Season 3, Episode 13

Original airdate:  11/8/09

Photo credit: AMC

“There are people out there like you and me and something happened, something terrible, and the way that they saw themselves is gone and nobody understands that.”

– Don Draper

America changed indelibly the day JFK died. The youthful exuberance of the post war era gave way to a more mature, self-reflective time which gave way to the violence and turmoil of the late 60’s and early 70’s… but I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s time to say goodbye to one era and usher in a new one. So long Sterling Cooper. Hello Sterling Cooper Draper and Pryce! (more…)

Season 3, Episode 12

Original airdate:  11/1/09

Photo credit: AMC

Erika Villalba is on vacation and will be back in time for the Mad Men season finale next week.  In the meantime, though, you’ve got me.

It’s cold in the Sterling Cooper office.  Really cold.

Price makes Cosgrove “Senior Vice President in charge of Account Services.”  Campbell is sort-of demoted, but is given a better title so it doesn’t seem so bad.  Campbell’s now “Head of Account Management.”  We don’t actually witness Price promote Cosgrove.  All we see is Pete getting demoted.  Like I said, it’s cold in the office. (more…)

Season 3, Episode 11

Original airdate:  10/25/09

Photo credit: AMC

It’s incredibly satisfying when something you’ve longed for / dreamed about / wished to happen actually does occur. Like the thrill of finally hearing your favorite song performed live by your favorite band after years of worshipping their music. I had a similarly transcendent moment on Sunday night, when, after a year of heartbreaking melodrama Joan Harris (nee Holloway) finally cracked under the pressure of being married to an overbearing, self-hating, whiny jackass and broke a vase over his stupid head. I actually jumped off the couch and cheered… which scared the hell out of my cat. (more…)

Photo credit: James LaVeris/FilmMagic

Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss married SNL’s Fred Armisen yesterday.  Read the E! Online article here.

Salvatore Romano may not be gone forever, Mad Men fans!  Read the Broadway.com interview with actor Bryan Batt here.

Season 3, Episode 10

Original airdate: 10/18/09

Photo credit: AMC

Holy shit! Something huge was revealed on this week’s Mad Men. Lois didn’t get fired after all! Oh, and Betty started to figure out Don’s secret past…whateves

Okay, I’ll get to the Betty/Don stuff in a bit, first… seriously, Lois (Crista Flanagan) didn’t get fired when she MOWED OFF SOMEONE’S FOOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OFFICE? (more…)

Season 3, Episode 9

Original airdate:  10/11/09

Tonight’s episode brings us the illicit, eccentric, and just plain odd behavior that our Mad Men/Women engage in when they think no one is watching and we got a glimpse at secret yearnings and odd power plays that go on behind closed doors.

We begin with Betty luxuriating on her new fainting couch/sex chaise with Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley) leaning over her. He gently touches her lips, opens her blouse and is just about to go in for a kiss when the phone rings… waking Betty up because she’s actually lying in bed with Don beside her and is having a sex dream about Henry. This jolt from red hot fantasy to ice cold reality becomes a recurring theme to all of Betty’s interactions throughout the episode. She instigates her first serious extra-marital affair (that guy in the bar last season almost doesn’t count since that was revenge sex) by writing a letter to Henry asking if anyone reads his mail. He writes her back and says that –from now on- nobody will read any correspondence from her except him. And it’s ON! ALMOST! (more…)

Season 3, Episode 7

Original airdate:  9/27/09

The episode begins with shots of Peggy, Betty and Don all lying in repose. Peggy is in some fancy bed with her latest lover. Betty is a picture of loveliness lying on a chaise with a dreamy expression on her face. And Don is lying face down in a motel room littered with empty booze bottles, when he gets up we see that his nose is bleeding and he’s been worked over. Then, through a series of flashbacks, we see what led to these stolen moments. (more…)

Season 3, Episode 6

Original airdate:  9/20/09

It’s the official mid-season mark and Mad Men is firing on ALL cylinders! Congrats to the gang for their Best Drama Emmy (second in a row!) and congrats to Jon Hamm and January Jones for maintaining quiet dignity in the face of Oprah’s kooooky 60’s themed episode the following day. (more…)

Season 3, Episode 5

Original airdate:  9/13/09

Last week was all about how children eventually disappoint their parents… this week we find out everything is all our parents’ damn fault!  (more…)

Season 3, Episode 4

Original airdate:  9/6/009

This week’s theme: the hundreds of ways parents and children disappoint each other. Gee, thanks for the good times Mad Men.  

So last week Grandpa Gene was having Sally read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire to him and this week, naturally, she’s chauffeuring him around the neighborhood in his Lincoln. I actually love the way those two are bonding, especially when he tells her “You’re smart. You can do anything, and don’t let your mother tell you otherwise.” It’s about time someone gave positive reinforcement to Sally! (more…)

Season 3, Episode 3

Original airdate:  8/30/09

Wow! Strap in folks because this is easily the funniest episode ever of Mad Men and it features some amazing little singing and dancing moments. It’s possibly my new favorite episode, just beating out The Jet Set (I’m a sucker for rich eccentrics and Mexican food). (more…)

Season 3, Episode 2

Original airdate:  8/23/09

“You’re not an artist Peggy, you solve problems.”  

- Don

None of the Mad Men are on solid ground at the beginning of this season. Between the upheaval resulting from the PPL takeover of Sterling Cooper and all the drama of their personal lives, there isn’t anyone who feels really grounded. Notice the way Don clumsily knocks over his ashtray when his buzzer goes off and how Roger is practically a pariah in his own company because of his marriage to Jane; even Peggy tries to push for more authority in her work and gets shot down. They all need more control over their lives and go into problem solving mode to get it. (more…)

Season 3, Episode 1

Original airdate:  8/16/09

Welcome back! It’s now the spring of 1963 and the British invasion of Sterling Cooper has begun.  

We start off with Don having an aneurism – ok, not really. But he does have a very vivid daydream about the circumstances surrounding his birth and – luckily for us- we get a front row seat to the origin of Dick Whitman! (more…)