So, after a long wait, Mad Men returned to AMC tonight. Thoughts?
1) Is there anything in Dick Whitman's past that isn't horrible/awful/ beyond belief? His flashbacks are the things nightmares are made of.
2) I'm not sure how believable the British male secretary and his boss' relationship is. Something about that just doesn't ring true. Post WWII most British bosses had a woman doing the typing. And junior employees of British firms (usually called "clerks" - pronounced "clarks") wouldn't dream about suggesting going down to the pub with their boss, let alone complaining about the absence of "good pubs" in Manhattan. Maybe I'm missing something.
3) Virtually no Roger Sterling in tonight's episode, which is something of a letdown. The Stolichyna was an interesting touch, especially as Stoli wasn't legally available in the US in 1963.
4) Even in 1963, I think most decent sized companies had HR professionals to handle terminations in a way that didn't end up in loud, semi-violent scenes.
5) Speaking of which, I guess we can assume that Duck Phillips is ancient history? (Implied at the end of last season - but never explicitly dealt with.)
6) Was that Phyliss Diller having lunch with Trudy? And if the Met. (or whatever charity) was looking for donations, where do Pete and Trudy plan on coming up with the money? I assumed Pete's mother was almost broke, and I can't see her parents coughing up cash for them to give away.
7) Salvatore has to be the perfect business travel companion for Don. Not likely to compete for female attention, and very likely to keep his mouth closed about what happens on the road.
8) London Fog: There is truth in the story about London fog being caused by industrial pollution. In fact, due to low-grade post WWII coal, London had suffered a deadly "Great Smog" in 1952, in which almost 8000 people are estimated to have died. This prompted various clean-air legislation between 1956 and 1968, essentially banning coal fireplaces and replacing them with first paraffin stoves, and ultimately gas central heating. By 1960 smoke levels in London had dropped by half. Today the "London Fog" is indeed a thing of the past - but I don't think a British executive would necessarily have made such a definitive declaration in 1963.
Thank heavens I've got something to watch for the next three months.
1) Is there anything in Dick Whitman's past that isn't horrible/awful/ beyond belief? His flashbacks are the things nightmares are made of.
2) I'm not sure how believable the British male secretary and his boss' relationship is. Something about that just doesn't ring true. Post WWII most British bosses had a woman doing the typing. And junior employees of British firms (usually called "clerks" - pronounced "clarks") wouldn't dream about suggesting going down to the pub with their boss, let alone complaining about the absence of "good pubs" in Manhattan. Maybe I'm missing something.
3) Virtually no Roger Sterling in tonight's episode, which is something of a letdown. The Stolichyna was an interesting touch, especially as Stoli wasn't legally available in the US in 1963.
4) Even in 1963, I think most decent sized companies had HR professionals to handle terminations in a way that didn't end up in loud, semi-violent scenes.
5) Speaking of which, I guess we can assume that Duck Phillips is ancient history? (Implied at the end of last season - but never explicitly dealt with.)
6) Was that Phyliss Diller having lunch with Trudy? And if the Met. (or whatever charity) was looking for donations, where do Pete and Trudy plan on coming up with the money? I assumed Pete's mother was almost broke, and I can't see her parents coughing up cash for them to give away.
7) Salvatore has to be the perfect business travel companion for Don. Not likely to compete for female attention, and very likely to keep his mouth closed about what happens on the road.
8) London Fog: There is truth in the story about London fog being caused by industrial pollution. In fact, due to low-grade post WWII coal, London had suffered a deadly "Great Smog" in 1952, in which almost 8000 people are estimated to have died. This prompted various clean-air legislation between 1956 and 1968, essentially banning coal fireplaces and replacing them with first paraffin stoves, and ultimately gas central heating. By 1960 smoke levels in London had dropped by half. Today the "London Fog" is indeed a thing of the past - but I don't think a British executive would necessarily have made such a definitive declaration in 1963.
Thank heavens I've got something to watch for the next three months.
I assume you've watched these? 
