Sterling Cooper David Steve

  This was, by far, the hardest pithy title to come up with. It's the finale of season 1.  The thing is, it doesn't feel like a finale.  It's more like it's setting up the reset of the series. There is, of course, the best Draper pitch of the series (maybe?) when Don sells Kodak on his idea for the Carousel.  Both Steve and I remember those things. Oh here's Don pitching facebook. Oh Peggy's weight gain is explained.  Steve was right. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right is a great song, though an anachronism.   Next time we'll do an overall reaction to season 1.   I almost forgot the birth of Peggy's kid.....  I'm an idiot. mp3 download

Hey we're almost done season 1! As Steve reminds us at the beginning, the 1960 election wasn't close, it was really close. This one sets up some nice future stuff, plus, the historical angle is great. We find out a lot more about Don Draper, I mean the real one here, not 'Don Draper' I think Don and Dick were building MASH 4077. Hey, Cosgrove sexually assaulted Allison there. OK, Joan's gaydar, as bad as it is, finally goes off. Mr. Campbell, who cares? Oh, consider this our #CNDOP episode. mp3 download

Yeah, we're talking about Season 1, Episode 11, 'Indian Summer'.  There is probably a non, umm, radicalized term, though the meaning here may be in reference to a novel. Peggy 'presents like a man' about a machine that has an umm, err, a err, umm, unique benefit.  Oh and she gets a raise! Betty doesn't need a special machine, she has a washing machine! Oh Roger, will you ever learn? Damn, the way Roger talks about Joan is, chilling. Peggy went on a date!  Probably a setup by her Mom. Oh, and, of course, a mysterious package arrives! Yeah, somehow I glossed over the very sad opening. Steve brought me back to the sad sad Earth though. mp3 download

 Crucial episode alert! This one is all about the self made man, and the myth thereof. It's Labour Day!  Let's all go to the beach!  Alternatively, let's cheat on our wives with women barely older than Roger's daughter. Lots more Freudian elements in this one. Joan, again, has no gaydar.  None.  Even for her best friend in college and roommate. It was inevitable, Roger had a heart attack. Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy..... Pete is still almost figuring things out. Gaslighting Pete is the worst of the Petes. When God closes a door, he opens a dress.  One of Roger's classic lines here. mp3 download

  It's a Betty episode! We get some insight into Betty's past and her present. We meet Jim Hobart from McCann. We feel horrible for Betty being used as a pawn.  We also see how a system can be imposed on people and they have no idea it's there, despite Don's 'there is no system' last week. I feel a bit bad for the pigeons. Betty is pissed, rightfully so. Sorta too bad the 1960 election episode wasn't today.  We didn't plan it well enough obviously. As an aside, this one was done over Zoom rather than Skype as my family's other home podcasting studio was in use. mp3 download

The titular hobos here are yours truly and Steve.  (I was going to go with Steve and I, then Steve and me, and figured I didn't want to screw up and be embarrassed in front of the guy with the PhD in English). Steve notes that we could call this one 'Pete is an ass again'.  I can't argue with this. Who are people really?  Why do they change?  Do they change? The beatniks return! 'We're going to get high and listen to Miles' sounds good to us. Poor Sal, poor poor Sal. Joan has no gaydar. True to form, Bert Cooper is an Ayn Rand fan.  As an old acquaintance said of Atlas Shrugged '“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." John RogersWe get to see another Draper pitch.  It's complete bullshit, but it's a Draper pitch. PJ Clarke's, yay or nay? mp3 download

This is one of my favourite episodes.  It has everything. It has excess. It has some very funny lines. It has Roger puking. It has Chekov's gun. It has a chip and dip (it's practically four of something). It is the inspiration for the name of a Mad Men facebook group I'm in. But, most of all, it has this wonderful subtext.  An 'older' man trying to sort of lure a younger man into something that he thinks will wreck the younger one, yet, the younger one comes out on top.  The older man may be Dick Nixon, or, it may be Roger Sterling.  The younger man may be JFK, or, it may be Don Draper.  I wonder what Steve thinks of this analysis?  (I type these things up a day in advance....) mp3 download

Roy, if you had a job what would you do?  I think this is the best episode we've talked about so far.  There's a great deal about identity, which is a central theme of the show, as well as a bunch of biblical references. There's a lot of casual anti Semitism in this one.  Well, frankly, there was a lot of casual anti Stimitism in 1960, so that tracks. Peggy is going to write copy!  It's like watching a dog play piano. As much as Don is a really awful guy, when he does putdowns, they are glorious.  I'm speaking of course to what is shown in the accompanying photo. I mentioned a Reddit user during the show, but forgot to give him/her credit, the user in question is SimpleJackTorrance. mp3 download

See that's a clever title.  Episode 5 of Season 1 is entitled 5G, and, some dummies think 5G phone networks cause umm COVID and I think abortions and it'll turn us all into something to do with umm, ISIS and make us wear masks or something.  Look, thinking like these people is hard ok? We find out about this whole Dick Whitman deal this week.  Well, Steve did, I found out in 2007. The show continues to talk about identity and role playing.   This is, for me, the first sad episode. It brings a tear to my eye every time.  Other episodes are sad of course, and the series, generally, is very dark, but this one traditionally heart braking. mp3 download

We start out reminding our listeners that Steve is viewing this as literature (which is great because, well, he does the whole analyze literature thing for a living). This episode goes deep into Pete Campbell land.  It's not a happy place. I feel for Pete in this one. Hey Pete only makes three grand a year.  (I think he get's commission though). The show is really like a sprawling Russian novel, or a collection of short stories.  A big collection. I almost forgot to mention the boys listening to The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart, but Steve saved the day. mp3 download