Mad Men! (Read 2,172 times)

[Tom Horton]

^^ I agree. After I thought about it more, I realized it couldn't be the 70s yet. They seem to only be about 6 months or so past where the previous season ended (Joan was pregnant then and now she has a newborn). I don't remember exactly when Bobby Kennedy died. I know JFK died in 1963 and I'm thinking it was about 5 years later that Bobby was killed - I know it was still in the 60s, and Bobby Kennedy was still alive as of last season (because they did that prank call pretending to be Bobby when Don wrote the letter to the paper about being glad they don't represent tobacco anymore). Plus, Vietnam is still going on and I think we were finished pulling troops out of there in 1971 (I can't trust my memory of American history too exactly on dates but I think that was the year.)

I couldn't stand Pete Campbell for the longest time but I'm finally starting to warm up to him a little. It seems like he is where Don was in the earlier seasons. Pete used to be the immature one who was extremely ambitious and expecting to have everything he wanted immediately. Now he seems just as ambitions but he's putting in the work and taking things more seriously than the senior partners, like the difference between how he saw the Y&R thing and the prank ad that Don/Roger ran (it seemed like Don ran it but it was Roger's idea, they both seemed to be involved). Don seems to be acting a lot more like Roger now and Pete seems to be the one having to act like the adult because Don and Roger are behaving like frat boys.

[DancingDays]

I don't watch Mad Men, but as for your historical questions, I can answer those. Bobby Kennedy was killed in June 1968 (MLK was killed two months earlier in April) and Vietnam ended in 1975.

Hope that helps!

[Tom Horton]

Thanks DD. Did they start pulling the troops out in 1971? Is that why I have that year stuck in my head?

They covered the MLK "I have a dream" speech during the season before the last one and the Medgar Evers shooting has happened (I think), but I can't remember any other big event they've covered on the show since JFK died.

[DancingDays]

Troop pullout was started in 1972. Here's some more info of you're interested.

history1900s.about.com/od/vietnamwar/a/vietnamwar.htm

[Tom Horton]

Okay, Thanks - I was closer than I usually get on dates.

P.S. I looked up the dates of the MLK speech and Evers shooting and those both happened in the summer of 1963 so they were actually before JFK's assasination (that is one date I do remember because of taking an entire college course specific to it). So I guess based on when those events occurred on the show, that this season must be set in about 1966 or so.

[Tom Horton]

I just remembered something from the show last night. The note that came with the artifact that Y&R sent had "resume dates" that Roger read and it said 1960 - 1965. So, scratch my earlier estimation of 1966. I think it is 1965 and Peggy said oh it's June 1st when she was reminded that it was Don's birthday. I just went online to see what the big national events were that year and in August 1995, the Voting Rights bill passed and the big riots in L.A. happened that same month. So if we hear them talking about that later in the season, we will know for sure what year they are in.

[DancingDays]

Does the show usually mention real world events? I gues JFK is too big to NOT mention, but do the other events look like they'll be mentioned?

[Kpatch]

I'm pretty sure we're done witih 1965. They covered that whole year in one episode.

Yes, DD, they talk about real events. They covered Marilyn Monroe's death. All the women in the office were crying. The show has a very real "period" feel. They also talk about companies that are clients or potential clients, like Heinz, American Airlines, Lucky Strike (cigarettes). It's very soapy, and I know you like soapy. It's the only show I watch regularly beside Days.

[DancingDays]

I hear it's quite good, but each time I sat down to watch it (I tried 3 times) it was just sooooooooooooooo sloooooooooooooooooooow that I got so bored, I had to change the channel.

[Tom Horton]

It is definitely soapy but it's not an adventure type of show. There is a lot happening but it's not blatant or extreme, like bombs exploding and high speed car chases - it's all about the characters.

Kpatch, why do you say they covered 1965 in one episode? I'm not disagreeing, I'm just not sure what you're referring to. I remember Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali) winning the championship and looked that up, it was in 1964. Interestingly, the same timeline site noted that the Beatles made their first appearance in the U.S. in 1964, which reminded me of Sally freaking out over Don getting her the Beatles tickets. So we know we're somewhere between 64 and 68 for certain. My initial reason for thinking that more time had gone by was Don's new apartment and the clothes but really the clothes haven't changed that much, it was more the furnishing decor, and that could just be a matter of new styles hitting a lot sooner for upperclass New Yorkers than it did for the working class in other parts of the nation.

[Kpatch]

I seem to remember one episode that included both the start and end of 1965, but I couldn't tell you exactly when it aired.

Here's a good review of last night's episode. This article says it's 1966.

entertainment.time.com/2012/03/26/mad-mens-return-surprise/?iid=ent-category-mostpop1

[Tom Horton]

Ooh great article and thanks for clearing up what year we're in. The article answered my reason for asking that question. They did change the decor and clothes to match with the styles of the late 60s as opposed to the early 60s. I was off a few years but at least now I know I wasn't just imagining it.

[Kpatch]

What did you think about Sunday's episode?

I think I'm going to like the new copywriter. He adds a new dimension to the firm. I really liked his interaction with Peggy and her reaction to him. I wonder if they'll end up hooking up some day.

Betty's back! I thought they did a good job of acknowledging her weight gain. Keeping it real.

Don is much more open than he was in previous seasons. I suppose we have to credit Megan for that. I liked his reaction to Betty's possible illness. He was truly concerned about HER, not just about the children. I was glad he cut Megan off before she got stupid. I still don't like her. She's so bland and her looks are nondescript. I liked Don's reactions at the restaurant in the early scenes. You could see him cringing when she said the wrong thing, and he was proud when she said the right thing.

[Tom Horton]

I like the new guy. He's quirky in a fun, smart way. I agree that he might actually turn out to be a good match for Peggy someday. I am loving Peggy more and more and enjoy seeing how comfortable she has become with herself. Her banter with Roger was a good sign of that I thought, her telling him that she would work on growing a p****s and then when he told her to find someone like Don but better looking, she told him that was something she could do (which was funny IMO because of course that is as impossible a task as her growing male appendages, but she got in a little jab at Don too which I don't think she would have ventured in the past.)

Betty seemed a bit more human when she thought she was dying and it's nice to finally see her being pleasant towards the kids again. I had forgotten how much of a death sentence cancer used to be and was actually surprised to see her and others assuming that she would die if it turned out to be cancerous. Even though everything about the show screams it is in a past time period, it is just close enough when they start talking about the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to forget how very different things like cancer treatment was nearly 50 years ago.

[Tom Horton]

Go Joan! Go Peggy! ... and Don Draper is one scary SOB!

Okay so I'm sure we're suppose to take from that scene that Don has some repressed rage and probably aimed at Megan but that still makes him one scary SOB in my book.

As for Joan, I remember exactly what she was referring to when she told Greg he was never a good man but it took forever for the show to circle back around to it. On one hand it seems like a risk for them to expect the audience to remember, on the other it says a lot about their respect for their audience and perhaps their understanding that the issue is impactful enough that female viewers in particular would never forget ... a little tidbit they should share with Days.

ETA: In the light of day I remembered that this show is all about Don's inner journey and therefore the anger would be directed at himself ... and just another symbolism of his ongoing fight with his own demons. Less scary but still that was a shocking scene mostly because it made me realize how little faith I have in the main character. Even after Megan brought him the juice, I wanted to look under the bed and make sure nothing was there.