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Mad Men

Jim Miles

By Jim Miles
in Film, TV & Radio

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Cosmic_Guru

Cosmic_Guru

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Playing through series 2 on DVD right now - just the last episode saved up for the weekend.

I can't recommend this show too highly - it's so classy and stylish it's untrue - a masterclass in subtlety and understatement. To me series 2 is much better than the first because we already have the platform in place, and the further development of characters such as Don and the business machinations. I agree the only misstep so far was the Peggy situation in series 1 which seemed ill thought through (she seemed to be upfront about getting contraception in the first place, perhaps she did not start using it and thereafter we must not underestimate the effect severe social stigma had on personal behaviour and self denial).

The DVD extras on Women's rights and 60's fashion are excellent too to accompany the show. Hopefully, and as perhaps indicated by the fashion piece, the show will continue through the rest of the decade.

Not one to watch though when trying to give up the booze or cigs.

John Slattery is younger than me -_-

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Foxworth

Foxworth

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I've been painfully restricting myself to just one episode a day. I'm finding some of the episodes underwhelming to begin with but something just clicks as the episode goes on and it just becomes perfection. I see quite a few similarities to Six Feet Under with this show. The way it is filmed the slow burning nature, the subtlety of it and the complexities of some of the 'extra' characters like Sal. The only thing I haven't enjoyed so much is Betty's wardrobe. Its not been so nice this season... Draper's secretary makes up for it.

Its certainly true what cosmic guru said. After watching an ep of this I get suddenly drawn to wanting something alcoholic.

Its good we don't have to wait long for the next season too because I can see from the 7 episodes I have seen so far that I am not going to want to wait to see the next season.

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Foxworth

Foxworth

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I got my friend to watch this; he loved it so much that he changed his hairstyle and now has it slicked back.

I'd do this in an instant if it got me girls like Joy. Fucking hell! :)

The rest of the season has been spectacular too. Its a good job we don't have long to wait until season.

Oh Joy!

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LittleJoe

LittleJoe

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Finished season two the other night. Pretty great. Got off to a slow start but was very entertaining towards the climax - can't fault it really.

I love how Don Draper is simultaneously a man you aspire to be like and yet someone that you can absolutely loathe and pity in the space of a single episode.

The episode were the comedian susses Don's affair with his wife and confronts him at the party is the best example of this (loved the closing shot with Betty throwing up in his coupe de ville, hilarious).

Might download the third series as it shows in America, first time I will have done such a thing since when I used to watch Lost...

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LittleJoe

LittleJoe

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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.

*Lots of spoilers, but I'm not gonna blot out the lot*

----------

I'm not sure about this. I thought Joan's firing from the script reading seemed to be part of quite a long trend of her being 'emasculated' throughout both series. She's very much the old guard in terms of what and how a woman can hope to succeed in the workplace. She uses her sexuality, looks and charm to get ahead, she acts like a stern mother figure to the other women - rather than a colleague, and is mostly happy to indulge in the men's lust for her.

Whereas Peggy is clearly the new guard, and Joan quite clearly resents this through much of the series. Peggy doesn't sexualise herself (too much) to get ahead, she uses her intellect and is openly ambitious, if a little charmless.

As Peggy quickly gets ahead, Joan loses ground and influence, partly down to her marriage and partly down to the introduction of younger, more attractive, women. For example, she cannot fire Joy as she beats her to the punch in flirting with Roger, a man Joan no longer holds under her sway now she is engaged. Joy is also more overt is parading her body than Joan is, and can 'out sex' her - she's shown as the new woman in the office who holds the men's gaze, and there's the scene where Joan has to, rather hypocritcally, tell her off for showing off too much cleavage and leg.

Her brief dalliance with script writing, and casual nature in which the men obviously see her in that role, as a useful helping hand, rather than an actual employee, as Peggy is seen (mostly), is just a small continuance of the failings of her outdated work ethic.

It's reflected in her home life, too. The scene where she's home from work, takes off her bra and rubs the sore strap marks on her shoulder seemed like an obvious clue that her reliance on sex to get what she wants to work was beginning to wane or had grown harder for her to keep up. Her husband's disinterest in her as a sexual partner and his domestication of her is also there - perhaps a sign that he is having an affair himself? And finally, you have the rape scene, which seems to be triggered by the clear past that the husband jealously observes between Roger and Joan. It's a clear conflict between her homelife and her the way she goes about her work life.

I don't think it's by coincidence that she is raped, controlled in the office. It seems like a rather clear way of showing her use of her sexuality in the workplace is failing and that she no longer holds any control over men, men she now realises don't take her at all seriously in the workplace, but rather just admire her for her 'waning' sex appeal and looks.

I agree with most of your other criticisms about secondary characters not really having a continuing or consistent storyline through the series. The Salvatore episode was a little abrupt, but I think Joan's story has been quite...ongoing.

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lordcookie

lordcookie

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I agree with what you've written but I still found her script exploits unsatisfying because it all happened within the space of an episode (from getting the job, being great at it and then being replaced). They are happy to do a slow build with Don - a character that really bores me now - so it would be nice if other characters were afforded such a luxury. It is true that you can piece together an arc for Joan (and I liked the way the final few episodes went with her character) but there are elements that are way too rushed for my liking.

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LittleJoe

LittleJoe

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I agree with what you've written but I still found her script exploits unsatisfying because it all happened within the space of an episode (from getting the job, being great at it and then being replaced). They are happy to do a slow build with Don - a character that really bores me now - so it would be nice if other characters were afforded such a luxury. It is true that you can piece together an arc for Joan (and I liked the way the final few episodes went with her character) but there are elements that are way too rushed for my liking.

Yeah, the script episode itself is really rushed. I think the writer's perhaps underestimate how interesting some of their 'secondary' characters are, and conversely, have overestimated how interesting Don's never ending existential angst/Identity crisis is.

I would love more on Salvatore, Joan and Pete. Pete seems to be almost becoming a figure of fun, a little bit of a caricature; Salvatore's home life could be explored a lot more and I'd like to see Paul's home life, it seems the writers only made him date a black woman so they could briefly touch upon the racial troubles of the 60s, which is fine, but they should make an actual story of it, rather than simply including it to get a feel of the Zeitgeist of the era which is something that's done a bit too much in the series - Don's relationship with the beatnik in series 1 being another example of that for me.

I think season three will have to shake things up a bit, as much as I enjoy the assured slow pace of the series, it can't really go on as it is for another 12-14 episodes.

Thanks, Pete. I like to think I pay a lot of attention to the women of the series. :)

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pledge

pledge

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Just watching season 2 with the commentaries in preparation for season 3, as I did last year before 2. I really like how Matt Weiner (the creator) goes to the effort to do the commentaries for almost all the episodes, it allows you to compare and contrast your thoughts with his intentions.

There's some nice season 3 publicity wallpapers for download on the AMC site

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pledge

pledge

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Yeah there was a lot to like about the first episode. A very different opening scene to that of season 2, which was very upbeat.

I'm sure I read that they planned to jump ahead two years each season, but seeing as Betty is still pregnant it appears they have jumped just 7/8 months? There's a lot of potential in the Ken vs Pete story. Pete's "What are you talking about!" was terrific, and I'm really like Trudy more and more. Not too surprised about the Sal thread as they were bound to include it sooner or later, and I hope they don't lay the 'Brits' stuff on too thick. They hinted at it a lot on the S2 commentaries, and it was evident at the end of this episode, that we are going to see the increasing power of the TV department and those who managed to get in when it started.

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pledge

pledge

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Yeah, the script episode itself is really rushed.

...

Paul's home life, it seems the writers only made him date a black woman so they could briefly touch upon the racial troubles of the 60s

Well the predominant reason that Paul was dating her was because of his political leanings and the reaction it got, which was the reason she dumped him when they went to the rally.

There was a bit about the script episode on the commentaries. My interpretation of their intention was to show how little faith the directors had in the TV department, and they were unwilling to allocate resources to it. So Joan ends up doing it as one of her side jobs, remember she was just taking a look at it for him she didn't change jobs. Then when it was a success after the meeting (which Joan attends and it was here prep work that made it succeed) they decided they should get someone in full time. So that meant hiring a man. Then to rub salt in the wounds it was just a mate of someone who took the job without even knowing what it entailed or what he would be doing, and Joan ends up having to teach him how to do it (off camera). They didn't dwell on it as it had happened to her many times before with other roles and she wouldn't expect to be considered for it. I do agree that the 'secondary' characters deserve longer stories though, which looks like it might be starting to happen in season 3 based on the plots set out in the first episode.

Edit: I should have read a few more posts back..

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Foxworth

Foxworth

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Worked fine for me in the UK.

;) Didn't work for me. What a shame. I hate having to watch it in 720p at my leisure. Although the picture quality is not as good as other 720p rips I get. Very watchable still though. I've really enjoyed the first few episodes so far. More of the peripheral characters are coming into their own.

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