New to 'Mad Men'

[TheArsenal]

I totally agree; I got the impression too, that the Brits already decided to dump Duck and keep Don instead. Duck has played his part, he isn't needed anymore, Draper in the other hand is not as easily replaceable.

Looks that way. Once Duck had his outburst and they sent him out of the room with the aside "he never could hold his liquor", and Roger asking something like "this doesn't affect the merger does it?" it seemed as though Duck's fate was sealed.

There were many good moments in the episode. None better than Pete and Peggy. What a completer roller coaster few days for Pete. Walking in to deliver bad news on Clearasil and getting promoted instead (although with Duck potentially gone, maybe not). Don giving him a real, and rare, complete nod of approval. Confessing his love for Peggy, only to find out he has a child out there somewhere; as his marriage - ironically - crumbles around the issue of adopting.

For Don the question is has he really turned it around? Maybe. The note he wrote seemed very sincere, and, we did see a scene of rebirth of sorts at the end of the previous episode. We know he wants to do the right thing because he talked about trying to "claw his way into his life". And the Kodak carousel pitch (last season?), was another sign he once really cared. I know Betty is positioned such that I am supposed to have sympathy for her, but I can't. I think she's a fascinating character, but I find her difficult to like. Although, to her credit, when it looked as though she was debating whether to hurt Don in kind with confession of her affair, or to tell him about the pregnancy, she chose the pregnancy.

9 month wait huh? That's a long time.

 

[TheArsenal]

Ratings are up.

"Mad Men" ended its second season on a high note.

Sunday's finale averaged 1.75 million total viewers at 10 p.m. Sunday, which was 89% higher than the tally for the drama's first-season finale (926,000) a year ago. Over three airings (10 p.m., 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.), the episode pulled in a total of 2.9 million viewers.

Compared with Season 1, "Mad Men's" sophomore run saw a 63% increase in total viewers (an average of 1.5 million viewers vs. 925,000), a 109% jump in the adults 18-49 demo (705,000 vs. 338,000) and an 81% increase in adults 25-54 (780,000 vs. 430,000).

AMC also said that 49% of the adults 25-54 viewers that tuned in during Season 2 have household incomes above $100,000, giving the show the strongest concentration of upscale viewers in that demo than any other original scripted series on basic cable.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

And I don't get the love for Pete here, he's a slimy opportunist and he's a jerk. Does he have any redeeming qualities at all?

He's an intriguing character played by a very talented actor. I keep waiting for him to just frakkin explode. He's a ticking time bomb. He is more wound up than any of these wound up people and that includes Peggy and Don.

Meanwhile, AMC goes insane and plans to kill the golden goose.

Well, this sounds to me like a negotiation strategy. Weiner will stick around. But it would be amusingly horrid to see what a new showrunner would do with this show. Let's see, it's about a bunch of overdressed, overcoiffed people who sit around a kitchen table or a conference room and look stricken...yeah there's a lot we can do with that. How about a car chase and a serial killer for starters?

 

[Cain]

I'm pretty pleased with this season finale. We see many things come to a head. Pete and Peggy's relationship. Don and Betty's "reconciliation." The merger. It didn't carry the emotional punch that the first season finale did, though. And the second season didn't build to the emotional crescendo of the first. Instead of emotional weight, we actually get plot! Imagine that.

I think the biggest accomplishment of season 2 was the maturity of the characters. I care more about all these characters than I did at the end of season 1. Especially the second tier characters, like beard guy, glasses/TV guy, blonde writer guy, and gay guy. Honestly, I care about these characters, I just can't remember their names. I think Roger Sterling really came into his own. John Slattery is really having fun with character.

This felt like a growing season where the show stretches it's legs and becomes more comfortable with the characters and the setting. Yes, it took a lot to get going and meandered a lot in the beginning of the season, just like the first season. But, like I've said before, the show is so much about atmosphere and a deft narrative touches, that I don't care that nothing happens for long stretches.

I'm looking forward to next season to see what they do to build on the foundations built this season.

PS: Did anyone notice that Betty got it on with Captain Awesome of Chuck fame?

 

[Top41]

As much as I love January Jones and her portrayal of Betty, having her die in a botched abortion and Don having to deal with it would have been daring. I'm disappointed she took him back. I don't think she would have had she not been pregnant. I don't expect a happy Draper marriage in 1964. Don's a serial philanderer. He will cheat again, especially if Rachel returns as Weiner is hinting at (Maggie Siff's availability is iffy). Don will decide that Rachel is the love of his life again and probably start sniffing around her once more. He'll feel "trapped." Anybody can make a mistake or have a one night stand if they're furious at their spouse but serial philanderers are a different animal. Don's behavior is classic serial philanderer.

There's no question in my mind that Don will cheat again either. Of course he will; it's his way. (The SNL parody was so spot on. ) And I think Betty knows that, which is why I think when she decided to tell him she was pregnant, she was making the choice to deal with it and accept it. I really think she was torn in that moment--part of her wanted to tell him she'd slept with another guy because that was about revenge.

But at the same time, Betty understandably feels trapped. What is she going to do if she leaves Don for real? I think she can't imagine how her life would change, and I don't think she's ready to be that daring. Yet. Maybe down the road?

Don's future at Sterling Cooper -

Duck thought that Don had a contract. Including at standard "Non-Compete" clause. Which would have prevented him from leaving SC and starting his own agency. But without a contract nothing would prevent him from doing this. He likely would be able to take many of their clients with him. Those companies have trust in his track record. The new British owners know that Draper's got them by the balls. Once Duck mouthed off they were quick to distanced themselves from him.

Bottom line - Don's not going anywhere and things are going to continue to be done the way he wants.

I agree with Donald Draper. (I love your username btw. ) Don isn't expendable, not at this point.

And I don't get the love for Pete here, he's a slimy opportunist and he's a jerk. Does he have any redeeming qualities at all?

He's intriguing, and absolutely, completely consumed by his own insecurities and the weight of expectations on his shoulders. There are so many things he's been told he should be, and turning to Peggy and declaring his love for her was a way of throwing that off. ...And then she rejected him. I can't see him killing himself, but what will Pete Campbell be like when we see him two years from now?

Ratings are up.

"Mad Men" ended its second season on a high note.

Sunday's finale averaged 1.75 million total viewers at 10 p.m. Sunday, which was 89% higher than the tally for the drama's first-season finale (926,000) a year ago. Over three airings (10 p.m., 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.), the episode pulled in a total of 2.9 million viewers.

Compared with Season 1, "Mad Men's" sophomore run saw a 63% increase in total viewers (an average of 1.5 million viewers vs. 925,000), a 109% jump in the adults 18-49 demo (705,000 vs. 338,000) and an 81% increase in adults 25-54 (780,000 vs. 430,000).

AMC also said that 49% of the adults 25-54 viewers that tuned in during Season 2 have household incomes above $100,000, giving the show the strongest concentration of upscale viewers in that demo than any other original scripted series on basic cable.

It's great to see the show doing so well and so much better even than in first season. All the talk about its quality really paid off! Now I have to finally go back and see the first season before the third premieres.

Random third season speculation question: do you think Joan will marry her awful fiance? I really hope not.

 

[TheArsenal]

Random third season speculation question: do you think Joan will marry her awful fiance? I really hope not.

Let's see ... Don and Betty. Pete and Trudy. Pete and Peggy. Roger and Mona. Salvatore and his wife. Jimmy Barrett and Bobbie Barrett. Don and Bobbie Barrett. Don and everyone he cheats with. Ken and Sheila.

The neighbor Helen Bishop is divorced and Betty's riding partner Sarah Beth cheats.

Nope, not a happy relationship to be found anywhere.

Joan will marry the scum and join the ranks of the miserable.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

I hope she doesn't marry him, either, but a woman who was born in the 1930s like Joan was socialized to believe that she wasn't a success if she hadn't landed a husband by the time she's in her 30s. Men are "catches" no matter their age. Women's value had limited shelf life. Joan was born 10 years too early to see real change. I predict that she will marry him. She can't just throw a doctor aside. He's a "catch." He's her "last chance."

I'm so glad to see the ratings rise. I wish I had as much faith in AMC as Temis, but I can see the studio suits being stupid enough to let Matt Weiner go. I'm a cynic.

 

[AJBryant]

Plus, my grandmother watches it because she likes the fact that it's set during a time when she was young.

1960 was when your GRANDMOTHER was young?

Holy crap.

My *father* fought in WW2 -- and not as a kid. He was born in 1912. (I was born in 1961.)


Tony

 

[Kelso]

^ Well, my grandmother was 35 in 1960... my father was 8.