Comments on The House Next Door: Mad Men Mondays: Season 2, Episode 3, "The Benefac...

Just started on season two and I must say, there w...

2009-08-28T05:33:38.648-04:00

Just started on season two and I must say, there were a lot of great lines...

"...i'm not sad, my people are nordic"

"we all work for somebody"

"meritocracy within reason".

I just love watching Don take control of situations in the way he does..how betty is barelyy able to stop herself from breaking down, and Harry's balanced emasculation. The advance on betty in the stable is so characteristic of the powerful and masked emotional responses in this show...I was hesitant to begin season one because of how affecting I knew it would be. Another GREAT episode.

I think we need more about the first Mrs. Draper. ...

2008-10-30T01:30:00.000-04:00

I think we need more about the first Mrs. Draper. Betty was surprising with her quickie hookup. Wonder if Season 3 will have Pete and Trudy trying to get Peggy's baby because Pete is the father? Is Pete going to do something drastic with his little 22 rifle? No, he will come to his senses and realize he fathered a child. Suddenly, it will become very important to him, creating friction between he and Peggy. Sal will fall for someone, a guy of course, who comes into the office life. Ken will find a girl. The merger deal will go belly up while Duck gets his walking papers for underestimating Don Draper. And it's just what he deserves for putting his beautiful dog out into the street! In season 3, I predict: there will be more glimpses of Don's other life as Dick Whitman. More skeletons from his past. Maybe he'll open up to Betty a little about his beginnings. I loved Peggy's poise when she confessed to Pete. He was emotionally vulnerable, instead of guarded when he told Peggy he loves her. Peggy becomes even more skilled and powerful, rising in the office while the men look on with envy, especially Harry. Betty will have the misfortune to run into the man she had the brief affair with, opening Don's eyes to what it feels like to be cheated on. Betty breaks out more, having almost been single. Betty has a riding accident, scaring Don badly. Roger Sterling gets dumped by Jane. His real wife won't take him back.

Excellent, cogent and provocative analysis. I was...

2008-08-19T21:50:00.000-04:00

Excellent, cogent and provocative analysis. I was dying for you to make the connection, latent in your review, between the short story form and the time period in which "Mad Men" takes place. This was, after all, the Golden Age of the American short story, Cheever-time, and let us not forget how big a deal was made in Season One of the fact that Cosgrove published a short story in The Atlantic. On the basis of your analysis, it seems doubly clever, then, for "Mad Men" to be of its time in both form and content, even as it's likewise of our time in form and content as well.

If anybody determines what the French (?) film was...

2008-08-17T19:34:00.000-04:00

If anybody determines what the French (?) film was, could they tell us whether there's a scene in it that might have 'inspired' Don's action on Bobbie? Josh - if you love the series and didn't get this one, what can it be that you love about it?

This blog is a great discovery if just in terms of...

2008-08-16T14:50:00.000-04:00

This blog is a great discovery if just in terms of Mad Men alone, thanks!

I would add, that there was a crucial set of connected clues to some parallel place Don's mind is at in Season 2, all in the first part of the episode:

He is certainly watching a foreign film, not the standard for any "average" American exec, even New Yorker, and certainly not midday, out of work.

He doesn't state he was there when he is later asked as to justify where he was. If he were watching some CBS upcoming vehicle, that would be justifiable.

This missing time is getting him in trouble, due to not being there to keep the chain of events from occuring - a series of events, he now has to correct by re- and un-doing them. And he doesn't want to have to be the firm's voice, AGAIN (last time it was telling the airline exec they don't work with his firm anymore)

He wouldn't except it was due to him "not being where he should have been"..

He (and I think rightly for that job profile) sternly corrects his secretary temp due to her language terminology, when she said she was just trying to "cover for him". The innuendo that he wasn't where he was supposed to be just further infuriated him, and she was sent off for not couching that in some other way, more professionally to a superior. I can imagine nothing different in a real executive situation where he gets such a lousy situation thrust upon him as dealing with that comedian.

The result of this part, in a sense, ends up with him now having the reward of the (temp) Über-Exec Secretary who he won't be able to manage to just find free unaccountable time around that easily. This tension will be interesting.

A split seems to be widening this episode, between Don who is watching this cinematic, and assumably avant-garde work, with NO advertisment potential, while his employee is bringing in a Television show, to try and get ads, updating the firm with a TV dept (which is what Don should have foresight for).

What was beautifully balanced was the private lives of the ad firm reflected in the way two MODERN screening events are introduced - a TV-judgement wrangling on abortion, and a french film on fiction, structure, narrative, war, and memory (assuming La Jetee).

Finally, from what I think has been heavy-handed almost in this episode, but hinted to in others, Don's wife wants to be a partner, and is hungry for returning to "the stage" in what she imagines is her "rights to perform" as well. She is barely managing to contain a line between reality and fantasy regarding her needs, desires and certainly sexuality, but does so to remain true to an idea of power, she in fact realizes she has in her role. This started to short circuit her careful wiring (shaking hands and all) and ramps up from washing machine vibrators on to truck driver "fan belt repair", and now smiling for the cheap comedian, whose vulgarity about the horse-riding set is handled with grace, exactly as she handled the same "asides about her horse-riding society" by the earlier man who tried to kiss her in the stable.

Neither scares her, but brings her to enjoy the game, the lust and of course, as long as she isn't hurt, as in "the model" situation.

This claim to be a "team" is going to make things interesting, just as Don probably wants a way out eventually, she may indeed keep him in the game.

Arthur

This was a splendid review, Andrew. ...Sadly, my c...

2008-08-13T17:15:00.000-04:00

This was a splendid review, Andrew.

...Sadly, my comment is largely off-topic...

I learned a lot from McCloud myself, during a very formative period, and while there's material to contest in that book, its influence is still felt - and not solely in its chosen media. Working for universities as I do, I see the book taught in film classes, design classes, and literature classes all the time.

Chabon's book (putting aside the breathtaking work McSweeney's did in packaging it) was a bit uneven for me personally, though there was a lot to enjoy. For me the most striking and relevant was his piece on Holmes, which I assumed had previously been published in his "The Final Solution" novel. "Influence in bliss," he writes, and I can't help agreeing with his conclusion.

I'd love to discuss those books with you at some point, as there's a lot of discussion fodder within. One of my personal inspirations regarding narrative was an essay by Hypertext author and new media professor Stuart Moulthrop that was heavily influenced by McCloud's book - http://iat.ubalt.edu/moulthrop/essays/misadventure/ - bonus: it references "Watchmen" in structure, which will apply to the film (as it's supposedly shooting panel for panel).

...

So, the embarrassing confession that I have to make as a frequent visitor to the site - I haven't yet had the chance to see "Mad Men." It's sitting in my Netflix queue, trapped beneath a pile of other works that I'm hastily writing off as a sort of "research" for other projects, but I really don't have much excuse. It's actually been the reviews here that have convinced me to grab them up, particularly as (even more horrible confession) I just can't into "The Sopranos," and consider it a pale shadow of works like "The Wire" and "Deadwood."

ascot: "Do you really think Don and Betty were hap...

2008-08-13T05:28:00.000-04:00

ascot: "Do you really think Don and Betty were happy at the end of the episode?"

Betty was happy. Don built the engine and drove the car that was dinner; Betty seamlessly navigated. She was happy in a 1963 particle-kinda way. Or maybe it was the wave way then, and I've mixed them up.

ben: "...no one's nominated "My people are Nordic" as the episode's best line?"

I'll second.

- Did Roger's nicotine jones prevent him from registering Ken's near confessional meltdown, or was that exchange merely for comic effect?

I second scott's recommendation of Everything Bad ...

2008-08-12T23:15:00.000-04:00

I second scott's recommendation of Everything Bad is Good For You, fascinating read... sort of a modern response to Amusing Ourselves to Death.

You can count me in the 'profoundly sad' camp as well, as I saw her again trying to pass it off as "grateful". The song "Lollipops and Roses" (this version by Jack Jones, which won a Grammy that year) was playing on the car radio, and these lyrics had me chuckle:

One day she’ll smile, next day she’ll cry
Minute to minute, you’ll never know why!

i am totally in the "profoundly sad" camp about be...

2008-08-12T22:31:00.000-04:00

i am totally in the "profoundly sad" camp about betty and don in that final scene.

i have read a lot of criticism about that ponyboy/betty seduction scene in the stable. most didn't like it. but ponyboy set that whole thing up with the f. scott fitzgerald reference in the beginning. that scene did that whole 1920's awkward thing beautifully. i thought it was perfect.

weiner himself wrote this ep, right? (i might be wrong about that) but that was the basis of my interpretation of that final scene.

displayed "happiness" in the reality of "profound sadness."

but then, i'm an engineer by training, so maybe i don't really get f. scott fitzgerald.

that aside, i love to read the interpretations of mad men eps here. and the responses. thank you for your wonderful thoughts and new takes i would never have been ever able to conceive of. (see? dangling...)

i love you guys...

mad man

ascot: "Do you really think Don and Betty were hap...

2008-08-12T21:34:45.677-04:00

ascot: "Do you really think Don and Betty were happy at the end of the episode? I really felt they were both "profoundly sad". Both did things they didn't want to do (politeness and kiss ass-ery) to get things they didn't really want (the respect of people they don't respect themselves). I saw Betty's "I'm so happy" as a pure lie, and her realization that maybe Pony Boy was right."

Interesting -- I've read a lot of descriptions of this scene on various sites and they're all a bit different depending on who's writing them. To me this speaks well of the show.

Personally, I saw it as a relatively happy scene -- Betty was glad to be able to participate in Don's professional life in an active way, to prove her worth (even if it was in a rather mercenary fashion). They seemed more of a couple at the end of that car scene than at any point prior to that in the show's run, IMHO.

Which is not to say they're a healthy couple, but if they keep going this way they could be on the road to being a happy one -- a couple of hollow heels looking out for each other.

Am I the only one who finds Betty as mysterious as Don? At first I thought she was a fairly typical sheltered rich girl who found her way into a stable middle class marriage, but something about the tone of her recent storylines suggests she's lived a bit more than I suspected -- that maybe, like Don, she once had another identity, and the one she has now is a construct designed to make her feel comfortable and safe, but which proves stifling.

I loved this episode as well. I do think Harry sho...

2008-08-12T21:32:00.000-04:00

I loved this episode as well. I do think Harry should have attempted to open the letter more carefully with the thought that he might be able to re-seal it. Maybe they felt that he was rushing in case someone came in and threw caution to the wind.

Matt/Mark: I can in no way claim to be a Rickles expert, but I've seen lots of clips and interviews (some of which I'm certain I saw over at the Classic Showbiz Blog) and I definitely think he could come across without any endearing qualities, especially in the scenarios shown in this episode. These scene on set showed a slightly drunk, tired comedic actor basically shooting fish in a barrel (fat jokes). The fact that they and him weren't funny was due in part to the tired jokes but also due to the inappropriate setting (he's not in front of an audience). I'm having trouble articulating what I mean right now, but basically I don't think he was meant to be particularly funny at that moment.

Andrew, also be sure to checkout Steven Johnson's Everything Bad is Good For You if you haven't already. There's some great stuff in there about the development of narrative complexity from Hill Street Blues to The Sopranos.

Here's another possibility for the film that Don's...

2008-08-12T18:25:00.000-04:00

Here's another possibility for the film that Don's watching. The audio/subtitles show that the François Villon poem "Ballade des Dames du Temps Jadis" is being recited, which suggests that the film could very well be "La Tour de Nesle" by Abel Gance, which ends with a recitation of the aforementioned poem.

It would be interesting in that the story is based on the Alexandre Dumas play involving Queen Marguerite de Bourgogne, who thirsts for revenge on all men. She uses the lure of sex, ala Bobbi Barrett, to ensnare her victims, but one (Buridan) turns the tables on her. I'm probably butchering the synopsis here, but I do it with the best of intentions ;)

Great recap of a great episode. The fact that you...

2008-08-12T17:36:00.000-04:00

Great recap of a great episode. The fact that you (anyone) is able to construct such a piece (and comments) about a TV show reflects the excellence of this series. I only wish Time Warner Cable would allow me to watch it in HD.

Do you really think Don and Betty were happy at th...

2008-08-12T09:03:00.000-04:00

Do you really think Don and Betty were happy at the end of the episode? I really felt they were both "profoundly sad". Both did things they didn't want to do (politeness and kiss ass-ery) to get things they didn't really want (the respect of people they don't respect themselves). I saw Betty's "I'm so happy" as a pure lie, and her realization that maybe Pony Boy was right.

Another podcast? Sure.

2008-08-12T07:05:13.834-04:00

Another podcast? Sure.

We're 23 comments into this thread and no one's no...

2008-08-12T01:52:00.000-04:00

We're 23 comments into this thread and no one's nominated "My people are Nordic" as the episode's best line? C'mon!

Denise Crosby is the trainer, not the riding buddy...

2008-08-12T01:43:00.000-04:00

Denise Crosby is the trainer, not the riding buddy.

A couple of comments:- I'm sorry, but that "You're...

2008-08-12T01:02:00.000-04:00

A couple of comments:

- I'm sorry, but that "You're so sad" line in the stable scene was so campily melodramatic that it had me chuckling.

- I thought that quick cut to Peggy while they were screening The Defenders episode was a bit too obvious. I would have preferred keeping to the wider shot showing the whole table. You could glean more than enough about her character's reaction when the lights went back and she was maintaining that professional facade, though letting it slip just a little when she slightly hesitates when she answers about whether women would like the show.

- I would have been far more interested in seeing someone much sharper and more ambitious than Crane (Peggy, for instance) getting the measly crumb of Head of Television Department and spinning that into the most profitable arm of SC. I just can't picture Crane using this as anything more than a title on a business card.

- For some reason, Don's firing/demotion of his secretary reminded a lot of what Tony Soprano would do in a situation like that i.e. getting caught in a lie and taking it out on some innocent random underling.

Re: The movie Don was watching: I wonder if it was...

2008-08-12T00:21:14.599-04:00

Re: The movie Don was watching: I wonder if it was this. It was an episode of "CBS Playhouse," which ties into this episode's CBS connection and also explains why he was able to watch it in the middle of the day and he was virtually alone in a small theater -- maybe it was a screening room?

Great episode, and I always enjoy it again after I...

2008-08-12T00:18:00.000-04:00

Great episode, and I always enjoy it again after I read The House Next Door and the comments, you know your television
Whoa--the Defender's episode was also titled The Benefactor? Where else would I learn that, but here.

Hey, Andrew--Lots to chew on here. I particularly ...

2008-08-12T00:08:10.635-04:00

Hey, Andrew--

Lots to chew on here. I particularly like your likening the dramatics of "Mad Men" to light in that it can be a particle or a wave depending on how you view it; I plan to use that line the next time I get in an argument with somebody about the creative possibilities inherent in series TV as opposed to feature films.

Reading that section of your piece, I was reminded of my own "Eureka" moment as a TV viewer, the episode of "Hill Street Blues" that involved the neighborhood's mob uprising against suspects accused of raping a nun; the police captain, Frank Furillo, made a climactic decision that forced a conclusion while violating pretty much any ethical consideration he was theoretically supposed to observe as a police officer. I'd never seen a series lead do something so despicable (in terms of both personal honor and professionalism); Archie Bunker said deplorable things, but "All in the Family" always made sure you knew he was a decent guy at heart, and soap villains such as J.R. Ewing on "Dallas" were clearly marked as "bad guy" or "antihero," to a very melodramatic extent, so that there was no possibility of your seeing too much of yourself in him. But Furillo had a touch of Don Draper about him. He was fundamentally decent and had a moral code, but you weren't sure where the parameters lay, and he kept doing and saying things that cast his trustworthiness and dependability into doubt, plus there was a certain coldness, a controlling quality (linked to his status as a recovering alcoholic), that rendered him essentially unreachable and unknowable. This unknowability was key.

That character was the seed from which so many great subsequent TV protagonists would flower: Tony Soprano, Vin Mackey, Stringer Bell, Jimmy McNulty, Al Swearengen and Seth Bullock and so much of the "Deadwood" gang, and on and on. It was an amazing object lesson (not just for me, the young impressionable viewer, but probably for the industry as a whole) that as long as a character was psychologically compelling, it really didn't matter if he was likable. I thought of that episode (which was written, not coincidentally, by David Milch) while watching that appalling scene with Don near the end of the episode, basically a sexual assault (with overtones of sadomasochistic invitation -- maybe this is another, veiled Ayn Rand reference in a show filled with them? It reminded me of the punishment sex scene in "The Fountainhead"). What is this man capable of? We don't really know. We don't really know Don, and Don doesn't really know himself. He's pretending to be somebody else. Who was he, in between Korea and now? What happened to him? What did he do to himself and others? He's a stranger to us and to himself (to paraphrase a favorite Milch observation about his own Seth Bullock).

The structure of the show (which, you're right, is in some ways a refinement of lessons Weiner learned on "The Sopranos") makes such characterizations possible. Maybe we need to explore this in more detail in another roundtable podcast (Alan, are you reading this, and if so, are you game?) but the neither-fish-nor-fowl, it's a short story/it's a novel structure really frees up storytellers to make the characters extensions of/emblems of their time and place without denying them specificity. One of the complaints among people who aren't fans of "Mad Men" is, "They're an entitled, conservative, white-male-dominated culture on a collision course with the sixties--got it, don't need to see anymore" is not really tuned in to what Weiner is doing. If that were all he was up to, I doubt he would have even bothered making a series with these characters set in this time and place. I suspect he's after something darker and more mysterious, something tied into the intersection of personal psychology and social change: more Philip Roth, perhaps even more Albert Camus, than anything we've seen on series drama; a show which explores the systematic dismantling of and destruction of the authentic self, and its replacement by manufactured images and feelings, the very images and feelings Don Draper is so adept at creating. A show can't go to those intellectual/emotional places without the freedom afforded by the endlessly flexible, simultaneously open/closed, static/forward-moving, micro/macro structure you've described in this article.

I am stuck on the movie that Don was watching when...

2008-08-11T23:46:00.000-04:00

I am stuck on the movie that Don was watching when we first saw him. I'm not sure it was La Jetee. A woman narrator was reading a Francois Villon poem called "Ballade des Dames de Temps Jadis" (Ballad of Ladies of Ancient Times). The stanza that we hear:

" Queen Blanche, light as a lily,
who sang with a mermaid's voice,
Bertha Bigfoot, Beatrice, Alice,
Arembourg, heiress to Maine,
and Joan the good maid of Lorraine
whom the English griddled at Rouen;
where are they, where, O Sovereign Virgin?
Where are the snows of yesteryear?"

Does anyone know what movie Don was watching?

Chris-I've tagged all of Andrew's Mad Men Season 1...

2008-08-11T23:08:48.099-04:00

Chris-

I've tagged all of Andrew's Mad Men Season 1 recaps. Sorry for the problems in locating them. I'm going through the old posts whenever I can to tag 'em appropriately. Thanks for bearing with.

Andrew's recap is up, y'all, and worth the wait.

2008-08-11T22:49:49.938-04:00

Andrew's recap is up, y'all, and worth the wait.

One important observation I left out of the recap ...

2008-08-11T22:48:11.398-04:00

One important observation I left out of the recap by accident: The controversial episode of The Defenders was also titled "The Benefactor".