(S02E01) "There are other ways of thinking about things than the way you think of them." - Duck, to Don
Pepsi had a famous ad campaign in the 1960s with the tag line For Those Who Think Young. That's the title of this episode, but it's not about the ad execs trying to come up with something for Pepsi. The episode is about change. More specifically, the youth change. A young, hip President is in the White House (with a baby), a stylish First Lady gives a televised tour of her home, everyone is having babies, and younger people are being hired by other ad agencies, and Sterling Cooper might have to as well.
But what types of changes are in store for the people of Sterling Cooper?
This episode starts 14 months after the first season finale, but I love how the passage of time isn't rammed down our throats. Where other shows would be really blunt and upfront about the fact that over a year has gone by, this show does it by showing, not telling. Through the characters. You can really feel it in the air even if they didn't mention when it was taking place (Valentine's Day, 1962): Peggy is remarkably different, with a sharp edge and confidence she didn't have when she first started at Sterling Cooper (great scene with Don's new secretary Lois - it's like Peggy is Lois' Joan). Harry and Jennifer are back together, and she's going to have a baby. Trudy isn't thrilled with this, as she wants a baby with Pete. He's not sure what the rush is. His question to Peggy about having kids, and the guys sitting around wondering if Betty got her promotion through sleeping with Don and/or going to a fat farm, are the only slight reference to Peggy's pregnancy - another nice touch, because there's plenty of time to tell that story.
We also sense the passage of time in Don and Betty's relationship. There's no mention of Don's mistresses, and Don and Betty actually seem to be, if not outright happy, at least they've reached a place where they are comfortable with each other. But even here you can feel changes coming. I desperately want this couple to be Rob and Laura Petrie (or hell, maybe even JFK and Jackie - maybe there's a parallel the show is trying to show here), but I sense that there's going to be changes and temptations along the way that will make that impossible.
Speaking of JFK and Jackie, I think Sal is more interested in the design at the White House than he is with his, ahem, date.
Some more highlights from this episode:
- I like how the ice is melted in the bowl during the meeting, to show how long the gang has been waiting for Don to show up for the meeting.
- January Jones is one of the most beautiful women on the planet. And she plays Betty with an incredible mix of stuff you love and stuff you hate. I love her priceless line about how her daughter giving Valentine's Day cards to all the boys in class "defeats the purpose." This goes well with her weird speech last season about how a scar on her daughter's face would be worse than her daughter dying.
- Pete gives Trudy a box of candy for Valentine's Day (how lame!), and then immediately tells her to open the box because he wants one.
- Not to assume anything, but what's with the two guys who interview with Don? They're creative partners, and there seems to be a hint that they're more. They aren't married, they make a point of looking at the women as the left the office. I don't know, maybe I'm reading too much into it.
- I almost cheered when Don tells the jerk in the elevator to take off hat (though at first I thought these guys were going to end up interviewed by Don and he would insult them even more, heh.)
- I'm looking forward to the episode where someone at Sterling Cooper is the first person in office history to Xerox their ass.
Here's what Don says at the end of the episode as he walks the dog and mails Frank O'Hara's Mediations In An Emergency (to...who??). It's from the poem "Mayakovsky:"
Now I am quietly waiting for
the catastrophe of my personality
to seem beautiful again,
and interesting, and modern.
The country is grey and
brown and white in trees,
snows and skies of laughter
always diminishing, less funny
not just darker, not just grey.
It may be the coldest day of
the year, what does he think of
that? I mean, what do I? And if I do,
perhaps I am myself again.
In his own way, Don is a poet too. A poet of advertising. When he comes up with ideas and slogans for Lucky Strikes or Mohawk Airlines, he's creating the poetry of pop culture. Maybe the guy in the bar is wrong. Maybe Don and the work of Frank O'Hara have a lot more in common than he assumes. I even love how he defends advertising to Peggy when she says that "sex sells," which was probably a cliche even back in 1962: "People who think like that think that monkeys can do this...they can't do what we do. And they hate us for it."
This is a beautiful, literate, deep show (I've already ordered a book by O'Hara - the power of advertising!). There's so much going on here it's like reading a novel. This is the best television series to debut in...well, I don't know how many years. It's so good it hurts.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-28-2008 @ 1:29AM
Jim said...
"Lois... where is Mr. Draper?"
Ah-hahahahahaha... I love this show!
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7-28-2008 @ 1:51AM
Katie said...
Thoughts:
Peggy subscribes to Advertising Age, on her dresser in the opening shot
I wonder if we'll see more of Salvatore's nameless brunette beard...
Is it just an coincidence that the Xerox ended up in Peggy's already-crammed office, or more likely, did Joan put place it in there on purpose in passive aggressive retaliation against Peggy?
When Sally showed off her ballet moves, she appeared to have a little bit more baby fat. Betty's earlier comment about that other woman's daughter hiding her unused lunch money and the chocolate stain on the dress can't just be meaningless filler
And finally:
When that woman who was speaking to Betty after horseback riding said that she and that young guy speak, they talk about how "Gerty (sp?) has a crush on you", was the woman referring to the fiance, or the female riding instructor?
I still can't decide, even after listening closely the second time around. But I'm leaning towards the latter
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7-28-2008 @ 3:00AM
Jon said...
I am SO glad this is back. I recall going to my father's office when I was a kid and seeing these behaviors.
More than that, they avoided the trap of the "let's catch you up episode". I love that. I'm assuming the next one will be more revealing.
I understand that there was a time warp. It was not crammed down our throats. They seemed to choose to create an "easing in" to our memories. Letting us stew for a bit.
The most amazing thing about this show to me is that they are willing to let change happen in nearly real time. We have been force-fed entertainment with tight resolutions for years. These people change slowly, as most do, and even though it is in 1962 now it allows us to discover it slowly. We get to compare our memories of the first season to the beginning of the second, and we get a chance to exhale, think and reconcile it.
These are all characters I love. The scripting of this show is incredibly economical yet allows reactions, side-glances, and half-conversations to tell the story.
This is how people deal with each other in real life. I love the fact that they have slowed it all down.
I told my boyfriend tonight: "It is back and it is just as strong. This show is amazing! It was like settling in with friends and not longing for answers."
I am so glad you guys are covering it.
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7-28-2008 @ 3:26AM
jonathan said...
great episode, had no idea it was 14 months ahead.
-you forgot to mention how Don is practically killing himself with the cigs and the drinking. looks like the high blood pressure ruined valentines day with the wife....
-who is gorgeous by the way, january jones, just wow. she even looked hot in the equestrian outfit.
-sadly it looks like mr campbell is going to drop his wife. he is so afraid of having a child. she wants to be a mom, while he doesnt want to be a dad. the chocolate was a complete slap in the face.
- the whole jfk/white house thing was really nice. but there is so many things you can say about it. starts with don and betty in bed, then goes to salvatore and his lady friend just sitting there, joan was completely turned off by her guy, and pete was just aggravated. like a down slope of awkwardness on valentines day.
-yea the new recruits were weird. i know the writers do not want to make things incredibly obvious, or do they? who knows.
-i like how the guys see peggy differently also, when she said, "i dont get it, im 22." salvatore reminded her that she was different.
-damn letter at the end!
- i see the guy with the beard getting into the entire scene that was the 60s. looks like a swinger.
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7-28-2008 @ 8:38AM
laura said...
First- so excited the show is back on, and the 14 month time difference just adds another layer
Second- Jackie O, freaked me out! she sounds like she is in slow motion, drugged out, stepford even. Am i the only one that wanted to throw holy water on the gal?
Third- I love that Pete basically ate the candy he bought his wife, he feels as though he deserves it .
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7-28-2008 @ 9:30AM
Craig said...
Sal's "date" is his wife. Check the credits.
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7-28-2008 @ 10:15AM
Debby said...
A couple observations:
- I too think that Joan ultimately put the Xerox machine in Peggy's office as a retaliatory gesture for hollaring at one of her girls (That's Joan's job!). And also, the "secretaries" use it and will be in and out of Peggy's office reminding her that she dared to move above her station.
- the trio of scenes about the former girlfriend who may or may not be a prostitute: the meeting, Betty discussing it with her girlfriend and breathlessly wondering "What it must be like?", and Betty's attempt to "negotiate" with the mechanic. Betty's too refined/restrained to really close the deal.
- Somehow the fan belt breaking means that Betty is a bad drive and she doesn't want her husband to know. So sad!
- Pete eating all the candy was sublimenting his own sex drive, and also reinforcing his "man-child" persona.
- I too thought that the younger ad folks were a couple. And just how old are the regular staff of guys, in order to be too old? Don's 35, Pete etal are 30, maybe, and now these new guys are 25. Do 5 years make a new generation in advertising?
- Peggy saying "What did you bring me, Daddy?" Somehow I don't think it would have had the same effect said by one of her colleagues.
- Sal's wife - yes, I wondered about that. Is she the phone operator from last season? Also, Sal asked during the Jackie tape, "Where's her husband?" I guess Sal was just as taken by the young, handsome President as most of the women in the country were.
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7-28-2008 @ 10:20AM
Bob Sassone said...
That was Sal's wife? I'll have to go back and see if she's someone we've seen on the show already.
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7-28-2008 @ 2:19PM
Myndi said...
I found a great wrap up to S1 on spunkybean.com
http://www.spunkybean.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=558&Itemid=55
They have a funny piece also on Mad Men Action Figures!
http://www.spunkybean.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=557:commentary-mad-men-action-figures-jul-25&catid=25:featured&Itemid=54
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7-28-2008 @ 4:05PM
Carissa said...
Loved it! I just watched the entire first season in a marathon on Saturday night and Sunday because I was stupid enough to pass on it last year. No more!!
If that was Sal's wife, I think it was the operator from last year. However, many of them look the same to me, unfortunately. Don's new secretary looked sort of like her, too.
I am wondering why they guys are still remarking about Peggy's weight loss and her possible time at a "fat farm" over a year after the birth. I assume they did that for continuity and to let us know she didn't keep the baby without actually saying anything.
The xerox machine is in Peggy's office, but they must have changed the set for it to fit, because it would not have fit in there with the desks otherwise.
Betty is right, giving Valentine's cards to everyone in the class DOES defeat the purpose. Thankfully, I grew up in a less "progressive" town and in the 70s was still allowed to give to whomever I wanted. That comment was to show that political correctness was taking hold, and I'm guessing that will be one of the biggest changes we see coming this season.
How they have to start to deal with the changing tides of women in the workforce, homosexuals who have come out (the "team" interviewed were obviously more than working partners) and all the other things they have taken for granted. Duck declining a drink in the office also paved the way for change coming.
Somehow, that makes me wish they had visited 1961 so I could have reveled in all of that inappropriate office behavior for just a while longer...
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8-02-2008 @ 9:22PM
Gwin said...
Like you, I just watched the whole series to catch up... and I too believe that Sal's wife is the telephone operator from last season (I just watched that episode yesterday).
It is weird that Peggy's youth is being overlooked. I guess she doesn't really embody the kind of "youthfulness" they are thinking about.
I didn't understand what the turtleneck guy was saying at all (and I was watching it with the captions on...)
Also, I thought it was interesting that Don chastised the man for wearing a hat rather than for his salacious and inappropriate conversation. Obviously, nowadays the latter would seem much more disrespectful -- but at the time, weren't they both seen as inappropriate in front of a lady?
7-28-2008 @ 5:38PM
MERVE-THE-PERVE said...
I kept thinking Don & Betty had separated up until they showed him at his desk at home.
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7-28-2008 @ 5:55PM
Brent McKee said...
The Xerox machine in Peggy's office is a message, not unlike the horse's head in "The Godfather." Peggy's behavior came across as arrogant - Don's secretary is the one person she thinks she can retaliate against for the way the guys treated her in the meeting (as a glorified gofer). While the secretary over-reacted - Peggy didn't yell at her - what Peggy did disrupted the office which is Joan's domain. The photocopier in the office is a reminder to Peggy of who really has power. It isn't a war unless Peggy wants it to be and it won't be (at least not for a long time) because Peggy knows she'd lose.
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7-29-2008 @ 7:28AM
julie said...
I finally got to watch on the DVR last night. A few comments:
Betty's comments about weight and beauty seem to be typical of women of a certain class in that era. It's how she was raised - think about her comments about her own mother. My mother in law (82) to this day is more impressed by the exterior of a woman than her interior. Always the first comment is about appearance. And the Draper's kitchen looks just like hers!
The whole Peggy/youth dynamic will turn SterlingCooper on its head. The Baby Boomers are just beginning to hit their career ages and we know the changes that came from them.
Roger seemed a bit bitter about Don when he spoke to Duck. It will be interesting to find out what happened in the intervening time
The White House tour was a seminal event in 1962. My mom told me she was glued to the TV. It was the dawn of a new era regarding the presidency - opening up to the public in ways that had not been done before thanks to the magic of television.
I think Don sent the letter to Rachel.
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7-29-2008 @ 9:28AM
Jimmy said...
I watched the show on DVR last night -- a day late. I thought the episode was paced slower than usual, and I wondered what a new viewer (given the advertising push) would think tuning in for the first time.
I thought BMW's ad at the mid-way point was brilliant. It must be fun to make ads for smart audiences!
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7-29-2008 @ 1:44PM
Eric Berlin said...
Some thoughts on the best show on television today:
* The most revealing scene in a stellar season debut in my view: Don aggressively forcing the obnoxious talker on the elevator to take off his hat. It was a wonderful metaphor for the forces gathering that are about to sweep the culture and status quo of the era away forever. Also reminded me of my own childhood in the '80s when my stepfather would announce when I walked into the house wearing a baseball hat: "What are you, religious?"
* The realism of both Don and Betty trying to make their marriage work, the strangeness and complexity that is real life and real world relationships, the manner in which it's revealed that we're all islands groping out for some kind of meaning and connection in this world... wow.
* Who did Don send the O'Hara book to?
* I love the changes in Peggy, her confidence and in how she drinks in every word that Don speaks. Everyone in the room (including Don) is complacent. Peggy represents the women's movement to come, glass ceilings yet to be shattered.
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7-29-2008 @ 6:46PM
bmoshin said...
LOVELOVELOVE the show ... particularly LOVE Joan and Betty and I believe that they love me.
ONE problem ... I quit smoking almost 2 years ago and this friggin show is making crave cigarettes more than I have in the past 2 years. I may actually have to stop watching because of it.
Or maybe I will just start smoking again. It may be worth it.
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7-29-2008 @ 11:14PM
Frank Wrench said...
To everyone wondering, the phone operator from last year is Lois, Don's new secretary. Salvatore's wife is new. I know this only because I watched the last season over the past week, and I'd seen that actress before.
I'm wondering what is up with Paul's beard. Is he trying to look mature? Because he hasn't changed an iota.
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8-04-2008 @ 11:03PM
zkam said...
Confirmed... I watched season 1 over the past few weeks (thank you Bittorrent!). The scene with the phone operator meeting Salvatore is in epispode 8, which I haven't deleted yet...
The operator introduces herself to Salvatore as "Lois, Lois Sadler"
7-29-2008 @ 11:45PM
Katie said...
I read in an article (I *think* it was either on TVSquad, or on a link I found via TVSquad) about Paul's new beard, and he had grown one during the hiatus between the 2 seasons, but Weiner & Co asked him to keep it.
***Bob Sassone: Was this in the TVS posted interview? Also, why are you guys all under "TVSquad blogger now?"***
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