It was an eventful week in TV, especially for fans of Mad Men. This week, Jason Hughes and Bob Sassone join me to talk about the show's finale and what may be in store for next season. We also talk about:
Why November sweeps don't mean as much as they used to,
Another dip into our Ask TV Squad mailbag, where we discuss why we promote SlashControl and other AOL-related ventures,
If you've ever wondered what it would be like to see Betty Draper play Beer Pong, you got to see it last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Then January Jones helped Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu demonstrate the best way to tackle someone.
You've read Allison's review and Joel's take on the Mad Men season finale, and I'd just like to add that I think it was the best episode of any TV series I've seen in years. Brilliant, dramatic, funny, even exhilarating. Here's a behind the scenes look at the episode, including interviews with Matthew Weiner and the cast.
That was some Mad Men finale, wasn't it? If you haven't seen it yet, please stop reading now, because there was just too much going on for me not to just launch into some discussion.
OK, I'll wait until after the jump to really get into things. But, suffice to say, the end of season three left some characters going down a pretty well-determined path, but others have entered a sort of limbo state, where we don't quite know what their roles will be in season four.
The assassination of JFK on Sunday's episode of Mad Men may have been the catalyst for Betty Draper's "awakening," but it's been a long time coming.
Here comes my rant: I, for one, am sick and tired of seeing the women in this show get walked all over! I know it's the way things were back then, but the times they are a changin', so I'm hoping we'll get to see more women stand up and take charge of their lives.
I was cheering when Betty stood up to her lying, cheating, skank of a husband Don and told him she didn't love him anymore. Bonus points for driving off to meet your lover, Betty. Hopefully, he won't cheat on you.
Now if Joan would leave her loser fiance who raped her at the office and then went about his business like nothing happened -- that'd be the icing on this women's movement cake. I'd say that she and Roger Sterling belong together, but she's too good for him.
(S03E12) "The whole country's drinking." - Pete, to Trudy
When Joel talked to Mad Men creator and writer Matthew Weiner last month, he wouldn't say when or how the show would deal with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. We all knew it was coming, since last week's episode was set on Halloween, but I actually thought it would happen in the season finale. But they addressed it tonight.
They say November 22, 1963 is the day America changed, and I would say that the lives of the people in and around Sterling Cooper changed too, in various ways and for various reasons.
So ... Betty Draper is starting to get an inkling of Don's dark and secret past on Mad Men. In Sunday's episode, she found the box with all his secret things. Really, you'd think he would keep it in a safety deposit box or something. You can't just leave that stuff lying around the house, even in a locked desk drawer. Someone's bound to find it, just as Betty did.
My question is what will Betty do with this important information? She' s already been stung by Don's affairs, and now she's got this to contend with.
For all of their problems and dalliances, Mad Men's Don and Betty Draper are one sexy couple. Sunday's episode, "Souvenir," was another stellar offering, and one of my favorite scenes was when Don and Betty pretended to be strangers in Rome, then went back to their room and made sweet love.
It made me swoon, not just because they're two really handsome people (her beehive-type hairdo was something else), but also because I felt like I was part of the whole deception involving the Italian guys at the cafe. Very fun.
And this, after Betty accepted a kiss from Henry Francis after the courtroom scene. She's such a cold fish with these things, and I have to wonder if she's just doing it to get back at Don for his affairs. She doesn't seem to enjoy the attention of other men. She doesn't seem to enjoy much of anything. Bob likened it to Revolutionary Road, and I quite agree. And it's no wonder Sally has repressed anger issues. She comes by it honestly.
(S03E08) "You don't kiss boys, boys kiss you." - Betty, to Sally
I think my favorite episodes of Mad Men are the ones that have a nice balance of Draper household drama and Sterling Cooper advertising drama. It seemed that this episode was going to tilt a lot - too much - towards the former, but about 20 minutes in, both worlds came together in unexpected ways -- Betty going on the business trip to Rome with Don and Pete running into ... well, someone at the department store. We'll talk about that more after the jump.
In last Sunday's episode of Mad Men, Betty Draper tried to use the knowledge that someone in the Governor's office liked her to save a neighborhood park. I'm sure he wanted more than just that, but it hasn't gone any further (yet). The other day, January Jones (who plays Betty) went to Capitol Hill to get involved in politics for real, advocating for sharks.
In this picture, Jones meets with Senator John McCain. In the caption to the pic, McCain says that he's a huge fan of Mad Men. I think that's one thing Democrats and Republicans can agree on. Someone in the comments says it's Grandpa Gene's ghost. Ha!
(S03E07) "Maybe I was late because I was with my family reading the Bible." - Don, to Conrad Hilton
I've never understood why some people say they can't get into Mad Men (or they watch the show and think the same thing) because "nothing ever happens." I think a lot of stuff happens in every episode, but a lot of it is done with silences and not something more intense. But even the people who think that the show is too "slow" will have to admit that like last week's episode, this episode had a ton of character development, mystery, and plot twists.
(S01E04) "He has no idea how confused America is going to be about that J. - Don, about jai alai
In the late 80s, when I was doing sales and marketing for a national music magazine, the staff played a joke on one of the new salespeople. We had to get a certain number of sales per day and she wasn't having any luck, so I called her phone and pretended to be a customer. I think I told her I was going to buy thousands of dollars worth of magazines. Looking back now it was an immature, cruel thing to do, but I thought of that during tonight's scene with the Sterling Cooper gang calling "Margaret" and pretending to be a potential roommate. People are such jerks.
But this episode was mostly about what happened to Gene...
(S03E02) "If you don't like what's being said, change the conversation." - Don
What love isn't in ruins on Mad Men? We have Betty knowing all about Don's affairs, Betty's dad dealing with his girlfriend leaving him (and more), Joan with someone who raped her, Roger with new young love Jane but still dealing with his ex-wife and perhaps longing for Joan, and Peggy looking for love at a bar (with a guy who looks like Pete!). Even the Don/Roger bromance seems to be on shaky ground.
The only people who seem to be at the start of love are Roger's daughter and her fiancee' Brooks. But their wedding is scheduled for November 23, 1963. Something tells me that's going to be a problem, too.
Having a British company take over Sterling Cooper is a rather brilliant move. It gives the show a new focus, a new tension in the office (and out of the office too). In this clip from next week's Mad Men episode "Love Among The Ruins," Don and Betty go out to dinner with Lane and his wife.
Such a well-written two minutes. It's like you know everything about these four from this one scene.
It was an eventful week in TV, especially for fans of Mad Men. This week, Jason Hughes and Bob Sassone join me to talk about the show's finale and what may be in store for next season. We also talk about:
The assassination of JFK on 
So ... Betty Draper is starting to get an inkling of Don's dark and secret past on 
For all of their problems and dalliances, 
In 
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
