Hi Greg,
I was born in 1960. I don't remember that line. You must have a good attention to detail. If I had to guess though I would think it means that he "makes things happen" or does things in a big way. Well I'm sure you will get some more feed back on this topic. (Yeah isn't it a great show)

I was born in 1950 and I consider referring to someone as a "douchebag" to be quite as appalling as sloppy jeans and nasty flipflops.

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Way to go Zerelda! I was born in 1937 and the only place anyone would see a "douchebag" was hanging on the back of the bathroom door! It is obnoxious IMHO.

I'm not familiar with the blowing up bridges expression - never heard it before MM, but I tend to agree with Chelsea about the meaning.

I think Don meant that they needed to go a different route with American Airlines than with Mohawk. So, the methaphor - if you blow up a bridge, you have to take a new and different route to get where you are going. If you blow up a bridge after you crossed it (like Mohawk Airlines) it prevents you from going back to familiar ground. Your generation knows it as "burning bridges". Less dramatic, but all the same in the end. Cheers! ;o)

.....Well, it was a revolutionary time, and they were breaking moulds of all kinds, weren't they? Marketing to a new and totally different generation.....It's kind of what advertisers do, anyway, isn't it?

It seems like hiring Smitty and Kurt was just one of the ways Sterling Cooper is and will be addressing the social changes of the early 60s.

Just a thought...and I agree with zerelda and rozsie. If there is one thing I love about Mad Men, it's the portrayalf of a time in which ladies and gentlemen were expected to act like, well, ladies and gentlemen. Children mostly knew their place, etc., etc., etc.

Must be quite the shock for Generations X, Y and O-positive or whatever!

.....I didn't mean you, Greg!!

{:o

I was born in 1951 and I agree with z and rozsie and Dry...I hate that expression "douchebag"--- can't help it, it has to do with being raised by parents who wanted us to be "young ladies and gentlemen" (another generational thing), but, I personally, am glad I was raised when I was. I have been called "stuffy" by some Gen X'ers before in my time, but I just took it to mean they meant I had standards. lol

The thing I think you're asking about the bridges, I think Don just means what "our generation" (The Boomers) used to call "burning your bridges behind you"...just my opinion.

I was born in 1953, and I've never heard that expression, either. Of course, Don (Dick) was born in the late 20's, right, which would have made him my parents' age. I've never heard my them or people of their generation use that expression, either. I think it may be meant to be one of Don's sly references to something in his past, maybe his military experience, or something else he did. Like when he mentioned to Roger that hitting Jimmy Barrett was an "Archibald Whitman" move.

I also meant to add that in learning to be "ladies and gentlemen", previous generations GREW UP! You didn't walk around in baggy shorts and a backwards hat when you were 35 and the father of three. You looked like grown ups, you acted like grown ups, you spoke like grown ups. Of course, that didn't mean that many grown ups didn't engage in outrageous behavior, a la Don and Roger; in fact, outrageous behavior is that even that much better when dressed in grown up attire!

I've got to start proofing my stuff before is submit.

join the club, Mambo...most of my posts are correcting my typos...

.....Mambo Deb.....Your comment about Don Draper getting overly drunk with Roger Sterling, and haplessly referring to "Archibald Whitman" made me wonder if, in light of their recent "falling out" over Jane Siegel, that indiscretion won't come back to bite Don Draper.

Also? You forgot the most hilariously offensive....the whole "pants-around-the-knees, hey-it's-my butt-in-boxers" fashion statement, which has "gangsta" origins, if I'm not mistaken.

Love that one. The stupid criminals on hidden video shows occasionally have segments where the pants actually trip the criminals up, and they end up getting caught. Too funny.

When I see those idiots walking around in their droopy drawers I just want to grab the top of them and jerk them up so high they'll have a "wedgie" for a week. That's probably how long they go between baths, anyway.

I'm with Chelsea, "make things happen" even the movies of the 60's had bridges blowing up behind them. I was born in 55' and I never heard that expression either. As someone who has always been in sales, I would think it would be an idea that was "mind blowing, over the top," whatever blows the customer away and they go for it.

Yeah guys, the day of "he has a cute butt" are so over. The last time I heard that in a movie was "Sleepless in Seatle". Now all of them have baggy butts. Women don't even bother looking much anymore.

Yes, I've read that the droopy pants come from prison culture, because prisoners aren't allowed to wear belts. I've also read that since Obama's election, suits are coming back into vogue with young peple. We can only hope. (I proofed this time.)

Don's a generation older than the boomers (me included, I'm 57) so the blowing up bridges thing may be a holdover adapted from his service days? It was not uncommon to blow up the enemy's bridges to slow them down or interrupt their supply lines. Or he could mean it to make a spectacular noise/visual excitement. Or get so far out in front of the competition they can never catch up. Ya pays yer nickel and takes yer choice.

Dry, interesting that you would say that about Don and Roger's falling out and Don's Archibald comment coming to bite him. I think Roger has long suspected that Don is not who he says he is. Remember when Don and Roger and their wives were in a restaurant talking about their childhoods and Roger made a remark about Don dropping his g's and "goin swimmin in the swimmin hole"? I still think Don will leave SC; it may not be till the end of the series, but I think it will happen. And somehow Bert's obvious impending dementia will play into it somehow because remember when Pete told him (Bert) who Don really is, and he didn't care? He may start talking about it and spill the beans.

.....Mambo.....Good memory. I really need to get those DVDs.....

What I found interesting there was DD's success at so closely calculating Bert Cooper's lack of shock over his false identify. How many other people could have pulled out of a nose-dive like that?

And I'll bet you're right about Sterling Cooper. They laid the groundwork in scenes which included a fly-on-the-wall look at a private business luncheon between Bert and Alice Cooper, to the lifelong history and familial interaction between Roger and Alice, as well as Roger's very confident (and almost flip) stance with Bert in terms of his place in the company's future.

I had the same thoughts as you just now that there could be a power struggle between Don, the creative heart of the business, and Roger, the power center in Bert's mental absence. It seems natural to extrapolate that, from that, as a mere 12.5 percent shareholder in Sterling Cooper, Don Draper could end up leaving, whether to another agency or on his own.

Also remember that Pete has finally divulged, for the first time, to Peggy, that Don Draper has some big secrets. With his predilection for all things weaselly, it seems like it's just a matter of time before Pete throws someone under the bus again, in an attempt to get ahead.

Your comment also brings me back to Duck's last scenes at Sterling Cooper. What is his future after his humiliation in the meeting with Putnam, Powell and Lowe? How will his resentment toward Don Draper over that affect the shifting politics?

Then there’s Roger, who is marrying a woman half his age about to bilk him out of what little money he has left (although some argue the divorce laws were nothing like today). Who knows what desperate things a man in that position will do.

Another element in there is that, according to the discussion he had with Bert Cooper, Don Draper will be becoming more high-profile in the upper crust social strata by way of his charity involvement.

Bert’s failing mental capacities, and everything else put together kind of seems to set the stage for a crisis of some kind for Don Draper, but who knows. He is the original "Phoenix," after all.

The Jet Set was a beautiful episode, and Don Draper's experiences in California are a fascinating look at what makes him tick. As much as I want the Draper marriage to go forward, it would be a big treat to see Don Draper spend some time in California again, be it flashbacks or an actual move.

Thanks, Dry M. and Mambo Deb. It is great to be reading a a discussion about Mad Men characters again. Seems like years instead of months since we have had anything new to chew over.

I, too, have wondered just when Don's secret will be spilled and who will do the spilling. While one would naturally suspect Pete, my money is on Bert C. I think he will tell his sister, and she, in turn, will tell either Mona or Roger. Probably Mona who will tell Roger to get even with Don for supposedly telling Roger it was okay to dump Mona. Convoluted but reasonable, I think.

I have also been thinking about Mona lately and wondering some what ifs. Suppose Mona, while at a spa in Reno waiting for her divorce to become final, decides it is time to live a little. Her child is grown, she has money, why not decide to kick up her heels? She comes back looking like a million bucks, and who does she run into? Don Draper, who has been known to take notice of a good looking brunette, right? They have a torrid affair, during which Roger and Don have a falling out. Mona, having received some Sterling Cooper shares in her divorce settlement, decides to sell them to Don, partly in gratitude for giving her some of the famous Don Draper treatment, but mostly to stick it to Roger. Don might wind up with enough shares to be equal partners with Roger and Bert. Or not. I think a hot romance between Mona and Don would be interesting, though. I like the Mona character and the actress who plays her. I wish we saw more of her.

Yeah, guys...love all this juicy speculation!

I think it might come out somehow that the young boy (a son of M. Weiner, like "Glenn") who was finishing his piano lesson (playing "The Mountain King") at Anna's house as Don arrived might turn out to be Dick/Don's son...I don't know the particulars, I'll leave that to M. Weiner & Co. to work out. How many years were supposed to have passed since she found him at the used car place and he was in Cali in "The Mountain King"? Would that be about that kid's age?

It's hard to believe that Anna wouldn't have succumbed to some of that early Don Draper Treatment after finding out that the "new improved" Don Draper was right there for the having, she could use her widow's grief as an excuse for falling victim to his considerable (to put it mildly) charms.
That could be some of the reason for Dick/Don's financial aid to her over the years as well (i.e. her new porch, she mentioned)

It's so easy to get carried away when we are so rabid with anticipation for season 3, isn't it??

Then around that time there was a movie called the Bridges of Toko Ri or something like that. It had William Holden and David Niven. Also previous to that was For Whom the Bell Tolls with Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman where guess what they blow up bridges to fight the enemy. So perhaps Don Draper is referring to something like that. Honestly I didn't even notice the "douchebag" verbage and I don't think Greg meant any harm or foul by it. I just was interested in his question.

When I first read your question, Greg, my first thought was the phrase blowing up bridges is about the social revolution of the sixties to come.

But then I started to think about The Fountainhead, and Bert Cooper's favorite author, Ayn Rand, and all the direct and sly references to Ayn Rand in MadMen. Didn't Howard Roark blow up his own creations rather than have anyone else tamper with them? Doesn't Don Draper embody many of the qualities (though not all) of a Howard Roark? So, of course, he'll "blow up" some of his former creations and start over again, is my thinking. Just a thought (or a stretch)......

.....zerelda.....Your imaginative creativity always gets a smile.....

I hadn't yet processed Mona and her various agenda, but your points are all valid. Your comment made me THEN think of Peggy.....

Thus far, she has proven herself to be a true-blue, loyal friend to Don Draper. However, as she rises in the ranks, not only does the pressure increase, but there is more and more at stake. Plus she's a woman, which can sometimes be a big handicap to overcome (we'll see).

We know how Matt Weiner loves to flip-flop in his characters. What if Peggy ends up being the Judas? Matt loves to shock, and that would do it for me.

Then there's Bobbie Barrett. She knows a lot about Don Draper, and that wasn't a happy parting. Wondering if we will see Melinda MacGraw again....

All I can tell you from this conversation is that a lot of people are unhappy with Don Draper right now.

He's probably better off moving to California!

.....With all this banter about the nature of the phrase, I got curious and found this similar argument on Wordreference.com.

"Ready to blow up the proverbial bridge...."

"Je crois que l'auteur fait allusion à une bataille où il avait hâte de faire éclater un pont (ça me fait penser au livre "Bridge on the River Kwai")."

(Above quote is from DM's supplied link).

Just watch "Bridge on the River Kwai." I think the last line spoken in that film..."madness..." gives a clue. In fact I think that 1957 film was probably a favorite of DD's.

Thanks for a thought-provoking, relevant topic, Greg.

Fascinating, Dry M.! Thank you for the link. "No bolthole" - I have always loved that word. Thank you, too, Greg, for providing us with this topic.

I was wondering if the above helped answer Greg's question? So share Greg. (because you provided a great thought provoking question)

If I put Don's comment within a business context, I believe it means that he wants his creative staff to ditch their old way of thinking.

Mohawk Airlines, the former SC client, was a small, regional airline, serving destinations like Buffalo, Albany, Hartford, Augusta, etc. They probably flew old Douglas prop and turbo prop aircraft. I am sure SC's ad campaign for Mohawk focused on convenience and service to these small markets.

American Airlines, as we all know, is one of the major international airlines serving NY, London, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Tokyo, etc. They flew the 707, the DC 8 and the Lockheed Constellation. AA's international reach, modern aircraft and size are none of the traits shared by Mohawk.

Don is telling his people to blow up the bridge that connects SC with Mohawk and move on. They need to think "bigger", "grander"; in other words, focus on the romance of jet travel.

I have one other interpretation. I, too, thought of the "Bridge on the River Kwai" when he spoke those words (we know Don is a film buff). His comment may have been a subtle dig at Duck and Roger for pursuing AA as client. At the end of this movie after the bridge is blown, the last words spoken are "Madness, Madness". Don felt that the abandoning of Mohawk, a good client that always pays its bills on time, was foolish. SC was not big enough to land a big fish like AA and Don knew it.

Very well put, Polar Bear. Your reasoning brings very clearly to mind Don's anger at the ditching of the Mohawk account. His emotions when Duck informed them the AA account was not to be theirs, much have truly been an interesting mixture.

Yes, Polar and z...I felt so sorry for Don and the SC crew when all their hard work in preparing the elaborate "pitch" for AA ended with them all having to play midwife----and "deliver a stillborn baby".

I'm sure it took considerable willpower for Don et al to refrain from murdering Duck on the spot.

Chelsea: I just found it notable that a show so meticulous would have a character repeat a line in two different seasons, so I had wondered if it was on purpose. So I figured I'd ask and see what anyone thought. Pretty interesting.

We Baby Boomers were only in our early teens at that time, 1960, 13 or 14 years old. The only bridges I remember being blown up at that time were the ones in war movies - "Bridge over the River Kwai" and another movie about a bridge in Germany. Kwai had great theme music and I remember about a hundred kids leaving the movie theater whistling that tune.

In both movies, the bridges were blown up to prevent the enemy's advancement. So, I suppose that Don might be referring to knocking their opposing advertisers' socks off. Can't think of anything else.

The d-bag term is highly offensive.

I agree with chopin 47, Great catch! The phrase of ” blowing up bridges” is not a coincidence. Beside the movie “Bridge Over River Kwai” there was also “Bridge at Toko-Ri” about the Korean War that was made in 1954. There were also a number of other war films made in the late 50’s and early 60’s that involved blowing up bridges.
Greg, Please don't use the d word, It is one of those words implies ignorance and from your post I can see you definitely an intelligent person.

This is my first post: I think Don is conflicted about moving forward and breaking the advertising mold with some risk-taking, and in being traditional and 'safe' and looking good to his coworkers.
The time period of MM is an era of much underlying tension--social, sexual, business, family, political, racial. I'm a Boomer [born in 1950], and my parents were of that generation. I love the clothing styles the characters wear and I just love this show!