TVSquad

While we continue to wait for creator Matthew Weiner and some of the actors of Mad Men to re-sign for a third season of the show (really, I'm not worried at all, it will happen), let's talk about this Sunday's second season finale of the show, titled "Meditations In An Emergency."

Don is in California, being more Dick than Don, playing house with Anna Draper and baptizing himself in the waters of the Pacific. I think the big question for the season finale is what exactly is Don going to do? Is he going to stay out in California, running away from his responsibilities and change his name again, like he did after Korea? Or is Anna going to convince him to go back to his life in New York, back to Betty and his kids?

And what about Betty? Will she take him back, or has she become a woman now, finally, and on to the next chapter in her life?

This isn't going to be the most earth-shattering news of the day, considering it's the most buzzed about show on television and just won Emmys for Best Writing and Best Drama. But it's good news for Mad Men fans: the series is THIS close to being picked up for a third season.

The Hollywood Reporter says that AMC has told Lionsgate that they want to renew the show for a third season, though the terms of the renewal depend on what deal they make with creator/producer/writer Matthew Weiner.

(S02E10) This seemed an oddly structured episode, with the emphasis more on Betty than Don, with a splash of Pete and Kinsey thrown in. The idea that life was simpler in the old days, should anyone still think that adage applies, is disproved with every hour of Mad Men that unfolds.

For Betty, the impending death of her father has shaken her to the core. A series of strokes has led to dementia and when Don accompanies Betty to visit him in her childhood home, she has to come to grips with not only the fact that he's slipping away, but also be reminded that nearly every vestige of her mother has also gone.

(S02E08) "Crab, Duck. Duck, Crab." - Roger, introducing Crab to Duck.

I have a 12-pack of Heineken in my fridge right now. I don't drink it, but my roommate does. So it's fun to see the Sterling Cooper gang going after the beer company.

But can I say that I don't get Betty's reaction at the party when it came to the beer? Sure, this is just one more thing that she feels Don "deceives" her about, but I don't think he was doing anything particularly bad to her. What is nasty are the boldfaced lies that he tells her when she confronts him about his affair with Bobbie. Though I wonder, what else can he do? I know, I know, tell the truth. But given what the truth is, he probably feels that he has to lie or he's going to be that guy in the credits, falling from the sky as his world collapses beneath him.

(S02E07) "You're not like everyone else around here." - Ken, to Sal

So Don Draper used to be a car salesman?

I guess it fits with the career path of an advertising guy, and ties in nicely with the plot of Don getting a new car because he's moving up in the world of business in general and Sterling Cooper specifically. There's a big unresolved issue in this episode though. I'm really glad they brought it up but a little disappointed that they didn't follow through with it, though I'm sure we'll see more of the plot in later episodes this season.

It could actually change the entire direction of the show.

(S02E06) "If we were to take you to see some women in their underwear, would that be too much like work?" - Fred, to the Playtex guys

Is it just me or is Don's affair with Bobbie nastier than his affairs with Midge and Rachel from season one? Not just that it's rougher and more blunt, but the way that he's doing it. With Midge and Rachel, it seemed like a natural part of his life and it happened away from home and it was separate. This year it seems like he's making a lot of excuses to Betty about where he has to be, like tonight when he lies to her in the middle of the country club bash to call Bobbie. And there's also a meanness and a sadness to the entire relationship.

Having said that, I think I laughed more in this episode than any other episode of the show so far.

(S02E05) "This is America. Pick a job and become the person who does it." - Bobbie, to Don

Is there any other show on TV right now that packs so much stuff into one episode? So many revelations, so many character developments, so many nuances? People who only have the attention span for music videos have complained that "nothing ever happens" on Mad Men, but I say that more happens in an episode of this show than three or four of most other shows on the air right now.

This episode was amazing. Not only did we get the background story on one of the big mysteries of the first season (if this was Lost the message boards would be going crazy right now), we got to see a different side of a few characters and the very welcome (if quick) return of an old favorite. Though I wonder how her new situation will affect Don in the upcoming episodes.

(S02E04) "That was beautiful. Are you going to say Grace now?" - Peggy's mom, to the priest

This episode brought a big smile to my face for one reason: Pete was wining and dining the Gorton's people! I grew up a few blocks away from the Gorton's headquarters, so it was great to see them as the latest client of Sterling Cooper. Hopefully we'll see them in the future too as we've repeatedly seen Belle Jolie, Utz, and Mohawk Airlines.

The rest of the episode shows how intricate this show is. It sort of worries me in a way. How can people who didn't see the first season get into this show, the characters, the rhythms, the seven different stories that each character is carrying around with them? How does the show grow in viewership? I don't know. I just know I love it and other dedicated fans do too, and I hope that's enough for many years to come.

(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?

Mad Men is that rare show that is damn near perfect. Of course, I say "near" perfect though I can't figure out what fault the show has. Everything, from the acting to the writing to the direction to the set design to the music to the costumes - is so well done. Heck, even the secondary characters are drawn in a way you hardly ever see on a television drama.

OK, it is perfect.

Rich Sommer plays Harry Crane, the Sterling Cooper ad exec with the glasses and bow tie. The character is so well written and Sommer plays him so well. You know guys like Harry, whether it's 1960 or 2008. He's the nice, married guy with glasses, but he's not so nice that he isn't above joining in on the sexist talk with his buddies and drinking too much.

Rich was nice enough to talk to me via e-mail while he was filming the second season of the show, which debuts this Sunday (new day) at 10pm on AMC.

It's somewhat rare when a TV show lives up to massive hype, but Mad Men really is one of those shows. It really is as great as you've heard, and it's great to see AMC putting so much money and time behind it. The second season premieres on Sunday, July 27 (after a July 20 marathon to get non-fans caught up), and below are some videos to give you a taste for what the show is like and what might be in store for the guys and girls at Sterling Cooper.

(And yes, in the new cast photo above, Paul has a beard!)

I'm not sure why anyone, at this point, hasn't seen the first episode of AMC's Mad Men yet (anyone who wants to see it, that is). The entire first season is up on iTunes, AMC reran the show after the first run, and the DVDs have been out for a couple of weeks now, so there have been a lot of different ways for newbies and fans alike to get caught up on the show if they're interested enough. And now there's another way: AMC has made the first episode available for free on its site.

If you become hooked on the show after watching this first episode (of course you will!), check out AMC on July 20. They're going to have a marathon of the entire first season starting at noon. The second season starts the following Sunday, July 27, on it's new night, Sunday at 10pm.

(After you watch chapter 1 after the jump, click here for chapters 2 and 3.)

Since today marks the release of the first season DVD set for Mad Men, I thought I'd pass this little bit of news on to fans of the show: they're holding a contest and the winner gets a walk-on role on the show!

Now, this isn't one of those easy "send an e-mail" or "mail in a coupon" type of contest. You're gonna have to work a little bit for this one. You have to go to the link above and print out a monologue from the show and film yourself doing it. Then you upload the video to AMC's web site. The winner gets a walk-on in a future episode and a free trip to Los Angeles.

There's a fantastic story in yesterday's New York Times Magazine about AMC's Mad Men. It's actually the cover story (you don't see many cover stories in the NYT Mag about a TV show) and is one of the best articles I've read about a TV show in a very long time.

Besides interviewing creator/producer/writer Matthew Weiner at length, writer Alex Witchel also sits in on auditioning sessions and script meetings for the second season, interviews advertising icons (George Lois, Jerry Della Femina, William Bernbach) about the show, and gets choice quotes from cast members such as Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Elisabeth Moss, and January Jones. It's a beautifully written piece, really getting behind the scenes of the show, and includes this great paragraph to explain the show quite nicely.

(S01E13) "Who knows why people do what they do?" - Don

True story: About 20 years ago, I worked with a woman who was overweight. She wasn't feeling well one day - I think she had an upset stomach - so she left work and went to the doctor. She found out that she was 8 months pregnant. Not a month or two months, but about a month before the baby was due.

I thought of that tonight after watching the season finale of Mad Men. So many things answered and so many doors left open for a second season...