sterling cooper-related stories
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 12:52AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(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.
Continue reading Review: Mad Men - The Grown-Ups
Posted Oct 26th 2009 12:40AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S03E11) Autumn in New York, why does it feel so inviting... That's a great song, and I thought of it while watching the opening of this episode, with the Draper kids all excited about Halloween. And there was also that chill in the air between Don and Betty. Actually, the icy glare was all Betts. She was off to see her brother about selling their father's home, but what was really on Betty's mind was the contents of Don's desk drawer. More on that and gypsy and the hobo, after the jump. By the way, this was a great
Mad Men episode.
Continue reading Review: Mad Men - The Gypsy and the Hobo
Posted Oct 20th 2009 2:36PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Reality-Free, Mad Men
Reading the plot description for this week's
Mad Men, "The Gypsy and the Hobo," and it says that a former client returns to Sterling Cooper and Betty takes the kids on a trip. I'm assuming the trip is without Don/Dick. I wonder if she'll return.
Here's a sneak peek of the episode, and I think it shows the client in question. Not sure who the gypsy refers to or the hobo (perhaps the one Dick met as a kid?).
Posted Oct 18th 2009 11:55PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S03E10) "We don't need to go every week." - Betty, about church I once had a boss, a rather bad guy, who used to brag that he was a good person because he went to church every Sunday. I used to say to myself, "yeah, because you
have to go to church every Sunday." I thought of that after Betty said that above quote to Sally. I'm not very religious, but if people have to go to church every week because of the bad things they do, then Betty and Don are two people who should be going.
Well, certainly Don.
Continue reading Review: Mad Men - The Color Blue
Posted Oct 12th 2009 2:40AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S03E09) Nobody was getting any sleep, or so it seemed, and many people were acting like babies who wanted what they wanted when they wanted it.
Conrad Hilton has become more of a headache to Don, and the way he's being played, he's very Howard Hughes-like to me. Eccentric, powerful, demanding and hard to read. For a master player like Don, it has been unnerving to have Connie pull his strings. Don doesn't like being a marionette.
Don wasn't the only one having his strings yanked. Lucky Strike, in the form of client Lee Garner, Jr., pushed Pete and Harry around, but it was Sal who suffered. And Henry discovered that Betty was more complicated than any Ossining housewife he ever knew. More after the jump.
Continue reading Mad Men: Wee Small Hours
Posted Oct 9th 2009 4:01PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Reality-Free, Mad Men
One of my favorite scenes from
Mad Men this season was the one where Don barked at Peggy. Don doesn't usually explode at people (it simmers underneath) and he and Peggy always had a great relationship, so it was shocking to see him dismiss her that way. Things aren't any better on this Sunday's episode, as this scene below shows. Though to be fair the guys get the brunt of Don's insults.
It's a good scene, plus I'm a sucker for Frank Sinatra references and this episode is called "Wee Small Hours."
Posted Oct 5th 2009 2:50AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(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.
Continue reading Mad Men: Souvenir
Posted Sep 30th 2009 6:38PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Reality-Free, Mad Men
I like the plot description for this new episode of
Mad Men, "Souvenir." It says "Don takes Betty on a business trip and Pete helps a neighbor in his building." I like that summary because 1) it doesn't really tell you anything but you're intrigued, and 2) it describes two things that have never happened before. Don taking Betty on a business trip with him??
Vincent Kartheiser is so good in this scene below, and the writing is just so smart.
Posted Sep 28th 2009 12:30AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(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.
Continue reading Mad Men: Seven Twenty Three
Posted Sep 23rd 2009 11:40AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, Reality-Free, Mad Men
There was a real conundrum for
Mad Men last Sunday night. Did you watch the Emmys and see
Mad Men win as Outstanding Drama Series or were you tuned in to watch latest episode from Season Three? Of course, most of you reading are DVR owners and could watch one live and record the other, but watching an award show after you know the winners is a little like watching sports when you know the results.
Well, if a
Mad Men fan has missed any episodes this season, or if they're piled up on the DVR/Tivo queue, making you feel guilty for not keeping up, here's an out.
AMC is going to show a Mad Men Season Three marathon on Sunday, September 27, starting at 10 a.m. All six episodes will air up to the premiere of the last, episode seven, at 10 p.m.
Continue reading Mad Men marathon this Sunday
Posted Sep 21st 2009 12:34AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S03E06) What do disappointment, opportunities and snakes have in common? They're all themes in this episode of
Mad Men. The British, in the form of Powell, Ford and Mackendrick came to Sterling Cooper for a visit, but what that visit meant was anybody's guess. The visit wrecking holiday plans for the staff -- no Independence Day for you, colonists -- was obvious irony and true nonetheless. And the Guy walking into the ad agency, well, it would be a hollow joke after this tragedy. More after the jump.
Continue reading Mad Men: Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency
Posted Sep 15th 2009 8:00AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Reality-Free, Mad Men
I'm not someone who thinks that a TV episode title (or book title or film title or song title) automatically means that the episode will be great, but isn't "Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency" a terrific title for a
Mad Men episode? In this sneak peek below, Lane Pryce and his irritating assistant John Hooker have a big announcement for the staff of Sterling Cooper.
Posted Sep 14th 2009 12:56AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S03E05) Time is moving on and the time's are a-changing. Sally has had a difficult adjustment to the loss of Grandpa Gene, so much so that Betty and Don actually have to act like parents and attend to her needs. The family was a big part of the episode, not just the Draper family, but the Sterling Cooper family, too. More on the latest
Mad Men episode and the changes after the jump.
Continue reading Mad Men: The Fog
Posted Sep 7th 2009 12:48AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(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...
Continue reading Mad Men: The Arrangements
Posted Sep 2nd 2009 8:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Video, Reality-Free, Mad Men
This clip from Sunday's episode "The Arrangements" doesn't show it, but Don and his father-in-law have a confrontation, probably because of Sally's thieving ways or about Gene staying there in general. Another plot involves Ann-Margret, played by Kelsey Sanders. Should be a good ep.
The clip below shows Don in a bad mood and not happy about more bad news that Ken, Harry, and Sal bring him.
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