Mad Men.

I agree. When she had her hair done in the last episode she was a dead ringer for Grace Kelly and other times she looks just like Eva Marie Saint. Don sometimes controls her like James Stewart in Vertigo or Sean Connery in Marnie, she's quite like Marnie in some ways in her relationships, though of a different class background.
 
Will the BBC hurry up and put the new series of Man Men on !!!

Apart from having Jon Hamm withdrawal symptoms :p, there is a severe lack on good drama on TV at the moment !!!
 
I think this episode sort showed the shoots of the start of the 'swinging sixites', the rich freeliving family/'cult' group, Karl coming out as gay and telling Peggy she was olRABtyle. Cringed at the first scene with Sterling and Jane!!!.
 
Oh yes! :D Ken's reaction was priceless!!

Also thought Pete at the fertility doctor was hilarious. And how odd was it watching the doctor smoking all the way through the consulation? How times have changed...
 
This series is giving me serious issues, but in a good way. Last week when they ended their picknick by simply shrugging the blanket clean and leaving I was itching to go to that park and clean up their mess after them.
There are so many things here that seem 'wrong' to my eyes, but were acceptable in that day and age. I felt for Joan not even being considered for the job even though she clearly would have been excellent at it. Betty is finally developing a bit of a spine (however long that'll take) and Don actually listened to her, which is a victory for her in and off itself. And Peggy is clearly not as sanguine about 'giving up' her baby (albeit to her sister), and although I can understand that the priest wants her to unburden herself I thought he was pressuring her too hard.
I never considered myself much of a feminist, but whenever I watch this series I'm itching to shake some sommon sense into these women and give those men a big old slap around the ears. Great writing!
 
I think you may be letting your imagination run riot! ;) Either that, or you spend too much watching Emmerdale ... :eek:

It's very clear that Pete was the father of Peggy's child. Her relationship with Don is about something else: when he learned she had had a baby, he saw a kindred spirit in her - someone else with a secret. Hence his advice to her then - to deny the past and carry on. He views Sal in a similar way (as in the first episode of this series).

I also think Peggy is more complex than a straight-laced character with a sleazy side. She's from a religious and extremely conservative family and has been let loose in Manhattan at a time when women were gradually finding a voice.

Peggy has become more strident as the series has progressed - but I think it's more about her growing as a person and finding her way. We've seen her experiment a lot this series - because she feels she can. And don't forget that although we've seen more of Peggy's love life, it's always been implied that Joan is more sexually active and experienced.

I'm not sure we've ever found out what happened to Peggy's father but it's interesting she seems to come from a predominantly female household - which I'm guessing why she latched on to Don and is eager for his approval.

Which, of course, may all go horribly wrong now she has slept with Duck. Was it a revenge shag for just one of them - or both of them?
 
Funny, I think basically the opposite. I think Pete (and Peggy) are the two most nuanced characters and with the greatest depth, personality and authenticity to the characters, I completely believe they are people; as with both, every tiniest flicker of movement in the face conveys so much emotion, and often very conflicting emotions at that.

Where-as Don (even though I think he's very played well by Jon Hamm) is still a little hollow to me. I can, at times, feel sorry for him, and I can admire the performance, but I don't feel the depth of empathy or the hit of emotion I can feel in an episode centered around Pete or Peggy. Considering that every episode centers around Don, I'd say that's a lacking. He's too often too much of a male wish fulfillment for me. I can't often feel sympathy or empathy with him, not when he so often charms his way out of anything, unlike Pete, who almost never gets away with something without some sort of a kicking or humiliation from someone. There's a male character like Don in so much of the media, through-out time, and both in-show and outwith, with the viewers, I've always been confused as to why people fall so heavily in love with them. The stoic/hanRABome/flawed/womanizing protagonists always leave me cold.

I do find Don an interesting character... but I find other characters more interesting, and the sheer amount of time spent on his shagging and angst can leave me feeling... meh. Mostly I'd rather have a Pete and/or Peggy (or Roger, or Joan, or Sally...) episode than 45 minutes of Don's variety of inscrutable facial expressions.

That's not to say I don't enjoy his screen time, but I don't agree he's the best actor on the show, or the most interesting, amazing character. And sometimes I wish the screen time could be shared out more equally. Peggy gets a fair bit, but Pete hasn't had terribly much to do this season, or last, where about 4 episodes went by in which he mostly got 2-second one liners. And I like Lane, but everytime he gets a bit more development in one episode, he almost disappears for the next 3.

That said, I still love it more than anything else on tv, ever, and have been thoroughly enjoying this series :)
 
Thank you for clearing up who Margaret is. So yes, Jane has bagged Roger. Did she also indulge in pillow talk about Don that prompted Roger to needle him about what's going on, I wonder? Hence Don wanting rid of her?

And with all that cleared up, I can't help but wonder if Joan's comments about grief and losing someone is actually subtext about what she really feels about losing Roger ...

Of course I still want her to trounce Jane in some way ... :D

And yes, there obviously is something between Pete and Peggy - although it's clear Peggy wishes there wasn't. But will he find out about the baby ...?

Brilliant stuff - so rich and full of texture.
 
Good point! :D

I just watched the latest ep, and she is certainly looking fuller all over ~ maybe that 'stimulating' device will take a few pounRAB off, eh? ;)
 
Still reeling from last night's episode.

Those scenes between John Hamm and January Jones were spell-bindingly intense. Amazing acting and, as ever, amazing writing. :cool:

Brilliance elsewhere too with Joan's vase-smashing moment of rage (:D) and Roger back in the frame at his flirting best.

So good I need to watch it again ... :D
 
By the way it has been written, its seems to me that the Betts/Don relationship has always been a trade.

The whole selfish/selfless issue is both fascinating and complex, especially after reading a bit of Maslow.

But I can understand totally the reaction of Betts to the revelations about Don's past as this had never been part of that trade.

Moreover, women in the 60's like Betts did no have the freedom, opportunity nor were in the culture (yet) to get out there and do it for themselves. I think that she is doing a brave thing. But pragmatism was a key factor. Of course, as ever, the impact on the kiRAB is heart breaking (who is that wonderful kid who plays Sally?)

However, Servalan, you may be right about her placing all her eggs in the Henry Francis basket.

And of course, relationships are about a whole lot more than the physical, but I couldn't help thinking while watching the evolution of their relationship that here she is, a beautiful woman in her prime and him a middle aged man; she'll be wanting some '1,2,3 and what about the workers' (as Eric Morecombe once described it) and he'll want to watch the college football with his pipe and slippers. Can it work???

I know. I've got to wait until series 4.

A couple of lines stood out especially for me;

- Don calling Betts a whore (who exactly is the whore, Don?)

- Roger asking Peggy to get him a cup of coffee and Peggy replying 'No' (as Dylan was about to say, 'the times, they are a changing').

I've just realised that here I am, with an Ebay business needing loaRAB of non-stop work and I'm starting my day commenting on a forum about the lives of imaginary characters while my customers' items gather dust waiting to be packed.:eek:

Moereover, how exactly do I tell my Mum and Sister at the weekend when I visit them that I've met the woman of my dreams. But.......that the young woman............., called Peggy, ....................is actually.......................a fictional character in a US import to BBC4.:confused:

I'm reminded of that sketch that Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse did about Lance and his 'imaginary frienRAB' -

H - 'Ow are ya, Lance?'

P - 'Not very good. I've just broken up with my imaginary girlfriend'

H - 'Sorry to 'ear that'

P - 'Fanks. What makes it worse, is that her mum cooked a brilliant imaginary sunday roast every imaginary weekend'

Better get back to Ebay:D
 
I disagree that the episode is about the sexual revolution. I think it's much more the New World meets the Old World, America and Europe. It's like those people are on the updated version of the Grand Tour but instead of traveling across Europe, they're moving across America while picking up curiosities and people who catch their fancy along the way. Don is treated like an exotic pet. It's the first time he is unsure of himself, the first time he is regarded and dissected as an object. He is used to being complimented, envied and desired by men and women and while these people certainly compliment him, their worRAB aren't marked by envy but rather the attraction one has for a shiny new bauble. In other worRAB, they treat him like he has treated Betty. A prop.

Finally, Don walks a bit in Betty's shoes...
 
Absolutely! :D

I think we ALL know more about the boy who fixes his car than we do about Don!!

Is it just me, or was everything Pete said last night hilarious?
'Pasadena ~ it's all just people with TB' :D:confused:

PS: Poor Betty ~ getting hit on by a ten-year-old AND her dad!! :(
 
I came to the series late as I'd sky plussed it and then watched about 5 in a row really quickly. I fell in love with the show and was desperate to talk someone about it (I know no one in real life who watches!) I tried using the search facility to find a forum but none appeared. I thought about starting my own thread but this one got started.

Someone linked your thread and I had a read, but compared to this thread it seemed very negative - lots of people giving up on Mad Men because it was too slow etc so I stuck to this one - more kindred spirits here!
 
Yes, she has been compared to Grace Kelly; she is definitely of that mold in this role. January Jones seems to have an innate understanding of the class of Betty and that period. I can imagine Hitchcock would have been overjoyed if he'd had her to work with too. All the actors in this show (as I keep saying) do very subtle, deep work in MM.

Jon Hamm as Don comes the closest these days to the hanRABome 'strong, silent type' of a bygone era, even though his character here is far more morally flawed than the ones the likes of Gregory Peck or Jimmy Stewart usually portrayed. He's the first actor in a long time I've actually become intrigued by and look forward to seeing his work in the future.

At the end of the repeat of the show last night (yes, I watch the repeats during the week) the announcer revealed that Series 3 would be shown here next year. That's not news for any of us I know. Just a stabbing confirmation really that it will be a long wait.
 
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