Atlas Shrugged by Any Rand. The more I read the book the more I connect the dots as it being a major springboard for the character development in the series; Cooper is drawn to the book for it's "Rational Self-Interest" and how it applies to the (1960) business model, he fancies Don Draper as a archetype of one the central characters in the novel. Evident in the scene where Drapers (alleged) identity switcharoo is greeted with apathy by Cooper who is more concerned with the final product than any ambiguous past Draper may be hiding -- reinvention of the self reigns supreme.

My simple corollary-- A major Railroad Line and Metal Fabricator are to Atlas Shrugged what Advertising and Sterling-Coopers clients are to Mad Men.

Brilliant!

Eric Cooley

Seattle, WA

seventhform@comcast.net

Eric Cooley

553 S. Donovan

Seattle, WA

98108

2 Questions about the contest -

1.Do we have to provide personal contact information in our comment post to win?

2. If we post the same response over and over again, does that increase the chance of winning?

Just a question first, if you don't mind---

Does the fact that the title of this thread is "Mad Men DVD Giveaway and Culture Quiz"

mean that the DVD is in production and will be available for sale to all of the non-winners of this contest? If so, please inform us of the release date.

Also, how are things looking for Season 2 with the difficulties posed by the recent writers' strike? We would appreciate any information you can supply!

Exodus in Episode 6; Babylon. I haven't read or seen Exodus, (I remember my parents having the book), so I can't speak too strongly to the themes. But the episode offered a nice window into how Jews were viewed by supposedly non-anti-semitic people in 1960. (Salvatore had a comment about how the Israelis were a lot prettier than OUR Jews).

I suppose the bigger theme is of people feeling displaced and seeking their own version of the promised land; we get our first glimpse at Don's (Dick's) childhood. Peggy is interestingly comfortable not fitting in, and it actually works in her favor.

Reference: Lady Chatterly’s Lover

The “girls” of Sterling and Ross are reading Lady Chatterly’s Lover, a book about marital infidelity, in The Marriage of Figaro, an episode overflowing with infidelity. This is an obvious one, sure, lust lust lust is in the air, and it’s easy to connect the dots. But lust is an underlying theme of Mad Men, and this particular book foreshadows the events of Indian Summer. What’s important about Lady Chatterly’s Lover is that it’s about a woman who is sexually frustrated. Easy enough to point to Don cheating or Pete cheating, but the frustrated longings of women are particularly poignant here, and the presence of this particular book underlines them.

Deborah Lipp

deborah@deborahlipp.com

Reference: Gidget

In Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Salvatore wryly refers to Don as “Gidget.” By the end of that first episode, I was already sure Sal was gay, and this is part of the reason. By acknowledging Don’s physique, and doing so in a way that is feminized, Sal hints that he is viewing Don with lustful eyes. By joking that Don could fill out a bikini, he suggests that Don is the object of desire that other men would see in Gidget.

I especially like how making Gidget a gay joke turns the innocence of Gidget on its head, just as Mad Men turns the supposed innocence of 1960 on its head.

In Bablyon, Don is reading The Best of Everything, and it seems that Don and Betty had seen the movie (a 1959 release) starring an aging Joan Crawford. I wasn't familiar with it, so I checked IMDb, and the synopsis was: An expose of the lives and loves of Madison Avenue working girls and their higher ups.

Well that's sort of perfect, in an episode where we learn more about Joan (with Roger), where she is so clearly defined as Head of the Hens (in the lipstick scene, where she keeps all the girls in their place) and where she later relies on her standard 'pimping out' of Peggy; when Fred is interested in what she has to say, Joan follows with a comment about him wishing he could have a drink of that (I don't remember the actual line).

More on The Best of Everything in Bablyon. It also leads to a discussion of Joan Crawford, which hits at least three marks; 1) Don saying that he likes her eyebrows, and then later, when we get our first look at Rachel in the episode, you can't HELP but notice her eyebrows, 2) "Some men like eyebrows and all men like Joan Crawford. Salvatore couldn't stop talking about her". Well that's just good fun 21st century understanding of gay icons, us knowing more about Sal than he does. and 3) It launches a whole discussion about Betty and her fixation with prettiness and youth, and then ultimately, her mother.

Here's a clarification to our rules:

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2)Posting the same response over and over again will not increase your chance of winning. If you wish to enter more than once you must leave a comment about a different book, movie or tv show.

3)We have no announcement to make at this time about a Mad Men DVD release for sale. Keep your eye on the Mad Men site and blog though for any announcements that might be made in the future.

In Episode 10 (“The Long Weekend”), Joan and Sterling discuss the The Apartment, a 1960 film directed by Billy Wilder about infidelity and corporate America that can be seen as a thematic inspiration for Mad Men. Joan self-consciously identifies with Shirley MacLaine’s character, a young woman who is involved in a self-destructive affair with an insurance executive, a situation that neatly parallels her own. This allusion is driven home for the audience when, recalling MacLaine’s elevator operator character, Joan presses the elevator button for Cooper after finishing their work.

Other echoes abound – like Jack Lemmon’s Baxter character, Pete Campbell and others are not above sacrificing personal integrity to get ahead. And like the philandering executive of the film, Sterling and the others’ infidelities are attempts to mask a deep-seated unhappiness regardless of the power and privileges they possess. And Don Draper, the enigmatic and multifaceted protagonist, contains all those elements.

In Season 1 of Mad Men they mentioned Exodus with Paul Newman when Don Drapper was trying to get the Menken account. The Real McCormicks was mentioned when Betty went to babysit for Helen Bishop. The episode were Sterling got a heart attack, Joan mentioned the movie The Apartment and Sterling mentioned Psycho.

Interesting show. Not just for people who work in advertising--nice snapshot of the era.

I don't remember which episode it was, but Betty was reading to the kids. The book she was reading was only shown for an instant, but I recognized instantly that it was from the "Book House Books" series, a series I grew up with in the 40's and 50's. Later in lfe I purchased a number of these books at old books stores. When I saw it in the show, I could almost smell the mutiness of the books. A wonderful memory of the 50's.

In episode 1, Betty tells the kids to go watch "Shirley Temple's Storybook." Betty would very likely have been a child during the mid 30s, when Shirley Temple was America's darling ... the perfect good little girl. Women of her era continued to idolize Shirley Temple and wanted their little girls to be just like her. However, just as Ms. Temple was soon to toss aside her fairy tales and enter the world of Politics, Betty ( by the end of season one ) is about to embark on her own metamorphosis. In a few short years, Sally will be more likely to be carrying an "Equal Rights" picket sign at a N.O.W ralley than a Shirley Temple Doll. And the little girl who sang "On The Good Ship Lollipop" would be the first female public figure/celebrity to publicly announce that she had breast cancer and tell her generation of women " Do not stay home and be afraid. What you don't know CAN hurt you." Until Ms. Temple-Black made her public service announcements, Breast Cancer was never discussed openly. That one reference to "Shirley Temple's Storybook" within the context of Betty's 1962 home really gave light to the mindset of young mothers of the era ... and where they were about to go.

Sorry. In my above post, I meant to type "1960 home." I guess I'm getting ahead of myself, anticipating next season :-))

Psycho, a movie about a man with some serious mother issues, is mentioned in the "Long Weekend" episode. Even though Norman's mother died several years ago, her presence resonates throughout the film. Several characters in Mad Men have (dead) mother issues as well, including Don Draper/Dick Whitman, Betty Draper, and Rachel Menken, who like Marion Crane, relies on her older sister as a surrogate to provide guidance and support. Interestingly both Rachel and Marion face dire consequences after becoming sexually involved with married men, despite their sisters’ influence. Salvatore’s attachment to his mother is also questionable, and seemingly mirrors Norman’s earlier relationship with his mother.

Additionally, Psycho is replete with bird motifs, and addresses themes of captivity and feeling trapped, swapping identities, and marital infidelity. Like Psycho, Mad Men exploits these same themes to heighten the uneasiness we feel about the characters and the world in which they inhabit.

In "Babylon," beatnik Roy mentions Dick Van Dyke--who was starring in "Bye Bye Birdie" on Broadway. This underscores various bird motifs in Mad Men. Several characters have bird names--Harry Crane, Trudy Vogel, Duck Phillips. Roger presents Joan with some caged birds after suggesting that he'd like to keep her that way. Don is figuratively a roadrunner, but when contrasted with Peter Campbell, becomes The Roadrunner to Pete's Wile E. Coyote. Even the name of the agency--Sterling Cooper—alludes to a gilded cage.

Betty’s nickname is Birdie, and she’s shown frustration with her status by shooting at a neighbor's birds.

Although “Bye Bye Birdie” was never mentioned outright on Mad Men, the phrase could represent Betty's impending liberation or further captivity if she continues her current path. Tragically, it could also be what Don says to her once he meets the feisty brunette who will actually run away with him.

grinandbearit - cool post. for what it's worth, bye bye birdie was mentioned by name. it was in "new amsterdam" - Pete invites the Bethlehem Steel client to stay over in the city for the night, and offers him tickets to see bye bye birdie on broadway. to which the client responds (something like) - "i don't like bird stories."

Episode 10 - Joan is getting ready in her apartment (with roommate Carol) for a night out on the town. Not entirely happy about the way she looks, Joan mentions something about looking like Doris Day - somewhere between "Midnight Lace" and "Pillow Talk". I chuckled at this remark having grown up seeing those two films several times. The funny thing about it is that those two films were so completely different from one another. Joan's inference that she looked like a cross between the two Doris Day characters is just plain humorous to me.

I nominate "The Twilight Zone", mentioned in Episode 2 ("Ladies' Room") and never again after that.

I believe Paul said, as he showed Peggy around the office, that if "The Twilight Zone" were cancelled he'd kill himself. It wasn't, of course. The series started in 1959 and ran until 1964, and the themes I saw in its early episodes (the oddness of modern suburban life, recovery from war, loneliness and alienation) are present in Season One of "Mad Men".

Among the episodes in that first season of "The Twilight Zone" were tales of men lost in war ("And When The Sky Was Opened"; "The Last Flight"), covering themes of disappearance and guilt. In "The Last Flight", a man has to confront a friend he left for dead on the battlefield -- now a decorated veteran. The man's name is Lieutenant Decker.

I thought that was interesting.

But by far the clearest line between "The Twilight Zone" and "Mad Men" is Rod Serling's gorgeous "A Stop At Willoughby". I watched it again, and was struck by how well the introduction fits Don's plight. For those who don't know the story, it's about a desperate man who falls asleep on the train home from his terrible job and dreams of a simple place named Willoughby.

The introduction, by Rod Serling:

"This is Gart Williams, age thirty-eight, a man protected by a suit of armor all held together by one bolt. Just a moment ago, someone removed the bolt, and Mr. Williams's protection fell away from him and left him a naked target. He's been cannonaded this afternoon by all the enemies of his life. His insecurity has shelled him, his sensitivity has straddled him with humiliation, his deep-rooted disquiet about his own worth has zeroed in on him, landed on target, and blown him apart. Mr. Gart Williams, ad agency exec, who in just a moment will move into the Twilight Zone - in a desperate search for survival."

The episode ends in a bleak way. It's worth going back to the series to see it -- and other highlights of the first season, including "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street", a classic of suburban paranoia.

I don't know whether the earlier program influenced "Mad Men", but I've loved "The Twilight Zone" since I was little, without ever really knowing why. My current passion for "Mad Men" fits right in, though.

I'm hoping to see more parallels between the two shows: episodes like "Little Girl Lost", "To Serve Man" and "The Midnight Sun" really dialed up the fear, while others ("A World Of His Own", "It's a Good Life", "Number Twelve Looks Just Like You") found innovative ways to tell simple stories. It was such a rich series.

My honorable mention would go to Tropic of Cancer ... though I take issue with the idea of Joan running around with that novel tucked in her pocketbook, when it wasn't published in the U.S. until 1961. (I was a lit major.) But Joan of all people would know the black market for such things; and I'm sure it's not the only contraband she's got in that bag.

Thanks for the contest. Love the show -- looking forward to summer '08!

Oh, righ. Good catch dansj. I forgot about that scene. Thanks for that.

Even though it is not a book, movie or TV show, the album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart played a role in New Amsterdam, the episode in which Pete gets fired (and then, un-fired). This album was huge in 1960.

The first routine on the album is Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue, in which a slick promoter has to deal with the reluctance of the eccentric President to agree to efforts to boost his image. Kinda familiar territory to our boys.

I enjoyed your post Anne B., very insightful, but I think the only book mentioned (that Joan is carrying around) is Lady Chatterley's Lover. When was Tropic of Cancer mentioned?

Doh! Two mistakes. First I forget about the Bye Bye Birdie mention, as dansj pointed out (thanks again dansj), then I wrongly described Marion Crane as having an affair with a married man. In fact, in Psycho, Sam Loomis is divorced, although he's still unavailable. So to amend my original post about Psycho.

Instead of saying:

"Interestingly both Rachel and Marion face dire consequences after becoming sexually involved with married men, despite their sisters’ influence."

I amend my original post to:

"Interestingly both Rachel and Marion face dire consequences after becoming sexually involved with unavailable men, despite their sisters’ influence."

"The Atlantic Monthly," "The New Yorker," "Boy’s Life" (Episode 5, "5G”)

Sterling Cooper’s Ken Cosgrove has a short story published in "The Atlantic Monthly," a prestigious literary magazine. Additionally, Ken has completed two novels. Pete Campbell is resentful and jealous.

Pete has also written a short story and wants to get it published in light of Ken’s success. He thinks his story is good enough to appear in "The New Yorker," a magazine known for its high-quality fiction. He asks his wife Trudy to use her 'influence' to get the story published. Trudy meets with a former boy friend who offers to publish Pete’s story in "Boy’s Life," not exactly the venue Pete had in mind. Trudy admits that she could have gotten Pete's story into "The New Yorker," but she could not go along with his 'pimping' her just to get his story published in a prestigious magazine.

Pete is learning that a sense of entitlement is not a guarantee of success.

"Advertising Age" (Episode 5, "5 G")

Publication of Don Draper's photograph in "Advertising Age" is significant. From that point on we start to learn more about Don.

We know that Don has a Purple Heart, is reluctant to discuss his childhood, and was approached on the train by a man calling him "Dick Whitman."

The morning Don's photo appears in "Advertising Age," Peggy interrupts a meeting to tell Don he has a visitor named Adam Whitman. Adam is thrilled to have found his "big brother." After an awkward conversation at a nearby diner, Don leaves abruptly, telling Adam to go away. Later Don opens an envelope, finds a photograph of himself with Adam, burns the photograph, phones Adam, goes to his hotel, and gives him $5,000 to disappear.

"Advertising Age" led Adam to Don. The trauma of their meeting and its aftermath will lead Don to re-examine his life hoping to find the answer to "Who knows why people do the things they do?"

"Exodus" was mentioned in Episode 6 and "The Apartment" was mentioned in Episode 10. Hope I win as I came to this site looking for a DVD of the first season of Mad Men.

The episode "New Amsterdam" mentions two current television shows: "The Real McCoys" and "Bonanza." Helen Bishop tells Glen that bedtime is immediately after "The Real McCoys." Don tells Rachel that the commercial he just viewed would look better "breaking up Bonanza."

Interestingly, both shows are Westerns that show lonely men in need of wives, while Don pursues Rachel (even though he already has a wife) and Helen is divorced and lonely (and going out to stuff envelopes for Kennedy, where perhaps she'll meet men).

During the time period depicted, "Bonanza" and "The Real McCoys" were on opposite each other, and the competition with the hit "Bonanza" knocked "The Real McCoys" out of #1 and it eventually was canceled. Which is a neat sort of parallel with how Helen and Don themselves portray competing views of reality and family, and also foreshadows how friendship with Helen is eventually "canceled."

In New Amsterdam they mention The Bible. Roger and Don are sharing a drink after the Pete debacle and they note that each generation thinks that the next will be the end, that people in the Bible were complaining about "kids these days." I thought that was a very poignant moment for them, as they know that their time is limited. The world, and more importantly the ad game, will soon change around them. I see the ad world becoming a more welcoming place for people like Pete and Peggy, and that they themselves won’t change but their flaws will become fashionable, and the old school types who were taught to keep flaws hidden (Don, Roger, Joan) will find themselves behind the times. The fact that they frame it with mentions of The Bible shows how momentous this shift will be for the Nation, and for the individuals involved.

I have spoken with those who were "around" in the early sixties and are familiar with "Atlas Shrugged." My understanding is that Ayn Rand encourages and defends capitalism in the novel. The advertising industry fuels capitalism. Additionally, the characters, particularly Don and Mr. Cooper, are interested in increasing their wealth and prestige through ownership of advertising accounts.

In the pilot episode, Pete jokingly tells Trudy that they'd be seeing "My Fair Lady" for his bachelor party. Although he was referring to a stripper and not the Broadway musical, "Mad Men" examines the same themes of social class, constructed identities, and gender differences found in "My Fair Lady."

Like Eliza Doolittle and her father Alfred, Don Draper acquires access to the upper classes by infiltrating their society: Eliza as a flower girl pretending to be a princess, Alfred as a master rhetorician recommended by Professor Higgins, and Draper as Sterling Cooper's preeminent Ad Man. All three exploit the nuances of language to perpetrate their ruse. Despite the opportunities this gives them, they express dissatisfaction because of the social constrictions now placed on them.

Additionally, one of Eliza's prize possessions is a bird cage, which underscores the themes of imprisonment, and mirrors the bird motifs in "Mad Men."

Never mind "contests"...when will Mad Men be available on DVD.

PS: Stop showing commercials during movies.

"Exodus" was the first and only novel that came to my mind. I was born in 1957 and have practically re-lived much of my early childhood thanks to "Mad Men."

Jon Hamm & Maggie Siff have clearly extended the concept of "Exodus" by Leon Uris, where many individuals' lives were portrayed as they struggled to establish new, secret "underground lives," identities reborn, just as Rachel Menken & Don Draper have both tried to "re-establish" themselves in the New Amsterdam. Indiscretions and insecurities abound as these two individuals are caught in the middle of a racially and ethnically charged era that had barely recovered from World War ll. It probably was the birth of Bergdorff's and the Reuben sandwich which took place in the boardrooms of Madison Ave. Menken's meeting Sterling Cooper Advertising, a match made in New York.

p.s.

by far my favorite television series, and I'm spreading the word.

p.s.(again) After watching "Mad Men," I've learned why the Maytag repairman was always so lonely. ;-)

Mad Men is available on iTunes.

Awaiting the college football season, I stumbled upon "Mad Men", the most intriguing series I have seen since the beginning of "The Sopranos". I was born in 1955 and remember so many of the props shown and actually was working when one could smoke at their desks! I think alcohol in the office was obsolete by the 1970s-90s. Thank god times and work ethics have changed or I would be a "functional alcoholic by now!

Anyway kudos to the Golden Globe nominees!! Jon Hamm is to die for!! He is the epitome of James Bond in the 60s.

In "Shoot", Don and Betty see the Broadway musical "Fiorello!" I am perplexed as to what significance this choice might have had. All I can come up with is that Don, like Fiorello La Guardia, refused to be corrupted by the "machine". Tammany Hall, in Fiorello's case; "The Big Agency" in Don's case.

In episode 2, "Ladies' Room," Midge asks Don if he's seen a show called "People Are Funny." "People Are Funny," a precursor to shows like "Candid Camera," dared people to do stunts on camera in order to "reveal their true character." (This also shows that Midge is behind on her TV viewing: The show premiered in 1954 and would be canceled in 1961. Better late than never, Midge!) Don proceeds to pout about Midge having received the TV as a gift from another admirer, whereupon Midge tosses the TV out the window--the sort of stunt that might be featured on "People are Funny!" In the larger sense, of course, Don spends his life concealing his past--his "true character." His stunts are decidedly behind the scenes.

"Lady Chatterley's Lover": One of the underlying themes of the show displays the polarizing attitiudes towards a woman's sexuality whether emerging or oppressing. Coupled with the fact that, though the show takes place in the late '50s, sometimes things haven't progressed so much.

First episode, first scene-- Don is quizzing a waiter about tobacco. The waiter says "Reader's Digest says it will kill you." Don's laconic reply is "Yeah,I heard about that."

Indeed, he surely must have. One of Madison Avenue's biggest ad agencies was forced by American Tobacco to dump Reader's Digest as a client because their revealing articles on the risks of cigarette smoking got in the way of their product sales.

We have in this very first scene, with the discourse about cigarettes and the intrusion of the words "Reader's Digest," a virtual setup of the whole premise of Mad Men. It's Don Draper and Madison Avenue against the truth. It's "sell the sizzle, not the steak." It's "don't let the truth get in the way of telling a good story." It's Madison Avenue-- "where the truth lies."

Again, not a TV show, book, or movie, but an opera: "The Marriage of Figaro"…an opera about infidelity, blackmail, and mistaken identity…sound familiar? Don and Betty = the Count and Countess. Midge and Roy = Susanna and Figaro. You could even say that Pete = Cherubino (in the sense that he is a thorn in the Count's/Don’s side). The main thread I liked was that despite Don’s indiscretions, he found his way back home to Betty…as did the Count reunite with the Countess. However, the one deviation is: has the Countess/Betty forgiven the Count/Don? That remains to be seen.

The dreamy, smooth vocals of Vic Damone singing My Fair Lady's "On The Street Where You Live" from Episode One contains all the charm, innocence, hopefulness and brash naivety of America at the end of the 1950's and start of the 60's. Here is a song being played in Don Draper's home from a film based on the classic Pygmalion that includes the lyric "Are there lilac trees in the heart of town? Can you hear a lark in any other part of town? Does enchantment pour out of every door? No, it's just on the street where you live". How appropriate that this particular song, with all it's illusions, is echoing in Draper's home, a house of illusion. He is the master dream weaver, creating for society illusions that may not be attainable but are desperately hoped for, much like Don's approach to life. Don, the man with the beautiful wife, clean & well behaved children, a good paying job and the admiration (if not envy) of colleagues. But it never seems to be enough for Don takes many chances either consciously or unconsciously to sabotage all that is good around him.

The Pygmalion Effect has been described by James Rhem as 'how we believe the world is and what we honestly think it can become have powerful effects on how things turn out' and this is just the power that Don Draper, the ultimate Ad Man, has when he taps in and helps make material the inner desires, hopes and dreams of a generation that has been negligent in feeling deeply but desperately look for answers. Through liquor, drugs, cigarettes, sex, wealth, bohemian lifestyles and stoic suburban home life, the search is on for the collective to find meaning to their every day lives. But it is an example of the blind leading the blind. Don Draper, his life unfairly tainted from birth, uses every survival technique at his disposal to get through another day. And he witnesses the cost of his techniques. A life built on a succession of lies that erodes all the fundamental good that he has at hand- his wife & children, his brother, his business relationships and ultimately his soul. So he builds that illusion on the street that he lives, in the house that he lives, to make it through one more day.

The book, "Exodus", was mentioned when Don was preparing to pitch the Menken account. He is apparently trying educate himself on the Jewish culture. He is in bed reading "Exodus" and rebuffs Betty advances. Betty proceeds to mention that the first boy she ever kissed was a Jewish boy she met at summer camp. At the end of her story, she says that the next summer all of the other girls were blondes, intimating that the other girls were jealous of the attention she received from the Jewish boy. I absolutely adore this show. Please tell us that Season 2 will not be seriously delayed by the writer's strike! Writers and Producers -- get back to the bargaining table! Please!!! Mad Men, Season 2, the best show ever, depends on it!

Exodus is not only mentioned in a Season 1 episode, but the book is clearly held and displayed by Don's customer in the scene. The book was used as an illustration of newly predicted socio-trends to come and that could be used as a reference for launching a successful advertising campaign.

(I tried to make this 150 words but couldn't make it- I'm not a great editor!)

Vic Damone singing "On The Street Where You Live" from E1 contains the innocence, hopefulness and brash naivety of 60's America. Playing in Don Draper's home from a film based on the classic Pygmalion that includes the lyric " Does enchantment pour out of every door? No, it's just on the street where you live". How appropriate that this song about illusions is echoing in Draper's home, a house of illusion. He is the master dream weaver, creating for society illusions that may not be attainable but are desperately hoped for, much like Don's approach to life. Don, the man with the beautiful wife, behaved children, lucrative job and the admiration (if not envy) of colleagues. But it never seems to be enough for Don who takes chances either consciously or unconsciously to sabotage all that is good around him.

The Pygmalion Effect has been described as 'how we believe the world is and what we honestly think it can become have powerful effects on how things turn out' and this is just the power that Don Draper, the ultimate Ad Man, who helps make material the inner desires, hopes and dreams of a generation that has been negligent in feeling deeply but desperately looks for answers. Through liquor, drugs, sex, wealth, bohemian lifestyles and stoic suburban life, the search is on to find meaning in their every day lives by example of the blind leading the blind. Don Draper, his life unfairly tainted from birth, uses every survival technique at his disposal to get through another day. So he keeps on building that illusion on the street that he lives, in the house that he lives, to make it through one more day.

I know this isn't a book, film, or TV show, but in the Hobo Episode (E8), I couldn't help but appreciate the use of "The Twist" by Chubby Checker at PJ Clark's when the gang got together to celebrate Peggy's successful copy.

That morning, she and Pete had a roll-around on his office couch, just hours before his wife sat down there with the celebratory "moving into our new apt today" champagne.

When "The Twist" came on, Peggy (with her torn collar due to Pete) twisted her way over to Pete and asked him to dance. He rebuffed her efforts. She held it together long enough to get back to the dance floor and see Pete slip out of the bar.

The Twists:

-Peggy's copy is successful (and therefore, not a man's!).

-Pete's moving into an apartment, financed by his in-law's, and he is subject to surprise visits by his wife at his office.

-Don, at Midge's apartment, sees from his own art work that she is in love with the hippie dude.

-In childhood flashbacks, we see childhood Don exposed to the idea of the fascinating New York, perhaps for the first time, by the hobo.

-The new operator is head-over-heels in lust with Salvatore. While she waits on him at PJ Clark's, he's having dinner with the out-of-town businessman in the pink shirt.

-Salvatore, although he knows what he wants, simply cannot force himself to go through with it.

"The Twist" foretells the bumpy road ahead for these character's lives. Everything seems to be moving along smoothly for everyone, or at least how they wish things to be, but then there's the twist: unrequited love.

In the episode titled Babylon, Don is reading "The Best of Everything". The book itself was a best seller that when first published in 1958, changed contemporary fiction forever. As Don has several women in his life, each with distinct personalities (Betty the homemaker who now exhibits "childish" behavior since her mother's death, Midge the bohemian lover who lives in a world that Don doesn't fit in, Peggy the "odd" secretary who doesn't conform to standard office roles, and Rachael his equal in the business world who will not give into his advances), this book may help him better understand today’s woman.