Oh, and about Don's supposedly ancient hookup with Andrea: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/...3/mad_men_don_s_lincoln_center_timeline_.html
What was Joan referring to when she told her husband "you're not a good man and you know what I'm talking about?" (or words to that effect)
One of the my issues with the episode (which I liked a LOT, warts and all, but there were clear warts) is how heavy handed it was in certain scenes - that line was clearly meant for the audience. I can't imagine a real life Joan Harris telling her husband that exact line. I mean, I almost expected a Ferris Bueller-style breaking-the-4th-wall wink (Peggy with her purse on the coffee table was the other scene that stuck out for its lack of subtlety).
Wow, fifty minutes of (for me anyway) exquisitely rendered awkwardness and then a complete change of direction.
What a fantastic Pete episode. An incredibly well done character examination without some of the flights of fancy that Weiner sometimes employs. It almost makes you feel sorry for Pete.........almost. Which is exactly where the show should end up.
In which Pete is reminded repeatedly that he is not Don Draper. * Getting up early to watch footy at the pub. Plus ça change and all that. * Also, I love that a red headed hooker goes straight for Roger. I'm assuming he's a regular. * Is there anything less informative than the "on the next episode of Mad Men..." teaser?
Pete is a little shit and he continually makes an ass of himself. Hitting on the high school girl at the driving class was creepy and pathetic. He did the same thing with the au pair a few seasons back.
My wife and I laugh at that every week. Anyway, for me this season has been absolutely impeccable. One of the best seasons of TV I can remember.
I thought this season was off to it's worse start yet, but last nights episode was excellent. One of my favorites of the series.
+2. That kills us. And I'm actually super grateful -- that's exactly how I like my "next week on..."(s). The only better method is the completely fabricated Arrested Development version. But... WOW. That was awesometastic. Almost too much to comment on. But let me start by saying that my world was rocked by seeing Don Draper in that sport coat. The fact that Megan bought it for him and made him wear it does not repair the rip in the fabric of the universe brought on by that fabric on that character. But the scene with Lane and Joanie was unbelievably great. The way she stood up and opened the door and just returned to the conversation was perfect Joan Harris. And I think The Phat Hat is correct above-- the explicitness of that line last week to her shithead husband was slightly off. And the icing was her response to Lane's "I'm so humiliated." "Everyone in the office has wanted to do that.... (insert mental image of all men and woman in the office grabbing Joan by the waist and planting one on her) ...to Pete Campbell." Outstanding. And Peggy's silent take after the fight was epic. Bonus: Red Asphalt! BonuBonus: The '66 Cup! ("Cup of what...?")
Yet another good episode. * It's great that the 1966 FIFA World Cup final between England and West Germany was incorporated into the storyline. Among other things, its inclusion on the show actually shows how much the popularity of soccer has increased in the U.S. since then, though Roger's response to Lane's mention of the World Cup in the office the next day ("Cup of what?") isn't too different from what many American Joe and Jane Sixpacks would say today and shows how much further soccer still has to go here. * I was wondering what Larisa Oleynik was up to after her brief stint last season and a bit this season on CBS's Hawaii Five-0. I'd forgotten that she's also been playing Ken Cosgrove's wife Cynthia on this show, though this latest episode was the first time that her character had significant airtime. * Speaking of Ken Cosgrove: considering that I've finally had the chance to resume playing L.A. Noire recently, it's pretty cool that Aaron Staton's character on this show is getting some airtime again as well. * This episode also demonstrated yet another example of Peggy having changed over the course of the show: she told Ken how much she liked one of his sci-fi stories, whereas in the series premiere way back when she told one of the other guys that she hates sci-fi (after being told about the then-current TV show The Twilight Zone). As usual, I can't wait for next week. -G
Also, this latest episode was directed by John Slattery (who plays Roger Sterling), the second actor-directed episode this season following Jon Hamm's effort two episodes ago. -G
It was good to hear them call the game "football" too... I was a little puzzled by the pub scene. There were Union Jacks, which was historically accurate. If you look at pictures of the WC final crowd at Wembley, you'll see there are Union Jacks as opposed to the Cross of St George. I don't think England fans adopted the Cross of St George until some time in the '70's. But the red and white scarves? Ok, so Liverpool, Man Utd and Arsenal were all big Division One teams back then and it was de-riguer to wear a scarf as opposed to a club shirt, but I'm sceptical that a crowd of ex-pats would have worn their club scarves in that manner for an England game. It's going to be interesting to see The Guardian's take on this after the episode is shown in the UK on Tuesday evening.
So glad you mentioned that -- I immediately thought "So... everybody's an Arsenal supporter?" At least that's the club that I associate with those red/white scarves. In fact, wasn't that scarf worn by the kid playing the young Nick Hornby in the English version of Fever Pitch? A confused yank off to Google Images.... EDIT: And here's Colin Firth in the film .. (Although I would imagine a scarf like that could represent many clubs, yes?) [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMr2daGzvnk"]fever pitch 1997- trailer - YouTube[/ame]
I should have noted England did play in red in that final. But I'm still sceptical fans would have worn club scarves like that.
Yeah, a quick image search tells me ribbons, and not scarves, were part of the typical England supporter gear in 1966: From a practical point of view, it wouldn't have made sense. It's one thing to wear a scarf to a match in November in England's Northwest, it's whole another to wear one in late July, when you're already wearing a suit jacket, in London (or a stuffy, smoky bar in Manhattan). Anyway, I checked the dates of the event referenced in the last couple of articles: the nurse murders were on July 14, the World Cup Final was on July 30 and the Texas sniper shooting was on August 1. Well done, writers.