re: Mad Men 4-1 502 "Tea Leaves"

Crazy Jews

HAHAH betty is getting fatter

Betty wonders why she is fat.

STOP EATING SO MUCH ICE CREAM

Simon recorded the song in 71 and Heinz started using it in the late 70's into the 80's. You'll have to forgive me on the early 70's time frame. I was stone most of the time during that period.

I can't tell if the "On the next episode of Mad Men" previews are supposed to be hilariously vague and disjointed.

Here's the million dollar question... was that a body double for Betty getting out of the bath tub?

Just plain vague.

So is this tumor on Betty's neck making her fat even though it's benign? They missed a great opportunity with this. Show us draconian 60's oncology, and let the fanboys revel in her torture.

This is her at some stage of her pregnancy:



They used makeup and doubles, no question.

Good episode. Liked the Rolling Stone backstage scene, Harry having the munchies, Don and Meghan, Betty getting a "Scooge at the tombstone" opportunity (excellent zinger there), and the new guy shows promise.

Wasn't too crazy about Pete's little stunt. Came off as a tad too mustache twirling for me. So far the stuff between him and Roger has been pretty subtle. But this one just seemed all kinds of transparent to people who actually work in the same office as those two.

Glad to see them follow up S5E1 with another solid episode. A few thoughts:

The entire story line with Betty, I thought, was well done considering they needed to either 1) cut her from most of season 5, or 2) figure out a way to incorporate January Jones' real-life pregnancy into the show. One complaint was that they resolved the cancer issue in one episode. I think they missed many opportunities to explore what consequences her having a terminal illness could bring forth. It afforded the writers some nice opportunities for looks into how Don and Megan might be effected as well as some good one-liners.

I don't quite understand why Don told Roger about Betty's cancer in the manner he did. Either to take his mind off Pete's underhanded and childish move (their developing rivalry is a great story line, btw), or to try and get some perspective from someone his own age - a theme that is already at the forefront of Mad Men via the mid-1960s... [see: Don's interaction with the girl at the Stones concert]. The world is changing very rapidly for the older men at SCDP, and it's evident that Don and Roger don't yet have a grasp on how to deal with the young people anymore. Don used to be the go-to guy when a client needed a "youthful take" or a young character popped up - he always knew exactly what to say and how to act. He doesn't seem to have those answers anymore.

Enter: Michael Ginsberg. Is he, or isn't he the son of the famous beatnik poet. I say no because Allen Ginsberg wasn't a 1st generation Russian immigrant, as it seemed Michael's father appeared to be (I could be wrong though.) His character brings many opportunities for future story lines. 1) the entrance of Jews into Madison Avenue .. which is quite overdue, 2) the Cold War and Marxism, 3) someone to give the firm a contemporary and honest viewpoint on the changing social, cultural and economic landscape.

Lastly, for all of you clamoring for the return of the old womanizing, confident, has-all-the-answers Don Draper.. you may want to not hold your breath. Between his inability to elicit anything from the young girl at the Stones concert (yeah Don.. young people know what psychiatry is) to Megan calling him out on using Betty's disease as an excuse to hang out with her friends ("so going to the Rolling Stones was alright but now her sickness is too much to handle a trip to Fire Island with my friends?" --- BOOM, owned.) .. I don't see Don being able to handle the 60s in the same manner he handled the 50s. He's just a square now. We'll see if he can adapt, or if he becomes as irrelevant in the social pecking order as Roger.

I don't think Tagg Romney (grandson of George) particularly cared for the episode.





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