Mad Men (recap)

By Tom Rose
Fancast.com

Last night on Mad Men we found out that 1962 can make your blood boil just as much as 2008. It was just easier to keep it a secret then. In those days, cops were openly bribable, mistresses nursed a black eye for a week in silence, and subordinates gladly disrupted their lives for a chance to get something over on the boss.

But some problems never change. Infertility, cheating spouses, alcoholism, jealousy, psychosis, lust and bastard children were every bit as much a problem then as now… everything just looked cooler.

Don Draper (Jon Hamm) has a problem with Bobbie Barrett (Melinda McGraw). No wonder he finds out from the Doc he’s got high blood pressure. She won’t let up on him. Don has already done all he can to get a green light for Mr. and Mrs. Barrett on the new TV show (well a pilot commitment anyway) but Bobbie can’t say thank you enough.

She rings Don from Sardi’s where she’s hosting a celebratory lunch and convinces him to leave his very busy Monday for a drink. When he arrives, she’s all alone - Jimmy left after Buddy Hackett made a snide remark. So Bobbie convinces Don to take her for a drive out to her seaside cottage in Stony Brook. A big swig on a bottle and an ear lick from Bobbie at the wheel causes him to skid out and they both land in jail, black-eyed and bruised.

The cop at the midnight duty desk holds out for a $150 bribe so Don has to call Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss) in since he’s about $110 short. Peggy takes Bobbie back to her place in Brooklyn and puts her up for the week while her black eye, and her dignity heals. Over the course of the week she teaches Peggy some valuable lessons about being a woman in a man’s world. “You’ll never be a man, so don’t act like one.”

The interaction causes Peggy to flashback on her days at St. Mary’s psycho ward after the birth of her bastard child. She suddenly remembers that Don was there for her, letting her know how easy it is to pretend that the worst things never happened. Peggy’s getting some good advice these days. That’s why she doesn’t hesitate to ask for her bribe money back just before a big pitch meeting goes south. It’s hard to write copy when you’re nursing your boss’ mistress back to health.

Elsewhere it turns out that Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) is willing to suffer some indignities of his own for his wife’s aching need to procreate. Jacking off into a cup was just as easy back in 1962, but the magazines are much better today. After Pete’s sample comes back as robustly viable, he can’t help but gloat a bit. But wife Trudy (Alison Brie) now feels worse since she’s obviously the problem. Pete is relieved. Nothing gets to the Red Blooded American Male back in the Kennedy administration, especially an unwanted child. So he takes her out for a swanky dinner.

Meanwhile, Don has a new girl manning the desk. Jane Segal draws in the welcoming committee and blows Joan’s (Chistina Hendricks) big moment showing off her new engagement ring. Jane’s fresh out of college, but not cute ideas. Showing some leg, and a button or two that goes unclasped is a great promotional tool, but Joan is having none of it. Apparently Ms. Holloway is a new woman, and she’s got the jewelry to prove it. That doesn’t stop Roger Sterling (John Slattery ) from ogling her butt on the way out of his office. Some things never change.

When Don finally makes it home on Friday night he’s pooped. Betty (January Jones) asks “how was your day?” “I made it” says Don wearily. As he scoops up the meat loaf and potatoes he asks for the salt. Betty gives him the look so Sally asks “why can’t daddy have salt?”

“Because we love him.” Fade to black.

On a programming note, next week starting at 5 p.m., the second season marathon runs up to the new episode at 10. If you need to fill in the gaps, it’ll be a great Sunday afternoon diversion. Don’t miss it.