Mad Men

[chalkitdown]

Good ep, I thought. I like what they're doing with Duck.

[pledge]

Just realised that next week is the last one this season

[chalkitdown]

No it isn't. There's two left.

[pledge]

Oh that's good. CAT doesn't show one after next week. I thought it was odd that one season would be 13 and the next 12.

[Twinbee]

Erm, are you lot talking about a second series being aired on American TV or something? If so, any idea when BBC4 is gonna bag it?

Thought the first series was outstanding.

[chalkitdown]

Last nights episode was absolutely fantastic. Probably the best episode of the season for me, if not the best episode of the whole show. So many standout scenes. It pretty much guaranteed Jon Hamm another emmy for next year.

He's not leaving the show is he?

[lordcookie]

If so, any idea when BBC4 is gonna bag it?

The closest we have to a release date is "next year" which probably means around Feb/March again.

[Jimmyzilla]

last ep was...interesting, some of the stories kinda threw me a bit as to where it's going

[Jimmyzilla]

hmm really feels like there's too much going on this series, there's not enough time for any character to really shine (and Don's kinda boring now...)

[Halo]

The Simpsons' version of the opening titles

[Shoes]

I watch caught up on the last three episodes. They were all great. Duck turned amazing, and I always love Pete.

[srgbilco]

I just watched the last episode.

Amazing end shot of Pete sitting in his office alone with his shotgun. Very Sopranos-esque. I felt pretty bad for him in the end despite him being an odious little shit most of the time.

[ruby]

Can't wait for Season 2. Peter is so brilliantly obnoxious.

[Timmo]

I'm about half way through season one and adoring this. The pacing is so brave. Don and Peter are fantastic characters.

[lordcookie]

I'm nearly at the end of Season 2 (two more eps to go) and I must say that they dropped the ball with this season. They were building some really interesting things in the first series yet most of that has been discarded here and there is little cohesion between episodes. Characters get their episode to shine but it feels rushed because they are ignored through the rest of the show and then their stories are either ended in that episode or not really mentioned again. Instead they just build Don and frankly I'm quite bored of him now especially when there are some really interesting characters on the periphery.

[Magoo]

I'm nearly at the end of Season 2 (two more eps to go) and I must say that they dropped the ball with this season. They were building some really interesting things in the first series yet most of that has been discarded here and there is little cohesion between episodes

Have been watching this on BBC4 and I agree that it is less cohesive and so the awkward, dream like dysfunction of the thing does seem a little forced and hollow. It's not been to great detriment in terms of style and it has had some of the best moments and shots as a whole. However it is starting to beg the question of where will they go in the third season without that foundation.

[lordcookie]

My original post is probably overly critical - I am still enjoying the show, performances and cinematography - but I'd like to think it was going somewhere whereas at the moment I'm mainly tuning in out of habit rather than necessity.

[Paul3704]

I like the fact that the show doesn't really seem to go anywhere. It's nice to see a series where there isn't a really obvious cliffhanger at the end of every episode, though the last episode was a little weak for my tastes.

One of my favourite things about the whole series is how little things are really poignant; whether it's Duck leaving his dog, Don being woke up by his wife when he's on the couch or Salvatore putting the stolen lighter in his breast pocket, keeping it hidden from his wife whilst she watches TV.

I'm completely transfixed by Joan though.

[Sardan]

I love this show.

I actually like the fact it isn't going anywhere or at least isn't going anywhere fast. It makes a real change from lots of breakneck paced TV (which require lots of recapping for the slow-witted).

I also think it reflects the films and books of the period as well. The stories are character driven rather than plot driven. Makes a pleasant change.

The last episode was really good. I like the whole Duck subplot coming together (in quite a dramatic way). The Joy stuf was weird. I liked it but I am not sure where it is going.

That said there are loose ends I wish they would tie up:

Don's past could do with a bit more explanation. ALthough the name he used when making the telephone call in the last episode may hint at something in that

Peggy and Pete's baby v Pete's inability to conceive with his wife.

for example

[lordcookie]

The stories are character driven rather than plot driven. Makes a pleasant change.

Except they're neither character or plot driven. Take Sal's episode this series:

his affection for Ken came from absolutely nowhere and since then it hasn't really been mentioned or hinted at again. It feels cheap to just make a character do or act in a certain way without a build up or pay off. The same can be said for Joan's script reading exploits. By the end she had just returned to her normal job without any real hunger to go back to a job she was obviously great at.

Pete has been wasted this season too which is criminal.

[Paul3704]

I think Joan realises that, being a woman

she's not really going to go anywhere else in the office. When they brought the new guy in to do it instead, she just accepted it, though she did seem a little upset. Being 1960, she could hardly complain or go to a tribunal

.

I thought Sal's episode was one of the best.

It's apparent he's gay, but wants to appear like everyone else - lest it damage his career

.

I'm not keen on Pete at all, but I agree he's been underused this series.

I'd say it's definitely character focused, everyone has there own little secrets, which means nothing by todays standards - but it adds depth as they're never mentioned in front of others. Overall it's not as good as series one, but it's had some really good moments. I'm itching for Betty to start seeing someone.

[lordcookie]

I think Joan realises that, being a woman

she's not really going to go anywhere else in the office. When they brought the new guy in to do it instead, she just accepted it, though she did seem a little upset. Being 1960, she could hardly complain or go to a tribunal

.

Despite Peggy progressing quite nicely. I'm not asking for her to cause a hissy fit or sue the company but the storyline was just killed dead without any hint of it actually affecting her character.

I thought Sal's episode was one of the best.

It's apparent he's gay, but wants to appear like everyone else - lest it damage his career

.

I get that but why have him fancy a guy he has worked with for years when there has been no hint whatsoever that he was interested in him previously or after the Sal episode?

It is as if the characters act within their own vacuum rather than interacting naturally.

[Sardan]

I get that but why have him fancy a guy he has worked with for years when there has been no hint whatsoever that he was interested in him previously or after the Sal episode?

Nah the Sal stuff is great:

he is just very repressed about his homosexuality. There was an episode in the first series where he nearly got it on with a guy, a client IIRC, but backed out.

In the most recent episode when Kurt announces he is a homosexual Sal's face is brilliant as is Ken's reaction to it! That builds on the episode with Sal and Ken very very nicely.

And I don't think Sal had a big hardon for Ken anyway. It was like a fleeting crush - all part of the repression.

Just my view of it, obviously.

[Twinbee]

I'm still really enjoying this, although I agree with everyone here that it doesn't feel like it's building to something, like the first one was. I thought it was originally, with Don's affair with Bobbie Barrett, but he's just been kicked out.

There was a little hint a couple of episodes ago about Don's past, when there was that flashback to when he was a car salesman, and that woman came in and said 'You're not Don Draper'. We all know he

switched the dog tags

when he deserted, but I thought we'd maybe see more of that coming to haunt him.

Yes, this series seems to be giving each character his/her own episode, and then largely forgetting that the next episode. Because of this, I'm hoping that the writers are working to a longer-term plan, and that series 3 will allow for some really sizzling interplay, given that we will already have a decent knowledge of each character.

Favourite moment of the series so far: when Don accosted Bobbie Barrett at that meal to smooth things over between Jimmy Barrett and the Utz Nutz clients. "I will RUIN you!". Electrifying stuff.

And yes, Campbell has been underused.

Loving Peggy too. I really like her motivations and conflicts.

Performances are universally brilliant, too.

Come on, it's fucking ace, isn't it? Despite some flaws.

[Paul3704]

How good was that last night?

Best episode of the season for me, particularly with Peggy & Joans storylines.

[Sardan]

How good was that last night?

Best episode of the season for me, particularly with Peggy & Joans storylines.

Yeah - Brillaint, brilliant episode.

[LittleJoe]

I had a more comprehensive post for this but my PC crashed...

Just finished Season 1. Predominantly excellent, but a few moments slightly spoiled it for me. Peggy's pregnancy was very soapy and unlikely. Sure, there were hints, her weight gain (thought she always looked fat rather than pregnant) and the hilarious moment where Campbell's telling his pseudo-erotic huntsman story and she storms out of his office apparently aroused, but merely just having a real craving for an Apple Danish. But nine months pregnant? Surely, even in early 1960s America, she would have noticed? It's not like she's a naive teenager or something. In other elements of the show she's shown as relatively clued up (Going to the clinic in the first episode for example) and ambitious, perhaps too much, so how would she not notice a pregnancy? And for it all to happen in one episode was a bit shit I thought.

There were a few episodes that squeezed a bit too much into them, which was really at odds with the shows usually assured and sedate pace. The Hobo Code was a good example. We had Don getting with Rachel (which featured the least erotic and sensual acceptance of sex ever "Yes, Please"), loads of slightly hokey Don backstory, Salvatore's homosexuality 'unveiled' and quite a few other things.

But yea, it's sumptuously shot. You really do soak it in. I found myself looking forward to watching episodes just to see them, rather than because I was particularly keen on finding out the next twist or turn which, as someone else said, wasn't ever particularly the case with the series as it was very character driven rather than plot.

The women were gorgeous too, Joan, Rachel and Betty to name a few. I think I've discovered a 'thing' for early 1960s female fashion.

I was initially a little disappointed that Don didn't get with Rachel in the end, but I think it made the most sense. Rachel's independence was what attracted him to her so it wouldn't have made sense for her to become another fully fledged member of his hareem, but the two characters were so clearly made for each other so you could feel a lot of Don's angst as she slipped away along with pretty much every other aspect of his life towards the end of the Season.

Loved the Kodak pitch and the final scene...

Loved the many Ayn Rand namedrops. Perfectly sums up the creed by which many of the men live by.

Love the 'David Cohen, from the Art Department' scene.

The way he holds up the drinks at the end. And Sterlings face when Campbell agrees that Menkens really is 'just another Jewish department store'.

I agree with Graham S about some of the dialogue being a bit too self-aware of its audience. The typewriter line was one example of many that seemed to merely exist for a cheap laugh that in turn somewhat cheapened the characters themselves and took me out of the period.

Gonna buy the season 2 DVD asap.

Edit:

Really funny, makes you realise how (ridiculously) quickly Peggy gets pregnant, too.

[Foxworth]

Its awesome isn't it. I can't read the rest of the thread sadly as I'm waiting for the second season Bluray to pop through my letterbox any day now. I agree with you wholeheartedly about the sumptuous cinematography and the ladies. Oh my at times Joan looks like a goddess! Those hips! Although I think I prefer Betty! There is no way I would cheat on a lady like that!

I hope season two keeps up the same high standard of the first.

[LittleJoe]

Although I think I prefer Betty! There is no way I would cheat on a lady like that!

I don't know, she's pretty vacuous and neurotic at times. You can see how Don is unfufilled with her, even though a lot of her neuroticism is caused by him.

Another small complaint, I thought Don's scenes with the Bohemian chick were a bit of an obvious way to show the clash of the conservative, Republican early 1960s and the Psychedelic, Hippy, Woodstock 1960s we're all more aware of. Her character was never really fleshed out and she never appeared like the kind of woman Don would get with. Seemed a bit of a quick and cheap way of doing the wider context of the decade.

EDIT:

Allllllsooooo

Don's lying in bed at home after spending the night with Rachel or something, and as if to hammer home the fact that he's thinking about her and her being Jewish makes their relationship harder, Betty goes... "would you like an Egg and BACON sandwich?" and Don just does that slightly constipated, thoughtful look. Might have just been me, but I cringed.

I do like the series though, honest!

[Foxworth]

Yeah, but frigging look at her! Betty is unbelievably hot! Maybe its cos she would be easy to manipulate! mwahahahahaha!!! Don is an absolute bastard at times but yo can't help love him when he 'creates' pitches like the Kodak one. Its awe inspiring!

Isn't that bit where he's in bed and she says there's a egg and bacon sandwich on the range when he looks at the cufflinks? I think he's thinking about the night before rather than the Jewish thing.