Episode 13: Sit Down And Close The Door. The Pierre 8 Await!
Posted by Dorothy Parker on Nov 11, 10:26 PM
"Damn it, Whitman, this is a cooperative!" the fellas in the 1930s "Grapes of Wrath" wardrobe yell at Don's father during another dreary, overly mannered "Mad Men" flashback set in that sad, oil-cloth-covered kitchen. And indeed, those are telling words. Because this Season 3 finale was all about Don finally learning to cooperate.
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Episode 12, 'The Grown-Ups': Two Shots Rang Out; Make Room for Daddy
Posted by Dorothy Parker on Nov 5, 5:38 PM
This was a second-to-last installment that felt more like a shiver-inducing finale, with echoes of death -- and John F. Kennedy -- everywhere. And as Joan put it, there was "nothing funny about it."
» 22 Comments
Episode 11: The Gypsy and the Hobo
Posted by Dorothy Parker on Oct 28, 6:45 PM
This episode was the most explosive yet. Again, it was all about the search for identity, love and acceptance. It opens with Don telling Sally that Halloween masks are "plastic" and "crap" that "you wear once." In terms of being able to put together a costume for the long term, Don certainly speaks from experience. <
» 22 Comments
Episode 10: Another Lock Box, Another Troubled Brother, And...
Posted by Dorothy Parker on Oct 21, 4:30 PM
Weren't the Brits the ones who were supposed to be the wankers? One of my favorite episodes ever, it's called "The Color Blue." Blue robe, blue Caddy, blue headboard, blue princess phone, Miles Davis' blues playing in Paul's office, Miss Farrell's kid asking how we know blue is blue. But it's more like Code Blue for Don and his secrets.
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Episode 9: To The Moon, By Golly! Sal Gets Trumped! And, Is There A Difference Between Praying On It & Preying On It?
Posted by Dorothy Parker on Oct 14, 2:37 PM
This week's episode was all about the invasion of space, both personal and planetary, and wanting what you want when you want it, regardless of the consequences. I don't know how Matthew Weiner coordinated it, but there was a march on Washington for gay rights on the very weekend that the episode repeatedly referred to the September 1963 march on Washington for racial equality and Martin Luther King's historic "I Have A Dream " speech. Also, Connie, who seems to be achieving Howard Hughes-level craziness, told Don that he wanted the moon. And last week, WE (as in the USA, not the people of Hilton) actually bombed the moon. Neither ice nor towels were found there, apparently.
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Episode 8: Hate And Kisses. Foreign Affairs. What's That Smell?
Posted by Dorothy Parker on Oct 7, 2:11 PM
Parts of Souvenir" left me feeling as cranky as Pete and Betty, the two petulant characters it focused on. Once again, it was all about reversals, and power and phalluses (or lack thereof.) With his wife away, Peter behaves like a dick, (or Dick) and was sexually abusive (or at least threatening) to poor Gudrun, the German au pair whose accent I couldn't buy. ("Zank you, Mistah Petah.")
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Episode 7-- Duck And Clobbered! Or, Waiting For That Don Hancock, As Things Go Atavistic In The Night
Posted by Dorothy Parker on Sep 29, 5:10 PM
Last week we got some pulp foot action, which lent a "Twin Peaks"-ish thrill to the proceedings. This week opens with a noir-ish mystery feel, with three forward-flashes (in medias res, to be fancy) on shots of recumbent characters. (Or as Jews ask at Passover, "Why on this night do we recline?") Don happens to be nose down on the grimy motel carpet, bleeding, while Betty, dressed daintily and watching the ceiling, faint with the vapors, is thinking about touching herself. I have to hold my nose here before I can describe the third scene: Duck and Peggy are post-coital under the covers.
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Episode 6: (John) Deere In The Headlights -- A Bloody Good Show! Plus, Don Puts The Don Back In Madonna!
Posted by Dorothy Parker on Sep 22, 4:16 PM
The fog has lifted, but it cost an arm and a leg! Ba-bum. Although the episode was full of death, blood, and hacked-off limbs, it was still very merry, and easily the best of the third season.
» 33 Comments
Episode 5 -- The Fog: Violence, Abandonment, Obliqueness, Or, What's New, Pussycat?
Posted by Dorothy Parker on Sep 16, 8:08 PM
"The Fog" opens with an early morning meeting in a sun-dappled classroom: Don sits respectfully wedged behind a miniature desk, while full-term Betty stands towering like the Statue of Liberty, alone in the harbor, blonde hair piled formally on top of her head. (Whereas Miss Farrell sports long, loose brunette waves, all the better to play the Veronica type Don usually goes for in mistresses as opposed to his own blonde Betty.)
» 20 Comments
Episode 4: The Arrangements: Again With The Father Issues?
Posted by Dorothy Parker on Sep 8, 3:55 PM
R.I.P., Pope John XXIII and Eugene Hofstadt No. 2. Plus, blood and helmets. Skins and carcasses. A salt tooth. Peaches and curbs. And, "Not tonight, dear! I have a Patio commercial to direct!"
» 19 Comments
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