Mad Men - 'The Suitcase' - Fog's Rollin' In Off The East River Bank

So here's how Mad Men works for me. It's an elegant, frighteningly consistent very good show with one of the greatest leading performances in the history of television. But I find myself throwing around a lot of 7/10's, and feel it only really exceeds itself say once or twice or season. When it does it's kind of the best thing ever, but perhaps as a consequence of its unanimous and everlasting critical acclaim, I think it coasts. I don't feel like it has the vitality, the drive to always be outperforming itself , subvert expectation or do anything and everything else to be better that has characterized my favorite shows of the past.

- Like I said, this pattern breaks once or twice a season, and we see what it can be. But most of the time I always seem to catch myself thinking, yes Mad Men this is very good, but I've seen you do better, I know you can do better, so why aren't you doing better? Its not entirely the show's fault I guess, but with the entire world telling me its the best thing since the ape hit the other ape in the face with a bone, and also because my standards have been raised by the past excellence of the show itself, my expectations are just higher. Its a complacent genius of a show, that coasting is still better then 90% of the other fuckers out there but still, I wish episodes like 'The Suitcase' came around more often, you know?

- Because this was a fucking brilliant episode, one of the best the show has ever produced and pulled me back in to this season, that was beginning to have that still very good but slightly disappointing feel of season 3. I think this is a better year, and this episode, despite being mostly standalone, is a high point to make me forgive any other problems I may be having now. Like the whole Betty Draper thing. But thankfully she's barely in this one so its cool.

- It's interesting to note that this episode reached the heights that it did, by for all intents and purposes just telling a story about two people, and what they mean or do not mean to each other. While their relationship has always been on the fringes of the show's subject matter, I can't remember any episode in the past giving Peggy so much time with Don. They're so dynamic together precisely because their is no romance, because their passion for the work is where the connection lies, and each is broken or will be ultimately broken by doing what they love. She is basically Don ten years ago, blowing of family and a promising relationship with Karl from Lost because he perhaps misguidedly, tried to do something nice for here. They have the same drives but differ in their flaws. I can't think of a more impressively written rendition of two individuals finding each other, not in the physical sense, but in the forming of something more then that, a bond, in my entire TV memory bank.

- The episode featured series best work from both Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss. Moss in particular has never been this good, and to see her come to this from being arguably the weakest aspect if the show in season one is invigorating. Peggy has had the best arc perhaps, a quest of self-actualization, of finding herself and her voice. Peggy now is the most interesting and complex character on the show outside of its lead, and that is in large part to the strength of Moss' performance.

- It had an up all night quality to it, as Peggy and Don spend time long after everyone else has fucked off to watch Mohammed Ali, trying to find the idea that sticks, the spark, or the kernel as Don would say. Even in something as shallow as advertising, there's real art and grind to the process. It matters to them more then we could know. And it's for a suitcase poster.

- I would be hard pressed to talk any further without mentioning the stellar ending, a passage with enough poignancy and emotional power to put any movie to shame. The spectre of bad news hangs over Don throughout the night, as his comically elderly secretary Ms. Blankenship ( The cheapest joke ever made on Mad men?) informs him of an urgent call he's missed. Of course we all know what that means, that Anna Draper, the only person who knows and accepts him is dead, and with her Dick Whitman, leaving Don all alone without the person he loves or the person he used to be. He can now only be himself, and right now, that sucks to say much.

- The ominousness of this news hangs over everything, even the episodes lighter moments. So when Don finally returns the phone-call. Its a scene of of simultaneous heartbreak and a deeper sadness, as Don keeps up the polite post-death facade of keeping his shit together with Stephanie, all the while knowing what this means. The Don Draper cried. That shit was raw, particularly because Draper is nothing but a man who believes in the bottling up things, almost to a philosophical scale. Its a moment more complex then I can give it credit for, and just a flat-out beautiful moment of TV and Hamm surely has an Emmy all wrapped up, particularly with no Bryan Cranston in the mix. The fact that he lets Peggy in at this point, even just as comfort, was something the whole episode built toward, and perhaps the most earned emotionally earned pay-off conceivable.

- And that moment where Don sees Anna fade into the distance? Perfection on TV.

- I loved the smaller scenes with Moss and Hamm too, such as her giving him shit for taking the credit for her idea, or the cafe scene where they traded memories and family histories. Good things come to those who wait, and it was precisely because the whole episode strengthening and building their connection. Its an episode that had plot sure, but everything served to tell the stories of these two people, a pure character episode, and one of the best I've ever seen.

- We may move on next week, but that night was something special, both to the show and these characters. A truly stellar episode of television as rich as it was rewarding. Unpredictable yet satisfying, featuring abominably strong writing and two performances that stand up against the best of them. A landmark in every sense, yet wonderfully low-key, basically about two people talking and beginning to understand each other. A masterpiece that feels effortless, and I don't use that word lightly. Plus that was a pretty mean Simon and Garfunkel finish too.

- But watch how next week is a 7/10 episode. Bet a small but respectable amount of money on it.

Rating: 10/10

Mad Men - ' Waldorf Stories' - The Exhibitionist In The Room

A pleasing return to form with this episode, although it perhaps felt like one of those very good but not great episodes of Mad Men that there seem to be so many of.

- Jonathan! Seeing someone from the Buffy universe in a different context always feels kind of weird, but seeing Buffy's own Danny Strong in the context of Mad Men felt oddly right, but he's a good actor and good actors from Joss Whedon shows always seem to end up on Mad Men. Christina Hendricks and Vincent Kartheiser to name a couple. Playing a new hire at the agency, who got the job because of his connections rather then his talent, he's involved in a great scene with Don and Peggy, in which his pitch for the job basically comes all from one idea, placing any suffix on ' the cure for the common...'

- A couple of great touches in this episode, The seamlessness of the Don Goes on a Bender sequence was as cinematic as anything I've seen in a long while, transitioning from night to day, from conquest to conquest with nothing in between. AMC sure puts some stock in its shows looking good. Of course, Don goes on this little bent of controlled self-destruction because someone rewarded him for doing something good. Receiving a Cleo for the Glo-Coat ad, celebratory drinks evolve into losing four days of his life.

- Its hard not to note that there maybe a little meta-commentary on the worthlessness of awards, particularly because this episode went out at the same ime as the Emmy's, and that being told he is great at what he does doesn't necessarily make Don's life suck any less then it does. Being a genius is more a side-product of being broken then anything else, and this certainly seems to be relevant to Don right now, who never seems not to be at the bottom of a glass, and even though that's traditionally Roger's thing.

- Things work out quite well for Jonathan in the end, given that Don accidentally spews out his ' cure for the common' idea at a clients meeting and rather then face lawsuit has to hire the guy, who turns down the offer of freelance work and in a way proves himself to be smarter then he is talented. May not be the best Ad man, but he could scheme with the best of them.

- The sequence of Drunk Don riffing out various Ad ideas off the top of his head at the cereal company meeting, was both funny and kind of telling. It was either arrogance in that he thought himself good enough to come up with a killer ad campaign off the top of his head whilst intoxicated, or it was an indication that a man who used to be all about the work, and resentful of everything that came with. Now he doesn't even to put too much value in even that anymore. Talent is fickle, Use it or lose it Don.

- I'm not sure how I felt about the flashbacks being fitted in though. I get it tonally, because perhaps with a bit more talent Don was basically in the same position as Jonathan, under-qualified, only relying on his passion to get the job and his persistence in repeatedly ambushing Roger, who even then was a fairly respectable alcoholic. But it just seemed that there were too few, as if the device was used heavily in the first half but laxed on in the second, and in terms of scripting consistency there are smoother ways to do things.

- As for Peggy's subplot, that was bizarre. But kind of awesome. The jist of it seemed to being the putting a smug, supposedly liberated freelancer Stan in his place. Dude went all on about how he was a nudist and worked best au natural, and almost tried to intimidate Peggy with his freeness. She called his bluff though, and as the both stripped naked to work on the account, turns out Stan is much more insecure about himself then Peggy is. Score one for females.

- A perfectly fine episode, perhaps a little uneven but strong nonetheless.

Rating: 7/10

Mad Men - ' The Rejected' and ' The Chrysanthemum And The Sword' - I've Got A Hate In Me

An uncharacteristically busy week lead to me not finding the time to recap Mad Men last week, so I'll do slightly abbreviated recaps of both that episode and the latest one. I read an interesting piece in the AV Club's review of the chrysanthemum and the sword, saying that this season of Mad Men has divided critics, but not in the conventional way. Here there is a lot of disparity in regards to what people think its doing wrong and what people think its doing right. My personal season favorite is probably 'The Good News', with the strong character work of Don's trip to California and the poignant hilariousness of his New York odyssey with Lane Pryce. But to many others it stands as the weakest moment. I don't get that, but there you go. Perhaps the show itself is to blame for this, in its insistence to try and do just about everything a drama can do, from character drama, to capturing and dissecting a societal era, to exploring the complexities of family, to the complexities of business and advertising and many more topics of discussion.

The problem being that each critic or fan of the show has a particular aspect that they prefer and want the show to give itself to. Personally I'd love for it to be a more focused character study of Don Draper, and perhaps a little less of the capturing a period in time stuff, particularly as we venture further into the sixties and to a time more commonly explored. But Mad Men is determined to be the king of all trades, so to speak, meaning that everybody has something to be frustrated about, even if that something is different. This ambition has looked a bit worn in these last couple of episodes, coming across a little more meandering and less well-constructed then usual. Not bad by any means, but Mad Men sets a very high standard for itself, so...

The Rejected

- I'm not the biggest fan of the Pete stories these days, and kind of feel like Vincent Kartheiser works best for this show in a supporting role. This one felt a little serviceable then inspired. Forced to tell his father-in-law they're ditching his Clearasil account, whilst also discovering his wife is with child, its a further demonstration of how these days Pete seems to be the Mad Men character who has most got his shit together, pretty much happily married, pretty much emotionally stable and perhaps aside from Don seems to be the most valuable asset the agency has, all of which doesn't make him the most intriguing character on the show right now. Still Kartheiser does a solid job.

- Seeing Alison Brie as Pete's wife is such a culture shock these days now that I'm used to seeing her on Community. Can't get over it. Never will.

- As for Peggy's tentative steps into the world of the hippie storyline, I think it was more hit then miss, not the strongest subplot ever but Elisabeth Moss brings such an irresistible likeability to Peggy, watching her in any circumstance is entertaining. I thought the douchebag hippy photographer was a bit on the nose though, as was the police breaking up the underground hippie party. That scene has been exhausted by bad 70's movies.

- Loved the Peggy's head peeking over the door sight gag though. This show is a lot funnier then I remember it being

- The strongest moment of the episode is probably the resolution of the Allison the secretary subplot from a couple of episodes ago. Seeing Don's inability to deal with any human being exhibiting emotion is always good value, and seeing how he pretty much annihilated Allison's self-respect, it was good to see her leave in a moment of semi-strength.

- " I don't say this easily, but you are not a good person."

- Generally a good episode, nothing was bad, but not enough was very good for my liking. That last shot of the suits and the youth separated by the glass and Peggy's lingering look at Pete was pretty awesome though.

Rating: 7/10

The Chrysanthemum and The Sword

- Yikes. Fans of January Jones can't be liking this series do far. Betty Francis is venturing in dangerous territory, going from flawed but intriguing character to a pretty unsympathetic villain in a dark domestic drama, and may be doing damage to poor Sally Draper that can't be undone. Betty was never the greatest parent, but her wrongdoings were always framed in the context of Don's douchebaggery. Now that she's free and perhaps more importantly, contrasted with her saintly new partner Henry Francis, she just comes off a little bit monstrous.

- Betty lands yet another slap to her ten year old's face in sword, believing that the complexities of a child in anguish can only be solved with force, a lesson learned from her own strict childhood no doubt, and even makes Don look a good parent in comparison. I don't know if Betty's going down this road is a thing of permanence or a slight in a grander plan, but she's veering pretty close to mother-from-hell territory. With not all that much ambiguity to be honest.

" You're right. Because it doesn't do anything!"

- Having said that, Sally did masturbate in front of another child, so not currently the most adjusted girl in the world. Although the girl does seem to be pulling away from Betty and her belief set, what with the short hair and the uncouth behavior.

- I did appreciate Betty's scene with the psychiatrist at the end though, implying that something is happening with this character rather then just demonization. It's a little too simplistic for her to go full tilt toward Livia Soprano territory, so I assume something is in the works.

- The Honda contract played out a little like a caper plot, which was kind of cool. Seeing the gang come together to pull a fast one on a rival, up and coming ad agency was yet another example of the show flexing its tonal muscles. It was kind of ruined though, by the tacked on and rather gormless Roger Sterling plot of anti-Japanese fervor. I get that this character might not be the most likely person to forgive and forget, but it was handled all a bit one-note and I didn't really think it added anything.

- Still Pete handing him his ass in the next scene was worth the false-note.

- The conclusion of the caper plot was nifty though, with Don not getting the account but through his ingenuity bankrupting his closest opposition, and always Jon Hamm nailed the final scene with the Japanese clients. I used to think this show was a fairly even ensemble, but Hamm stands out from the pack more and more these days.

- Second great Peggy sight gag in two weeks, this time biking around an empty studio.

- Two OK episodes in a row Mad Men, which would be fine I guess if you were Lost , but I want a frickin good one next week. And perhaps some nuance in regards to Betty Draper being the mother from another planet. She's certainly the weakest thing about this season thus far, so no doubt an episode heavy on her is going to suffer. Having said that, I think the Sally aspect is being handled very well.

Rating: 7/10

Mad Men - ' The Good News' - Maybe The Next Time

Quite the economical episode of Mad Men this week, covering a lot of ground efficiently, whilst doing it as elegantly as ever. The year so far is maintaining a consistency of quality which is pleasing to see, but its yet to have an episode to explode off the screen in the way we know it can. Still only three episodes in, no need to panic yet, particularly when the average episode is as strong and as rich as this.

- First Dick Whitman action of the season, and it presented a pleasing shift of the Dick and Don dynamic. With Don's carefully constructed identity and life a pretty bleak place to be in right now, wifeless, kidless and enjoying the regular company of prostitutes. Classy ones to be sure, this is Mad Men, but the world of Don Draper is a solitary place, even more then its ever been. Returning to California and to the tolerating and essentially loving company of Anna Draper, who as she says knows everything about him and still loves him. Something Don doesn't believe to be possible.

- Melinda Page Hamilton does well in the role of the understanding Anna, and brings a real warmth to the episode and to Don's currently bleak existence. Excellent range of skills demonstrated by Jon Hamm this week by the way, and his switching between Don and Dick is pretty awesome, playing the latter with a smile and vulnerability contrasting nicely with the exquisitely subtle 'leave me the fuck alone' performance he gives week in week out as Don.

- The scene Don shared with Anna's niece Stephanie dancing to Patti Page's 'Old Cape Cod' was one of the most relatable moments he's ever had. It reminds him of a beautiful place he wishes he could go to, but probably never will. You can't make me cry Mad Men, I'm a man who plays sports and shit.

- Anna's cancer probably takes Dick Whitman with it, as she seems to be the only person our man of two names has ever been able to truly be himself around. So dies the boy and leaves the man to rot right?

- Of course what was awesome is that all this took place in the first half hour, and the second saw Don go on a late night, Dec.31 odyssey with Lane Pryce. I believe I complained last week that Jared Harris doesn't get much room to breathe with the character of Lane, but he sure got a showcase this week. It was as much about interrelating Lane into the gang, as it were. As he and Don went to the movies, ate at restaurants, took in comedy clubs and capped it off by screwing some prostitutes. Happy 1965.

- Harris was unexpectedly hilarious in all these scenes, particularly shouting Monster in a Japanese accent, as well as handling the 'my wife's divorcing me' moment pretty well. Lane has always been an outsider on this show but this episode was exactly what the character needed. Its as if the writers of Mad Men predict all my potential complaints and address them one by one. Fucking responsible writers.

- Also this episode is serious Emmy submission material for Hamm, who plays the subtly different incarnations of who he was and can't be any more and who he is perfectly. From how sympathetic he is with Anna to how Don like he is with Lane. Good stuff.

- Also, Joan. Its nice to see Joan get a storyline of her own, and Hendricks was as good as always. Planning to have her baby with her surgeon/rapist husband Greg, in spite of his serving in the military and foreshadowing him going to Vietnam ( And lets face it y'all, Probably get wasted.) But I very much appreciated the scene where Greg took care of her cut finger, with Joan almost not trusting him to do it, but whatever he is and whatever he has done, he can do this for her.

-It was a nice moment for Dr. Rapist to be honest. The show made him a bit of a screw-up in the past, and while on the whole he probably is a dick, giving him a moment of humanity and complexity was good writing. Particularly now they are clearly going to kill him off-screen.

- ' I can't fix everything, but I can fix this.'

- How ridiculously 60's was that shot of Don in the convertible sports car. I felt like I was watching a commercial or something.

- Another tonally consistent, fantastically written episode of this show that seems to consistently remind me that I should have missed it more then I did. I may be a Breaking Bad guy, but that doesn't make this show any less a milestone then it is.

Rating: 8/10

Mad Men: 'Christmas Comes But Once A Year' - I'll Never Do What The Swedish People Do

- The show continues it's strong start, and while this episode is perhaps less substantial then the last, it's still a terrific hour of TV. What is notable about recapping Mad Men is that it feels on closer inspection a lot less episodic then the two shows I've covered before, Lost and Breaking Bad. I would say that individual episodes of those shows have a distincter identity in and of themselves then an average episode of Mad Men. There are exceptions to this, the JFK episode stands out to me, but generally its a show about the bigger picture, where moments pay off beats 10 or eleven episodes ago without the need to clarify themselves. Its like The Wire in that respect, only replacing labyrinthine plotting with labyrinthine character drama. This is neither a plus or a minus to the show, but its interesting to note.

- So to start off, I liked the Sally Draper plot in this episode. Enamored with creepy neighbor kid Glen, returning from season 1, and detailing to him how truly disparaging it is to be a Draper child. And in a consequent gesture that I can only deduce to be an act of courtship, Glen trashes Henry and Betty's home, a place she has come to resent, and leaves her room clear. Erm, buy a consonant for the word sociopath? Still, it impressed Sally, who may have found herself a delinquent and creepy boyfriend.

- So given the current belt-tightening at the agency, Uptight Brit and not a stereotype at all Lane Pryce decides that minimalism will be the theme of the Christmas party this year, which irritates all those fun-loving Americans no end. Unfortunately for financial responsibility, plans change when Lee Garner Jr, Lucky Strike big man, announces his plan to attend.

- I like Jared Harris on this show, and while he has a tough role with Pryce, I think he does a good solid job with it.

- Don meets a quirky new neighbor in Nora Zehetner, who y'all might remember from playing the chick who could control people's minds on the first season of Heroes. Anyway, I cared for these scenes less then Don's date last week and just felt a little simpler. We're not done with her I'm sure.

- The Christmas party sequence was terrific, again because so much of what is happening isn't being said. I very much appreciated it when Roger took Lee's baiting and attempts to humiliate him rather then do what most shows would have done and have him explode at him. I think they call it taking one for the team. Even if you have to dress up like Santa.

- The scene between Don and and the Demographic lady was good, with her confronting him after he walked out on her survey. Don being Don, he doesn't want to fill out any information about himself, but she called him out on this pretty good. Life is a mixture of what you want and what's expected of you, after all.

- ' I'm sorry, nobody likes to think of themselves as a type.'

-Poor Allison the secretary. What a gutting episode this was for her. That was a dark sublot wasn't it. Drunk Don leaves his keys at the office, and when Allison brings them to him, he comes on to her and shit goes down. The next day, 'thank you for bringing me my keys.' Her face of pure joyful expectancy made that pretty hard to watch. Then to kick her in the face when she's down, Don gives her a previously discussed bonus in two fifties. Way to make a girl feel like a cheap hooker Don. A brilliantly acted scene by Alexa Alemmani.

- Don Draper, fighting back feminism, one girl's self respect at a time.

- At a side note, if this show has a sad sack, its probably Harry Crane.

- Another great episode for Elisabeth Moss, who seems to be being given far and away the most material of the female cast members this season, liked her scenes with the now reformed Freddie. Who may be reformed, but is still an outdated relic, believing all women define themselves by men and all just want to get married to somebody.

- Not a momentous episode, and still not enough Joan Holloway, but its a confident start to season 4, and the new status quo is continuing to work well for it.

Rating: 7/10

Mad Men - 'Public Relations' - Put It On The Expense Account So We Can Charge It As Whores

At times I have an adversarial relationship with Mad Men. No-one in their right mind can call it anything but a great show, but for me it has the tendency to sit on its laurels a little bit, and the third season in particular wasn't enough of a step forward for me and I don't think for many other viewers either. I think it was this that started the rumblings of the great usurper Breaking Bad being called the better show, whereas in the past to pose the question in regards to anything being better then Mad Men would be in itself ridiculous. Thankfully though, this stellar premiere suggests a sense of the re-vitalized, a new status quo suggesting a new energy.

- Somewhat tellingly, the first line of season 4 is ' Who is Don Draper?'An encouraging tack for the show to take, because the mystery surrounding Draper, so fascinating in the early years had began to feel like a bit of a crutch. And Don, despite consistently great work from Jon Hamm, becomes a bit of a cipher for all the sociological points the show is making, putting its philosophies over its characters and that has always hacked me off a bit. So I was very, very happy to see the show get into this a little bit, and many ways acknowledging that, with Don essentially being the public face of the new agency, the veil has to come down a bit.

- This was brilliantly portrayed in the opening and closing scenes of the episode, the first seeing the 'my ideas speak so I don't have to' Don in full effect, conducting an interview with a reporter, shall we say reluctantly. Dodging questions and presenting himself as enigma, or a cipher depending on your point of view. To use a particularly hilarious metaphor, pulling a Kristen Stewart, enjoying and reveling in the work his success allows him, but affronted by the exposure that comes with. But the one-legged journalist called him on this, even using the word cipher in his article. Thus putting an end the good grace earned by Don's Glo-Coat commercial.

- That commercial was awesome by the way.

- The bookend saw Don in the same situation, only this time he has to talk himself up, doing justice to the mythic mutiny in the finale of season three, and like any great storyteller, building up his own myth in the process. A great piece of acting by Jon Hamm and just a great fucking scene. And I'm even more in love with the implications it has for the rest of the season.

- What is worrying, is where Betty Draper seems to be heading. Betty was never the warmest person, always kind of bullied her kids, but married to colossal dealhole Don always had her maintaining our sympathy. Because with the possible exception of Henry VIII, there's no one less suited to marriage then Don. However, with that taken away the woman is coming across pretty loathsome, humiliating her child at thanksgiving and not allowing her daughter to call Don on thanksgiving. Right now she's a cruel entity, and while that can last for a while, too much of this is going to take the character to a place that perhaps it wouldn't be wise to go. Still Jones is still putting in some good actressing.

- I loved how Henry's mother called Betty a silly woman. I get the feeling that the ex-Ms Draper might be the Don to Henry's Betty.

- I love Elisabeth Moss on this show these days. She and Vincent Kartheiser (who will always be Conor from Angel to me damn it.) made her caper like subplot almost the most enjoyable thing about the episode. I do it love it when the show allows me to enjoy it as much I appreciate it, it doesn't happen too often but it worked here.

- " It was going great...Until it wasn't."

- Another hall of famer for great client confrontations, and it tied well into the themes of the episode. A swimwear company wants to somehow sell bikini's without selling sex, yet complain that their competition is making more money then them. Like Don wanting to sell everything else yet complaining when asked to sell himself. You can't have your cake and eat it I guess. Anyways whilst Don comes to grips with this, the company doesn't and Don awesomely kicks them out on their ass.

- Not nearly enough Joan Holloway in this episode. Can you say glorified extra?

- I liked the scene with Don's date with Bethany, but didn't love it. I liked there being a woman not falling for Don's aging tricks, but I didn't think it was the best performance or the most fascinating character. Still loved the opera story.

- Overall, I think this was a very solid reboot episode. Mad Men did need to re-vitalize its universe, and while the 'moving house' trick seems a little thin on paper, it worked a treat. New dynamics present new opportunities and this episode fills me with confidence that Mad Men is going to be good to itself.

Rating: 8/10

Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency

Because TV recapping is a drug to sweet to detox from, I'll be recapping the upcoming Mad Men Season 4 all up through here. To be honest Mad Men has always been I show I appreciate more then enjoy, but is great television and I'll be paying its due respects every Monday in the form of free-form recapping. The only way we do it here.