Mad Men

[Roger Wilco]

I loved the scene where all the women are gathered at the Drapers' house talking about the horror of segregation while the black servant is quietly working in the background, and later Betty saying "maybe it's not time for civil rights yet" in response to the murder of the girls in Birmingham.

 

[exodus]

I loved the scene where all the women are gathered at the Drapers' house talking about the horror of segregation while the black servant is quietly working in the background, and later Betty saying "maybe it's not time for civil rights yet" in response to the murder of the girls in Birmingham.

Did you see the look Carla shot her?

Eek!!

Yes, Betty's proving to be just as insensitive as her husband.

Here's a little real world fact: the little girls that died in Birmingham were also childhood friends of Condoleezza Rice.

 

[Bad Bishop]

It took a while, but I've finally lost all sympathy for Betty. I just sit in awe of her brazen willingness to destroy her family. She has a newborn son at home but there she is, running around and feeling like she deserves sex and attention from other men. To me it doesn't matter that she didn't actually end up screwing Henry. And I don't care if she's insecure and didn't get enough attention from Daddy when she was a child.

Miss Farrell (the teacher). She's young, beautiful and cynical. She has a real gift for cutting through the B.S. spouted by adulterous husbands like Don. On some perverse level, I actually admire her for that last quality. Picking up on a theme mentioned previously, I can't wait for her to attack Don with a kitchen knife.

It's too bad about Sal. He's a victim. I hope he'll find some kind of justice. And as for his wife Kitty, maybe he should set her free.

 

[exodus]

??? did i miss a bunch of episodes? i never got a crazy vibe from the teacher, or a stalker vibe from the teacher... don was stalking her, as best i can recall...

i also think don is more bark than bite... if truly confronted with a real problem, he'd run, not fight. but maybe i'm forgetting some episode where he does hold his ground and fight.

Nope, you haven't missed an ep.

I agree, the Teacher's been telling Don "No, No, No". He's the one obsessing over her. He's getting up at 4:00 in the morning and looking for her.

...and yes, Don shown when his back is up against the wall, he runs. He ran from his family, his brother(causing his brother to take his own life), his life. Heck he even ran to Cali. for awhile to escape his new life & job. He's even running from his wife when she asks about his past. She didn't even know details about his father until recently. He didn't even want to sign his contect due to fear it would pigeon hold him.

 

[Bad Bishop]

??? did i miss a bunch of episodes? i never got a crazy vibe from the teacher, or a stalker vibe from the teacher... don was stalking her, as best i can recall...

i also think don is more bark than bite... if truly confronted with a real problem, he'd run, not fight. but maybe i'm forgetting some episode where he does hold his ground and fight.

Nope, you haven't missed an ep.

I agree, the Teacher's been telling Don "No, No, No". He's the one obsessing over her. He's getting up at 4:00 in the morning and looking for her.

You're letting her off the hook. She flirted with Don during the solar eclipse. She jogs in the darkness while wearing shorts. Clearly, she was asking for it.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I honestly have no idea what the deal is about the teacher. Clearly she came onto Don, but I do think there's something wrong with her somehow - or maybe the writers just want to make me think that and mean to show their relationship as a contrast to Betty with whatever-his-name?

Did you see the look Carla shot her?

Eek!!

Yes, Betty's proving to be just as insensitive as her husband.

Here's a little real world fact: the little girls that died in Birmingham were also childhood friends of Condoleezza Rice.

I did not know that about Rice, but yes, Betty clearly is not a person the viewers are supposed to feel sympathetic for, whatever that means...

 

[Dorian Thompson]

That teacher doesn't strike you as nuts? She seems like a flower child wannabe loon to me. As for Don, yes he'll run rather than fight unless he's backed against a wall. However, with a woman rather than someone his own size threatening him, yes he strikes me as more than capable of doing something nasty if he feels cornered--like if she threatened to tell Betty, which she very easily could do because they're in such close proximity. I still remember how nasty Don's temper was when Roger came on to his wife, blaming Betty for it. Do you want to bounce me off the walls? I remember Betty saying that. Just something about his temper and how he got up in her face really threw off a dark vibe. I even remember how Don said he "wouldn't let a woman talk to him that way" to Rachel in the pilot episode. Don's not a nice person when the chips are down. I'm surprised that Don's character doesn't strike everyone that way. He seems like a potentially very dangerous man to me given the right circumstances, if he felt threatened enough.

 

[Roger Wilco]

@"dark vibe": I think the reason "we" aren't feeling that, is that nothing explicit has been shown on the screen yet regarding that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember Don ever hitting a woman (or a man), let alone do something worse, so why should we assume he's capable of that now? Yes, he's a macho, of course, what man of that time wasn't? And yes, he's a philanderer. But I haven't seen any indication yet that he is a violent man in any way.

 

[exodus]

@"dark vibe": I think the reason "we" aren't feeling that, is that nothing explicit has been shown on the screen yet regarding that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember Don ever hitting a woman (or a man), let alone do something worse, so why should we assume he's capable of that now? Yes, he's a macho, of course, what man of that time wasn't? And yes, he's a philanderer. But I haven't seen any indication yet that he is a violent man in any way.

Agreed.


To Dorian and Bishop:
...and no, I don't see the teacher as nuts, at least not yet.
I work about an hour from where Don, his family & this teacher live. Nearly everybody around here acts like she does. So no, I don't see her as psycho.

 

[Snaploud]

I agree that the teacher comes off as nuts. She was the one hitting on Don prior to this episode (even calling up the house for no apparent reason except to talk to Don). I fully expect her to end up like that woman from the Sopranos.

 

[exodus]

Damn, I guess I need to watch me some Sopranos.

 

[Bad Bishop]

Re: Conrad Hilton, the hotel bigwig who wanted the Moon. This man really lived. He is a historical figure (of sorts). I wonder whether he was anything like the character we see on Mad Men.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

You could ask his great grand daughter Paris.

 

[darthraidr]

i still dont see it... looney is the beatnik chick he was banging in the first season... or the group of people he hung around with in Cali... or Conrad Hilton... the teacher hasnt given off any looney vibe that i can pick up... unless her jogging counts as looney...

sure she flirted with Don, but what woman on that show hasn't?

is Don capable of violence? sure, i'd say most people are if cornered... but time and time again we've seen when don gets cornered he runs. in the situation where he doesn't run it's because he's got enough leverage to make other people go away.

i dont think Don is a nice guy at all... he's a jerk. he's a coward. he's a liar. he's unreliable.

sure he could be violent, but based on his characterization so far, it's not likely... but like the teacher said, this time is different for him... he's doing this close to home... my guess, this is his way of trying to get caught and force his family to leave him...

 

[Snaploud]

The teacher has been hitting on Don since the moment Betty left the room during the parent-teacher conference. She called the house for no reason except to talk to Don. Those are some definite signs of issues.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

The teacher drunk dialing Don's home was a big red flag to me. If this little chickadee gets pregnant, thus putting even more pressure on Don I can see him snap. Don would not react well to even more pressures and obligations. Abortion's not legal. She'd be crying that she'd lose her job. He could offer to fly her to Canada, but what if she didn't want an abortion? Someone could have seen his car there and start asking questions. I find it incredible that he hasn't knocked anyone up yet.

 

[darthraidr]

again, who doesn't hit on Don, or flirt with Don? so her flirting with Don is as surprising as Don drinking in his office... does that make her crazy? no, it makes her a fairly typical female character in the world of MadMen...

and i still dont see the violence as being the most logical route for the character... sure it's a possibility... but hey, so is Betty Draper killing her daughter (or son) and dumping the body in the newly preserved lake...

i'd argue they've been setting up my crazy scenario even more than the crazy idea of Don getting this girl pregnant, offering to fly her to Canada and having her refuse only to have Don turn violent and attack her...

 

[Bad Bishop]

You could ask his great grand daughter Paris.

"Paris, did your great-grandfather Conrad really telephone his ad agency guys at home at 4 AM? Did Conrad really act like a child whenever he disapproved of an ad? Did he really want to build hotels on the Moon? How is that project going, by the way?"

 

[darthraidr]

You could ask his great grand daughter Paris.

"Paris, did your great-grandfather Conrad really telephone his ad agency guys at home at 4 AM? Did Conrad really act like a child whenever he disapproved of an ad? Did he really want to build hotels on the Moon? How is that project going, by the way?"

"That's hot!"

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yes, Betty's proving to be just as insensitive as her husband.

No kidding. And Don - eeeeyyyuuuck. What he did to poor Sal was a new low even for him.

This show is starting to remind me of BSG - a bunch of horrible horrible horrible people who I wish would just DIE DIE DIE so why am I watching this every week? But at least the BSG folks had the excuse that they were fighting for their lives. And their personalities were funny and colorful. And there were space battles.

Mad Men better get some frakken space battles going soon if they want to keep my interest. A combination of inert plotting and despicable characters is not my idea of good TV, I don't care if they win all the Emmys in the world.

However, I gotta admit, a lesser show would have just had Don be homophobic. For him to not exactly be homophobic, but apparently equate all homosexuals with slutty females is...different.