wants an excuse to stay home and watch TV although he’s been told not to. Don takes him to movies to see Planet of the Apes.

Peggy discovers she’s been outbid on the apartment, and is visibly upset. Abe, who has been reluctant to weigh in because he’s not financially, finally tells her he isn’t keen on the Upper East Side. “I saw us raising our kids with more different kinds of people.” Having never heard Abe express his desire for a family together, she’s happy. Meanwhile, at the movies, Bobby asks to see the movie again. He strikes up a conversation with an usher that touches Don. “Everybody likes to go to the movies when they’re sad.” Henry tells Betty he’s been offered a spot on the Senate. “I can’t wait for people to meet you, really meet you,” he tells her.

Later that night Megan scolds Don about spending time with the kids. “You’re better with them, you don’t understand,” he explains. While drinking he reveals that he hasn’t really loved his children, claiming to “act proud and excited” but not feel anything, and wanting to love them but not being able to because of his difficult childhood. He wonders aloud if his own father had the same problem. But as he realized with Bobby at the movies, “they get older and do something and you feel that feeling you were pretending to have and you feel like your heart is going to explode.”

In the closing scenes Pete orders Chinese alone. Betty holds a gown up to the mirror, no doubt envisioning herself as a Senator’s wife. Don goes in the kids’ room to soothe a scared Bobby. “I just keep thinking, what if somebody shoots Henry,” he worries. “Henry’s not that important,” he assures him. Later he looks out on the city from the balcony.

Review

Peggy’s broker saying the apartment would triple in value once the Second Avenue subway was complete was hilarious… because 45 years later it still isn’t done.

My, how NYC real estate has changed. An Upper East Side apartment going for 28k sounds insane in 2013, although we know it amounted to much more money back then.

Speaking of NYC real estate, Abe referring to the West 80’s as ‘run down’ is also crazy when you compare it with today’s cityscape.

“You can’t avoid her forever.” - Megan to Don re: Peggy. We didn’t know he was avoiding her.

And while we’re on Peg, did anyone else notice Ted’s wife throwing shade? Or Ted’s certain glances? Do we have fodder for a potential affair here?

When Joan hugs Dawn it’s the most awkward thing in the history of ever aside from Pete and Peg holding Joan and Roger’s baby. But why? Is Dawn so stiff because of her previous run-in with Ms. Harris or has it more to do with Dr. King’s assassination?

“Let me put this in terms you’ll understand: That man had a wife and four children.” I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of Pete Campbell, although his passion was equally fueled by the angst behind his exile.

“I guarantee you’d go to Canada on your knees to pick up your girlfriend.” Come on Betty… we’re not the fond of Megan either but she is his wife.

Matthew Weiner’s penchant for historical accuracy brought him face to face with race relations that have not been discussed in-depth throughout all 5 seasons. Dr. King’s death affected everyone; not just African Americans, as shown in this episode. Dr. King was a man for humanity as a whole, and when someone like that is taken down in cold blood, like President Kennedy five years earlier, it changes the way people view the world they live in.

Peter who we never knew was so compassionate reams Harry for his insensitivity and feels shame over what’s happened. A normally icy Joan reaches out to Dawn. Most people want to be with their loved ones, except for Don who like Megan’s father “doesn’t want to feel any emotions.” And when he finally realizes that he does love this little boy in his image and wants to protect him from the cruel world, he’s not quite sure how to handle it.

Planet of the Apes is such an apropos movie for them to see. Not just because it came out the day before MLK’s assassination, but because it told the story of the end of a civilization and the birth of a new one. Everyone was questioning the state of the future – from Paul Newman saying he was concerned for his children to Morris Ginsberg speaking to Noah’s Ark and how God wiped out a race of evil to make way for a fresh start. The image of broken Lady Liberty in the final scene of the movie is telling – there was a breakdown of everything she symbolized in that fictional world.

Randall Walsh may have been a kook, but he was right about one thing. The heavens were calling for change. But in that time of unrest, not everyone heeded the warning.

Mad Men Season Six Episode 5 "To Have and To Hold" | Recap & Review

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:00:00 -0400

“There’s nothing better than being known for your loyalty.” - Ken Cosgrove

This week was all about the varying degrees of loyalty in both business and personal relationships. Our characters either place a premium on the virtue or don’t, and the episode quickly becomes a study of disclosure versus secrecy. When things are done in private it’s easy to utter the Don Draper signature “this never happened.” But as some of players in the SCDP universe fail to note, non-disclosure doesn’t right your wrongs, and being upfront doesn’t always pay.

Recap

“To Have and To Hold” opens in Pete’s New York City apartment while he and Don court Timmy from Heinz’s Ketchup division. They make secret plans to pitch their ideas, and Timmy assures them that Raymond will fall in line should they be pleased with the outcome. Don and Pete agree that only Stan will work on the secret campaign.

Dawn walks into a diner; obviously uptown judging by the sea of brown faces. She meets a friend to discuss her wedding; for which Dawn is the Maid of Honor, and Dawn’s difficulty finding a date. Cut to Joan’s mom getting her makeup done by Jane’s old friend Kate who now works for Mary Kay. Gail commandeers their reunion; she’s made dinner and wants to be a part of things although Joan clearly had other ideas. She cancels reservations for the two of them after learning she has an interview with Avon in the morning.

Don meets Sylvia in the elevator and they kiss. “Where have you been I missed you?” she asks. She’s on her way out while Don’s on his way. She’s mysterious about her destination and Don is curious. Back at Joan’s Gail lets on that she is proud of her daughter and her accomplishments at SCDP. Joan seems surprised, and starts to look at herself in a seemingly new light when Kate chimes in that she’s also impressed.

The following morning Ken and Harry have a talk about his struggles with his in laws; namely, Ed Baxter of Dow Chemicals, which has been catching major slack for its production of napalm used in the Vietnam War. With protests popping up left and right, including more than a dozen folks showing up to the company lobby, Baxter is concerned about public perception of their brand. Harry tells Ken he has an idea to help him.

Meanwhile Ginsberg and the new female copywriter speculate on the details of Project K. Stan walks into a room marked “Private” and Don follows soon after. Inside, Stan hands Don a joint claiming, “it clears the cobwebs.” Don actually takes a hit, and they discuss his Ketchup ideas. Dawn and Harry’s secretary Scarlett discuss their colleague Clara’s birthday and an outing to purchase her gift. Scarlett asks Dawn to punch her out when she leaves because she’s not coming back to the office.

Megan goes over her lines in her dressing room when fellow actress and the writer’s wife Arlene hips her to the fact that she’s about to embark on a love affair with a main character. Megan is ecstatic albeit nervous about her first love scene. Arlene cautions her to warn Don and offers to take the two to dinner to “make him more comfortable.” “I think it’s best to be up front,” she advises. “Mel has big plans for you.”

Don needs a change of scenery and arrives home on time from the office although he’s still much to complete. Megan breaks the news, hoping he’ll take it well. “What am I supposed to say?” he asks. She tells him to trust her, keep in mind it’s part of her job and look on the bright side. He says, “I can tolerate this but I can’t encourage it.” She appears satisfied with that answer.

The next day Ken brings his father-in-law to the office to meet with Harry, who proposes a Joe Namath television special sponsored by Dow Chemical. Joan goes looking for Scarlett after discovering her time card scam. Not satisfied with her explanation she confronts Dawn hoping to catch her in her lie. When she sees Scarlett signaling to Dawn to corroborate her story, she fires her on the spot. Harry quickly finds out and confronts Joan, telling her she owes Scarlett and apology. “I’m tired of your petty dictatorship,” he shouts. Joan gives up the fight; telling Scarlett to do what she thinks is best. Harry interjects that she’ll do whatever he thinks is best.

Moments later Harry looks in on a partner’s meeting and becomes simultaneously paranoid that Joan is tattling on him and incensed that she is a partner and he is not. He bursts into the conference room and brings up the earlier incident, although Joan actually hasn’t said a word. He brings up the $150,000 worth of incremental business he’s just scored with Dow, and then lights into Joan. “I’m sorry my accomplishments happen in broad daylight and I can’t be given the same rewards.” He then announces his goals for partnership. “The next time this group is called to order I expect to be sitting at this table. I’ve actually earned it.”

“Don’t worry dear, that’s not going to happen,” Cooper assures Joan, while she sits obviously humbled by Harry’s words. Pete takes that awkward moment to remind her that she can’t fire Dawn because she meets their negro quota. Don chimes in that she’s a good secretary. Once again Dawn is late to dinner with her friend. She laments the drunken, volatile atmosphere at SCDP and her friend chides her about her acquaintances there and her assumed timidity in the face of ‘the man.’ As a parallel, Joan has dinner with Kate. She’s obviously pissed about what happened earlier and taking it out on her friend. In just a few hours time she’s gone from being placed on a pedestal for what she’s done, to the bottom of the barrel. –Next Page – More Recap

Don and Megan have dinner with Arlene and Mel and engage in small talk, which soon takes an interesting turn. “Why don’t we go to our pad, smoke some grass and see what happens.” Don and Megan are hesitant, not quite sure what that means. “We like Megan and we like you, and we want to be friends, “Arlene says. “It may not work, it’s a chemistry experiment,” Mel offers. Don and Megan catch their drift, and pass on the offer.

Joan and Kate take a cab to the Electric Circus with Leo the restaurant manager. While Kate is happy to engage him in some tongue hockey, Joan refuses to play. Once at the nightclub, she sits on the opposite end of the couch, legs crossed, arms folded, while Kate and Leo go at it. It isn’t until a friend of Leo’s sits beside her and shows some interest that she loosens up, kissing him and letting the psychedelic, free-spirited vibe take over.

The next morning Roger and Bert invite Harry to talk. They offer him a commission check amounting to more than his yearly salary for his work with Dow. Still he isn’t satisfied and again vies for a partnership, reasoning that he’s earned it and once again bringing up Joan and her lack of merit. He makes a soft threat, hoping another firm doesn’t notice his worth before they do. They’re unmoved. “That was the most impressive thing he’s done,” Bert says. “Should we fire him before he cashes that check?” Roger wonders aloud.

Don sits in bed while Megan prepares for her workday. “Wish me luck,” she says, knowing he is wishing the opposite. Joan and Kate sleep in after their night on the town. Gail makes a final attempt to waken the two ‘layabouts,’ stating that she has an appointment. Kate regrets cheating on her husband the night before. “I’m really not you am I?” she asks Joanie. “Why would you want to be?” Joan counters. Refuting Kate’s perception that she’s got it all, she complains about her treatment at SCDP. “I’ve been working there for 15 years and they still make me feel like a secretary.” “What’s it got to do with them?” Kate asks. “I don’t care how they make you feel it’s right in front of you for the taking.”

Don, Stan and Pete meet up with Timmy to pitch their Ketchup campaign. “It’s a testament to ketchup that there could be no confusion,” Don explains of the ad, which is missing the actual Ketchup bottle. He christens it ‘tantalizingly incomplete,’ but the Heinz execs say it feels like half an ad. They promise to be in touch, and the three leave the suite only to run into the CGC crew in the hallway. Don tells Stan and Pete to wait by the elevator and listens in on Peggy’s pitch. He’s surprised impressed outraged to hear her use a nugget of wisdom he imparted back in Season 3 “If you don’t like what they’re saying change the conversation,” she changes slightly to make her own as she frames the catsup versus ketchup conversation.

Joan finally makes it to the office and Dawn promptly offers an apology for the time card fiasco. Joan puts her in charge of the time clock as punishment. Dawn thanks her and says she only cares about Joan’s opinion of her. As the SCDP crew lunch at a nearby diner, Peggy and Ted Chaough enter letting them know Timmy gave the account to J. Walter Thompson. Suddenly, Ken Cosgrove walks in and announces that Raymond knew they were meeting with Timmy and has walked as promised, before turning on his heel. Don and Stan also leave respectively, but not before Stan flips Peggy the bird. “I think I see a friend,” he says on the way out.

Don goes to set and watches Megan “perform” her love scene. “You like to watch don’t you?” Arlene inquires as she spots him. Megan is noticeably uncomfortable when she realizes Don was there. “You don’t want me to see that?” he asks. “It’s a whole lot better than my imagination running wild.” “I’m sick of tiptoeing around you when something good happens to me,” she says, questioning his motivation for showing up at this point when she’s been working there for months. “You couldn’t stop it so you had to ruin it.” “Have dinner w Mel and Arlene tonight, they’re much more open minded,” he suggests, and in true hypocritical fashion high tails it to Sylvia’s.

Before sealing the deal he asks Sylvia to remove her cross. “What do you do when I leave here? Get on your knees and pray for absolution?” he asks her. “I pray for you. For you to find peace,” she answers.

Review

I love how we’re put face to face with some real live swingers – so apropos for that time.

Speaking of which, Joan and Kate chilling at the Electric Circus is a wonderful historically accurate piece of late 60’s/early 70’s New York City culture. The actual Electric Circus nightclub was really on St. Marks Place in the East Village from 1967 – 1971.

Funny how all the women on this show face the struggle of marriage versus career. Just once we’d like to see a woman happy working and not desperate to find a husband.

*Ahem* “Church is impossible. You can’t stand out in that crowd of harlots.”

Was Stan’s “Pass the Heinz” slogan a sign that he smokes too much weed?

Arlene’s “I’m sure he’s a man who plays many roles” comment was not wasted on us.

Joan’s “Just go before you really embarrass yourself” to Scarlett was ironic, given it was she that wound up humiliated in the end.

“I think everything should be done in secret.” A sentiment that Don and Stan share.

Oh. Don’s “You kiss people for money. You know who does that?” was the lowest of all blows. I almost wish she’d countered with the age-old and accurate “Your mother.”

Project K? Was there ever a covert op so obvious? So obvious that no one figured it out.

There goes Bob Benson again trying to be involved. It’s hilarious when Don completely ignores him.

Poor Harry can’t even frame an ultimatum properly. “I think you mean if she goes I go,” Bert offers, after he threatens to leave if Scarlett doesn’t, in error.

And speaking of Harry, it was pretty genius of him to tap into Joe Namath’s star power at that time. 1967 was preeminent to his self-titled Joe Namath Show, and a good run in movies and television.

Bert’s “I was different than you Mr. Crane, in every way.” Fin.

Seriously, what the heck happened at the Electric Circus that would leave Joan’s dress torn the next morning?

“If you don’t like what they’re saying, change the conversation.” – Peggy Olson. Sound familiar? “If you don’t like what’s being said change the conversation.” – Don Draper Season 3 Episode 2 “Love Among the Ruins”

Am I the only one kind of hoping that Joan takes Kate’s advice and the bull by the horns to bring Peggy/Don’s “change the conversation” adage to fruition? Joan knows, as do we, that she’s capable of more than just running the secretaries.

In Inside Episode 4, Matthew Weiner states that “To Have and to Hold “ is about cheating. Again, loyalties were challenged on all fronts, and not many stood the test of time. Don, who championed ‘dancing with the one who brought you’ back in Episode 3, is front and center wooing Heinz Ketchup despite Raymond Geiger’s warning to stay away. In the end it bites him in the ass when they lose the race with the other agencies and the Heinz account altogether.

On the home front, he’s unhappy that Megan has love scenes at work, (ironically as an illicit affair with a married man) while he’s actively cheating on her with their neighbor and friend. Perhaps his own disloyalty fuels his stance against Megan’s job description. She’s been up front about her new role and what comes along with it, and he punishes her for that. Does he think what he does is better because it’s done in secret? Was the meeting with Heinz OK because it was supposed to be kept from Ray? When we think about it, what made Arlene and Mel’s proposal so bad? As Megan noted, they’ve managed to remain married for 18 years keeping everything out in the open. What makes swinging less acceptable than cheating in secret?

On the friendship front, Peggy proves to Ted she’s ready for war by betraying her friend. Stan is obviously hurt, knowing that she dropped the dime to her agency about Heinz Ketchup being unhappy. Still, we wonder if she bargained on him ever finding out. We have yet to see how she truly feels about ‘cheating’ on Stan.

Joan is feeling the effects of her indiscretion and rise to partnership when Harry brings them up after storming in to a partners meeting. We’re sure she’s wallowed in the mire by her lonesome, but confronting the situation in front of those not initially privy to the terms under which her stake in the company was won proves to be a new animal and leaves her at a loss for words. She did, after all, ‘cheat’ her way to the top. As a secret, she can be proud around her mom and her friends. When it’s out in the open, she’s subject to public shaming by people like Harry who feel they deserve and have worked for what she has. It’s like she tells her friend Kate who ventures into the City to cheat on her job and her husband: when you get home everything will be in place.

What we can take away from tonight’s episode? Someone is always watching. Even Don knows this. Perhaps that’s why he turns Sylvia’s cross to her back.

Mad Men Season 6 Episode 3 "The Collaborators" | Recap & Review

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:00:00 -0400

Somehow I thought there was some dignity in granting permission” – Trudy Campbell

col·lab·o·rate [kuh-lab-uh-reyt]

verb (used without object), col·lab·o·rat·ed, col·lab·o·rat·ing.

1. to work, one with another; cooperate, as on a literary work: They collaborated on a novel.

2. to cooperate, usually willingly, with an enemy nation, especially with an enemy occupying one’s country

In “Inside Episode 3” Matthew Weiner confirms that “The Collaborators” was about “the unspoken rules” and “how you get around this agreement that you’ve made.” The characters and the audience are confronted with several collaborations; some known and some unbeknownst to the players. Mistresses and wives are seeking comfort in each other’s arms and alliances are tested. Some break the rules, some make the rules. Some have yet to decide if they want to collaborate after all.

Recap

Episode 3 opens with Pete and Trudy seeing their dinner guests out the door of their Cos Cob pad. Pete helps the two blondes into their coats and brags that he can score them tickets to “Hair.” Meanwhile Trudy schmoozes with their husbands about neighborhood events. It appears they are both flirting; “Do you dress like a bunny,” one asks when she let’s on they’ll be hosting an Easter egg hunt. She assures them it’s a wholesome event. Peter offers his card to Brenda; one of the blonde wives, and offers to meet her in the City with the tickets. As indicated by their certain glances, this is obviously code for “Let’s meet in the City and have an affair.”

“What was that about the pool?” Pete asks Trudy of a comment made by one of the husbands as he exited. “He’s insistent we all go skinny dipping,” she replies. So very inappropriate, but it appears as long as they were all in the same room the flirting was fair game. Pete sits down to watch war updates on the tube.

Cut to Sylvia and Dr. Rosen fighting in the hallway over money while Don waits on the elevator. Awkward. “You’re lucky your wife works,” Arnold says after revealing that he suspects she’s sending her allowance to their child. Don presses 18, letting Arnold know he’s forgotten his cigarettes. This is obviously code for “I forgot to have sex with your wife.” Arnold issues another cigarette warning while Don heads back upstairs. “I knew it would be you,” Sylvia says as she opens the door in her lingerie. He promptly has a whorehouse flashback from his childhood when he and his pregnant step-mom arrived at Aunt Ernestine and Mack’s.

“I’m the rooster around here,” he schooled a young Dick Whitman. “Hump all the hens and I bring on the day.” –next page – More Recap-

Post coitus Sylvia feels bad. As they share a forbidden smoke she inquires, “You don’t mind sitting across the table from your wife and my husband?” “I don’t think about it, they’re both good company,” Don replies, followed closely by our personal favorite, “This didn’t happen.” Don gives her the money she’s been asking her husband for. Although it seems he’s just trying to be helpful (in the way he is usually most helpful), we can’t help but wonder if his whorehouse flashback prompted him to throw money at her after sex.

In Peggy’s office, a black secretary (ahem, somewhat like Dawn) recommends that she offer the creative team some encouragement. She tries but we’re not sure they get it. Pete brings Brenda to his city apartment. For some, strange reason he offers her peanuts and cheese crackers. She plays coy, but soon they kiss and get down to business.

Back at the SCDP headquarters Heinz’s Raymond Geiger brings Timmy of the ketchup division to meet with the crew behind the baked beans campaign. Then in a twist of events Raymond forbids them to have any further contact with him. It seems there’s internal beef in the company and he doesn’t want them to pursue the account for fear of being overshadowed. “Sometimes you’ve got to dance with the one that brought you,” Don tells a livid Ken. Interesting advice from a man who dances with whoever he so pleases.

Peter wraps up his “dalliance” as Weiner likes to call it, and Brenda gets a bit too familiar. “This place could really use a woman’s touch,” she says, the first indication that she’s in a bit too deep. “I’m going to park my car in front of the driveway instead of in the driveway. That way you’ll know I’m thinking of you.” Pete however, is unmoved. “I’ve really got to get back can you move it along a little?” In the words of David Chappelle as Rick James, that was, coldblooded.

Sylvia walks in on Megan scolding and eventually firing her cleaning lady in the laundry room. She apologizes for staying for the show but explains she “didn’t want to pretend.” You know, like how she pretends to not be sleeping with her husband. Megan bursts into tears and Sylvia tries to comfort her. They go upstairs and talk about the show and her secret miscarriage. She blames herself, and hints that she was not very careful in Hawaii, which we think means the drinking and pot smoking.

“What do you have to feel guilty about?” Sylvia asks, because in her eyes Megan is a sheep to her wolf in sheep’s clothing. For starters she didn’t tell Don. But what she’s most upset about is being happy that she’d miscarried because it didn’t fit in with her career plans. Sylvia tells her she doesn’t relate, but she’s actually surprised to know that Don and Megan are still sleeping together.

When Don arrives from work to his wife and mistress having a heart to heart, there’s some discomfort in the air. He’s shocked to see her and she’s got mixed emotions about what she’s just learned. She leaves and he reminds her that they are having dinner the following night.

Back in Peggy’s office a mysterious feminine deodorant powder appears on her desk. Thinking it’s a new product to pitch she brings it to Ted with questions. Turns out her team of creative underlings have played a prank on her. Keeping the unpleasant events rolling, Herb of Jaguar shows up at SCDP and high-tails it to Joan’s office. “I had no idea you’d be darkening my doorway,” she responds. He asks why she hasn’t been in touch and tells her she can have a Jag whenever she wants. She’d rather take the bus. “I know there’s a part of you that’s glad to see me,” he reaches.

Joan enters Don’s office and pours herself a drink, obviously frazzled by Herb’s presence. Don leaves to meet with him, equally offended. Once in front of the team Herb pleads his case for local advertising, citing the need for foot traffic in his Englewood, NJ dealership and suggesting radio spots as the vehicle. The catch is, this isn’t approved by Jaguar’s higher-ups, and will have to not only be presented as the agency’s idea, but implemented within the existing budget. Don argues that downsizing the national campaign to make room for a local one directly opposes the idea that everyone approved. Still, Pete promises to make it happen, like he did with Joan. After Herb’s departure Pete gets on Don for not catering to Herb.

Peggy’s working late and calls Stan; her work husband that no longer works with her, to vent. “Everyone hates me here,” she laments. “You worked for me and you like me.” “I worked with you,” he corrects. Stan shares the Heinz story with Peggy, and when Ted Chaough walks in on her call she shares it with him. “There’s nothing like things going badly when you leave is there?” he asks only half jokingly.

On the night of the Draper/Rosen dinner, Megan decides she isn’t feeling well enough to attend. She does however; want Don to go without her since she feels it’s too late to cancel. We wonder if she’s really ill or still feeling the sting of judgment from Sylvia. Pete and Trudy get a surprise when a bloody Brenda beats on their back door. “Campbell she’s your problem now,” her husband shouts after roughing her up. Pete calls all of Brenda’s nearby relatives in an attempt to find her somewhere to stay. Trudy takes good care of her, tending to her wounds and insisting on driving her to a hotel. Pete is visibly shaken and annoyed “Take me to the city I want to be with you,” Brenda pleads. “Absolutely not,” he replies, and tries to call her a taxi.

Don goes to dinner with the Rosen’s and briefly discusses the war before the Dr. gets a phone call. Sylvia takes that opportunity to powder her nose. The Rosen’s return to the table and as usual, duty calls for Arnold. Don and Sylvia are left behind; Sylvia pointedly upset. Don attempts small talk but she’s too bitchy to bite. “You enjoy how foolish they both look,” she accuses, refusing to enjoy their time alone. Don puts the pimp hand down and calls her out for changing the rules. “You want to feel shitty up until the time I take your dress off,” he throws back at her. Instant. Attitude. Adjustment.

Pete stays up until Trudy comes home, and when she does it’s obvious that she knows why Brenda was beaten out of her home. The next morning she sets some rules of her own. “Couldn’t you just pretend? I let you have that apartment. All I wanted was for you to be discreet,” She admonishes. “We’re done Peter. This is over.”

Megan stays up until Don comes home, and when he does she breaks the news. “I wish you would have told me,” he says. “I didn’t know how you’d feel. I didn’t know what you want,” she replies. “I want what you want. Is that what you want?” he assures/questions. Wait, what?

In a cruel twist of fate, Ted uses what Peggy told him in confidence to go after Heinz Ketchup. “Maybe you need a friend more than you need a job,” he says when she expresses that she and doesn’t want to betray her friendship. Don makes the pitch Herb Rennet suggested but makes it look ridiculous. The higher-ups are confused, and veto the change in favor of the one they signed off on. Herb is livid and so is Pete. “Why can’t you just follow the rules?” Pete asks Don. You know, because they both normally excel at following rules.

“I wasn’t feeling well. Something about that guy makes me sick,” he retorts, before comparing the situation to Munich. “We just keep saying yes no matter what because we didn’t say no to begin with.” “Who the hell won the war” Pete asks, walking out in frustration. To his point, America did win the final battle.

Bob Benson approaches Pete and starts his by now signature riding act. “I’m glad it looks like that to you,” Pete tells him after he paints a picture of Pete doing something he loves.

“It’s all about what it looks like, isn’t it?” he continues. Indeed.

Don knocks on the Rosen’s door, but Arnold is home. When Sylvia tells him to return the next morning he flashbacks to watching his step-mother, still with child, sexing Mack through the keyhole of a rooming house door. He makes his way upstairs to his apartment, but instead of entering he sits on the floor.

Review

How many characters are doing their best Don Draper impersonation in this episode? Peggy still as a boss, and now Pete as a lothario. The irony in it all is that Don Draper is an amalgam, and the man behind the name is struggling with identity.
When the heck are we going to find out who Bob Benson is? When Herb asks “Who are you?” and he responds “I’m part of the team,” is it aspirational?
Megan is completely dishonest with Don about wanting a family. When they have the “talk” about her miscarriage neither of them even reference the issue aloud. She fails to tell him she wants to focus on her career when he asks what she wants. We have a feeling this topic won’t disappear that easily.
Is Pete making Benson fetch him toilet paper symbolic? Just wondering.
What’s up with the maids in this episode? From ruining laundry to smoking in a “smoke-free” home, they’ve been screwing up big time.
Although we love Peggy, the prank her underlings played on her was kind of hilarious: “Makes you nicer if you’re stinky. Kills overly critical bacteria.”
The war references in this episode were so on point, specifically talk of the Tet Offensive which would have been happening around the time of this episode. Not a coincidence that the definition of collaborate is also linked to war.
Bing Crosby’s “Just a Gigolo” in the end credits as Don sits on the floor in front of his apartment, just turned away by his mistress was perfectly tragic.

Another relatively slow episode under our belts, but packed with build-up. To take it back to Weiner’s intent, who is really playing by the rules here? Don has a history of creating his own, being impervious to others’ and breaking any that are laid out for him. With Sylvia, he’s shitting way too close to his plate. The fact that she not only lives a floor away but is more than friendly with Megan makes this the most dangerous of liaisons. When Sylvia breaks the unspoken rule of not getting too attached, Don is quick to set her straight. She comes back with reinforcements, cautioning that falling in love was not a part of the plan.

Pete Campbell on the other hand is not as deft in the art of rule-breaking. Trudy lets us all know that she’s been hip to his City apartment game, and it only happened because she allowed it. His authority is in question not only at the office, but at home, and when Trudy decides to take it all back he folds. Meanwhile his entanglement with the fiasco that was Herb Rennet and Joan has him clearly delusional about ethical business practices. In the coming episodes we hope to see more of Trudy’s strength in battle.

Peggy is about to embark on her own battle. Whether it’s a war against her current or past colleagues remains to be seen. Will she breaks the rules of friendship and go after Heinz with Stan’s information, or refute Ted’s labeling SCDP as the enemy? As she continues to struggle with how she is viewed versus how she views herself, we hope she remains true to her own ideals and extends Stan the courtesy she would want in the same situation. That is after all, the golden rule.

nevver: Gatsby Covers

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:17:24 -0400

nevver:

Gatsby Covers

Mad Men Season 6 Episodes 1&2 “The Doorway” | Recap & Review

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:47:00 -0400

“That’s all there are: doors and windows and bridges and gates and they all open the same way and they all close behind you.” Roger Sterling

According to hearsay, Sunday night’s season premiere was disappointing. Still, I feel there was a lot of valuable material stuffed into those two episodes titled “The Doorway.” Maybe viewers weren’t ready to get all cerebral from the get-go, but Weiner took it there and I’m pretty sure he’s setting the stage for some major action and drama this season.

There were many doors opened and closed in those two hours; the doorway between life, death and the afterlife – a few times over. Winter of 1968 finds our characters grappling with death, rebirth, and the public perception of it all.

Recap

A woman screams, and through the lens of who we later find to be Don and Megan’s doorman Jonesy, we see who we will later find to be their neighbor Dr. Arnold Rosen attempting to resuscitate him. We hear someone, (Megan?) repeating “Oh my God,” and then that abysmal roar of the ocean. Suddenly we see Don reading Dante’s Inferno on the beach. “I woke to see myself in a dark wood.” Megan wonders aloud how long she’s been tanning and if she should be tanning at all. When her watch doesn’t work, she lets time stop. “You know what, who cares what time it is.” Don seems introspective, but calm. Back at The Royal Hawaiian Megan offers the doobies she’s scored and they mix THC with oxytocin.

Later at a traditional Hawaiian luau, a Sheraton exec encourages Don to “relax and get into the spirit of the island.” It appears he’s doing just that, until Megan is approached by a fan of To Have and to Hold. “You just have a way,” she gushes. When she asks for Megan’s autograph Don seems mildly amused, then mildly irritated. Megan is ecstatic.

Don doesn’t speak aloud for the first eight or so minutes of the show and Megan appears not to notice. Alone at the bar when a drunk veteran begins talking his ear off; he breaks his silence. Coincidentally Don and PFC Dinkins have the same cigarette lighter. He’s getting married tomorrow and needs someone to walk his wife down the aisle. Don is apprehensive, but Dinkins assures him it’s all in the name of good karma. “I believe in what goes around comes around.”

A compelling enough argument for Draper, for when Megan wakes up without him she need only look to the sand where he’s witnessing their vows. Cut to the Francis women at the ballet, plus Sandy, a violinist friend of Sally’s. After The Nutcracker Betty is pulled over for reckless driving and Grandma Pauline tries and fails avoiding a ticket by name-dropping her son.

“I can’t imagine it getting any darker than this” she overstates. “My mom’s dead,” Sandy offers as an alternative, and Betty laughs like she’s one of the girls. They make it home intact and Sandy is coerced into a violin performance which leaves everyone enraptured. Henry so much so that Betty suggests he rape her while she holds her arms down. *blank stare*

Meanwhile the Drapers are back in the city. As they enter the building Don has a flashback of Jonesy falling to the floor. This time we can see Dr. Rosen jump into gear, and Don freeze. He looks helpless and terrified, not even capable of following instructions. But then we’re back in the present and Jonesy is fully recovered. Megan blames their vacation for her minimal screen time in the new script.

And little, troubled, precocious Sandy is up late smoking a cigarette at the Francis residence. Betty finds her in the kitchen and sets her up with a snack and a heart to heart. Sandy hips Betty to the fact that she wasn’t accepted to Julliard, and she’s dying to move to the village and commune with other hippie teenagers in abandoned buildings. Betty tries to relate and offers encouragement, but her new and improved matronly steez only seems to alienate her.

Somewhere in the city Peggy and Abe come home from a dinner that’s left him with stomach problems. She receives a call from the job that their ad for Koss headphones needs to be changed because of a Tonight Show comedian’s poor taste in jokes.

The following morning Don and Dr. Rosen share an elevator and talk Leica cameras. Don invites him to the office to pick one up, gratis. Roger visits his shrink and attempts stand-up while lying down. “What exactly are you joking about?” the doctor asks. Don’s in the elevator again, this time at SCDP. There’s an interesting unknown along for the ride who just happens to have an extra cup of coffee with Don’s name on it. “People will take a few extra steps for a superior product,” he says. As if Don doesn’t know that.

Once off the elevator we see that joints have replaced booze in the office, at least with the creative team. Everyone has lots of facial hair, and there’s a mysterious old woman. “I had an experience. I don’t know how to put it into words,” Don tells everyone inquiring about his Sheraton pitch. Dawn emerges, almost a bit too perky and doe-eyed but seems right on top of everything. Pete’s taking portraits at the staircase leading up to their new build-out on the 38^th floor.

As Don prepares for a shoot in his office; which he’s not very happy about, he gazes out of the window. There goes that abysmal ocean roar again. He lectures the creative team on the misappropriation of the word love in a mock-up of a Dow oven cleaner campaign. He’s not sure that verb belongs in the kitchen. He tells them electricity is the name of the game. “What’s the difference between a husband knocking on a door and a sailor getting off a ship? About 10,000 volts.” Dr. Rosen watches from the door, swept up in Don’s analysis.

Roger’s secretary Caroline bursts into his office in tears. She’s just received a call that Roger’s 90 year-old mom passed away. Roger on the other hand, doesn’t seem surprised or even touched in the least. She downs the drink he’s given her and almost collapses. Peggy tries to reach Ted Chaough to no avail. Still, she hunkers down and rallies up the troops to come up with a solution to their Koss problem.

Don is visibly uncomfortable with the photo shoot. He lights a cigarette and realizes he traded his lighter for PFC Dinkins’. He’s flustered, losing focus and knocked out of his orbit. Next thing we know he’s awakened by Megan leaving for work and thankfully regrettably missing the Sterling funeral. She tells Don to relay her condolences.

As Roger entertains the geriatric crowd, Jane strolls in looking fabulous. They have a short conversation about his mother’s ring, and he assures her she should keep it.

Hazel Tinsley from Palm Beach insists on speaking first and rants about how much Roger’s mom loved him. Don hurls and Roger is set off when Mona shows up with another man. He kicks everyone out.

After Sally informs Betty that Sandy’s gone to Julliard early, Betty ventures into the city to find her. The contrast between her ritzy “ladies who lunch” apparel and the hollow village tenements is striking. She stands near the doorway for some time before crossing the threshold, and with good reason. The dirt, mice and darkness that await her are hardly worth the trip, until she discovers Sandy’s violin case.

Within the walls of that building Betty gets a good look at herself, from the point of view of her polar opposites. “What are you some kind of social worker?” she’s asked after explaining that the girl she’s looking for is not her daughter. The squatters ask her how to make Goulash, and she actually entertains them for a while, waiting for Sandy’s return.

Back at the funeral Roger gives his daughter water from the river Jordan that they were baptized in. She appreciates the gesture, but is more interested in Roger helping her and Brooks with a business opportunity. She’s looking for money and inheritance, and although Roger takes it in stride it does hurt him a bit.

Megan returns from a hard day’s work to Don back in bed. After Pete and Ken help him home, (where he all but attacks Jonesy asking what he saw when he died), he recuperates in the dark. She hands him Dinkins’ lighter that he trashed, no doubt in an effort to trash the mixed feelings that experience evokes. Much like the feelings it symbolizes, it keeps reappearing. Once Betty is sure that Sandy’s not coming back, and has been sufficiently insulted by the teenager she allegedly sold her violin to in order to make it to the West Coast, she heads home, only to have Sally close the door in her face. Peg gives her underlings a taste of Don Draper and gains some inspiration from Abe.

Don asks Dawn to return Dinkins’ lighter. Roger keeps insisting he doesn’t feel anything. Ken reams the mysterious dude from accounts for lurking and trying to be seen. Don has to make an impromptu mini pitch to Sheraton. He’s obviously still not able to put the experience in words - at least, not ones that will entice folks to Hawaii. The Sheraton execs find it dark and ominous, not to mention lacking any visuals of their hotel.

Roger finally reaches his breaking point when he receives notice that his shoe shiner Giorgio has also died. Don and Megan have an intimate NYE party in their building with two other couples, including the Rosen’s. They show the stills from their Waikiki getaway, and there goes that old feeling again. Next click shows Don at Dinkins’ wedding. Peggy and Stan have a late night call when Ted Chaough appears dressed to the nines. He loves her new Koss idea, but hates that she’s made the rest of the team work on the holiday when she had a genius solution on deck.

Doctor Rosen gets called to a patient at 1:00AM. He actually skis there in the thick of a snow storm. Now that’s dedication. Finally, Don answers the question from Season 5. He knocks on the Rosen’s door after Arnold has gone to save a life in the inclement weather and makes love to his wife. Turns out she’s the one who put him on to Dante. Is he alone?

Review

Roger calling Don “Don Ho” upon his return from Waikiki made me chuckle.

While we’re on Don, I wonder which circle of hell he’s in right now. I thought it was limbo throughout the episode, but after the final scene he may have made the transition to lust.

So many things in this episode scream of the impending 70’s, from the décor in Don’s office to Megan’s outfits to Pete and Roger’s sideburns. Janie Bryant did the damn thing with wardrobe.

Is it just me or was Peggy’s face beat into submission. Props to whoever did her makeup in this episode. Also, that navy suit with the emerald buttons she wore when meeting with the Koss representative was to die for.

Roger telling Caroline to “Talk to Joan, she’ll know what to do,” after his mother passed was just a little bizarre. Especially considering she offered not one word of sympathy to him and didn’t show up to the funeral. (I’m assuming she was invited. She did bear one of Roger’s children after all.)

And taking things a step further, was Stan calling out Joan’s slight in Roger’s time of need a sign that things done in the dark are about to come to light?

Does Betty’s ripped coat symbolize something else? Those squatters really did get under her skin. That bottled blonde comment was enough to send her running to the salon for a drastic change.

Wait, while we’re on Betty, wtf with those rape references? I blame Rick Ross.

I adore all of the ‘stop smoking’ warnings in this episode.

The notable quotes in this episode were abundant. It seems every other scene there was something profound and/or hilarious said. Here are my favorites:

“Bob Benson SCDP? Who the hell is that?” There goes Roger again, saying the very thing we’d been wondering the entire episode.

“So you’ll still love me even if I’m a lying cheating whore.” – Not an accident that Megan says this to Don and not the other way around.

Oh, speaking of lying and cheating, kind of cool he’s cheating on Megan with Lindsay Weir. (Linda Cardellini)

“It kills you to be out of control” followed by “We don’t like your life any more than you do.” That darned squatter hit Betty with so many zingers.

“I hate cops.” Oh, Sally. A bit young and privileged to already be anti-establishment. The Summer of Love did show its effects all across the country.

“I hate it! You’re ugly!” followed by “What happened to you?” The kids’ reactions to Betty’s new hair were priceless.

“People will do anything to alleviate their anxiety.” Ain’t that the truth Dr. Rosen.

“It’s incredible how fast some people come up with lies.” Betty was getting it from all sides this episode, but she took it in stride. We have a feeling Sandy started the job that the squatter finished when it came to Betty’s changed perception of herself.

“Are you on dope.” – Sandy wasn’t, but everyone else sure was!

My, how times have changed. As Weiner noted in Inside Episode 1-2, they are fresh off the Summer of Love and hippies are in full force. Society is changing, so small things like Dr. Rosen shaking Dawn’s hand rather than making an off-color joke about her being black, and stories about “flamboyant” trysts in the men’s room at Bloomie’s are all a sign of shifting attitudes and increased inhibitions. These shifts act as a microscope. You can see yourself and others more clearly after a change in routine.

And that is precisely what happens with our old friend Don Draper. He made a connection to himself in Hawaii – not the persona he’s forced to play out every day. Perhaps that’s why his chance meeting with Dinkins caused such discomfort. As Weiner said, their connection was a reminder of his military life, and thus the life that he left behind and the one that he created. Don gets the spooks when he reads the engraved lighter in his office: “In life we often have to do things that are not our bag,” like, walking a total stranger down the aisle at her wedding or taking corporate photos. The photographer wants to see Don lost in a confident thought, but the thing is, his thoughts aren’t so confident lately. When he asks him to be himself it’s loaded. When has he ever?

Also struggling with identity and perception issues is Betty. She seems to be just now growing into her motherhood, and we can’t even fault her. Everyone has their own path. But that growth is accompanied with the realization that our vision of ourselves doesn’t always correspond with what the world sees. When she gets a look at herself from the squatter’s view, it prompts her to make a change, albeit in appearance.

And then there was death, hovering over everyone, lurking around every corner. Three people died in this episode, and one of them came back to life. It was intriguing to Don that he saw Jonesy lifeless in his building lobby, and then back to his old self. When he asks if the light he saw when he “died” was at the beach, we wonder why he associated the peacefulness of Hawaii with death. But maybe the death Don’s longing for isn’t a long walk into the crashing waves. All this talk about identity vs perception had Don on the course for rebirth, this time as his actual self.

Roger is looking death in the face as an inevitable door you walk through. He doesn’t see a rebirth, he sees finality, and that makes the mistakes he’s made that much more heartbreaking. More than loss, he feels regret when his mother passes away. Gone are any chances to do the things he’s always felt he should. While he’s busy cracking jokes and trying to deny his feelings, it takes the death of a virtual stranger to break him.

Peggy’s rebirth is mainly characterized by doing things “Don used to do.” She’s come a long way from that frightened, insecure girl who was Don’s secretary and took crap from basically everyone. Now she’s confident, polished, professional and knows how to use her talents. She’s managed to take what Don taught her and make it her own. Out of all our characters in this premiere, Peggy’s made us the most proud. She’s walked through the right doorways and managed to keep them swinging behind her.

Mad Men Season 5 Refresher Course

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 17:13:30 -0400

Need to catch up on Season 5 before tonight’s premiere? I’ve got you with the highs and lows of all 13 episodes.

Episodes 1&2: “A Little Kiss”

Quotable: “Dissatisfaction is a symptom of ambition. It’s the coal that fuels the fire.” – Trudy Campbell

Major Themes: Discontent, Perception vs. Reality

Cultural Significance: The Equal Employment Act played a major part in this episode, and that time period.

Do Remember: It’s the spring of 1966: We’re thrown into an SCDP world where Lane Pryce is beginning his descent, Joan Harris is struggling with new motherhood, Harry Crane is a weirdo, and Betty Francis is missing.

The Best of The Good & The Bad: Scene aesthetics: set design and wardrobe pointed to the change of the times and were a nudge in the direction of the 70’s.

Possible Season 6 Clues: Season 6 may find it hard to gloss over civil rights and the changes in the workplace.

Episode 3: “Tea Leaves”

Quotable: “When is everything gonna get back to normal.” – Roger Sterling

Major Themes: Dealing with change, particularly the changing of the agency guard.

Cultural Significance: With equal employment in the air, there’s more focus on the hierarchy of the oppressed in the workplace. The British Invasion has teenage girls in frenzies all over the country.

Do Remember: Episode 3 reveals Fat Betty Francis and her cancer scare, and humanizes her just a bit. Until she discovers that she doesn’t have cancer. Then she’s back to spoiled, childish Betty. We’re also introduced to Michael Ginsberg, whom we get the sense will give Don a run for his money. Hollywood Harry surfaces and rubs everyone the wrong way.

The Best of The Good & The Bad: Harry trying so hard to impress Don and falling so short, mistaking Styx for the Rolling Stones and telling Don to feed himself before his family.

Possible Season 6 Clues: The brewing rivalries ofPeter vs. Roger and Ginsberg vs. Don may spill over into Season 6.

Episode 4: “Mystery Date”

Quotable: “That’s for nothing, so look out.” – Pauline Francis

Major Themes: Expect the unexpected, manifesting manhood

Cultural Significance: The Richard Speck Murders and Chicago’s Division Street Riots had everyone shaken up one way or another.

Do Remember: The surprise appearance of Andrea Rhodes spooks a sick Don as much as the horrors going on around the country. Joan and Greg’s relationship issues come to a head when she finds out he’s returning to the Army voluntarily. She kicks him to the curb and continues wearing the pants in the family.

The Best of The Good & The Bad: Peggy taking Roger’s money for copy, Henry’s mom drugging Sally, Peggy pegging Dawn in spite of herself.

Possible Season 6 Significance: Without jumping the refresher course gun, Joan goes through some traumatic shit in Season 5. Will she find love again in Season 5? Will it ever come out that she’s had Roger’s child?

Episode 5: “Signal 30”

Quotable: “It might have been living in the country that was making him cry. It was killing him with its silence, and loneliness, making everything ordinary too beautiful to bear.” – Dave Algonquin

Major Themes: The value of what you have vs. what you want; the pursuit of happiness

Cultural Significance: The episode’s namesake driver’s education video shows actual carnage on the road. England bests West Germany in the 1966 World Cup Final. A disturbed Charles Whitman opens fire on the University of Texas campus.

Do Remember: Lane drums up new business and effectively loses it when the boys have a night on the town. Peter succumbs to Trudy’s dinner party plans and has the gang on up to Cos Cob. Don reminds everyone that he’s Superman, and Cynthia (Cynthia!) reminds everyone that Ken is a writer. Pete finds manhood in prostitutes and Don cautions him not to lose what he has.

The Best of The Good & The Bad: Peter and Lane’s boxing match has to be one of the highlights of the season. Megan continues to take Don out of his comfort zone.

Possible Season 6 Significance: The brewing rivalries ofPeter vs. Roger and Ginsberg vs. Don may spill over into season 6.

Episode 6: “Far Away Places”

Quotable: “Your mind is always elsewhere.” – Abe Drexler

Major Themes: Escapism, rebirth, “Bardo Thodol”

Cultural Significance: “The Naked Prey” and “Born Free” movies, the surge of LSD as the new drug of everyone’s choice, the marketing of Howard Johnson as a getaway destination.

Do Remember: Don and Megan’s first major blow out, and the first in a series of tiffs that chips away at their relationship. Don; who has been slipping at work, gets a reality check from Bert Cooper. Roger and Jane call it quits after experimenting with mind-expanding drugs. The balance between a woman’s career and family is weighed.

The Best of The Good & The Bad: Peggy lets Abe see her soft side. Roger’s LSD hallucinations were masterfully shot and intricately linked. We start to realize that Dawn Chambers is just for show and we’ll never know much more about her.

Possible Season 6 Significance: Roger and Jane on LSD rendered this possibly my favorite episode of the season. If anything, their split has us wondering who will be his leading lady in Season 6.

Episode 7 “The Cod Fish Ball”

Quotable: “Nothing I had was mine because the game was thrown.” – Roger Sterling

Major Themes: Disillusionment, Disappointment , Getting what you want under uncertain terms

Cultural Significance: Don’s ACS debacle reminds us that up until this time it was still debatable that cigarettes were bad for your health.

Do Remember: Peggy’s sudden hopes for marriage culminate into an invitation to shack up. Still, she rsvp’s as if he’s proposed.

The Best of The Good & The Bad: Don and Megan’s tag team, Don’s realization that she’s actually good at advertising, Megan’s realization that she actually hates advertising.

Possible Season 6 Clues: Roger boning Megan’s mom was pretty inappropriate, yet still awesome. Always on the look-out for Roger’s next romance, we wonder if they’ll rekindle that spark this season. We’re sure to see more signs of Sally’s precociousness, and perhaps the reveal of her undetected lie about how Bluto hurt her ankle.

Episode 8 “Lady Lazarus”

Quotable: “I used to be like this; just reckless.” – Beth Dawes

Major Themes: Rising Phoenix, Rebirth, Old vs. New

Cultural Significance: There go those Brits again. The Beatles’ “Hard Days Night” is the song of choice for yet another ad campaign. Reference to Sylvia Plath’s suicidal novel of the same name gives this episode context.

Do Remember: Don is noticeably lagging behind in this episode, and even mentions to Megan that he can’t keep up. With the music, that is. Megan’s acting bug surfaces, Joan’ s shift from office vixen to mother hen…vixen

The Best of The Good & The Bad: Peggy answering the phone “Pizza House.” Nothing else needs to be said about that. There is however, much to be said about Peggy holding her own with Don Draper. This was one of the first times we saw her adequately standing up for herself. Pete’s foreshadowing of SCDP employees needing suicide coverage sent us .

Possible Season 6 Clues: We already know Megan’s been acting, and mini-spoilers point to her having acquired some notoriety of her own. Pete’s infidelity is getting a bit out of hand. Is 1967 the year Trudy finds out about his transgressions?

Episode 9 “Dark Shadows”

Quotable: ”It’s every man for himself.” Roger Sterling

Major Themes: Selfishness, Jealousy, Revelations of secrets

Cultural Significance: Betty at Weight Watchers. Was that the start of support groups for overweight women? The onset of Dark Shadows and America’s obsession with soap operas. Killer smog, yo? Who knew.

Do Remember: Don starts to realize Ginsberg could give him a run for his money and commences to get back in the game, even if it means playing dirty. Speaking of playing dirty, Fat Betty is up to her old tricks again, this time using her own daughter as a pawn.

The Best of The Good & The Bad: Roger paying off everyone to do his work, Remembering that Jane is Jewish

Possible Season 6 Clues: Will there be more head-butting between Don and Ginsberg, or have they settled into a comfortable coexistence?

Episode 10 “Christmas Waltz”

Quotable: ”Surprise, there’s an airplane here to see you.” Joan Harris nee Holloway

Major Themes: Avoidiance, Transference, Deception

Cultural Significance: The onset of Hare Krishna, “America Hurrah” and the anti-consumerism movement, Star Trek - a cult classic

Do Remember: Lane’s financial troubles and unorthodox way of dealing with them is revealed. Paul Kinsey makes a surprise visit and Joan receives divorce papers from Greg - insult to injury. Don and Joan’s intimate exchanges are exhilarating. Megan gives Don the business after he shows up late and drunk for dinner. Betty she is not.

The Best of The Good & The Bad: Joan refusing to be bought by Roger, unlike everyone else. Weiner seemed to be calling out Hollywood in this episode, with Harry as its mascot and representing for all disingenuous peeps.

Possible Season 6 Clues: We notice Don and Joan have a special connection that we hope will be fleshed out this season. We asked this last season, but are we in store for any more blasts from the past? We so love those.

Episode 11 “The Other Woman”

Quotable: ”A wife is like a Buick in the garage.” - Megan Draper

Major Themes: Infidelity,Man’s obsession with the unattainable, Everyone has a price

Cultural Significance: Jaguar, a luxury vehicle signifies the turn of cars being desired more for fashion and status than function.

Do Remember: The way everyone (except Don) pimped Joan out in this episode left many of us with bad tastes in our mouths. Don does however cross the line with Peggy - throwing money in her face was the ultimate low blow. But she gets the literal last laugh when she scores a new job and salary increase at a competing firm and makes Don beg for mercy. Acquiring Jaguar - a much needed account to keep SCDP afloat, is tainted with scandal.

The Best of The Good & The Bad: The many comparisons of women to cars (and planes) kept us on our toes. Megan refusing to help Don with ad business, the juxtaposition of Joan and Peggy putting themselves in better positions financially and in their careers. Joan by “selling out” and Peggy by refusing to. Ultimately, who has the handsomer reward?

Possible Season 6 Clues: With Joan as partner, we’re looking forward to seeing what she imparts on the agency with new authority.

Episode 12 “Commissions and Fees”

Quotable: ”Everything you want to do, everything you think is gonna make you happy, just turns to crap.” - Glen Bishop

Major Themes: Paying the price, Out with the old, in with the new…Again

Cultural Significance: Clear The Catcher in the Rye references add value to Sally and Glens misadventures.

Do Remember: Sally makes the symbolic transition to “womanhood.” Not only does she sneak out; galavanting through the city with her old friend Glen, but she gets her period that very day. After Don laments the illusion of success, Lane’s Jaguar won’t start. Lane hanging himself in the office is truly the season shocker.

The Best of The Good & The Bad: Don relives his brother Adam’s suicide by hanging years earlier, which also came at the helm of being offered him money to go away. Glen Bishop writing a paper on Nat Turner was everything. Sally taking a cab from Manhattan to Rye for $25 bucks, which was actually almost $200 in 1966 evoked commentary on the evolving value of the American dollar. How’d she get that much dough anyways?

Possible Season 6 Clues: At the end of this episode, we think Don allowing a teenage Glen to drive was symbolic. Perhaps in Season 6 he’s ready to relinquish some control and trust his youthful counterparts a bit more.

Episode 13 “The Phantom”

Quotable: ”Easy to have, not easy to win.” - Peggy Olson

Major Themes: Menacing optical illusions, Perils of success

Cultural Significance: We think Peggy’s about to own a Virginia Slims campaign after she’s thrown a pack of lady cigarettes by her new employer. Nancy Sinatra’s “You Only Live Twice”

Do Remember: Don’s visions of his brother Adam and Beth Dawes having shock treatment were eerie. We can’t believe Megan’s succumbed to good old nepotism to get what she wants. Either that or we can’t believe she’s waited so long. Maybe she liked the novelty of the initial struggle. Also, seeing her relationship with her mother take a few sour turns intrigues us.

The Best of The Good & The Bad: Easy shots at Dawn’s ethnicity are so not cool. Also not cool was the fact that lane cost more in death than his debt in life.

Possible Season 6 Clues: We’re positive that Season 6 will reveal whether Megan’s role in the Butler ad is the reason or springboard for her sudden fame. I mean, the sudden fame we’ve heard rumors about. The venom with which Rebecca Pryce handled Don Draper has us wondering if that was the last we’d hear from her. On the contrary Don running into Peg at the theater lets us know we definitely haven’t seen the last of her. The gloom and doom that Peter displayed in this episode has us wondering if he’ll be up to the usual or gain a little happiness in those sideburns (and his own apartment in the City) from the Season 6 Episode 1 pics. How will Don answer the pretty blonde’s question? Is he alone?

"He was just going through one of them obligatory male numbers, all symbolic, no depth. Like the time..."

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:28:39 -0400

“He was just going through one of them obligatory male numbers, all symbolic, no depth. Like the time some dude came into the shop to talk some trash and Sinbad got his ass on his shoulders, talking about the dude showed no respect for him cause for all he knew I could be Sinbad’s woman. And me arguing that since that ain’t the case, what’s the deal? I mean why get hot over what if if what if ain’t. Men are crazy…Who’s got time for grand opera and comic strips, I’m trying to make a life for me and my kid. But men are like that. Gorillas, if you know what I mean.”

- ‘Medley’ - Toni Cade Bambara

"Minimalism is very cerebral and exacting. You can’t have anything disparate or out of place."

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:00:27 -0400

“Minimalism is very cerebral and exacting. You can’t have anything disparate or out of place.”

- Douglas Wittels, Douglas Wittels LLC

"To be a poet is to have a soul so quick to discern that no shade of quality escapes it, and so quick..."

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 13:03:17 -0500

“To be a poet is to have a soul so quick to discern that no shade of quality escapes it, and so quick to feel that discernment is but a hand playing with finely ordered variety on the chords of emotion - a soul in which knowledge passes instantaneously into feeling, and feeling flashes back as a new organ of knowledge.”

- Will Ladislaw

but you don’t hear me though/ nevver: Word on the street

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:19:41 -0500

but you don’t hear me though/

nevver:

Word on the street

words being verby/ nevver: Kafka

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:18:58 -0500

words being verby/

nevver:

Kafka

one more reason to leave NYC nevver: Forever

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:13:24 -0500

one more reason to leave NYC

nevver:

Forever

"You don’t fall in love like you fall in a hole. You fall like falling through space. It’s like you..."

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:27:24 -0500

“

You don’t fall in love like you fall in a hole. You fall like falling through space. It’s like you jump off your own private planet to visit someone else’s planet. And when you get there it all looks different: the flowers, the animals, the colours people wear. It is a big surprise falling in love because you thought you had everything just right on your own planet, and that was true, in a way, but then somebody signalled to you across space and the only way you could visit was to take a giant jump. Away you go, falling into someone else’s orbit and after a while you might decide to pull your two planets together and call it home. And you can bring your dog. Or your cat. Your goldfish, hamster, collection of stones, all your odd socks. (The ones you lost, including the holes, are on the new planet you found.)

And you can bring your friends to visit. And read your favourite stories to each other. And the falling was really the big jump that you had to make to be with someone you don’t want to be without. That’s it.

PS You have to be brave.

”

- Jeanette Winterson

explore-blog: “As long as you can make another human being...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:21:28 -0500

explore-blog:

“As long as you can make another human being say, ‘What happens next?,’ you’ve told a story.”

10 questions for Douglas Coupland.

"America, as Rap Brown pointed out, has always moved militarily because it has no superior..."

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:56:52 -0500

“America, as Rap Brown pointed out, has always moved militarily because it has no superior culture…Great cultures have always fallen to great guns.”

- Nikki Giovanni - Gemini