Mad Men Season 3 Discussion

[highball]

Originally Posted by lefty

Peggy seducing that guy last night would have had some impact for both her character and the show if she hadn't already screwed Campbell on her very first day. Since we already know she's a "girl like that" last night's subplot was a waste of screen time. In fact, the show went of the tracks on the very first episode with that out of character move by Peggy. Draper's back story doesn't help as it is as dull as **** and distracting as hell.

Agree. I really enjoy the show and most of the office scenes are great, but I can't help but feel that the character's back stories could have been better thought out.

Originally Posted by cadillac37

Draper looked quite good in the scene near the end at the school maypole thing. Nice subtle windowpane, and those were great sunglasses.

Indeed. Anyone able to ID those shades?

 

[cadillac37]

Originally Posted by highball

Agree. I really enjoy the show and most of the office scenes are great, but I can't help but feel that the character's back stories could have been better thought out.



Indeed. Anyone able to ID those shades?

Ray-Ban Caravan perhaps? I should pull it up on On Demand to check though...

 

[thekunk07]

was he stroking the grass as a means of connecting with her or thinking of an idea for the pepsi campaign?

 

[HORNS]

Originally Posted by thekunk07

was he stroking the grass as a means of connecting with her or thinking of an idea for the pepsi campaign?

I think he was all hornied-out.

 

[Vince Lombardi's Ghost]

Originally Posted by highball

Agree. I really enjoy the show and most of the office scenes are great, but I can't help but feel that the character's back stories could have been better thought out.



Indeed. Anyone able to ID those shades?

I'm pretty sure those were military issue aviator sunglasses aka flight goggle 58. They had the classic bayonet temples. I think this fits with his former military persona.

http://www.randolphusastore.com/aviator.html

 

[embowafa]

Originally Posted by Vince Lombardi's Ghost

I'm pretty sure those were military issue aviator sunglasses aka flight goggle 58. They had the classic bayonet temples. I think this fits with his former military persona.

http://www.randolphusastore.com/aviator.html

I've been looking for these!!!

 

[cadillac37]

Originally Posted by Vince Lombardi's Ghost

I'm pretty sure those were military issue aviator sunglasses aka flight goggle 58. They had the classic bayonet temples. I think this fits with his former military persona.

http://www.randolphusastore.com/aviator.html

Good call.

 

[FiveFiveFive]

Originally Posted by HORNS

I think she's figuring out what sex appeal is all about. But it was funny - a very candid moment.

I don't think it was intended to be a humorous scene. Considering the series is about people looking to fit in -- and ultimately failing to do so -- that scene pretty much summed up Peggy's predicament. She'd attempted to change Sterling/Cooper's approach toward advertising to women, but was cruelly shut down by the likes of Harry, Ken, and, most important, Don ("you're not an artist, you're a problem solver").

Singing "Bye, Bye Birdie" (Bird-hee?) -- an ad idea she'd be adamantly against -- in the mirror was really her conceding defeat.

 

[thekunk07]

but this is absolutely true, man or woman. i was a copywriter and that's what it's about

Originally Posted by FiveFiveFive

I don't think it was intended to be a humorous scene. Considering the series is about people looking to fit in -- and ultimately failing to do so -- that scene pretty much summed up Peggy's predicament. She'd attempted to change Sterling/Cooper's approach toward advertising to women, but was cruelly shut down by the likes of Harry, Ken, and, most important, Don ("you're not an artist, you're a problem solver").

Singing "Bye, Bye Birdie" (Bird-hee?) -- an ad idea she'd be adamantly against -- in the mirror was really her conceding defeat.

 

[FiveFiveFive]

Originally Posted by thekunk07

but this is absolutely true, man or woman. i was a copywriter and that's what it's about

Kinsey had the same problem, letting his personal beliefs about Penn Station get in the way of business. Mad Men's always showing how different characters handle similar problems.

 

[King Francis]

Originally Posted by globetrotter

I liked how he talked to his brother in law
Yeah, it was definitely fun to watch him squash Betty's mealy-mouthed brother. From a character standpoint, I always find Don's displays of ethics fascinating. He has a very firm sense of honor and decorum (remember him taking the other man's hat off in the elevator?), and yet he has made profound moral lapses. Both elements are plausibly written and acted, so that although he combines in his person seemingly irreconcilable attributes we must accept them as belonging to one and the same man.

 

[Bradford]

I'd say Peggy's singing, combined with her conversation with Joan and picking up the guy later, all play into the split view of how she sees herself. She wants to be a tough career woman but she also wants the guys to see her as sexy. She's torn between the two and resentful that they are all lusting after Ann-Margaret in the movie and women like Joan in real life.

As for Don, I loved the way he handled his brother-in-law and I really thought his look during the May Day scene was a combination of lust and also a thought about how the Patio ad should look. Wasn't there a soft-drink ad from that era that had a scene much like that one.

And of course, the fact that Don is the only one who can see that Madison Square Garden would be a great account while the Brits can't see past short-term profits...

 

[Lone Wolf]

Originally Posted by thekunk07

was he stroking the grass as a means of connecting with her or thinking of an idea for the pepsi campaign?

I think both. Plus the teacher's aesthetic and carefree ways echoed Ann Margaret in the Bye Bye Birdy clip. More than that, it echoed Don's point to the Madison Square Garden guy about welcoming change with a dance of joy. Don seemed to be watching her bare feet on the grass, so when he set down his cup and touched the grass I thought he was trying to be connected, and being a good ad man he looks for inspiration wherever he can find it (recall in the series premiere when he was asking a waiter or elevator operator, I forget which, why he smoked the brand he did when he was working on a cigarette campaign).

 

[FiveFiveFive]

Originally Posted by Lone Wolf

it echoed Don's point to the Madison Square Garden guy about welcoming change with a dance of joy.

Bingo.

 

[cbusguy]

anyone know of a good stream for episode 2?