"Mad Men" is set to return on Sunday, August 16th.

You can create a "Me as Mad Men" at amctv.com. Mine is now my avatar. It allows you to download three versions, one for an avatar, one for facebook, one for wallpaper.

This is my favorite hour of television. The writing, the acting and the look of the show are all perfect and I will cherish every single moment of the upcoming season.

Looking forward to the new season.

Small correction...it's Sunday August 16th, not 19th. I can't wait either.

Me four!

So, who watched the premiere?

My favorite moments:

Pete's happy dance - then the look on his face when he found out about Ken.

Trudy's hat

Sal and the bellhop - heaven!!!!! Sal almost got himself some!!!!!

Joan eviserating the British putz using nothing but sweetness, kindness and a bit of a stab in the back.

Poor Sal. And don't forget the plane ride home when Don wanted to ask him something and said, "Be honest."

The boyfriend is obsessed with this show. I tried watching it once and it didn't catch. Last night he made me watch it and I had that same feeling until the Sal/Bellhop scene. I missed it the first hour cuz I went to do laundry so I watched it the 11pm hour to see him orgasmic when the bellhop was touchin his business.

But then the fire alarm went off and BUSTED!!!!!!!! A Mess!! I think I'll be watching now!!

For me this show is one that I have to watch twice, if not three, times per episode. The dialogue is so deep that for me multiple views are required to catch all of the meanings.

Observations from - "Out of Town"

- The opening scene showing Don's arrival into the world was amazing. For all the crap he has pulled, I felt so bad for him in seeing where he came from. If only he would appreciate what he HAS!

- Ah Pete. Here's a guy who finally gets the job he's wanted, only to find out he has to share it with Ken. I loved the juxtaposition of the men. Pete who pouts when he finds out about the co-heads and Ken who is grateful no matter what. Pete's happy dance was a riot!

- Is there anyone more wonderful to watch than Joan for her work in putting the Limey Brit in his place?

- And then there was Sal. I honestly thought that he was gonna hook up with the pilot that he and Don took to dinner (the pilot was cute enough). When the bellboy showed up to fix the thermostat, oh my. I was glad that they didn't have Sal get freaked out and retreat. He was just going with it, until that damned fire alarm. And mad men props to Bryan Batt for the maginifcent acting job. He truly looked like he was having his first same-sex encounter. Of course with Don heating it up with the stewardess, it was getting might warm in that hotel.

I do wonder if that's why Sal was late to the meeting with London Fog the next day? "Forgetting his plane ticket" might have just been his excuse for sleeping in late after riding the bellboy all night long. I gained a little more respect for Don when he advised Sal to "Limit Your Exposure" during the flight home (again, love the layered dialogue).

So many questions waiting to be answered. God I love this show.

Love, LOVE this show. Not one of the better episodes last night, but still good. Sal finally gets some action... sort of. I don't know, I kind of liked it when he was salivating over men and not getting any, and no one but his wife seemed to notice. Especially when he had Ken over to dinner. That was classic, and Ken was clueless.

Don seeing Sal getting dressed with the bellhop from the window was priceless. I want to see where he goes with this. I think he's playing it cool for now, though on the plane is ad idea was really a veiled message--so maybe that's the end of it.

Pete looking like he was on the verge of crying when they were splitting up the accounts... also priceless. He is such a whiny putz.

Joan making the Brit twit look like a complete idiot to his boss, and he couldn't say anything because he had just claimed the idea for the office as his own. Lesson #1--DO NOT MESS WITH THE OFFICE MANAGER/HEAD SECRETARY! Joan may not be involved in the advertising campaigns, but she runs that office, is smart, tough and yet doesn't cross the line into cattiness or the dreaded bitch.

It never occurred to me that they might have gone back to his room after the alarm was over. Hmmm.

And the metaphor of the thermostat - how perfect. That bellboy sure raised Sal's temperature :lol

Seriously, though, I was taken by Don's different attitude. He appeared to be going through the motions with the stewardess, who - let's face it - was being a little slut. Really, bringing up her engagement in the hall right after basically throwing herself at him - please! Like she gave a rat's ass about her fiance at that moment.

At the end of S2, Don wrote that wonderful letter to Betty, saying that if they split up, he was sure she'd have someone else in no time, but he'd be alone for the rest of his life. It seemed to me that change was still upon him. The stewardess didn't know his real name, would never be in a position to tell his wife, so it's totally unlike the affairs he'd had, and he nearly didn't go through with it - for Don, that's progress. At the end, though, when he couldn't finish the story of Sally's birth, and was probably still contrasting it with his own, I thought it was really poignant. For better or worse, this is his family, which is something he really never had before.

I too have to watch each episode multiple times to get everything that happens. It's so slow you stop paying attention but then you realize the little things matter. Being a whoreson is kind of a trip for Draper and you know that he is trying to come to terms with that aspect of himself and not be so much of a whore.

I think his reaction to Sal's secret by using it as a jumping off point to an ad campaign - "limited exposure" - is classic Draper. When Peggy told him about getting pregnant and carrying the child without admitting it and giving the baby away, Draper was there in the clutch because he is really good at compartmentalizing his shit.
I kind of wish people still did that instead of the oversharing culture we live in today. We don't need to know all of your business and that you cheated on your wife or had a baby's father you don't want.

Joan is my Bitch!!!! A true role model and real sized woman. TBBuc I made my avatar as a woman - black, shapely, with purple hair lavender dress and ready to steal someone's man. Joan is the chick I'd want to be if I were a chick. She is smart but knows how to play the game. Can't wait for the season to unfold.

Sounds like Etta James. So when are you gonna post it as your avatar on here?

Edited:

My original post didn't translate or go off well so I deleted it. I've left the following:

Great show! We DVRed it so we (or I) had to wait to watch it tonight. I'm gonna watch again this afternoon since I'm off of work until I go back on the 8th of Sept.

I watched it again mostly becuz we were cooking dinner when it was playing so I missed many of the small (or large) details. That said, yeah I thought that the bellhop scene was pretty amazing & convincing. It didn't seem like an "acted out part," like so many other shows/movies I've seen when homoeroticism is thrown into the mix. I don't want to rehash what others have said, but I do want to say that I certainly cannot stand Pete that whiny & self-centered lil bitch! I'm sure that one is supposed to not like him (like that annoying George on Seinfeld). Ok, that's my take on it. Can't wait for the rest of the season's episodes!

Oh, & btw, I also think that Pete could end up being a closet case.

Cuz jay original & tbbucsalstott mentioned that there are small details that one may sometimes miss, I forgot to mention that I loved it when Roger became protective--even stingy--w/ his Stoli!

Loved it that the LA Times took notice too!

I love this show. But 2 questions about ep 1 season 3, if anyone has any thoughts on this:

early in the show, Don & Betty are talking about their small daughter playing with Don's hammers'n'thngs, and Betty says, "'she's taken to your toolbox like a little lesbian!" Would a suburban housewife have said such a thing -- about her own child! -- in 1962? It seemed odd to me; this is a show that has been impeccable so far when it comes to staying "in period". I've never spotted an anachronism before. It certainly seemed out-of-character for Betty. Similarly, I wondered if a bellboy would've been as bold to a hotel guest as that one was to Sal.

Ok, I'm certainly no scholar on the 2 ques you pose. But I did a lil research online & found this & this about when the term lesbian became part of popular culture lingo. It appears that the 60s is right on.

As far as the forwardness of the bellhop, it certainly wasn't uncommon for men in LA, SF, & Philly, for ie, during that time period, & a bit b4, to cruise for sex. I would imagine that NYC was no different. The bellhop did sense he was being cruised by Sal (or @ least that's the way I saw it). It was subtle but it was there. So maybe the scene wasn't really that far-fetched.

"I'm Peggy Olson. And I want to smoke some marijuana!"

Can't believe someone else didn't post that first.

This week's episode was superb.

Or the other classic Peggy line ...

"I am so high."

I was rolling (with laughter)

Every time I see the title of this thread I think of the song "Mad World" now.

I did wonder about the same thing, but since they are so fanatical about authenticity, I can't imagine that wasn't accurate. I don't know about being out of character... Betty plays the housewife role, but she's more Betty Friedan than Betty Crocker. Besides, remember she used to be a model in Manhattan. I'm sure she was exposed to many gays, closeted or otherwise. She wouldn't be oblivious to our existence, and with her background more apt to say something like that.

In New York in particular there was a large gay culture as far back as World War II (if not earlier). Now, this encounter with the bellhop was in Baltimore, but most large cities had a gay underground. Guys did cruise each other, and hook up. The cues were there, and you knew when someone was checking you out. I think the difference is today straight people are much more aware of what's going on... back then you could cruise and most people were oblivious unless you were cruising too.

I think I'm in the minority, but I thought Sal's reaction was a little over the top when the bellboy was touching him. I was buying everything, except that. I would expect him to be tentative, and very excited, but that just seemed over the top. I thought he was going to cum when the guy stuck his hand down his pants... ummmm... maybe it's just me, but it takes more than that. But that's just me, I guess.

I thought that too at first... and I wouldn't completely rule it out, but I really don't think so. I think his issues stem from other sources.

If it's the first time Sal had a guy touching him, I think it's a definite possibility. We don't know if he's ever really acted on his desires other than what's been depicted on the show.

So you think Kitty has finally figured out Sal's sexual preference after his Bye Bye Birdie "performance?"

...Interesting article, btw, 'bout the bellhop scene.

The look on her face was priceless. It was like, "oooooooookay...." And I loved her line about needing to be "tended." Like a garden?

lol! The only "tending [like a garden]" he's gonna be doin is plucking that flower right out of his life.

LOL! It was really funny to watch that scene. The acting was very subtle, but the light bulb definitely went off at that point. When he was done singing and prancing around, the look on her face was priceless. The "OMG, my husband's a homosexual" look.

Yes, that was so freakin' priceless. The funny thing is, she's the only one who seems to notice. Last season during the dinner with Ken, you could tell she knew something was up when Sal was fawning all over Ken (not that I blame him) like he's never fawned over her.

And yes, the "tended" line was classic... though more '50's then 60's, I thought. Ironically, that was probably the campiest thing in the show EVER. And the only gardening Sal is going to be doing going forward is stemming the rose.

I also liked how they were telegraphing Sal being gay in the meeting. The guys were like, there's something just "wrong" with the commercial, that they couldn't put their finger on. Ummmm... yeah, the commercial was straight up GAY. LOL Though Roger's line about "It's not Ann Margaret" was great. And true. The only way that commercial/scene isn't straight up campy is if Ann Margaret or someone similar is doing it... then at least there's some semblance of hetero about it.

And then there was Sal looking like he was about to wet himself when Don told him he was now a commercial director. It was like he had died and gone to gay heaven.

Yeah I caught that too!

Spoiler alert: Do not read this if you haven't seen this week's episode. Check out paragraph 4 for my exact feelings.

...That scene in the film cutting room was hot! I was hoping to see some action.

Last night's episode was a good one. What do you think Betty will do now? Her look as Don was feted at the end was priceless!

Don is headed for the gutter. His whole facade of "I'm handsome, I can f**k whatever girl I want, I can conquer the Ad world of NYC, etc." v. the "street people" he's "privately" partying w/ is gonna come crashing down on him REALLY HARD. Think of several blocks of NYC high-rises collapsing!...

Karma still rules @ the end!

I'm a week behind but WOW!!!! I love the look on Don's face - "you fool around with the bellhop but push away the 25 million dollar man because you are 'married'" - wtf? I was hoping Sal would go find the guy and smoke his cigarette or offer him a cigarette or anything else. The Luck Strike man was sooo hot!

And I totally get Don being stressed and f*cking the teacher. The impulses we fight against whether sex, food, drink, or work...good times.

Yeah that was an unbelievable scene! I think that Sal was much too worried about mixing work w/ pleasure, especially after Don had warned him on their way home after the bellhop scene. But I understood Don's perspective. Altho if that happened today I don't know if that would fly!

I too thought that Sal was gonna go back & look for Lee to f**k his brains out. Instead he goes cruising for some young gay sex.



Yeah, however, the problem w/ Don is that he not only wants to f**k the teacher but any woman he can get his grubby lil hands on. He's basically a sex-crazed maniac or a "pig" as my bf would say.

Yes, but... Don is the main character of the show, let's face it. It may come crashing down, but it won't come all the way down. Besides, this is a man who clawed his way to get where he is. Do you think he's just going to let it slip out of his hands? Something may happen, but he will somehow swoop in and save their asses yet again. He may not be doing as good with the ad ideas lately, but who does all of the fence mending with the clients? He's not going anywhere, at least for long. Unless he has another flight of fancy in CA again. LOL But then there's no show.

I get the feeling that everything for this show was outlined before the first season... sort of like Lost. Weiner knows what's going to happen to everyone already.

Agreed. But I was really talking about his moral fiber, addictions (sex, drugs, booze), & the people he's secretly hanging out w/ or picking up off the streets.

Sal was not in the least worried about mixing business with pleasure. Sal is still completely conflicted and troubled by being gay. Even though deep down he knows, he can't bring himself to accept it. I'm convinced, other than maybe some experimenting in college, the bellhop was the first man he's really had sex with. Having said that... I think that scene in the phone booth shows he's getting ready to accept, if not embrace, this part of him.

I have a feeling he will be back at Sterling Cooper. As will Joan. They may need to trim characters due to too many people (have you noticed how certain people are left completely out of certain episodes?) and too many story lines (or too many salaries to pay by AMC). But why ditch the characters that are interesting and add color? You've got Ken Cosgrove, who while by far the sexiest guy on the show, does absolutely nothing except show up once and awhile to smile and seemingly torment Pete. But everyone torments Pete. And Harry and and Paul are basically interchangeable. I could do without one or the other (or maybe both).



Ummmmm.... well, to each his own. I'd gladly find someone on this show that I find attractive, other than Ken Cosgrove, if they were on there. Eye candy central it is not. Yes, Don has that handsome, strong chin, Man in the Grey Flannel Suit thing going on, but he's not really my type (not that I have just one type, mind you). And I suppose if the older, grey haired man with money floats your boat, Roger has it going on. Again, not my thing. LOL

Great pt. I would then say it's both. That's my take on it @ least.

I don't see him secretly hanging out with, or picking up, people off the streets. Don likes attractive, young women. Duh. So do most straight men. And he has the looks and money to get them. And when they're young, unless they're a trust fund baby (who will marry someone their own age from the "right" family--see Pete's wife for a prime example), they don't have a lot of money and are looking to find their way up the ladder.

But if we want to psychoanalyze... try this on for size: Deep down, Don feels guilty for taking over his superior's identity in the War in order to better himself and change his life. He may be a schmuck much of the time, but we know his past haunts him. At times he doesn't feel worthy of his current status, being a whore's son and all. So, he spends his "recreational" time with "lower class" women. Albeit pretty ones.

Did you see the episode where he picked up a young couple off the street who were "eloping". They end up take him back to a hotel, give him pills, beat the shit out of him (and passes out), leave him w/ a black eye, & rob him?

How about the teacher's brother? He's gonna be big trouble, imho.

Saw it. But put it in context of the times. As I recall, he picked them up hitchhiking. That's how it started. Back then, hitchhiking was quite common, for both long and shorter distances. You used to be able to pick up a ride just about anywhere, and people used to hitchhike across the country.

Then they gave him the drugs. Dumb move on his part, but then again, how many people take drugs from people they barely know. Not defending it, just saying. They didn't kick in as quickly as they wanted, but probably enough to impair his judgment and they ended up in the motel room. Rmember, they gave him drugs in the car, not after they got in the motel room. So they were already kicking in at that point.

I'm not defending what he did... it was stupid. But IMHO it wasn't because he was hanging out with street people.

Yeah, there's probably too much to exploit with the brother for that to just end like that. He could show up again to freeload off of his sister and cause problems. But I have a feeling he's going to case out Don's personal life, and threaten to expose him to his wife... blackmail. Nice setup to have Don give him his business card... makes it much easier for him to track him down. I bet he asks for money from Don first, and to keep it from his sister. Don doesn't give it to him, or doesn't give him as much as he wants, or cuts him off at some point. That's when he pulls the blackmail stunt. No good deed goes unpunished. LOL

Personally, I also put it in the same historical context. But the end result smashed that innocence! That's why I still think that he's headed for the gutter. But of course, what the hell do I know? I'm not one of the writers of the show! And w/out a doubt anything can happen. I was just giving MY viewpoint as to how I perceive the characters. Just sayin...

I think Don likes slutty brunettes because his mom was a whore with brown hair and he's trying to connect with a maternal sense of love and not in an Oedipus fashion, but an emotive filling my heart by trying to figure out what makes these women tick way. The department store heiress looks a lot like the teacher and so very different from Betty.

The Lucky Strike dude and the dude who got his foot chopped off by the lawnmower were both tall and solid. That's just my type. I don't think you can compare them to Sterling the silver fox, even though he has a hot personality and I'd do him but more because of his personality. Ken is hot and they can't get rid of him ever. I need that beefcake each week. But then again, isn't the show kind of like real life? I have never worked with a house full of hotties, there's always that one dude who catches my eye. And sometimes that dude is just average but he has a big dick and wears tight jeans or he is cool with being straight and flirts or he is sensitive because his dad used to beat the shit out of him growing up. Mad Men to me is real life on real tv.

I loved Betty's face as well at the gala. And the distance between husband and wife despite sitting next to one another was like the Gulf of Mexico. I didn't think she'd ever learn his secret. But I don't think she'll leave him, after kicking him out for most of last season. She'll probably just run to the Rockefeller crony and get taxed like the IRS's red headed step child.

Funny you say that cuz the 2nd job I go to during the day I'd say @ least a 1/3 of the male staff are hotties.



Pretty much. Lots of drama & secrets.

You & I are certainly thinking exactly along the same lines about the bro.

Last night's episode...wow. Really intense in the last 20-30 minutes or so.

I'm not sure if the writers were hoping for public sympathy for Don's...errr...Dick's past...Or for the audience to see the obvious: he left his mistress in the car all the while his drama unfolds w/ his "wife" just a few feet away.

At least I'm convinced that he not only is headed for the gutter, but he's been living in a gutter of lies...

Perhaps there will be redemption for "Don." But he may simply behave for a while until everyone around him has let their emotional guards down. We'll see...

Don reacts based on fear. He lies because he wants the dream but is afraid to settle with his wife because then he will be obsessed with losing her. I get Don. I felt bad for him seeing him drop his cigarette and cry about his brother. The mistress in the car I thought played well. I'm glad she worried about her job and didnt end up being a crazy stalker type who would show up at the front door like the ESPN intern.

There are two episodes left for her to become the crazy stalker.