Mad Men - Season 3 - Seven-Twenty-Three

Synopsis
At the office, Conrad Hilton signs with the Agency resulting in Roger/Bert pressuring Don to sign a 3 contract. Meanwhile, Peggy sees both a part of Duck usually hidden from his co-workers and the bad side of Don. At Home, Betty meets with that Handsome Rockefeller aide to save a reservoir and explore other possibilities. And Don -feeling trapped takes another drive on the wild side.



The Good

• Archie's joke was good.
• Bert: "After all, when it comes down to it, who's really signing the contract, anyway?"
• Betty hanging up on Roger when he calls about the contract.
• The Duck making the move on Peggy
  
• The show focusing on Don again.
  
• The School teacher shooting down Don.
  
• Peggy wearing the same clothes the next morning after her encounter with Duck
  
• Don's chewing out Peggy - Don can be a real bastard sometimes.
• The whole Betty-Henry Francis interaction was well done. In fact, this was the first episode (this season) where Betty isn't shown as a childish bitch. As shown in Season 2, Betty wants to help Don at his job and expects Don to confide her - but he won't.
  
• Bert: (on Connie) "I met him once. He's a bit of an eccentric, isn't he?" - pot meet kettle.

The Bad

• The Hitchhikers talking about the Draft/Vietnam seemed out-of-place. The draft was at a low point in 1963 and while Vietnam was becoming more prominent in the news, no one was discussing sending more troops. In 1963, it was just military advisers.
• Don's going to motel room with the Hitchhikers. Yes, Don had been drinking but Don is nobody fool and is street smart. The only incentive would be to have sex with the girl, but the hitch-hikers story/behavior makes that unlikely. So why did he go there, except to advance the plot?
  
• Seeing Duck and Peggy in bed - a discreet fade out after the kiss would have been sufficient, thank you very much.
  

Other Matters
Don is incredulous when a father tells him at school that he "runs" everyday. People forget that even as late as the early 70s people thought you were a "health nut" if you jogged or ran. I think it was Dr. Cooper with his book "Aerobics" and Jim Fixx who really made jogging popular.

Would Roger really call Betty to get her to pressure Don about the contract? I don't see that as a good idea from any angle. I think Roger would have been smart enough to know that.

Overall Rating
An excellent show, almost all drama, which focused on 3 of the 4 main characters - Peggy, Don and Betty. Don was more of a dis-likable character in this episode -which is good. He was turning into a liberal hero. And Don's locked in to 3 more years at Sterling and Cooper - so the show will stay at S&C till 1966. **** stars.

Good Reviews
Basket of Kisses
Whats Allen Watching

Mad Men - Season 3 - Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency

Synopsis
The Brits come to visit and leave something for the Mad Men to remember them by. Don and Roger kiss and make up - Joan meanwhile, has a going away party and learns her Husband won't be a Surgeon - just a MD. At home, Sally gets a new Barbie Doll and learns babies aren't ghosts.


The Good

• The cobra as a gift.
• Kinsey & the whole beard/guitar/marxist shtick - what a poseur.
• One of your greatest qualities is you always do what you're told
• "I'm being punished for making my job look easy"
  
• "I feel like I've been to my own funeral, and I didn't like the eulogy"
  
• Cleaning the blood off the glass- nice touch .
  
• "It looks like Iwo Jima in here"
• Peggy fainting and Pete catching her
  
• Poor Guy, women drivers -'nough said.
  
• Joan springing into action.
  
• Sally screaming at the Barbie (needs to watch less Twilight Zone)
  

The Bad

• Betty just gets more and more bitchy. The writers are overdoing it.
  
• Is that a new kid actor playing Don's Son? He doesn't look anything like him.
  

Other Matters
As a practical matter, wouldn't be rather difficult to run over someone's foot with a Small JD tractor? You'd have to hit them at just the right angle, otherwise they' d get bumped first or would jump out of the way. And how do you get a JD tractor into a large Manhattan office building all the way up to the 20th floor. Ken must have some hidden talents.


The Profumo Scandal

Joan Harris: Well, we can hire some prostitutes. I know your prime minister enjoys their company.

John Hooker: Secretary of war. You do best not to bring that up tomorrow.

Little did Joan know that JFK liked prostitutes too -lots of them. Those and Gangsters girlfriends and Marilyn Monroe. According to Harold Macmillan JFK stated he had to have sex every day otherwise he got headaches.

Overall Rating
Another comic (well, black comedy) episode highlighting the office. And Joan gets some excellent screen time. Probably the best episode this season, although it looks like the writers are adrift in portraying Don's homelife. The lawnmower bit was a gimmick - but still fun.
**** stars.

Good Reviews
Basket of Kisses
Whats Allen Watching

The Road to Success - Click on it -to see it all

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Mad Men - Season 3 - The Fog

Synopsis Betty has a baby and some drug hallucinations, At work, Don battles the "Penny-wise Pound Foolish" Brits while Pete tries to sell some TVs. Other subplots: Sally's teacher seems interested in Don. and the Duck returns and asks Penny and Pete to join him at Greys.

The Good

• Peggy asking Don for Raise.
• The Return of the Duck.
• Pete to Peggy "Your decisions affect me"
• The whole Pete Admiral TV subplot
• Paul quoting Marx - arch-typical 60s liberal behavior
  
• Betty having a baby, well done
  

The Bad

• Sally's teacher coming on to Don - I know he's a babe magnet, but really.
  
• The prison guard in the Delivery waiting room. Why do TV shows have such a hard time writing believable, likable, blue-collar types? The whole character seemed phony to me.
  
• Betty's overly whiny behavior. This is her third baby, I think she knows the drill by now. And isn't she a WASP? As a part-WASP I can tell you we do "stiff upper lip" rather well.
  
• The reaction of the Admiral TV execs to advertising their TV's to "Negroes" was incredibly overdone. One Admiral exec actually asks Pete if its "legal" to have Blacks/Whites do commercials together, Simply unbelievable. Blacks/whites had been on TV shows together by 1962. Nate King Cole had his own show in 1956, and Belefonte won an Emmy in 1960.
  

Other Matters
To make up for the lack of Black characters, Mad men usually shows its occasional black character in the best light. This time its the African American elevator operator who comes off as classy and informed vs. the clueless, naive Pete.

Overall Rating
The show has stopped treading water and the story is finally advancing - although Don is still in the background. But there's still time to get back to Don Draper, (Season 4 was picked up). ***1/2 stars.

Best Review

SF-gate Tim Goodman

"See, the entertaining part of "Mad Men" looking back at who we were and how we acted resides in all those scenes we never really saw anywhere else (and if they were attempted, they weren't quite as good). You know, like when the Draper kids are playing with that dry cleaning bag but get lectured about messing up the clothing. Or the lack of car seats... "Mad Men" does that extremely well. But talking about race and gender - few series can pull that off without looking like an ABC "Afterschool Special" or some other kind of obvious civics lesson. It's a pop culture millstone. We've seen it too often. There is no element of surprise to it. Even in the best series on television, I'm not sure the treatment can rise above passably good. Since "The Fog" was so much about race - Medgar Evers was as importantly prominent in this episode as references to John F. Kennedy were in last week's episode - and also about gender issues, there was a tone to it that had a somber lecture-heavy "importance" stamped on its figurative forehead.

That's not where "Mad Men" is going to do its best work. Obviously, the changing times MUST affect Sterling Cooper, Don Draper and others. But the danger that "Mad Men" faces, the one I've dreaded for two seasons and four episodes prior, is in the handling of the telling of what we already know. Too much of the "Hey, there sure is a lot of racism out there" or "What? Women get paid less than men? That's outrageous!" will lead down a too-familiar path. There is a delicate balance, to be sure - and we still have so much to discover, timeline-wise, and then to have the characters marinate in those discoveries. But "Mad Men" (despite what some people want it to prod at), never really came to life as a fictional assessment of turbulent times. It sprang to life as an examination of the weird emotional cocktail inside Don Draper's skull."

Book Review - One Soldier's story by Bob Dole

One of the best memoirs of WWII and one of the most honest it chronciles Bob Dole's military service in WWII from his enlistment in December 1942 to his wounding and eventual recovery after the war. Its honesty is refreshing because Dole makes it quite clear he didn't want to be in the infantry and would have been quite happy to have stayed in the ASTP studying to become a doctor.

Like many of the "Greatest Generation" Dole was a reluctant hero. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, Dole did not rush out to enlist. His dream was to become a doctor and he was quite happy to stay in college. However, in November 1942 the draft age was lowered to 18, and Dole became eligible. So, he enlisted in the US Army since it allowed him to join the Medical Corps. and delay entry into the Army until he finished his Sophomore year. Called up in June 1943, Dole graduated from basic training and in October 1943, Dole was recommended for OCS and then made a life alternating decision. Rather than waiting in the medical corps for OCS opening, he applied for and was accepted by the ASTP (Army Student Training Program). This program was setup to allow bright men like Dole to stay in college and study to become engineers, doctors, etc.

Unfortunately, for Dole, the ASTP was terminated early in 1944 and Dole and his classmates found themselves back in the infantry training to fire the 57mm anit-tank gun. In July 1944 Dole decided if his had to go Overseas it'd be better to go as an officer, so he applied for OCS, was accepted and graduated as a 2nd Lt. in November 1944. He was quickly shipped out to Italy, arriving in Naples on Christmas Day 1944. Dole then spent almost 2 months at an Officer Replacement Depot, finally joining the 10th Mountain Division in late February 1945.

On March 18, 1945 Dole was wounded by fragments from an American grenade while on night patrol and awarded the Purple heart. Finally on April 15, 1945 Dole led his platoon on assault on Hill 913 and was severely wounded.

So Bob Dole was - in a way - one unlucky S.O.B. Lots of guys that didn't have his smarts spent the war in a V-12 program or in some safe, comfy job in the Air Force or Navy. This no doubt explains Dole's rather bitter/dark side.

Mad Men - Season 3 - The Arrangements

Synopsis
Another not much happens episode. We say goodbye to Gene, who goes to that Big Dough-boy Parade in the Sky. Meanwhile, Peggy decides to move to Manhattan and searches for a new roommate, while Sal makes the move to TV director and his wife uneasy. Oh, and Pete takes a rich old college friend to the cleaners.

The Good

• The whole Jai Lai subplot was well done and funny.
• Joan telling Peggy how to write a Roommate wanted ad.
• Gene letting Sally drive (Brings back memories)
• The prank phone call to Peggy (Hilarious)
  
• The Bye Bye Birdie Video ( it was off wasn't it?)
  
• Peggy's smirk to Don after the Video aired.
  
• Gene and Betty's Conversation about his Death.
  

The Bad

• Don's comment about a "Dead Man's Hat". After his obvious distaste for Roger's Black-face, is Don running for liberal prig of the year?
• Sally's little speech at the end "Why are you laughing"? The thrust of the speech was good - but the words and reactions were simply too advanced for a little girl of eight.
  
• Peggy's mother's reaction to her moving to Manhattan. Yes, I"m sure Ma never thought her Daughter "The Big Ad Exec" would ever, ever, move to Manhattan - a whole 1 hour away (Sarcasm off) The whole scene struck me as overdone. Are Irish Mothers really this dramatic? Maybe I'm too much of a cold-blooded Protestant.
  

Other Matters
Gene digs out an old WWI German Helmet and gives it to Draper Junior. He tells Grandson that he personally killed the German (not likely) and the that hole in the helmet is where Gene shot him and the gunk around the hole is "Dried blood". (45 year old blood -Ha). Problem is, the helmet, is a Prussian "dress" or "parade ground" Helmet - not a Combat Helmet. Any German soldier in a combat zone would be wearing the famous steel "Coal-shuttle" helmet, Was that a goof, or was it another detail to show Grandpa as a teller of tall tales?

And yes, some Norwegians marry Catholics and either (1) convert or (2) are perfectly happy to raise the kids as Catholics.

Overall Rating
Except for Gene's death, a lighthearted almost comic episode. Not bad. But enough treading water, lets get the story moving.. *** stars.

Good Reviews
Basket of Kisses
Whats Allen Watching
Slate

Stupid Headline of the Day: "MSNBC's Pat Buchanan defends Hitler."

From Media Matters. I know, there are liars, damn liars, and "Media Matters". Why expect truth from a political hit site?

But still. It goes without saying the Buchanan does not "defend" Hitler. And they use the usual "Ransom Note" attack on him, as follow:

Buchanan has called Adolf Hitler an "individual of great courage." He also questioned whether World War II was "worth it" and wondered, "[W]hy destroy Hitler?" That wasn't 40 years ago; that was just four years ago. Just last year, he wrote that the Holocaust happened not because of Hitler, but because of Churchill."

Notice not one sentence quoted in full. Buchanan column as I stated before, overstates the case, but for the most part tells the historical truth, to whit:

1) Hitler didn't want war with UK or France in 1939 (USSR maybe)
2) Didn't think Uk/France would declare war in Sept 1939 after the Nazi-Soviet pact.
3) Wanted Poland as an ally (like Romania or Hungary)
4) Wanted Peace with UK in 1940. ( On his terms of course)
5) Probably would have been satisfied *in 1939* if Poland had given in and transferred Danzig and the corridor back to Germany.
6) Was a man of great courage (as were Mao and Stalin and other great 20th Mass Murders)

And Buchanan's main point, expressed in his book, is also correct. Great Powers shouldn't give guarantees to small countries that they can't honor, Also they give the small country the power the plunge the Great Power into war.

Chamberlain' s guarantee to Poland was foolish since it couldn't be honored except through an Alliance with the USSR and because it gave the Colonels the power to start WWII -- whether GB was ready or not.

The result was not only WWII, but Hitler coming within an Ace of conquering all of Europe.
The only hope in 1939 was an alliance with Stalin, no matter how distasteful. Another interesting point is, what if UK/France had stood by and let Hitler have Poland, what then? Its hard to see where Hitler could have gone after that. He could gone after USSR in 1940, but that's doubtful with the UK/France at his back. Funny, this is never written about.

Added: Here's the Pat Buchanan quote on Hitler which although over 32 years old (!) is still being used by his enemies:

"Those of us in childhood during the war years were introduced to Hitler only as a caricature…Though Hitler was indeed racist and anti-Semitic to the core, a man who without compunction could commit murder and genocide, he was also an individual of great courage, a soldier’s soldier in the Great War, a leader steeped in the history of Europe, who possessed oratorical powers that could awe even those who despised him. But Hitler’s success was not based on his extraordinary gifts alone. His genius was an intuitive sense of the mushiness, the character flaws, the weakness masquerading as morality that was in the hearts of the statesmen who stood in his path."

So, lets see. Per Pat, Hitler was a racist, anti-Semite, murderer and genocidal dictator - words of praise indeed. He then says Hitler 'had great courage" and was a "soldiers Soldier" and a good speaker- true enough. Evil men can be courageous, charismatic, with have high IQ's - to think otherwise is childish. As for his "genius" - Hitler *did* have an "intuitive sense" about the leaders of France/UK/Italy etc. that helped him play a diplomatic game which allowed Germany to rise from a powerless country in 1934 to dominating Europe (excluding the USSR) in July 1940.

I think the whole problem is that most people don't know history, so when anyone doesn't attack Hitler at every level - but just makes an objective truthful comment, people go crazy.

Here's another thing about Hitler - he loved Dogs and Oatmeal. So, if you like those - watch out.

Mad Men - Season 3 - My Old Kentucky Home

Synopsis
Not much happens. Its Saturday, and Roger and Jane's country club hosts a Kentucky Derby party invitees include Betty, Don, Pete, Trudy, and an aide to Governor Rockefeller who'll probably appear in future episodes. Meanwhile, Joan is throwing her own party for Dr. Greg and boss, while Peggy, Paul, Smitty, and the new secretary Olive, are working at the office and (excluding Olive) smoking MJ. At the Drapers, Sally steals $5 from Gene but eventually gives it back. The laid-back episode seems designed to give the principals (Hamm and Jones) a break and give minor characters like Joan, Gene, and Paul more air time. We also see Pete & Trudy dance and Paul, Roger and Joan sing.

The Good

• The Joan Party subplot including her playing the accordion.
• Pete and Trudy dancing the Charleston
• Roger singing ( I think he's trying to mimic Al Jolson - unbelievable though)
• The Joan/Jane showdown
• Learning Don is a good bartender
• Betty's encounter with the Rockefeller Aide
• Betty and Don's embrace at the end
• Peggy's little speech at the end about how "she knows everything will be OK"

The Bad

• The entire Peggy/Smitty/Paul subplot was boring. Further, the buying and smoking pot in the office was simply unbelievable given the times (1963). I don't think they would dared do it, and if they had... "Olive" (Peggy's secretary) instead of expressing disapproval probably would have called the police. Further, Olive's reason for being there on Saturday was weak - no reason for a secretary to be there except it served the plot. Olive herself seems to be a rather unbelievable character - but we'll see.

• The Gene and Sally "where's my $5?!" subplot was flat and overlong. Frankly, I didn't care. This incident may have ramifications - but it wasn't well written or directed.

Other Matters
Once again, we see Pregnant Betty smoking and drinking like there's no tomorrow despite the fact (a) she's a college graduate and (b) by 1962 the AMA was advising mothers to neither drink nor smoke while pregnant. And of course, no one says a word to her. Like Roger's unexplained (and unbelievable) use of "black face" this seems another heavy-handed "aren't we so much smarter than people back then" moment that the Producers insert in the show. Ugh!

Overall Rating
Probably the most uneven Mad Men episode ever and the first that had me bored most of the time. Scattered throughout were some superb moments but the episode had 4 subplots going and only 2 were mildly interesting. *** stars.

Good Reviews
Whats Allen Watching
The House Next Door

WW II Draft - Fathers vs. Nonfathers

Percent Serving in Armed Forces (Drafted and Enlisted) per age and Martial Status Ages 18-37 as of August 1, 1945:

Ages 18-25
Non-Fathers - 70%
Fathers - 58%

Ages 26-29
Non-Fathers - 67%
Fathers - 36%

Ages 30-33
Non-Fathers - 54%
Fathers - 14%

Ages 34-37
Non-Fathers - 45%
Fathers - 10%

Note: Father defined as Married with child born before September 30, 1942.

Did Hitler Want War?

Pat Buchanan writes as follows:

"Hitler had never wanted war with Poland, but an alliance with Poland such as he had with Francisco Franco’s Spain, Mussolini’s Italy, Miklos Horthy’s Hungary and Father Jozef Tiso’s Slovakia.

Indeed, why would he want war when, by 1939, he was surrounded by allied, friendly or neutral neighbors, save France. And he had written off Alsace, because reconquering Alsace meant war with France, and that meant war with Britain, whose empire he admired and whom he had always sought as an ally.

As of March 1939, Hitler did not even have a border with Russia. How then could he invade Russia?

Winston Churchill was right when he called it “The Unnecessary War”—the war that may yet prove the mortal blow to our civilization."

I appreciate Pat's efforts in attacking the absurd "Munich Myth" but his statement that "Hitler didn't want war" is just as absurd.

Hitler wanted war -not with the UK/France - but war with the USSR. War was necessary to achieve his goals namely destruction of what he called "Judeo-Communism" and the attainment of "Living Space" in Russia and the Ukraine. Britain and France could have remained at peace with Hitler had then been willing to stand aside and let Hitler dominate Eastern Europe and then attack the USSR. But had they done so, Hitler could have ended up controlling all of Europe from the Rhine to the Urals - and so powerful he could have imposed his will without war on the UK and France.

The big mistake was UK/France's going to war without the USSR as an ally. A UK/USSR/France Alliance in August 1939 would have prevented war since it would have boxed Hitler in and made any further aggression impossible. Attack the USSR, and he'd have France/UK at his back and vice-versa. Attacking Nazi Germany without the USSR was an act of stupidity that almost to led to Hitler controlling all of Europe. The only thing that saved us was the bravery and skill of the Russian/Ukrainian soldier and the stupidity of Hitler.