Mad Men: Season 7 (AMC) (1 Viewer)

[bujaki]

A loving tribute to Robert Morse's roots as he departed the show. He began as a chorus boy and actually got a kiss from Marilyn Monroe in Let's Make Love. Plus he created the role of J. Pierrepoint Finch in How to Succeed without Really Trying (singing and dancing). What a great treat to allow us to hear him sing and see him dance a few steps one more time. A real trooper!

 

[joshEH]

I get a great sense of joy any time we see a motivated Roger come to life. So seeing him put that deal together on his own was a delight. Wasn't quite the comeuppance for Cutler I was hoping for. But previous to this season, I'd really liked Cutler, so maybe his power-play is over, now that he's getting a nice payout.

Further 7b Predictions / Wishlist:

[*]Lou's bought out of his contract, and spends an entire hour having a meltdown. Or just open the 7b premiere with him selling newspapers in the lobby.
[*]Peggy gets Lou's position, but only a tiny pay-raise.
[*]Don's totally gonna cuckold Henry.
[*]Ken Cosgrove makes it out alive; the next year, becomes a Night Gallery writer. His fictional episode will be about a tap-dancing robot with one eye.
[/list]

 

[TravisR]

Wonderful episode. I was surprised by Cooper's offscreen death so I was happy to see the song and dance number so the character and actor could get an odd but wonderful send off. I love that Harry got boned. I love that Roger saved the day. I loved that Don let Peggy do the pitch. I loved that Peggy nailed the pitch. I guess I basically loved the whole episode.

Thanks for splitting the season and making the audience needlessly wait, AMC. Lion's Gate will get to sell two Blu-ray/DVD sets of one year but the only thing AMC is doing is ruining the show's momentum which will cost some viewers (as compared to if they ran all 14 episodes this year) and by extension ad revenue.

Am I the only one who got the tribute of the vacuum cleaner running during the moon landing?

What was it?

•Peggy gets Lou's position, but only a tiny pay-raise.

I don't think it's ever been addressed but I'm curious how much Peggy is making compared to men that hold her position. She just got a $500 a week raise which I assume is pretty good for that job today and must have been a stunningly massive raise in 1969. I could be wrong but I'd bet that Peggy is incredibly well paid for her position.

 

[joshEH]

I didn't know Cooper was going to die, but I've been waiting for the chain-reaction it would set off for a few seasons now. They played it perfectly.

The difference between the last merger and this one is that the first was a declaration of freedom and an ode to fresh starts. This is the exact opposite of that. It's about Don "winning," and gobs of cash. The fact that it's McCann, and that Don was sitting there selling Ted on five more years of unhappiness is evidence enough.

But that vision removed any room for doubt. If Don doesn't listen to it, he's going down hard. (And if he does listen to it, everyone's going to hate his guts. Tough situation.)

If Don takes it to heart and screws the sale up, Joan is gonna fucking shoot him. Right in the face. Multiple times. Deservedly so. Pete is gonna reload for her.

 

[joshEH]

Also, as a viewer, I don't think Joan's animosity towards Don is unearned, but to me, there certainly seemed to be something left out of that negative vote; something more than, "I'm tired of him costing me money."

So Joan's role now is to hate Don because she prostituted herself? I mean, sure, Don behaved like a total ass all of last season, but I think the character and the viewer both deserve a little more honesty.

I don't think I've rooted for a fictional character any more than I was rooting for Peggy in that presentation. I teared up just like the fat guy.

 

[Doug Smith]

We even got another great "Rogerism". His - I should have seen it coming. Anytime an old man starts talking about Napoleon, you know he's going to die - was yet another great rant from the master.

 

[Brandon Conway]

See, I don't read that vision the same way at all. Don has found himself happier through the harder, gruntier work. It was a pitch to Ted, but it was an honest one: you'll be happier as a creator than as a CEO-type, because I am. The vision was an underscoring of his new found contentment with his simplified purpose. He's owning his life in a way that isn't just about money or women or excess, but about finding value in his talent and skills, and in supporting those closest to him (Peggy, Roger, Sally more and more) in the same.Sent from my VS920 4G using Tapatalk

 

[joshEH]

Megan wants to see The Wild Bunch? She really is the perfect woman.

I've been perplexed by Joan's behavior towards Don this past season. For one, didn't he tell her NOT to sleep with that guy? And wasn't it Pete who did? Don's been nothing but respectful towards Joan.


For some reason, I'd like to think that Robert Morse had it in his contract that he'd get at least one song-and-dance number during the show's run.

Also, I love Roger's consistent approach to problem-solving:

Don: "How'd you get in here?"

Roger: "Money."

 

[TravisR]

Also, as a viewer, I don't think Joan's animosity towards Don is unearned, but to me, there certainly seemed to be something left out of that negative vote; something more than, "I'm tired of him costing me money."

So Joan's role now is to hate Don because she prostituted herself?

In all fairness to Joan, Don did take it upon entirely himself to dump Jaguar which rendered her screwing the guy pointless but I'm still having trouble that she can't see any value to him. I can buy that she might loathe Don on a personal level but I find it nearly impossible that she doesn't want to keep him in order to utilize his obvious skills.

 

[Greg.K]

In all fairness to Joan, Don did take it upon entirely himself to dump Jaguar which rendered her screwing the guy pointless but I'm still having trouble that she can't see any value to him. I can buy that she might loathe Don on a personal level but I find it nearly impossible that she doesn't want to keep him in order to utilize his obvious skills.

Still, that was so they could land Chevy, a much bigger account. And as a now-partner, Joan benefited.

 

[joshEH]

Yup -- the "redemption"-arc Don has gone through this season (that we as viewers are viscerally privy to, obviously, as he has always been the Tony Soprano of this show) has not been experienced by Joan. Don still has a lot of repair-work ahead of him in the final seven.

And holy crap, Roger was on fire last night:

"Poor Bert...I should've realized it was the end. Any time an old man starts talking about Napoleon, you KNOW they're gonna die.""'Neil Armstrong, what are you gonna do with your life?' 'Screw every girl in Florida, I guess.'"

 

[mattCR]

In all fairness to Joan, Don did take it upon entirely himself to dump Jaguar which rendered her screwing the guy pointless but I'm still having trouble that she can't see any value to him. I can buy that she might loathe Don on a personal level but I find it nearly impossible that she doesn't want to keep him in order to utilize his obvious skills.

I don't think that's at all why she hates him. His breakdown in the meeting and his story prevented them from taking the stock public, and they noted that twice this episode. The failure to take SCDP public cost her several hundred thousand. I think that's what pisses her off far more.. With Don in the partnership she wrote off the stock ever going public.

 

[TravisR]

I don't think that's at all why she hates him.

There's multiple reasons but I think Don deciding on his own to drop Jaguar was certainly one of them.

 

[Tim Gerdes]

The failure to take SCDP public cost her several hundred thousand.

As Bert noted in the finale, the failed IPO cost Joan $1 million. In today's money that roughly $6.8 million.

But I think Joan, apart from seeing Don as a prima donna who cost her a lot of money and melted down in another pitch and throwing away their shot at a second big account, is probably feeling some self-loathing at her tactics to land Jaguar.

While Don, alone among the partners, told her not to sleep with Herb, in Joan's eyes this could be seen as judgement. The other partners were ok with her behavior, but Don, in saying no, wasn't. Her anger at Don is, in part, subconscious anger at herself for having prostituted herself for an account.

It will be interesting to see whether she warms toward Don in the second half of the season, now that she has the money he cost her.

But that vision removed any room for doubt. If Don doesn't listen to it, he's going down hard. (And if he does listen to it, everyone's going to hate his guts. Tough situation.)

I think what Don said to Ted was true for both of them. Don needs advertising. He needs to work. I think 7B is going to be about Don finding happiness outside of the office.

I still think we're going to see the continuation of a redemptive arc, but a personal redemption now that he's righted the ship at work.

I also don't think we've seen the last of Neve Campbell.

 

[Sam Favate]

I liked the last episode, although if the plotting on this show has shown us anything in seven years, it's that the decision to go with McCann won't make everyone happy. Somehow, Roger will figure a way to force out Cutler, I think.

Thumbs down to AMC for making everyone wait another year to see the rest of the season. These kinds of decisions are crass.

 

[TravisR]

The second half of the season starts on April 5 at 10 PM.

 

[TravisR]

Starts on Sunday!


How I've missed the gang at SC&P.

 

[Sam Favate]

Indeed. Just finished re-watching the season 7 blu-rays, and I'm eager to see what's next. Some years back, I think this show surpassed the Sopranos in terms of shows I look forward to. (Of course, I still think The Wire is the best television has yet to offer.)

 

[ScottH]

Looking forward to the return of America's favorite soap opera...

 

[TravisR]

Looking forward to the return of America's favorite soap opera...

When you get down to it, almost every drama is a soap opera though. Some just happen to have gangsters, meth manufacturers or zombies that create a sense of danger, intrigue or excitement which hides the more obvious soap opera trappings. I'd argue that the writers of Mad Men have achieved an even more impressive accomplishment because the show relies solely on human drama, almost never has life or death stakes and rarely kills off characters.