A tip-top Season 3 premiere of Mad Men tonight. Betty's well into her pregnancy, the Brits have taken over the firm, and-
1. The head of accounts is fired. Pete is told he'll be the new accounts chief. He's chuffed, as only Pete can be. But his pure joy is short-lived. It's diluted by the news that Cosgrove has been appointed to the same position. The Brits are apparently trying to see who will make the best head of accounts. Nothing like a little good old fashioned capitalist competition...
2. Don and Sal are off to Baltimore to shore up the British London Fog account (I have a London Fog coat and I love it, just sayin'). The big story here, though, is not the Fog of coats but the fog of human relationships. Don is seduced by a blond bombshell stewardess. It's not 100% clear how far they go, because a fire alarm interrupts them. (They probably already slept together.) And this leads to the most important development in tonight's season opener...
3. On his way down the fire escape with the stewardess (he with a jacket and pants he hastily puts on, she in the London Fog), Don passes by Sal's window, and sees him in the room with a bell boy. Don's shocked. A significant part of the series has now changed, because someone now knows Sal's secret. Later on the plane back to New York, Don assures Sal, and advises him to "limit your exposure" - good advice for Sal in the early 1960s, as well as the new slogan for the London Fog campaign. Most importantly, Don has again revealed himself as a decent human being. With all of his flaws, he still manages to do the right thing when the chips are down.
So a punchy, satisfying new beginning for Mad Men. And ever on the edge of the 1960s and today, Harry Crane had a great few lines bemoaning the high tax brackets for people who make a lot of money. Those eternally recalcitrant Republican ad execs...
See also: Mad Men Returns with a Xerox and a Call Girl ... 2.2: The Advertising Devil and the Deep Blue Sea ... 2.3 Double-Barreled Power ... 2.4: Betty and Don's Son ... 2.5: Best Montage Since Hitchcock ... 2.6: Jackie, Marilyn, and Liberty Valance ... 2.7: Double Dons ... 2.8: Did Don Get What He Deserved? ... 2.9: Don and Roger ... 2.10: Between Ray Bradbury and Telstar ... 2.11: Welcome to the Hotel California ... 2.12 The Day the Earth Stood Still on Mad Men ... 2.13 Saving the Best for Last on Mad Men
5-min podcast review of Mad Men
And listen to my fabulous 20-minute interview Fall 2007 with Rich Sommer (Harry Crane) at Light On Light Through
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Comments
With all of his flaws, he still manages to do the right thing when the chips are down.
The right thing for his clients, maybe…but what about his wife? This episode, and his character, would have been a lot more interesting if he'd turned the stewardess down. His caddishness is becoming predictable and...boring.
But I thought I saw maybe some reluctance in Don with the stewardess ... may be the beginning of a genuinely new leaf...
Two: The tax rates of the 60s were high by today's standards, but there were also tons of tax loopholes, shelters and that kept the rich both democrat and republican from paying taxes. Today the rate is lower but there are fewer shelters so as a result the upper middle class still pays the lion share of the taxes because they can't take full advantage of the real loopholds. Do you think the Kennedys and Bush family would have been able to maintain their wealth if they paid taxes like everyone else?
The poor don't pay and neither do the rich. That will never change.
If you're talking about me, probably because it irritates people like you :)
MTodd wrote: "That is why I am more interested in seeing a third party develop and create some competition in Washington."
Sign me up for a progressive liberatarian party, anytime ...