.....Hmmm, no, I don't think she's carrying a torch for Roger...........I think that back in those days men had fun with women like that, but didn't marry them. I clearly remember my grandma saying that to me, if you were too "coquetish" or "flirty", the read nail polish, the tight clothes, all that gave the impression of being "easy", therefore not marrying material. Also, if you were past 30 you might have been considered to have "mileage" or a desperate old maid.
Now, ladies, you all know what i'm talking about!

Joan has a lot going for her, looks; managerial talent; a great office position; and some smarts.

Whatever her psychological makeup is, we've not really had much of a revelation there. And, like many women, she doesn't seem to know exactly what she wants at this point. So, she's serving as Roger's 'day bed' and weekend Castro Convertible.

I don't like to diss Joan, but I think she 'slept her way to the top' at Sterling Cooper, via Roger.

By the way, the name 'Roger' is a good choice here. It's a slang term for 'making the beast with two backs', which is also a slang term for 'humping', which is also a slang term 'for --cking'.

Ooops, my apologies for the Thesaurus of sexual slang terms. As a writer, I sometimes get carried away.

Remember Joan describing "the life" on Madison Avenue to Peggy on her first day?

I think Joan probably started out as a young woman there, and was pretty seduced by the "glamour", men, pace. You could tell by her description of "the life", that she wanted to be a part of it along with one of those kind of Mad Ave men.

The years went by pretty fast, Joan was still having a lot of fun, and before she knew it, she was 30+ and known for having "round heels" around the office.

As the ob/gyn doctor told Peggy "you don't want to be the town pump". As the years have gone by in that office, I think Joan's reputation now precedes her. She's kind of sunk in that office. She didn't snag Roger, so..... she missed the boat with Roger. He said he was on the verge of divorce, until he met her. If she'd kept her clothes on, she might have had him. Now, she may be trying to work it backward, withholding in the hopes that Roger wants her bad enough, but obviously he doesn't. Roger will just replace Joan with a new model, and avoid the costliness of a divorce.

Joan has a good job and security which would be difficult to walk away from. But she's not marriage material to any of the existing men in the office, and they'll fill a new guy in on the details of Joan. Men gossip, too, among themselves.

I think Joan does love Roger a great deal. Joan needs to find new hunting grounds, change her eligible men criteria, and "dating" style and get going!

I am thrilled that Joan is now paired with Don because of all the great plot possibilities. She's always had the hots for him and he's pretty much ignored him. Will she be throwing herself at him? Will he keep turning her down? Probably yes and yes, but meanwhile Roger will be jealous, Betty will be jealous, and fur will fly.

The other thing I like is that we will have a chance to see that Joan is actually very good at her job. I don't doubt she's slept her way to the top, but I think there are probably some skills to go along with that package.

BTW, as I've watched Season One with commentary, I am not impressed with Christina Hendricks as a person. While she is fabulous in this role, she's not very interesting.

I was watching "Red in the Face" that has commentary by Jon Hamm, John Slattery and Vincent Kartheiser (sp?) and it's HILARIOUS. Did you know that the woman who plays Mona is John Slattery's wife in real life?

I was just watching a little of Season Two first episode. Joan was peaved (how's that for a 60's word?) with what's his name who was having the party. She said, "when I was with him". I don't think I had seen them in the same league before. Her reaction seemed to say she was hurt. That also seemed out of character to the way Joan had been protrayed so far. And about the names wryter1, you are so right. I have noticed the play on words on a few characters, and probably missed a lot of others. Dick and Don, for example. Will we be meeting a Randy soon?

Hi NancyStowOH. Did you know that the actress you mentioned who plays Mona, and is married to John Slattery, is Talia Balsam? She is the daughter of Martin Balsam and, she was married to George Clooney....

I saw the You Tube on Joan (Christina) being interviewed and I will have to say I agree with you. I try not to watch the characters I really like being interviewed on TV. It really does ruin it for you when they don't meet your expectations. You end up feeling different about them when you see the show.

I hate to say it, at least this was my experience in drama school - the majority of actors I knew weren't very interesting. (Please don't kill me all you actors out there - just basing this generalization on my own experiences)

The ones I knew were like a blank slate and chameleons. Their "personalities" came alive in the role. Easy to see why the public can confuse actors with their characters as being the "real" person.