New season (finally) starts tomorrow. I dunno about you folks, but I think this show is genius. Subtle character dissections among the shifting sands of the oncoming cultural change make for a unique and rewarding TV experience.

If you haven't been, I recommend you start. The whole series is on Netflix instant.

I rewatched Seasons I to IV with my wife in the last couple of month. Certainly looking forward to the new season, But as usual I will wait for a few weeks to get a healthy supply of episodes.

Loved the season debut last night. Especially when they mentioned they were going to smoke some tea during Don's birthday party.

*mild-ish spoilers*

Dons new wife is my type of lady. Cleaning in the buff and sexy french pop songs. Not as frigid as Betty. Contrasts really well with the relationship Roger and Jane currently have ("Why don't you sing like that?" "Why don't you look like him?")

It seems like she takes the whole Dick Whitman thing really casually. Like she doesn't get that he doesn't like to be called that at all. Almost as if she doesn't seem to realize the severity of Don's secret, not just on from a practical legal sense, but heavy psychological weight Don uses to push his past out of his life.

BTW, I'm totally like Peggy's boyfriend. That obnoxious guy at parties who won't shut up about whatever current event is happening that week and has an opinion about EVERYTHING!

Excited to see how Joans relationship pans out with her mother. It continues Mad Men down it's cerebral rabbit hole of people coping with parenting issues and now we get to see Joans hang ups with her folks.

Also puberty hit that poor Sally girl hard with a whiskey voice and everything. Oh well, I'm glad they keep her.

Happy to back in the office with these guys

edit: I have no clue what was the purpose of the Layne plot line in this episode. Possible foreshadowing to something we don't know yet but I gathered a few things:
1. While others would come off as creepy, Layne comes off as polite?
2. Layne is going broke

How these two things play out in this season? We'll see.

The main thing I took out of it is that the walls are closing in on Roger; his wifey is tired of being with his old ass already, Joan is hanging around with the baby, he is mostly unfunctional as an ad rep (much less in an executive role) and most of all, Campbell is gunning for him/doesn't like him in a company running on a very tight budget.

There was a lot of reacquainting to do in this two hours; and the two hours was a long slog. They didn't need to do that, the party and it's fallout could have been a good stand-alone show, with everything else being it's own deal in the next week. Or do the reacquainting in the first show, then do the party the next week.

I did realize that after 18 months or whatever it's been, I like the show but I didn't really miss it a whole lot. It'll be mandatory viewing, but I kind of think it's going to be very difficult for them to match, much less beat seasons 3 (introducing Pryce and the hostile takeover) & 4 (Don at his most desperate/low state). They'll have to pull some rabbits out to make this season stack up with those last couple. Regardless, I'm pretty much committed (watched all four seasons already) and I do enjoy the world they paint here along with all the historical/social mores they portray in this.

I feel you on the 2-hour thing. It was a bit a long, but it didn't bother me since I've waited over a year for Mad Men to return. I figure they owe me some over time.

I powered through all 4 seasons on netflix last summer so sitting through a season will be different.
A little Don brilliance goes a long way for me so I hope we see some of that soon.
That "cleaning" scene was greatness. More of that please.

Man, Betty has let herself go! I like that new twist on her story line because it totally makes sense for her character.

Also, man, Don Draper is such a square.

Fucking brutal episode. They're going to make January Jones "pay" for her marquee billing for the rest of the series; likely limited appearances from here on out, but all of them wearing a fatsuit as Elizabeth Moss (Peggy) had to in a lot of the first season.

Fifth season here is reminding me a lot of the fifth Sopranos season. The one where Vito got caught sucking dick, Christopher's fight with addiction and the end of Adrianna. Now that the characters and threads are well established, they're resorting to "shock and awe" types of stories to register any impact. Not that I'm complaining about it, just that this season reminds me a lot of that particular season (one of my top three in that serial).

I do like new eccentric "kid genius" though. He'll be a good comic relief, especially as it seems they've put Price into the backdrop of characters in the office (compared to his prior seasons). And hardly any Cooper so far either.

I see what you're saying and its why I love television if done correctly. Only I didn't find too many things in this episode were all that "shocking" outside of Joan. On that note: way to go Joanie!

Spoilers! Dead ahead!

Adding the Ted Bundy scare as a back drop serves the title of Mad Men well. Dons killer dream (which didn't do a good job of hiding the fact that it was a dream, imo) and Sally's anxiety foreshadow the inevitable bubble bursting that is boiling in the United States. Even that moment where Peggy is working late and gets unnerved by something stirring in the office only to reveal Dawn hiding out. To me, it's a good subtextual revelation that fear is a contributing factor in the drive for the country to change.

Who's taking bets that Sally gets into heavy drug use later on?

You didn't think Don's dream was shocking? I mean, it's become established that he isn't a big fan of women in general, but that was a bit beyond the pale. For a guy who has every aspect of life seemingly buttoned down most of the time, it was a pretty significant loss of control. Even if it was only a dream.

Okay, I see where you're getting at. I guess since I figured it was a dream early on I dismissed it and wasn't all that phased. This, along with his bruising relationship with Bobbi Barrett in season 2, are cool insights into the more violent tendencies of Dons misogyny.

Cool episode. Lot of peripheral characters got the spotlight. I'm glad someone finally beat the fuck out of Pete, but I never thought that it would go down like that. Also, I'm glad they kept Ken Cosgrove after they made their own shop. I always wanted to know how that whole writing thing would play out.

Man, I do love me some Layne Price. That was a good episode for him, as he really has been pushed into more of the periphery.

That sucked about Cosgrove, but I took the ending scene with him being that he was going to continue writing under a different pen name.

Weird seeing Don not giving into temptation. I guess we'll see how long that lasts. This episode was all about hammering Pete though.

Love this show. The recent episode was easily amongst the best of this show, the fight was epic.

"You greasy little pimp!" Had me in stitches for a while.

What I liked most about it was that it was just the main guys being the main guys, none of that Betty crap or anything even remotely relating to the main story arc.

I am however, feeling sorry for Pete. I started hating him as soon as he was introduced and since then. Now all of thats being washed away in light of his, apparent, depression. Hopefully we'll see a side of Pete that we haven't yet seen. Exciting.

Oh and yes, Layne is really starting to become one of my favourites. Actually the entire "main office guy team" are amazing. Sterling especially.

Yeah thinking about it now, that was a pretty good ep. Mad Men can be good and slow but when it acts like a normal TV show I sadly like it more. But again there has been no Don boardroom brilliance this year which is cool that the show doesn't have to keep hammering that but I do like those moments were he wow's everyone.

The gum line had me laughing audibly.

Don's the man because he knew what was going on and pulled the curtain before the fight.
Rodger's lesson with Layne was cool too. Rodger's the best character on the show, for me. I am not surprised that Layne would be tough after that scene with his dad last year. Cosgrove's story about the robot was nice too.

Anyone think Pete kind of looked like Don in the brothel and on the ride back? Stubble, stylish suit, etc.

I feel you. Pete, over the years, has grown on me. But he's been over due for an ass kicking. But I love the patient way they've developed him.

The Pete arc has been one of the richest in the series. Him, Roger and Don. Outside of Don, I'm probably most interested in seeing where Pete ends up at the end of the show. It's kind of funny because he is basically at the very same spot Don was when the series began; so of course Don tells Pete he is pissing away a perfect life. The same life Don flushed down the toilet to live in a penthouse with a 21 year old floozy. The lense that this show views humanity thru is something else.

Roger Sterlings Electric Kool-Aid experiment = Best episode ever.

I wouldn't rate it that high. The prior week, where they piled on Pete was the pinnacle for me so far.

Cooper calling Don on the carpet was a nice touch though. "This IS my business".

"How's the city?"

"Dirty."

Sally's evolution continues.

haha, now THAT was the best episode of this season!

^^ Yeah, I feel ya. When they ended on the dinner table, I thought "What a nice image to end on..." And they kept going for that perfect spike at the end. God, she's just like her fucking mother.

Honestly, this whole season is killing it. I'm not sure how all of this is going to turn out. I'm willing to bet the next time we see Betty Draper she's going to look normal (ie gorgeous) again. Something is going on with Megan, but I don't think she is just some floozy.

Well I don't know about you, Mr. Red, I'm under the impression that these past two episode have been the weakest this season. But I'm thinking they're building up some things and the quality of the episodes in the beginning were so high that these past two weeks have kind of dragged.

I've been waiting for a scene like that between Joan and Don.