Every time I watch an episode of Mad Men I am reminded how pathetic other television viewing is. This is by far the best directed and acted series on the air: there is nothing else that even comes close. The only thing that is sad about it is when the season comes to end. While other idiots are being satisfied by watching Survivor, The Great Race, or The Fattest Dimwit (or whatever it’s called), I am left drooling for more Mad Men episodes. The only question that I have left is “Can the new season of Mad Men beat the last?” In this case Season 4 raises the bar once again by presenting new highs and lows of the struggling Sterling, Cooper, Draper, and Pryce (SCDP) ad agency. Let take a quick review of what’s going on:
Don (Jon Hamm) is on a free-fall since his divorce. He is drinking more than usual (if that is possible), and has become lecherous in his activities; yet he answers the bell when he has to. Anybody who has ever indulged in sales (especially old-time sales) can relate to the ass-kissing of clients; but Don never seems to actually give in to the awkwardness of subservience. While Roger is humiliated by the firm’s bread and butter account Lee (Lucky Strike), Don sits in the background drinking whisky and silently observing. When Lee broadsides Roger by telling him that he is pulling the account after an incident where Roger is humiliated by the cretin at a specially designated Christmas party in Lee’s honor, Don calculates a rebuttal that will knock the tobacco industry on their backside. We are reminded that no matter how much Don drinks, he is the brains of the company. Besides from losing Lucky Strike (71% of the firms business), Don is dealing with the divorce of his bitter wife; dating the companies focus group motivator; dealing with the death of his false identity wife; and then courting his secretary. The whole thing made me want to drink just watching it. If Hamm doesn’t win the Emmy for this, there is no such thing as an Emmy at all.
Don’s ex-wife Betty (January Jones) is finding out that her new marriage and life with Henry isn’t all that she thought it would be. She has become increasing bitter and when she isn’t blowing up around other people, she is on the phone nagging Don. To add fuel to the fire, her precocious daughter Sally, is driving her mad. When a neighbor indicates to Betty that Sally was masturbating while attending a sleep-over, Betty hits the wall. She brings Sally to see a child psychiatrist; but what she really needs is her own shrink.
Roger Sterling (John Slattery) who has his own problems after losing the Lucky Strike account and impregnating Joan (Christina Hendricks) never seems to lose his sense of humor. When Don announces that he is engaged to Megan, Roger replies “Who’s that?” When Megan is called into the office for congratulations, Roger immediately calls for a celebratory drink by facetiously asking Megan to get the ice. I almost fell off my recliner: this guy is just too funny.
Joan (Christina Hendricks), the bodacious office manager, is still the rock that runs the firm. Without her you would have an office full of drunks that don’t know where they are supposed to be. But besides from dealing with an office full of intoxicated ad men, she has to deal with her husband’s new detail in Vietnam, and a pregnancy that is the result of a dalliance with Roger.
Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss) has come into her own. Besides from Don, she seems to be the only one that understands the ad industry. She initiates ideas and goes after new business, while the others just seem to float around holding onto what they have inherited. Peggy breaks the firm’s drought by going out and bringing in the first new business since the Lucky Strike debacle.
Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), the wormy new partner with the Howdy Doody face, has an intricate relationship with Draper. When Campbell attempts to bring in a new client (Northern Aviation), an account that he has spent three years nurturing, Don tells him he must dump them because they have sent out government agents to investigate his background for clearance. Campbell bites the bullet for Draper during a meeting in which he tells the partners that he has lost the account, but is later paid back when Don pays off his $50,000 partner fee which is intended to keep the firm afloat. Their on-again, off-again relationship is carefully constructed.
Lane Pryce (Jared Harris), the ubiquitous proper Englishman is corrupted by Don on New Years Eve. In a shocking episode, Lane is clobbered by his father with his walking stick.
I have only touched on some of the highlights of Season 4, so if you haven’t seen it you’re honestly missing what they call “Must see TV.” Even if you have seen it, it is worth watching again. I would suggest if you have never watched Mad Men that you need to start from Season 1 in order to get the full impact.
Watching the thirteen episodes of Season 4 on DVD was a real treat: no commercials, continuous character development, and an ocean full of booze.
Author’s note: For those looking for a Texas-tie in, Jon Hamm is a graduate of UT.
My rating: five out five martinis.
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