Three Up
1. Don Draper. It's not all sunshine for Don, as a trip to California to buck up Megan (at the behest of her agent) goes completely sideways when he tells her the truth about work. The ensuing fight, however, clarifies for Don that he needs to get back in the game, so he gets an offer from a competing firm that leads to a return to SC&P, albeit under strict conditions (including reporting to Lou, which I thought my be a deal breaker). While this may not be the best thing for him in the long run, in the now Don is back where he identifies with what it is to be Don Draper. That's probably going to have to be enough for the time being.
2. Peggy Olsen. Still chafing under Lou's cardigan-wearing tyranny, now notable for his lack of push to get anyone nominated for Clios, she seems to react positively to Don's return, but manages to burn him later by saying he's not been missed (a sentiment not fully shared by the rest of creative, though Rizzo is on the fence). Not sure how she'll react to Don's return, but she's likely gained an ally that she's not had in the office, well, ever.
3. Harry Crane. Harry has to respond to a client's question about computer-driven market data and replies with how SC&P is just as good - if not better - in that department. Of course it's all lies, as the firm has to farm out their computer needs to someone else. His prevarication does get Cutler to call Harry the most dishonest person he's met, but it does show Harry in a more competent light as he was able to talk the client down and then impress upon a partner the importance of supporting the media division. Sadly for Harry, Cutler uses the computer as an argument against bringing Don back. Roger also make an off the cuff statement that Harry is gone, so maybe this isn't going to go so well for him as first thought.
Honorable Mention: Francine Hanson. Francine is back! She's working at a travel agency three days a week now, and stories of the office are just the thing to get Betty worked up about what she's doing with her life. Francine should show up to sow the seeds of discord more often.
Three Down
1. Betty Francis. So in response to her coffee date with Francine, Betty decides to chaperone a field trip that Bobby's class is taking to a farm. And Betty does well for a while, making small talk with Bobby on the bus, connecting with another chaperone, and even tasting milk fresh from the cow. Things go south when Bobby trades her sandwich for some gumdrops. I mean, Bobby may have thought she wasn't going to eat (having flashbacks to fat Betty, I suppose), but it's still a stupid thing to do. What's stupider, though, is Betty forcing Bobby to eat the gumdrops while she sits there and smokes disapprovingly. Her snit lasts the rest of the day, and pretty clearly crushes Bobby. In a conversation with Henry later she asks why the children hate her, and when Henry deflects by pointing out Gene is sleeping in her arms she just says it's a matter of time. Good that she recognizes the problem, I suppose, but it'd be helpful if she actually tried to do something about it.
2. Megan Draper. The return to constant rejection is not sitting well with Megan, who took to arranging an "accidental" meeting with a casting director so she could plead to redo a reading for a part. Her agent is concerned and calls Don to see if he can calm her down. This leads to a surprise trip to LA and the talk that may have ended their marriage. A later phone call may have repaired some of the damage, but Megan's trust in Don is pretty severely broken. That he's now going back to work in New York rather than moving out to LA as originally promised isn't going to help.
3. Lou Avery. We'd already seen the new depths that Lou could go to before Don showed up at the office and ran into him, putting Lou in panic mode. He angrily reminds Cutler about his contract and gets to chew out the creative staff for talking to Don. Which should make for a very comfortable work environment now that Don is back. I can't believe that Lou thinks he can actually supervise Don, but he's just egotistical enough that it could be the case. I'm looking forward to seeing how Don tortures Lou.
Honorable Mention: Gumdrops. Few things have looked less appetizing than when Bobby started to choke down those gumdrops. Tough enough market for a legacy candy, but throw that in and what chance is there of a comeback?
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "A Day's Work"
Three Up
1. Joan Harris. Turns out Joan's involvement with the shoe company last week was a part of something bigger - she's been juggling accounts and personnel work, and just when the latter is proving difficult Cutler shows up and suggests she choose one over the other. It's not a hard choice - Joan packs her things and moves upstairs, opening up room for...
2. Dawn Chambers. Dawn's been juggling working for Lou Avery and covering for Don, and when those two ships collide - Sally comes to the office and finds out Don's not there anymore - she takes a ration from Lou. This turns out to work in Dawn's favor, as (a) she gets to tell Lou off when he asks to have her moved, and (b) she winds up in Joan's old office after a brief stint out front.
3. Sally Draper. Sally goes into the city for the funeral of a roommate's mother, and loses her purse. She goes back for it, and that's how she winds up stopping by the office. She then goes to Don's apartment, but never confronts him about his job, leading to a later confrontation when she calls him out. Don eventually explains what happened, and they wind up getting past things, sort of. In the end she even says she loves him.
Honorable Mention: Michael Ginsburg. He's only in one scene, but has the best line of the night, in reference to Peggy's Valentine's Day plans. "She has plans, look at her calendar: February 14th, masturbate gloomily."
Three Down
1. Peggy Olsen. Besides the burn that Ginzo puts on her, Peggy winds up in a misunderstanding over some roses sent to her secretary, Shirley. Peggy thinks they're for her, and Shirley never gets a chance to correct her. Peggy believes they're from Ted, and spends most of the episode trying to tell Ted off, indirectly. Eventually Shirley tells Peggy about the flowers, which Peggy takes as a humiliation and asks Joan to move Shirley off her desk. In the end, masturbating gloomily would have been a step up.
2. Roger Sterling. Roger gets into something with Cutler over new business the LA office landed, and is outvoted. He ends the day discovering that Joan is moving in next door as an account rep, and on the way down is stuck in the elevator with Cutler, who says he hopes Roger would never be an adversary, but in a way that makes it clear that Cutler is an adversary. Back to the free love and acid?
3. Lou Avery. Continues to be a colossal dick, which will make his eventual comeuppance that much sweeter.
Honorable Mention: Bert Cooper. Also proves himself to be a dick, but in a low key way when he asks Joan to move Dawn off of front reception because she's black. I hope he steps on a thumbtack.
1. Joan Harris. Turns out Joan's involvement with the shoe company last week was a part of something bigger - she's been juggling accounts and personnel work, and just when the latter is proving difficult Cutler shows up and suggests she choose one over the other. It's not a hard choice - Joan packs her things and moves upstairs, opening up room for...
2. Dawn Chambers. Dawn's been juggling working for Lou Avery and covering for Don, and when those two ships collide - Sally comes to the office and finds out Don's not there anymore - she takes a ration from Lou. This turns out to work in Dawn's favor, as (a) she gets to tell Lou off when he asks to have her moved, and (b) she winds up in Joan's old office after a brief stint out front.
3. Sally Draper. Sally goes into the city for the funeral of a roommate's mother, and loses her purse. She goes back for it, and that's how she winds up stopping by the office. She then goes to Don's apartment, but never confronts him about his job, leading to a later confrontation when she calls him out. Don eventually explains what happened, and they wind up getting past things, sort of. In the end she even says she loves him.
Honorable Mention: Michael Ginsburg. He's only in one scene, but has the best line of the night, in reference to Peggy's Valentine's Day plans. "She has plans, look at her calendar: February 14th, masturbate gloomily."
Three Down
1. Peggy Olsen. Besides the burn that Ginzo puts on her, Peggy winds up in a misunderstanding over some roses sent to her secretary, Shirley. Peggy thinks they're for her, and Shirley never gets a chance to correct her. Peggy believes they're from Ted, and spends most of the episode trying to tell Ted off, indirectly. Eventually Shirley tells Peggy about the flowers, which Peggy takes as a humiliation and asks Joan to move Shirley off her desk. In the end, masturbating gloomily would have been a step up.
2. Roger Sterling. Roger gets into something with Cutler over new business the LA office landed, and is outvoted. He ends the day discovering that Joan is moving in next door as an account rep, and on the way down is stuck in the elevator with Cutler, who says he hopes Roger would never be an adversary, but in a way that makes it clear that Cutler is an adversary. Back to the free love and acid?
3. Lou Avery. Continues to be a colossal dick, which will make his eventual comeuppance that much sweeter.
Honorable Mention: Bert Cooper. Also proves himself to be a dick, but in a low key way when he asks Joan to move Dawn off of front reception because she's black. I hope he steps on a thumbtack.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "Time Zones"
Well, it's the start of the first half of the last season of Mad Men, and we've moved into 1969. How's that working out?
Three Up
1. Joan Harris - After listening to Ken complain about how he has no help, Joan freelances a meeting with Butler Shoes, a client who is planning on taking their advertising in-house. With some help from a surprisingly non-lecherous professor, she gets information which helps turn the company's director of marketing around, to the point where he's asking her for advice. Ken calls her out on it, but it's a good step forward for Joan given how she's been marginalized in the past.
2. Megan Draper - Now set up in LA and still married to Don, she's living in the hills and just got a callback for a pilot being shot for NBC. Things aren't perfect - her career has clearly receded since leaving New York, and she's got some anxiety stemming from Don's part-time presence, but things seem to be moving forward for her - except there's some talk about "fixing her teeth," which is blasphemy.
3. Pete Campbell - Of everyone who's decamped to LA, Pete seems to be reacting to it the best. He hates the city (flat, ugly, brown air) but loves the vibe. He's tan, dressed for tennis and has hooked up with a comely real estate agent (who will hopefully get him out of his apartment overlooking the tar pits soon). I'd rank Pete higher if I didn't expect him to Campbell it all up in short order.
Honorable Mention: Margaret Sterling - She invites her father to brunch, where she forgives him for everything. He forgives her back, only getting that she's on some sort of spiritual quest late in the conversation. She seems happy, thus the honorable mention, but I do fear that she's hooked up with some sort of cult.
Three Down
1. Peggy Olsen - Peggy did not get the head of creative position once Don was cashiered, and is now the senior person under some guy named Lou who is both lousy at his job and has all the gaiety of an impacted wisdom tooth. On top of work problems Peggy is now the landlady for the building she bought with Abe, meaning she's stuck in dangerous territory with tenants who send their kids to yell at her about their toilet. Oh, and Ted is back from LA for a visit, which just adds to the problems in both personal and professional areas. Peggy breaks down at the end of the episode, realizing just how isolated she is.
2. Don Draper - Don's "bicoastal" now, visiting Megan on weekends and such while "working" in New York. That "working" is doing freelance work with Freddie Rumson, who is the public face of the team when making pitches (their pitch for a watch company is the account that Peggy and Lou square off on for most of the episode). Don seems to have some positives here - he rebuffs a woman on the plane with whom he easily could have hooked up, for example - but at the end, sitting alone on his balcony in the cold, we get the bookend of isolation to Peggy. He's married, is getting some work done, but is essentially on his own.
3. Roger Sterling - Roger has turned his hotel room into some sort of commune/ashram/love-in, based on the number of nude people (and their various states of consciousness) in the room when his daughter calls to arrange brunch. His return from brunch shows that Margaret's forgiveness has sparked something in him, suggesting that all the free love and acid he can get isn't going to fulfill him.
Honorable Mention: Ken Cosgrove - it's only been two months since the last episode, so that eye patch may not be permanent, but its appearance does make me nervous. Ken is not having a very good time at work - he's the head of accounts in New York, has to juggle Detroit and LA and has little help - which given his ambivalent nature about his job must be killing him (I'm also guessing that Dave Algonquin hasn't had much time to write). I'd rank Ken higher if they didn't play him for comedy based on his newly limited eyesight.
Three Up
1. Joan Harris - After listening to Ken complain about how he has no help, Joan freelances a meeting with Butler Shoes, a client who is planning on taking their advertising in-house. With some help from a surprisingly non-lecherous professor, she gets information which helps turn the company's director of marketing around, to the point where he's asking her for advice. Ken calls her out on it, but it's a good step forward for Joan given how she's been marginalized in the past.
2. Megan Draper - Now set up in LA and still married to Don, she's living in the hills and just got a callback for a pilot being shot for NBC. Things aren't perfect - her career has clearly receded since leaving New York, and she's got some anxiety stemming from Don's part-time presence, but things seem to be moving forward for her - except there's some talk about "fixing her teeth," which is blasphemy.
3. Pete Campbell - Of everyone who's decamped to LA, Pete seems to be reacting to it the best. He hates the city (flat, ugly, brown air) but loves the vibe. He's tan, dressed for tennis and has hooked up with a comely real estate agent (who will hopefully get him out of his apartment overlooking the tar pits soon). I'd rank Pete higher if I didn't expect him to Campbell it all up in short order.
Honorable Mention: Margaret Sterling - She invites her father to brunch, where she forgives him for everything. He forgives her back, only getting that she's on some sort of spiritual quest late in the conversation. She seems happy, thus the honorable mention, but I do fear that she's hooked up with some sort of cult.
Three Down
1. Peggy Olsen - Peggy did not get the head of creative position once Don was cashiered, and is now the senior person under some guy named Lou who is both lousy at his job and has all the gaiety of an impacted wisdom tooth. On top of work problems Peggy is now the landlady for the building she bought with Abe, meaning she's stuck in dangerous territory with tenants who send their kids to yell at her about their toilet. Oh, and Ted is back from LA for a visit, which just adds to the problems in both personal and professional areas. Peggy breaks down at the end of the episode, realizing just how isolated she is.
2. Don Draper - Don's "bicoastal" now, visiting Megan on weekends and such while "working" in New York. That "working" is doing freelance work with Freddie Rumson, who is the public face of the team when making pitches (their pitch for a watch company is the account that Peggy and Lou square off on for most of the episode). Don seems to have some positives here - he rebuffs a woman on the plane with whom he easily could have hooked up, for example - but at the end, sitting alone on his balcony in the cold, we get the bookend of isolation to Peggy. He's married, is getting some work done, but is essentially on his own.
3. Roger Sterling - Roger has turned his hotel room into some sort of commune/ashram/love-in, based on the number of nude people (and their various states of consciousness) in the room when his daughter calls to arrange brunch. His return from brunch shows that Margaret's forgiveness has sparked something in him, suggesting that all the free love and acid he can get isn't going to fulfill him.
Honorable Mention: Ken Cosgrove - it's only been two months since the last episode, so that eye patch may not be permanent, but its appearance does make me nervous. Ken is not having a very good time at work - he's the head of accounts in New York, has to juggle Detroit and LA and has little help - which given his ambivalent nature about his job must be killing him (I'm also guessing that Dave Algonquin hasn't had much time to write). I'd rank Ken higher if they didn't play him for comedy based on his newly limited eyesight.
Monday, April 07, 2014
How I Killed Your Mother
I stopped watching How I Met Your Mother some time ago, and the apparently disappointing finale aired a couple of weeks ago, but I still wanted to discuss one of the more entertaining theories I saw in relation to it: that Ted Moseby killed the mother so he could wind up with Robin.
It seems unlikely - Ted doesn't exactly seem like the murdering type - but we know nothing about his life between his meeting the mother and his 2030. Years of being stuck with the "wrong" woman and seeing how the "right" woman was in a doomed marriage may have spurred him to action.
Also, we got very little information about the mother, which you could take as Ted trying to avoid uncomfortable questions about the mother's passing. He would obviously talk up Robin given his plan to win her back, but it conveniently gives the kids something else to think about.
Also, given the job prospects for architects, it may be that Ted needed to bump off the mother for insurance money. Not sure how much insurance a bass player carries, but every little bit helps.
Of course, this theory ignores one obvious fact: Ted would probably kill himself by accident if he tried to take out the mother. He'd spend all sorts of time being wishy washy about it and forget that he poisoned the food he just ate.
Still, I'd like to think this theory has legs, if only to make Ted more interesting in the aftermath of the show than he ever was during it.
It seems unlikely - Ted doesn't exactly seem like the murdering type - but we know nothing about his life between his meeting the mother and his 2030. Years of being stuck with the "wrong" woman and seeing how the "right" woman was in a doomed marriage may have spurred him to action.
Also, we got very little information about the mother, which you could take as Ted trying to avoid uncomfortable questions about the mother's passing. He would obviously talk up Robin given his plan to win her back, but it conveniently gives the kids something else to think about.
Also, given the job prospects for architects, it may be that Ted needed to bump off the mother for insurance money. Not sure how much insurance a bass player carries, but every little bit helps.
Of course, this theory ignores one obvious fact: Ted would probably kill himself by accident if he tried to take out the mother. He'd spend all sorts of time being wishy washy about it and forget that he poisoned the food he just ate.
Still, I'd like to think this theory has legs, if only to make Ted more interesting in the aftermath of the show than he ever was during it.
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