Love the show! Great cast and excellent writing.

Just a question about tonight's (August 23) episode: If the show takes place in 1960, why did the Midge's friend mention Dick Van Dyke who didn't appear on TV until October '61?

Thanks again for the show.

I did not like Episode 6 as much as the first five, it was too predictable.

I am totally engrossed in the show after tonight's rich and complex episode. The actors get better and better and so does the writing. The story line tonight was so well shared by the cast. Each week we see more and more how talented this cast really is. Tonight the Women held their own and it made for a much more interesting show than just the "Boys" smoking in the office and being cads. This show is just delicious. I hope it has found an audience by now because if you stick with it then you get the rewards.

Dave

It's only a matter of time before Don and Rachel begin their affair. There is much passion between the two. Rachal is such a stark contrast to empty headed Betty.

I couldn't help noticing the contrast between the wives and the mistresses and working women. The wives seem emotionally stunted or something whereas the other women are more wordly and sophisticated.

Can we vote Midge off? She's an STD just waiting to happen.

Jack, you're assuming that Dick Van Dyke did not exist until he has his sitcom. Fact is, what led Carl Reiner to cast Dick in the role of Rob Petrie was seeing him in the Broadway stage version of "Bye Bye Birdie"....in 1960.

I agree that it is time for Midge to go. I think Don sees it too -- the Village performance space was not his cup of tea -- I'm surprised that he went in the first place and even more surprised that he stayed.

Midge, I think, is a hippy waiting to happen. I honestly don't know how Don does it, juggling the three women in his life. Each one has their own unique allure for him, but he's a disaster waiting to happen. His life is bound to fall apart sooner or later. I love watching Peggy come into her own as this show develops. She is so green, and I find that very refreshing. But, she's not afraid to speak her mind.

This show is fabulous! Keep it coming, AMC!

I'm hooked. This series has me pulled in and waiting to see how each scene unfolds. Was born in 1959 so I don't remember the specific year in which this show was set, but my memories of growing up in the 60s still overlaps with much of what I am seeing on the screen. Interestingly, my wife - who was born in 1967 - hasn't connected with the show at all. I wonder how important it is to feel some sort of connection, however slight, with this era to become hooked?

"Basketfull of kisses" is the best slogan this agency has come up with...I bet that guy steals the line.

This show is so degrading to women. I can't believe any woman with a brain (which we have proved we have)would watch and support such a show. Who wants to be reminded of what egotistical pigs men are?! I can't stand watching it! May it fail and quickly!

Danny, I was born in the late 70's and I'm addicted to the show!

Yes, you just know that someone is going to steal Peggy's Basketfull of kisses idea.

The women being referred to as "hens", was a term, I remember from my 1st job in 1967. On the "Basket full of kisses", comment the guy had previously referred to Peggy as "rabbit ears", while in poor taste, a perfect comment for that particular character - what ahould have been expected.

When will Draper, implode?

Loved this episode. Really started to see the complexities in these characters. However I agree with a few posters. Midge does nothing for me . . flat character. In my mind, she isn't a liberated woman at all . . just sleeping with alot of men doesn't make you liberated . . just makes you , well, loose. "Wow she is so hip". Today she would just live in Williamsburg and her friends would be just as naive and condesending. And did anyone else have flashbacks to the SEx in the City episode where Carrie is with the two different guys in a Greenwich village jazz club? (Don Draper = Mr. Big) Absolutely loving the Joan, Rachel, Peggy storylines that developed this time. Now there are some interesting women.

I agree with Dave that is much more interesting when the show leaves the boring "boys smoking in the office" parts.Even during the 60's people had lives . Did anyone else notice that this show actually looks like it might have been made in the 60's and censored by the Hayes office .Not at all like TV movies being made today .

Sometimes it's good to be the boss... or John Slattery. Yeah, I like Joan a lot, guilty as charged.

Anyway, I'm not sure yet how I feel about Don's flashback scene. I don't really see where this storyline is going. It's a little confusing although quite intriguing too.

The two-way mirror scene was just brilliant. Put them in front of a bunch of young women and those grown up men will turn back into teenage boys in less time than it takes Roger to cheat on his wife. By the way, I should have guessed than he and Joan were sleeping together, it makes a lot of sense.

The poetry reading was also quite enjoyable. Don didn't fit in at all and I couldn't help but laugh at the girl's weird story about Castro.

Don still wants to get in Rachel's pants but we already knew that. They had an interesting talk but asking her to dinner under that kind false pretenses probably wasn't the right way to go. Yet it did seem to remind Rachel of how much she likes Don. Even if she does, I don't think that he really wants a serious relationship. I still can't figure out who Don truly loves, or rather if he does truly love one of his women.

I really enjoyed this episode, a lot more than the previous one.

http://www.mad-men-tv.com

I love love love this show. The characters are getting more complex and I like the little insight into Don's childhood. Will be great to see how that unfolds. The scene with Don and Betty in bed is as sexy as it promised and then some.

BTW, the show is not degrading to women, the times were.

Love the show and the writing is truly engaging. I would like to know is how did Don meet Midge? I know she is an independent illustrator; did she do some freelance work for Don?

Don't boot Midge off the show yet. I caught a glimpse of her hair cut on this episode, Babylon, and need to find a photo to reproduce the cut. Her cast photo is not the same as how she wore her hair on this episode. Can anyone help with this? I need a new 60's cut myself.

Re Don & Midge, last week she mentioned something about their 'instant connection' at times square. I thought that was a reference to how they met...

Don exposing his barefeet in bed was sexy, they look nice wide and meaty and then his socked feet in Midge's apt.

This episode was much darker than previous ones, and yet after several re-viewings, I'm starting to think it's my favorite yet! BTW, Joan's comment about hospitals seemed a bit odd - I wonder if she had an experience that somehow influenced her calculated, devil-may-care attitude toward men and life?

My boyfriend and I love this show we were born in 78/79 and never lived through this era, but my dad was 23 in 1960, which I find intriguing.

As for the show being degrading to women - they're trying to portray what life was really like - if they treated women in it the way we're treated now it wouldn't be in the least bit accurate. Can't you sit back and enjoy the show, without letting their treatment of women get your girdle? Revel in the change that has taken place since then.

I can't wait to see more next week... And as to Don/Midge...I think he just might replace her with Rachel and as we saw last night, Rachel is getting more comfortable with that idea...

We've been watching the show twice--although my wife falls asleep-- to enjoy the feel of it--everything from the clothing and furnishing to the cars and social manners. It does feel like a show produced in the decade portrayed--something I suppose I connected with born in 1960. The idea of my parents in their twenties during this time intrigues me--although their life did not happen on Madison Avenue. My mother and aunt worked together at an office in Chicago in the 50's. Marriage and motherhood seperated them. The conversation between the two sisters ot the phone reminded me of that. As a child I remember hearing conversations I should not have regarding my aunt's office--gossip about affairs mingled with resentment toward overblown men taking credit for the work their secretaries did. I thinkthe show is right on. Enjoying it! Tom

P.S. I think Peggy was called 'mouse ears' but could be wrong.

Very interesting to me how women react to this show...the men are pigs thing, yet what really makes them uncomfortable is how it shows women using sex as "their stock in trade." Women still do that. Men are cheating with women. There are two people there. There isn't one bad girl doing the whole town. These women know the men are married. They have less guilt than the men. Remember the line, "if you play your cards right you'll be living upstate?" That implys manipulation to a high degree. I don't think things have really changed much. This show pulls the covers off the reality of what happens and how men AND women truly are. How dare they tell the truth. Easy ladies.

By the way, Peggy has just slit her throat by getting attention for her brain and not her bod....CAPITAL OFFENSE. Notice the reaction of her boss. To cross the line from "piece of ass" to potential player as a whole person must be punished. Look for her to be found dead. I find her intelligence and looks very hot. Verrry interesting development

I think Don loves all three women. Making the choice to be faithful to one woman is just that: a choice. It doesn't mean she is the one person possessing every quality you ever wanted. Love is not enough to inspire commitment and fidelity. Those require individual character and integrity. Don is able to step out on all three women because (1) he feels no accountability and (2) none of those women hold him accountable. As a result, he gets different needs met by different women.

I think that this is a very accurate portrayal of the times, although I don't believe that women were universally regarded as they are in the show. I think there were plenty of homes where the woman's opinions counted and her intellect was respected. What went on in the news and in advertisements may not have been representative of the general population. That's also true today, I think.

This show is doing something right, because I'm dying to see future episodes.

I did not like Episode 6 much at all - they must have spent like 15 entire minutes on just gratuitous bedroom action. Why? That stuff's fluff. I hope the writers didn't run out of ideas after episode 5...

This was a very interesting and entertaining episode. The comment about the Jews in Israel not looking like the Jews in the US was classic. I am Jewish and I think Israeli women are incredibly hot. Look what just a few years of living in the desert will do for ya.

Of course, the very American Rachel Menken character is not too shabby either.

Wonder when Draper will "convert" LOL

Such a good show this week. I had to chuckle when Don made the comment that "all men love Joan Crawford. Salvatore couldn't stop talking about her." Poor Sal . . . if it was tough being a woman in the 60s, imagine what it was like being gay!

Betty is still a little bland but I think they'll develop her character more as time goes one. It broke my heart when Don tried to stop her from talking about her dead mother. Was it inappropriate to talk about dead loved ones during that time period? Betty is so repressed in every way, even when she was intimate with Don she still seemed unable to "let go".

My take on the one-way glass scene was that the guys were just as silly as the women trying on the lipsticks. I loved it when the interviewer asked one of the women about her lipsticks at home and she got confused. Give me a break!

Can't wait to see the competition that will surely develop between Peggy and Joan. Can't get enough of them.

Can we shed some light the Betty-Don intimacy issue? Obviously she's some kind of beard for him - note how he performs so perfectly: mother's day breakfast, dollhouse, etc. What is her problem?

Is Don Draper Jewish? Explains why he sped thru Exodus. Is "Whitman" a changed name?

Speaking of beards, I can't wait for Salvatore's secret gay life episode.

Joan - abortion or gave a child up for adoption. Hospital comment was right on.

I love, love, love this show...

The frailty/insecurity/isolation of each of the characters is something i really connect with, my family is similar to some on this show...

it always seems as though there is something that is left unsaid...and the tension of that can be seen on their faces...

Too much bedroom stuff in episode 6, but since it is in the middle of a 13 episode premiere, i can see why it has been done...

the women are SOOO sexy...the dress, the innuendo...wonderful!!

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK WITH THIS SMART, SLY, and THOUGHT PROVOKING SHOW..

New Mad Men iMIX Soundtrack now available on iTunes. Check it out:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=262819829

Enjoy

Babylon is easily my favorite episode to date, and that's saying a lot because I love them all. I applaud the way the show ended with the song over the various scenes of "exile." Beautifully done. BTW, the singer who was uncredited is Eugene Edwards, a local indie talent here in Los Angeles.

I have to respectfully disagree with the people commenting that the show is degrading to women. As someone pointed out, it's actually the TIMES that were degrading to women. I actually think there's a strong feminist theme developing each week. With the exception of Betty, the other female characters are on the show are all independent and forward thinking. Even Peggy's getting on the fast track. In fact, the one character embracing the traditional female role of 1960 (Betty) is the least happy woman on the show. Joan's doing it a little more "old school," but she did refuse the offer of her own apartment. She doesn't want to be owned by Sterling. She's definintely living her life by her own rules. (And I, too, noticed Joan's hospital comment. That's definitely a seed planted for later growth.)

I don't think the "isms" depicted on Mad Men (sexism, racism, anti-Semitism - and wait until we get to Sal's sexual orientation!) are portrayed in any kind of enviable light. If anything, it's shocking and appalling to be reminded of how things were in 1960. I think it's a testament to how far we've come. In retrospect, the "good old days" weren't really that good at all.

WOW -- loved last night's show. I get the feeling that the women in Draper's life represent id/Midge, ego/Betty & super ego/Rachel. With this much sex going on, you can't help but get Freudian. And the subtle layering... I loved the ending and how all 3 women were portrayed -- Midge's legs crossed and short skirt (and nothing underneath), Rachel putting away ties (remember the lunch scene) and Betty putting lipstick on her daughter (lipstick session scene). And especially the ending song in the club -- some reference to Zion I thought I heard -- and how it tied in to the beginning scene of the Israeli Tourist Board. I loved how these writers tied up everything with a subtle bow. Keep up the great writing!!!!

This is the most condescending show on television today towards women...I think it sucks...there was a line in it that threw me over the edge the men were talking about the women and they said they "don't speak MORON" thats because they are morons...what kind of trash is this..is this supposed to "help" the already very loose ideals of young people on how to respect women...the writer and everyone else involved in this are "MORONS. God help us all if this is how they think Women should be portraid...this show is worthless...all it does is validate the sick, worthless, low life thoughts of how men should Not think...and then instills in the young people that it is ok to talk to or treat women this way...we are supposed to move forward not reinforce the REALLY BAD BEHAVIOR of so many men....and then you wonder why women think the majority of men are a bunch of low life losers ...in a suit or not... Younger people try to emulate these shows...and this is what you losers came up with...been there, done that...get a life

[ Betty is so repressed in every way, even when she was intimate with Don she still seemed unable to "let go".]

I agree. The love scene between her and Don...she had about as much passion saying "I want you" as if she were reading it off the back of a cereal box. But at least she got one good line, delivered well, in that scene. When they were discussing, playfully, what she grade she got on the class for reproduction. Betty said she got an A, and he said so did I. She comes back with "But you were probably caught cheating." Hmmmmm many a true things said in jest? Good one Betts!

Tom - I heard "mouse ears" as well. I wonder how the actress, not the character, felt about that line...pretty cold dig!

Another terrific episode. I anxiously await each week to see things reminiscent of the 60's. In this episode it was the lip imprints on the facial tissues, Joan's garter belt strap (this was classic 60's), and her cowl neck coat. As for Peggy, I like the fact that her character is developing to show that some in the clerical pool do have brains, but I'm not quite sure why the writers protrayed her to be such easy prey in the first episode. I also think there is definitely a Jewish undercurrent going with Don's character because he is obviously drawn to their culture and obsessed with it (i.e. his attraction to Rachel, the way he was mesmerized by the Jewish actress' photo, his comments in the client meeting, etc.). Keep these mind-provoking episodes coming!

millie - I enjoyed your Freudian analysis. Spot on.

I was born in 1969 and when I was in my early twenties my aunt used to say to me, "Your problem is you have too many choices. I didn't get as many choices as you have..." Watching this show I see you had to be a tough, smart woman not willing to follow the crowd in order to use your talent and brains. That's why Don is attracted to Rachel and Midge (although I think the Midge character is on the way out); they are true to themselves.

Finally a show that is sophisticated and smart to watch. The interactions of characters, I now can fully understand how difficult it was for a person who didn't fit in that Mommy-Daddy-Buddy-Sis TV Dinner, Linoleum era.

Thank you, thank you for bring to light how difficult it was as a smart, interesting woman try to make a difference in corporate America. I love Rachel's character, "This better not be on my bill..." Zing!

It's so interesting to watch Betty's character suffer with "the Problem that has no Name". I hope we get to see her read Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique.

I know there's underpinnings of the Nixon-Kennedy Campaign of 1960. Would love to see how that turns out.

Love the Greenwich Village scene:

"You can see that a lot of mediocrity was born on Broadway..."

"I can see some of it conceived here."

PS I caught the Robert Morse character from last week - How to Succeed in Business is my favorite musical... Brilliant move.

This show is pathetic...bad behavior on both ends..this is the problem with society in general....if it's NOT DISGUSTING..Then it's not entertainment? It doesn't have to be Mary Poppins but we have nothing on television that shows how WE SHOULD treat each other...but again the percentages ring true...the majority of the men are idiots and thank God its only a manority of women...This shows men that its OK to act like a loser and treat women badly.. it tells them that's how it should be..and you think that's entertaining....I think the writer needs therapy...and you women who love it must not have very good self esteem if you think this is acceptable treatment of women and entertainment...you think this is great...what are your relationships like! Men need to treat us with respect and taught that...this encourages horrendous behavior...I don't care if this show is from the 60's...people always try to emmulate what they see...and that in itself is terrifying at times..

Love last night's episode ... here's my analysis of the research that must've gone into Joan's "the medium is the message" comment ... http://paullevinson.blogspot.com/2007/08/mad-men-6-medium-is-message.html

Rozlynn and Dove: You need to get a grip. The show takes place in 1960! Not 2007. For those not into math, that's 47 years ago. A long time.

Please stop with the "young people emulate blah blah blah" crap. The only young people who might watch a show like this are intelligent enough not to emulate behavior of people from two generations ago.

Well said Bob in Va.!

to Rozlynn and Dove: if you hate the show so much stop watching it and stop blogging about it.

could the 'mouse ears' comment be related to the mickey mouse club? (was it around then?)

wow! i'm officially lost now!

how many boards are going on about the epi? i was in one and now i'm in this one, ??

mouse ears was the comment and i took that to be "mickey mouse club" too, like peggy is an innocent.

On Don's flashback:

I thought is was interesting that young Don is the one who reminded his step-mother that he was not her real son; when Don met Adam at the cafe in last week's episode, he said that it was his step-mother who never let him forget she wasn't his mother. Also, his step-mother, at least in this scene, didn't seem like an ogre who one would be glad died of stomach cancer (again referring to last week). His Uncle seemed rather grizzled, though . . . there just seems to be alot going on here, alot of conflict in Don's life in every level.

This ep was full of filler scenes of couples mumbling in bedrooms, talking about ... I forget. And turns out the mousey secretary is the sharpest creative on Mad. Ave. Compared to the other dolts, its not surprising.

Are these New York ad guys or Des moines insurance salesmen? Babylon never seemed more like Bakersfield.

The show is tanking. Lame story lines, cementheaded acting (by lead mostly) and some thrown-in "Look how anti-Semitic we were!" vulgarity. (The Jews are in the Village? wtf?)

Have any of the writers actually ever been to New York? Maybe if Don IS Batman, I might watch again.

Don didn't fit in at the club but he appears to be very comfortable not fitting in.

Go Bob in Va. Why do people hate a show and then spend all their time writing about it? People emulate behavior they see on television? Oh right, and it was Judas Priest's fault that the kid committed suicide too.

Finally, how anyone can watch this and think the bad behavior that is shown is being condoned by the writers I don't know . . it's pretty clear they are terribly flawed and their behavior is childish and sometimes abominable and the writers are holding a mirror up to that.

GO watch touched by an angel reruns if you don't like it.

Um, this is a show depicting the 60s lifestyle, and if anything, all it really shows is how long we've come since then. I don't know why some of you act as if the writers are doing this to intentionally hurt people. I'm 16 and understand this--grow up, guys.

The show is so cleverly written with so many layers underneath; there's just so much unraveling to be done. I honestly can't wait, and I'm glad we're finally building on the Rachel/Don relationship. I kind of hope she doesn't give in, though. She's far too respectable to just be a...mistress. But, I still can't wait to see how this turns out. (And I get the slightest inkling that Rachel knows that Don's Jewish. Not sure how, but when her sister asked and she had that pause, I could've sworn she was considering it. Maybe it's just me, but I don't know....)

Someone earlier mentioned the whole id/ego/superego thing, and I just thought that was spot-on and really clever to point out.

As for Joan and Roger--loved it. Every aspect of that relationship is unexplainably fantastic.

Was wondering - the "cover girl" featured on the Israel mag - is that Claudia Cardinale? It sure looks like her, I mean, she's pretty stunningly unique!

[CC is Italian, born in Tunis, Tunisia, according to the IMDB.]

Anybody know?

Claudia is Italian, her father was an Italian railroad worker in Tunis, and her mother French. She grew up in Tunis, but spoke French and spoke Italian with a french accent. She won a beauty contest with the Tunisa Embassy and went on to become an actress after visiting Italy which was the prize from the contest. She is not Jewish, and I do not believe that is her picture, although the woman looks a great deal like her. Boy, she was a beauty in her day and is still acting in various foreign and American films. Those Italian actresses from the 60's had it going on, you have to admit. They ate pasta and truly glowed!

Whoever's checking dates for the show slips up sometimes. Episode 6-Joan says "the medium is the message." That phrase did not exist in 1960...it was coined by Marshall McLuhan in 1964.

McLuhan's phrase was originally in a report he wrote re broadcasting for the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare in June 1960. Unlikely Joan would have read it but still possible. The title is "Report on Project in Understanding New Media" published in New York for the National Association of Education Broadcasters. See http://www.eciad.ca/~rburnett/a+d.html for more.

I was thinking of the metaphor of Babylon, Israel and Exodus for Don. The lyrics for the song at the end of the episode are from Psalm 137:1. I've only heard that melody sung on Tisha B'Av, the date on the Jewish calendar which commemorates the destruction of the first and second temples. After the destruction of the first temple, the Jews were exiled to Babylonia, where they longed for Zion, Israel. With Exodus, the Jews returned to Israel. Don exiled himself from his family. Maybe Rachel is bringing him back in some way. He's scared of the prospect, but desirous of it as well.

On another board someone suggested that maybe Don's mother was Jewish. Even if he wasn't brought up Jewish by his step-mother, he would be considered a Jew. Maybe he knows nothing about it and is curious, which adds to his interest in Rachel.

Thanks to those who pointed out my comments were not removed, just in another location.

Joan's comment about hospitals was very interesting and agree with others that she probably had a child at some point. The music at the end of the show was fabulous.

The Roger and Joan storyline was so predictable, I was hoping Sal was going to walk out of the hotel bathroom (at the beginning of the show). That would have shaken things up!

Did anyone notice Don's hair as a little boy from the flashback scene? The poor kid looked like Moe from the 3 Stooges. No wonder he wants to forget the past. Maybe he was a Mennonite or something ? :)

love the show. and the level of detail. i worked in advertising in the 1960s and watching Mad Men is eerie. However, one small point of detail: rivers of babylon was not written until 1963. but i loved that end sequence over that song. very slick.

Auburn Annie, thanks for pointing out that report re "the medium is the message." Still, it is doubtful, as you point out, that Joan would know of it in 1960, when it hadn't really seeped into popular culture.

I knew this episode spelled "oh no" from the opening; First, he didn't measure the water into the frozen orange juice concenrate in the pitcher(he just sort of guessed), and then he picked up the Mother's Day tray with one hand.

There was foreshadowing there: the Israeli tourist campaign mentions oranges; later on, the lipstick account exec is having his "breakfast" of a screwdriver. Don is thrown by all three.

The Roger and Joan Affair /was/ anticipated, but even I gasped when the camera cut to Joan in bathroom - the reveal was just that well done.

I also agree that there was some foreshadowing with Joan's "hospital" comment, but unlike several people I don't think it has anything to do with a previous pregnancy. I can't imagine she would still be so cavalier about her sex life if something emotionally-consequential like that had happened (plus, it would be terribly trite for the "office slut"!). I have a feeling a close relative died, since Joan seems unable to form any close relationships that don't involve jockeying for power.

The Roger and Joan Affair /was/ anticipated, but even I gasped when the camera cut to Joan in bathroom - the reveal was just that well done.

I also agree that there was some foreshadowing with Joan's "hospital" comment, but unlike several people I don't think it has anything to do with a previous pregnancy. I can't imagine she would still be so cavalier about her sex life if something emotionally-consequential like that had happened (plus, it would be terribly trite for the "office slut"!). I have a feeling a close relative died, since Joan seems unable to form any close relationships that don't involve jockeying for power.

I am addicted to this show! I was 11 in 1960, and this is like "deja vu all over again."

My wife and I marvel at how this TV time machine takes us back to remind us what our parents were like, and also friends and family we knew who had more money that lived like these folks.

Everyone smoked and drank all the time. It was what you did! Hard to believe now!

There's certainly something to be said in reflecting on how things were 47 years ago, and how they have changed -- improved-- and also in thinking about some of the areas where things have not changed so much!

Don Draper is one of the most interesting tortured souls on TV today. I am not sure if I can take the pending "train wreck" waiting around the corner for him, but you can bet I will be watching when it happens!

Keep the great writing coming, AMC. You've got a winner on your hands here!

I LOVE THIS SHOW! I graduated from high school in 1960 and worked in offices in Oklahoma City that were just as stilted and sexist as portrayed in this show. Thank God we have come a long way from the repressed 60s! Young people probably have a hard time relating to the culture of that time, but looking at this show brings very nostalgic feelings of innocence, purity, hypocrisy, and double-standards in gender and race. It was a bitter-sweet time and I look back fondly at how our culture was before it was coarsened by the drug culture and media influences. Yes, there was a lot of hypocrisy, but we weren’t inundated with filthy language and violence everywhere we went. I’m glad that civil rights exist today, and I’m glad that women are treated more fairly. But I do miss the goodness and gentleness of that time. I think this show is produced wonderfully! The casting, writing, directing, and acting are top notch. I look forward to each episode and have no complaints. I think the period is depicted perfectly. And yes, smoke did fill the air in offices, homes, restaurants…literally, everywhere. Thank God we can breathe again!

Rachel is getting more comfortable with that idea...

It's interesting that when she discussed his bad points with her sister, she didn't mention him being married as one of them...

>The wives seem emotionally stunted or something whereas the other women are more wordly and sophisticated.

Some "wifeys" in any era seem to think they have the luxury of being able to turn off their interest in the wider world, as well as their survival skills. In short, they revert to childhood, which makes them no only hella-boring, but unprepared for reality when it catches up with them.

>By the way, Peggy has just slit her throat by getting attention for her brain and not her bod....CAPITAL OFFENSE. Notice the reaction of her boss.

Don isn't the one who's going to be gunning for her--Joan will. Peggy puts the lie to Joan's belief that playing sexy will get you what you want in business, and the latter is not going to stand for that. If/when Peggy becomes a copywriter, she better type up her own stuff and hand it in herself, for the secretaries are probably not going to do it.

I did not like this episode because it seemed to me to be the obligatory gratuitous "Jewish" episode that so many TV shows seem compelled to have to include. Fact of the matter is most times, most people don't think about Jewish people that much - most people don't talk about Jewish topics that much - for it to warrant an entire episode about. So, to model an entire episode about it is like forcing the issue and the outcome is just a little bit unnatural and stilted.

The show has already mentioned Jews - being Jewish - "Jewishness" - in several episodes, yet has conveniently mentioned/shown Blacks, Asians, Latinos, Arabs, Native Americans (basically anyone else except for Jews) at most once throughout the first 5 episodes. I am not saying that you need to incorporate all these groups into your show - that would probably be very forced and unnatural. But, at the very least, cool off on the working in of Jews into the storyline - you've already covered that territory enough.

It is funny how history is presented today in TV shows and movies. If growing up today, and the only things I knew from the 1960's were from watching TV shows and movies, I would think that the only things that happened (or mattered) in the 1960's were President Kennedy, Jim Morrison, and Martin Luther King. Hey, when I was a young adult in the 1960's, these things weren't that important to me.

First, I was more in support of Nixon in 1960 than I was of Kennedy (who I thought was just a snotty kid who came from life of privilege). Second, I didn't like the Doors much at all. In fact, I didn't know much about them except for their name until a few decades later when people would write books about them and make movies about them. Martin Luther King I respected a lot but I wasn't like weeping and crying when he died (though I do remember feeling quite bad about it).

But, this brings me back to the point I want to make - that is, in the 1960's I wasn't talking or thinking about Jews much either. So, I just don't "get" why in every TV show or movie that supposedly takes place in the 1960's they either have to work in one of these subplots:

1)blacks and segregation

2)Kennedy

3)San Francisco and hippies

4)Jews and the holocaust

I think people would appreciate it if TV shows and movies showed a more honest depiction of what everyday life was like in the 1960's.

The Israeli actress portrayed in the photograph is, I believe, Dahlia Lavi, a beautiful Israeli actress from that era. She had a role in the 60's version of "Casino Royale" with Peter Sellers and Woody Allen.

I could be wrong, but it really looks like her.

Love this show! When will we know the truth about Don/Dick's supposedly "Jewish" background? The suspense is killing me!

First, to all the women who've posted here who are enraged by the "sexism" of the show...please wake up. This show is part documentary and does an excellent job of portraying how things were back then. If you don't like the show, quit watching it and just shut up.

I was born in 1958 and my mother's goals (despite the fact that she attended Duke University to earn her PhD in Chemistry) were actually to marry my dad (a surgeon), have children, drive a 1956 Thunderbird, and live happily ever after. However, when my father died unexpectedly a few years after I was born (1961) she was thrust into the world this show portrays. Since she was well-educated and had lots of internal fight in her, she was able to "get through" lots of the garbage that existed at that time - but at a terrible cost.

This show does an excellent job on all fronts in weaving together the complexities of that time in history. And amazingly enough, if people (such as the women who are so enraged by this show) will open their eyes they will see that much of the issues that are alive in this show are still alive today, but in even more subtle ways. I worked in South Carolina back in the early '90's for a very well-respected architectural firm where the unspoken rules for working one's way up to associate consisted of 1) being a man, 2) belonging to either the Baptist or Presbyterian Church, 3) graduating from the "right" school of architecure, 4) having a stay-at-home wife and at least two children to form the perfect nuclear family, and 5) living in the "right" part of town. Women were expected to be submissive and not rock the boat. So you see, much of the sexism in this show still exists.

The "Babylon" episode was so far for me the crowning jewel of all the episodes. Don's issues with philandering have much to do with the torn relationship with his "mother" (he's still looking for real intimacy that he will never really find); Joan's steaming sexuality and her cut-throat methods of maintaining her position in the office are right on target and very mesmerizing. (These kinds of women STILL exist in the workplace, by the way.)

If any show from this era or depicting this era is degrading to women, it would have to be the old "I Love Lucy" series, which portrays two ditzy women who have absolutely zero going for them. I find this show to be a fascinating sociological and psychological study. Plus, the impeccable research that has gone into making the show authentic to the times is great.

Goood work!!

(PS - Was frozen orange juice in a tube available back then? This is one detail I am not certain about.)

As a former creative director in advertising, I'm continually stunned by the accuracy and wit of this show.

I have worked in most of the Madison Avenue agencies at one time or another, and got my first job there in exactly 1960. Every aspect of the era's many biases is spot-on.

On the subject of anti-Semitism, by the way, I remember the time when my friend and roommate, Trudy Cohen, was asked by the personnel director of her agency to "please" refer to herself as "Trudy Clark" in her dealings with clients.

As to sexism, my boss once asked me, in response to my request for a raise (having recently discovered that I was the lowest-paid person with my job title in an all-male department), "Jean, you're a single woman. If I gave you a raise, what would you do with it? Buy more clothes?"

Things are now far from perfect, but believe me, they've greatly improved.

Thank you so much for the wonderful show. I LOVE it.

I find this show mesmerizing on many levels. As a child of the 60s, I grow nostalgiac for *some* of what I see portrayed. The scene with the kids not buckled up and with the dry cleaning bag were just a hoot. I'm not saying that seatbelts aren't the right thing, they are, but it is the way in which we've gone over the edge to the uber cautious, litigious society we are today that makes these scenes pop.

The filming is exquisite, the costumes gorgeous, and the acting sublime. Am I taken aback by how women were treated? Yes, in a way that makes me grateful for our current state. I worked in an office where everyone was Mr., Mrs. or Miss - yes Miss. But it has to be viewed as a period piece.

As for the Babylon theme and the focus on anti-semitism, it is all about Don. I'm sure this foreshadows him either learning or remembering that he is Jewish.

Jerry Jathers, I agree with you that the Jewish theme has been overdone. When I hear the anti-Semitism in the dialogue, I feel like I'm watching a dog being kicked over and over again. The early episodes were set in April, 1960, we're now in May 1960, a short few weeks later, yet it seems that some of the characters only motivation to get up each day is their chance to throw out a perfectly timed anti-Semitic slur.

In this week's episode Don turned Betty down when she was trying to be intimate after he heard her say that the other girls on the school bus made fun of her b/c she kissed a Jewish boy. Don also remarked that he doesn't like the way Betty's dad looks at him. Hmmm, I wonder what that remark is foreshadowing? Somehow I have a feeling that this summer at Cape May is going to be enjoyable. I wonder how much of a bigot Betty's dad is? Could Don be thinking that Betty's dad gives him dirty looks b/c her dad thinks he looks Jewish, gee, ya think?? Now Roger is supposed to make a remark in this upcoming episode that bothers Don. I wonder if Roger is going to insult Rachel or make a general derogatory comment about Jews in general, somehow tied in with the Israeli Tourism campaign?

I'm not suggesting that anti-Semitism didn't exist, and certainly doors were closed, but I feel like I'm being beat over the head.

Another anachronism? I think the version of "Babylon" in this episode was written by Don McLean for the 1971 release of "American Pie".

Bit of background on the "Babylon" song because I can see some commentary above on it. There's the version by the Melodians on "The Harder They Come" from 1972 which is worth hearing. And, certainly, it is old, old, old. Here's a variant of it in the 1740 novel Pamela (Samuel Richardson)

>>Then Mr. Williams, pulling out his little pocket Common–Prayer-Book, read the first two stanzas:

I.

When we did sit in Babylon,

The rivers round about;

Then in remembrance of Sion,

The tears for grief burst out.

II.

We hang’d our harps and instruments

The willow trees upon:

For in that place, men, for that use,

Had planted many a one.

My master then read:

I.

When sad I sat in B——n-hall,

All guarded round about,

And thought of ev’ry absent friend,

The tears for grief burst out.

II.

My joys and hopes all overthrown,

My heart-strings almost broke,

Unfit my mind for melody,

Much more to bear a joke.

The ladies said, It was very pretty; and Miss Darnford, That somebody else had more need to be concerned than the versifier.

I knew, said my master, I should get no credit by shewing this. But let us read on, Mr. Williams. So Mr. Williams read:

III.

Then they, to whom we pris’ners were,

Said to us, tauntingly,

Now let us hear your Hebrew songs,

And pleasant melody.

Now this, said my master, is very near; and read:

III.

Then she, to whom I prisoner was,

Said to me tauntingly,

Now cheer your heart, and sing a song,

And tune your mind to joy.

Mighty sweet, said Mr. Williams. But let us see how the next verse is turned. It is this:

IV.

Alas! said we; who can once frame

His heavy heart to sing

The praises of our living God,

Thus under a strange king?

Why, said my master, it is turned with beautiful simplicity, thus:

IV.

Alas! said I, how can I frame

My heavy heart to sing,

Or tune my mind, while thus enthrall’d

By such a wicked thing?

The source version that Mr Williams is reading is Psalm 137:

>>By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept

when we remembered Zion.

>>There on the poplars

we hung our harps,

>>for there our captors asked us for songs,

our tormentors demanded songs of joy;

they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

>>How can we sing the songs of the Lord

while in a foreign land?

And what propelled the use of the song in that Mad Men scene home was that sudden quiet of mandolin and auto-harp and even all that 'folkie' trapping which cut straight to an emotional core that the rest of the evening (the guy reading the marriage notices, the canned 'beat' philosophy of the rival for Midge, the girl with her Fidel Castro poem) was missing by a mile.

BTW - Bob Dylan will arrive in NYC in January, 1961.

Cleo:

I agree with you that the Jewish theme has been overdone. When I hear the anti-Semitism in the dialogue, I feel like I'm watching a dog being kicked over and over again.

Say what you will about the anti-semitism, but you have to to admit this series is the most amibitious thing I've seen on tv maybe forever. Sure, the writers are pandering to those of us of a certain age with sly and not so sly pop culture phenomenon - Exodus, Newhart.. records..and oh lord, beat night clubs,and their whole sensibility is those fat executive suite romances of the fifties that their mothers probably read. Some of the scenes look like they come from a 50s pulp novel. And I love that Joan evokes Eve Arden to the T. Can you imagine Eve Arden in a hotel tryst with, say, Dan Duryea. ha ha. Its sort of like that retro 50s movie of a few years back, "Far from Heaven" with Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid. I bet the writers soaked that one up whole. But the overall attention to class and white collar work issues in mid-century America is so dang fresh that you can't help but applaud whatever it is they are doing. And, as I mentioned before, the women are a whole lot more interesting that the men. BTW, how is this thing rating? Hitsville or cult pleasure? Anyone know? Basket of Kisses sounds like an indie rock group. Just random thoughts.

The show is smart, smoldering and catches the viewer in the gut. I have never seen TV like this week after week. Babylon has been my favorite episode so far.

Brilliant directing, editing, camera work. The last shot of Midge with the consolation canary and Roger in his starched shirt post-sex, standing like strangers on the street in front of the hotel, took my breath away. The joy of creativity is alive in this series.

For those who object to the antisemitism, mysogeny, and male superiority as being uncomfortable, well get a grip...the writers are staying true to history. The only thing worse in the sixites was the bias against Gays, African Americans and Mexicans. The show foreshadows the dark and violent times that were getting ready to explode in the streets and lead to social change.

I was a teen in the mid-sixties and a young working woman at a TV station in the early 70s. Pigs were everywhere (I don't mean the police). Sexual harrassment was a spectator sport.

Many, many thanks to the shows producers for the commitment to authenticity and artistic excellence.

LOVE this show! I was so depressed after The Sopranos ended... Mad Men is so brilliantly written, the costumes and sets wonderful, characters fascinating, every little detail perfect. Also great I don't have to worry about when my 6-year old walks in the room like I did with The Sopranos. Don definitely has a Jewish background, why else would be be so obsessed with all things Jewish and why he teared up during the song at the end? He's afraid he will be found out and his new life destroyed, thus why he paid off Adam. Love Joan! Love that she has a "healthy" figure, not one of these stick-types around today. I was waiting for her to let the bird out at the end of the eposide, maybe she will do that later, that would have been great symbolism. Can't wait for next week!

The show will forbid Rachel to cross the line. As much as Don and Rachel are attracted to each other, it will not happen for Rachel is Don's half sister. She's the youngest of all her siblings and her mother died giving birth to her. They look alike. He loves her Jewishness because she reminds him of his mom. And, that's that. Now where's my prize?

I would have loved it if Joan would have left that caged bird on the street after she got her cab, and let Sterling see her do it!

In the flashback, I thought it was important that the new baby was named Adam, whom the step mother notes was "the first man." I think that was a dig at Dick, who apparently doesn't rate.

I also find the misogyny and anti-semitism to be heavy-handed; but I think they're trying to show how overt racism and sexism was back then. We're not used to it being so overt, so we're SUPPOSED to find it uncomfortable.

It seems very likely that Don is in fact Jewish, so don't expect the Jewish themes to let up any. It is at the core of the show! If Don were some WASPy guy, then we wouldn't have the opportunity to talk about racism, or the lengths people will go to hide their true identity to succeed. And what that must be costing Don.

I guess I want Don, as our hero, to be less racist and sexist than everyone else, but so far he's as bad as the rest. His anti-semitism might be him protesting too much, but the sexism must be who he is, which is a little disappointing. Maybe he can have his consciousness raised along with some of the poor women on the show who don't think they're worth anything.

Since no one's pointed it out yet; Joan (Christina Hendricks) teasing the guys hiding behind the one-way glass, displaying her, uhm, tremendous 'assets', almost set my television set ON FIRE. With all of the thoughtful and engaging comments on this blog notwitthstanding, I just had to point out that that little bit of playful flirtation was about the hottest piece of television that I think i've ever seen in 45 years of staring into the tube. Although i'm glad we've progressed as a society beyond accepting inappropriate sexism in the office, we also lost too much of our innocence in the bargain.....it's a shame that the pendulum never stops in the middle for very long.....we all lose in the end. My apologies to anyone that may be offended by that, but i'm your basic middle-aged guy whose old enough to remember when big, full-figured Rubenesque women roamed the landscape and carried the day (before Madison Ave. flipped the time-honored classic into heroin-chic). All I can say is: God bless the young Christina Hendricks; she made an AMC viewer out of me.....(and she can act too!)

James Davidson-

Laguna Beach, Calif.

P.S.-Succinctly excellent comments by Bob in Va. (8-24-07 @ 409pm) and Megan (8-25-07 @ 1228)

Geez, why should that poor bird suffer because Roger was so thoughtless?

Whoa. I hadn't thought of the earlier person's comment that Don and Rachel could be related. But wait, no. In the last episode, Adam said their mother died of cancer, not in childbirth. So, it won't be icky if they do hook up. But she's done a great job being restrained and NOT giving in, so I hope she continues to push him away. He'll just break her heart. The funny Unbound Edition recap of the episode is here:

http://www.unboundedition.com/content/view/2165/50/

Diane:

The last shot of Midge with the consolation canary and Roger in his starched shirt post-sex, standing like strangers on the street in front of the hotel, took my breath away. The joy of creativity is alive in this series.

Totally agree, that scene had the sad urban desolation of a Hopper painting. Pretty nifty for tv in any era.

By far the best episode, but while everyone else in this blog is cackling off about affairs and who ought to hook up with who, no one has spoken about the beautiful soundtrack that was playing in the background as the camera panned around Peggy in the lipstick scene. One minute the camera shows a shy gal, next she slowly seduces the camera, and the scene ends up with her glowing in confidence. Outstanding direction & sound editing!!!!

If the show takes place in 1960 why did Joan say to to peggy that (The Medium is the Message)this is a quote from Marshall McLuhan made in his 1964 paper Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man.

Loved the scene where Rachel is talking to her sister - she obviously is very attracted to Don (who wouldn;t be) and she is fighting her desires. Maybe she was hurt before - she recoiled when he told her he was married. Like Rachel - she's got class and brains (unlike the stuck up "I am so beautiful" Betty

I LOVE THIS SHOW! I graduated from high school in 1960 and worked in offices in Oklahoma City that were just as stilted and sexist as portrayed in this show. Thank God we have come a long way from the repressed 60s! Young people probably have a hard time relating to the culture of that time, but looking at this show brings very nostalgic feelings of innocence, purity, hypocrisy, and double-standards in gender and race. It was a bitter-sweet time and I look back fondly at how our culture was before it was coarsened by the drug culture and media influences. Yes, there was a lot of hypocrisy, but we weren’t inundated with filthy language and violence everywhere we went. I’m glad that civil rights exist today, and I’m glad that women are treated more fairly. But I do miss the goodness and gentleness of that time. I think this show is produced wonderfully! The casting, writing, directing, and acting are top notch. I look forward to each episode and have no complaints. I think the period is depicted perfectly. And yes, smoke did fill the air in offices, homes, restaurants…literally, everywhere. Thank God we can breathe again!

Note: This was attributed to Mad man fan in Edmonds August 26, 2007 at 03:09 AM. That is incorrect. I SuzanneSB in Oklahoma City, OK.

Great Hopper comparison earlier. Delightful.

I think some of the glowing television reviews (NYTimes & others) that came out prior to the first episode may be having a little backlash, now that the show is fleshing out. What I mean is that the early reviews harped greatly on the show's sense of style and gloss, indicating the show had a rat-pack, no-consequences sensibility. The critics seemed to praise the show as great eye-candy, but didn't foresee some of the depth and great writing. I could be wrong, but this is what I seem to remember.

Now some of the posts indicate that the storylines and characters lack responsibility and show negative stereotyp