Mad Men: “The Good News”

This episode begins with Joan visiting her gynecologist. She wants to get off birth control pills and start a family, and the physician says that she shouldn’t have any problems… even after having two abortions.

mad_men_s4_e3_01

We then see Don walking into the office. Whatever awkwardness he and Allison had seems to be been smoothed over. Harry walks in to Don’s office, where he says that he’s noticed that Don will spend a day in Los Angeles before heading down to Acapulco. He recommends a restaurant to Don and gives him the name of a director he should look up whilst there. Lane then walks in Don’s office, and while Harry tells him to have fun in London, Lane indicates that he has much work to do.

Meanwhile, Joan asks Lane for some time off during January, as Greg is working during the holidays. Lane gruffly rebuffs her, and after the two have some words, Joan calmly walks out of his office.

Continue reading “Mad Men: “The Good News””

Mad Men: “Christmas Comes But Once a Year”

This episode kicks off the “Francis family” looking at Christmas trees. As the rest of the family walks off, Sally hears a familiar voice calling out to her: Glen, the neighborhood kid with whom Betty has had an… “interesting” relationship. Glen’s mother has gotten married, and he gives her advice about dealing with her new family.

The next morning, we see Don typing away when his secretary, Allison, comes in with the mail, which includes a “Santa Claus” letter from his kids. She reads the letter to Don, and at first it’s your typical, light-hearted letter to Santa Claus. But things become emotional near the end, when Sally says the thing she wants the most is for Don to be home for Christmas. Don gives Allison some money to buy the kids gifts, then tells her that Lane’s cost cutting prevents her (or anyone else) from bringing guests to the office Christmas party.

mad_men_s4_e2_01

Meanwhile, Roger welcomes the newly-sober Freddy Rumsen into his office. Freddy says that he’s left JWT and can bring SCDP the Pond’s Cold Cream account, a $2 million deal. When Roger asks how, Freddy only says that he and the Pond’s contact are “in a fraternity together”. Freddy’s only condition is that Pete, who got him fried from Sterling Cooper, not me let anywhere near the account. Roger agrees, then takes him to Don’s office. Peggy welcomes him back with open arms.

Continue reading “Mad Men: “Christmas Comes But Once a Year””

The Heist of the (14th) Century

Dick Puddlecote was angry. And not your average “oh, I forgot to pick up the dry cleaning” angry, either. He was angry to the very core of his being. Trillions of cells made up Dick’s body, and every last one of them was furious with the King of England.

Dick had been born in London, sometime in the 1270s or 1280s, to what we would today call a lower middle-class family. Dick was educated enough to read and write, a skill he parlayed into a series of low-paying assistant jobs. But Dick had dreams, dreams of one day owning his own business exporting wool, butter and cheese to the cities of northern Europe. So Dick scrimped, saved and called in every favor he could until his dream came true.

But then the King of England defaulted on a loan given to him by the merchants of Flanders. In retaliation, those merchants seized the trade goods of every English merchant in the area, and threw every Englishman they could find into prison… which was where Dick was, and why he was so angry.

Continue reading “The Heist of the (14th) Century”

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-08-01

  • "I can use my expense account if I say they're whores." I missed you SO MUCH, Mad Men! #
  • Yaaaa! We're #27 Go USA! http://tinyurl.com/273shg9 #
  • R.I.P. Jack Tatum #
  • @TikiDarling "Miami Vice" suits? Try Antony Price, dear! in reply to TikiDarling #
  • “Maybe that's what life is…a wink of the eye and winking stars.” – Kerouac #
  • Just got Madden 2010 for the Wii. First game: PIT 98, CLE 0. I think I'm gonna like this game! #
  • is at Big Daddy's Burgers! #
  • “If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficul #

Powered by Twitter Tools