'Mad Men' on AMC HD - Page 33

Didn't take much to get Don back to hitting the bottle. He even asked Megan to stop him at three, which he himself had no intention of doing, and he showed a bit of a mean streak. If Lucky Strike was the client that the show makes it out to be wouldn't it have made sense to send someone with Roger, like Bert or Pete, just to make sure he didn't screw up? I could have sworn Don said We're getting on a plane, not you're getting on a plane. How long do you think Joan can hold out before she tells someone that Roger had known all along that they had lost LS?

One little nit to pik.

The airplane line "... getting on a plane to Raleigh-Durham." In the 60's, RDU International wasn't called Raleigh-Durham then. In those days Raleigh (Wake County) and Durham (Durham County - where American Tobacco is headquartered, even today) were TWO completely separate communities and viewed themselves as such and NEVER referred to the other until Research Triangle Park came into existence in the early 70s when the whole "Triangle Regional idea, Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, came into being for marketing RTP. Even in broadcasting you had the "Raleigh Market" and the "Durham Market."

For authenticity the line should have been either ...getting on a plane to Durham. (which would have been correct even though RDU was the only connected airport in the area because of the state capital in Raleigh) or ... getting on a plane to Raleigh (which won't have made sense at the time if they were going to Durham even though that is where they would be landing).

My guess is they used the combined Raleigh-Durham as a locator since I suspect 99% of the audience had no idea where American Tobacco is located and Raleigh-Durham defines it in two words.

As soon as she said that, it was over. What's a guy to do? You can't pass that up!

I got to get that recording.

No doubt, you're divorced, half in the bag, and some babe wants a little attention. Get after it.

No they were just younger. Girls are more fertile today. It's just a LOT easier for a 19-22 year old to get pregnant than a 34 year old. The pill came out in 1960. However, I don't think it was widely available (read: affordable) until the 70's.

Nowadays folks don't try to get pregnant until their 30's. That's why it can be such a chore (or fun activity depending on your perspective). I don't think it's that hard to knock up a 19 year old, if that's your thing.

thanks

Seems to me that Don (aka Jon Hamm) is not seen actually smoking a truly lit cigarette much, if at all, in recent episodes. I see he still carries the pack in his shirt pocket, and occasionally takes one out and puts it in his mouth as if to be just about to light it, but he doesn't light it and the scene ends.

Previously, he (like John Slattery) would constantly light up for real. And consequently it all looked real. I wonder if Hamm had a change heart, after all this time? Roger, on the other hand, continues to smoke all the time for real onscreen. Obviously, a true smoker in real life, in my opinion.

Wonder if Hamm complained about this for his own true-life personal reasons, and what we see is a compromise with the producers? Personally, I have found myself unintentionally noticing the change. Don seems to me to be behaving as if he's trying to quit or stop or cut down or something, although it's not ever been pointed out in the scripts to actually be the case.


On the other matter already mentioned, I too found it just incomprehensible that Faye would not have observed "another female's scent" of some kind all over him during her intimate kiss with Don back in his apartment right after it had happened with Megan at the office. I mean Don never even took his jacket off when that action with Megan began.

Also, it was good for a change to have an episode totally work-centric and adults-only, with no Betty and the kids personal life stuff.

I had read early on that the cigarettes are not tobacco, but herbs based to give the appearance of smoking. Many stars are none smokers (of tobacco) and Hollywood needed an alternative to tobacco.

I think I also read somewhere that said Hamm is a former smoker and is/was uncomfortable with all the smoking scenes. Can someone confirm that?

She is quite familiar with his reputation as a womanizer. Is she emotional about him? Yes (she is in love with in). Stupid, no. She knows exactly what she has. She may think she can change him. That is not an unusual thought toward many things between men and women, even today. "He was an alcoholic and I just KNEW if we had that 6th baby, he would change." Stuff like that is on Judge Judy all the time. If it wasn't for that kind of thinking, these judge shows wouldn't survive!

And yet, apparently he crossed the line earlier in the office when he wanted her to give him confidential information about her outside clients. That, she wouldn't stand for (at least initially, before ultimately caving because of her "love" for him).

But given proof of her stronger emotional involvement, capable of trumping her professional ethics, she wouldn't exhibit just a bit of jealousy or territoriality when sensing that he has strayed... so early in their romance, when if anything there would be a heightened sense of intimacy and possessiveness? She wouldn't be bothered or worse that he has already cheated on her, when here she thought (though it may be one-sided) that they really had something serious and genuine going on?

To quote a comment from another online blog about the show, making similar remarks:

"For a moment, it looked as if Don might get busted by his unsuspecting new flame Dr. Faye (Cara Buono), who was waiting for him in the hallway of his Waverly address when he returned to his man-cave, now known in my mind as the Mike Hammer Suite. In truth, Dr. Faye wasn't waiting for him, but was leaving a note, but once they embraced I thought she might literally pick up the scent, or perhaps a trace of Megan's red-Corvette lipstick on his collar, but suspicion never flickered across her eyes, just as Roger Sterling's wife, Jane (Peyton List), appears to have detected nothing of Roger's emotional turmoil at work or on the infidelity front, his post-mugging adrenaline-charged stand-up boff with Joan resulting in an aborted pregnancy that doesn't seem to weigh on his conscience nearly so much as his need to be babied by Joan."

Hey, look, this is TV. I just am tremendously entertained by the super-accurate 60's look and attention to 60's detail for everything (sure, they occasionally take some liberties with reality for the sake of the dramatic), from the men's and women's clothes to hairstyles and jewelry, those small men's hats worn pointing down, the "mod" look creeping in, etc. I mean even the bathing suit and the short short-sleeve button-up shirt on Peg's boyfriend after the post-beach romp in her apartment, plus the tight body-hugging pullover shirts on art-director Stan.

It might be just *because* she is newly committed to him (as evidenced by her decision to compromise her professional ethics), that she chooses to ignore the obvious (his having been with another woman) so as not to jeopardize the budding relationship by pushing him away with a fit of jealously, warranted or not.

But if this were indeed the case, I would think there would have been at least a hint of recognition on her face that Don had been with another woman. In fact, I was waiting for it. Maybe the writers simply chose not to go there.

Hard to believe there's just two shows left for the season. It seems like it's just getting going.

I know what you mean, time really does fly when you are having fun.

I have enjoyed season 4 more than 3, 2, or 1. I'm sure that the last two episodes will pull out all the stops.

Another episode and another chick for Don to bang. Although... I guess he did 1 and a half this episode.

Hamm? No, if anything it's a creative decision. The difference may be the loss of Lucky Strike, which fits right in with how Don deals with life; do what you think you have to do regardless of the consequences. In other words smoke when you need to, stop when you don't.


When they smoke it's scripted. Of course some ad libbing will occur, too. As for Slattery being a smoker in real life, he used to be. But, he's a great actor.

From a Huffington Press interview with Mr. Slattery:



Like I said, it's probably related to the loss of LS. Could also be related to Don's recent health kick, cutting down on drinking and getting some exercise swimming. Either way it's creative, not personal to Mr. Hamm.

From a NY Mag interview with Mr. Hamm:

I really hated to see this episode end. I expect to likewise hate to see the season end, because they look like they are on the verge of something big.

What a show.

SCDP is getting desperate.... can they survive?

Don gets radically creative......he's "Blowing Smoke".

Betty is less mature than her daughter, no big surprise.

"The times they are a changing"

It was like an episode of Star Trek. All the background Red Shirts at SCDP getting killed off.

I can testify first-hand that the "herbal" cigarettes people have to use on shoots are foul and disgusting and harsh. The fake ones make you want to vomit! I know, some people will now state that real cigarettes make them feel the same way. Believe me, the fake ones are much worse. Actually, most would prefer to use real cigarettes. However, it is the network(s) that usually prohibit it.

I haven't quite caught up with this season's Mad Men shows, so I am avoiding reading the thread until I do. I started watching Season 1 this summer and fell in love with the series. What an endlessly interesting and complex group its characters are! I finally finished Season 2 last week and have now seen the first 5 episodes of Season 3, which I had saved on my DVR. I hope to catch up this week.

LOL, that's exactly what I thought. I was thinking to myself (with apologies to Jerry Seinfeld), "Who are these people?" I mean, except for the "cure for the common breakfast" guy, I didn't recognize any of the fallen.

Oh, and great episode, by the way. I hate to see this incredibly great show end for another season. It's such a long way to next year. Kudos to the writers and actors and staff, another incredible season.

Yeah, when Sally's doc told Betty that she needed someone else to talk to, Betty said something like, "I have you." The shrink then said, "But I'm a child psychiatrist." My wife and I both said, "Perfect!"

Anyone else surprised that Don gave his former-mistress now-heroin-addict a bunch of money for a painting he didn't really want?

And why is Stan still there? When Don asked Peggy who she could do without, I assumed she'd immediately say, "Stan. Yes, definitely Stan. How soon?"

A. In ratings context, he's too interesting of a character to get rid of.

B. In plot context, Peggy is too success driven to get rid of someone that could help SCDP.

Anyone else surprised that Don gave his former-mistress now-heroin-addict a bunch of money for a painting he didn't really want?

He was staring at that painting pretty intently at show's end. If it didn't mean much to him when he bought it perhaps it had grown on him.

And why is Stan still there?

The essence of drama: conflict. Plus, it may be that he has more talent than meets the eye. Also, their infighting may bring out the best in each other.