Mad Men: Season 3 Episode 1 - Out Of Town

It’s 1963. The world is a rapidly changing place. Of course, Don Draper’s mind is still the most interesting place. The opening scene is a flashback to the birth of Don Draper (then a young Dick Whitman). I don’t get hung up on how Draper is able to have a flashback to his own birth. I am too fascinated by what I learn. Draper’s dad and mom were not able to have a baby and the midwife felt sorry for the lady. I guess Draper’s dad ended up knocking up a potty mouthed hooker who all thru labor was focused on an image of chopping the senior Whitman’s member (that’s how he got the name dick, y’all!). Good reason to change your name. Who wants that back story?

More...On the home front, things still look like a Rockwell painting come to life. If you look long enough though, you see that the only suit that Draper seems to not wear well is husband and father. Thank god the crew holds the camera on Don three seconds longer than they need to at home so I can make such observations. John Hamm does a good job projecting his Thoureauian "quiet desperation" in these moments. Of course, the more we learn about his own upbringing the more I am impressed that his only issues are philandering and being emotionally withholding.

At the office a number of interesting things are happening. The British have landed and are a bunch of pansies! Their first move is to fire a head of accounts who promptly starts breaking sh*t. Joan gets a villain – the writers do us the favor of giving him the nickname Moneypenny. Joan is also still marrying Dr. Insecure in spite of his date rape of her. Zoey Bartlett/Peggy gets a secretary who hates her and Ken and Peter both get named head of accounts. For our sake, BritVader (that’s my nickname for him) manages to neglect telling them they are co-heads. This leads to some hilarity and some classic Peter Campbell hissyfit action. Despite his new title, Campbell is still second class - so much so that episode end, Roger encourages him to make himself a drink just "not the Stoli". Suck it, kid.

Draper and Sal go to Baltimore. Draper picks up a flight attendant and Sal picks up a Bellboy, as you do. Sal has a minor meltdown when Draper discovers he blows dudes. Sal should talk to Peggy about how good Don is at keeping secrets. While we are here, I have to point out that Sal is the least believable heterosexual ever. How has he not been found out yet.

There is a long discussion about the name London Fog and how, in fact, there is no fog in London. The haze was just smog; a result of rapid industrialization. Bert Cooper, over drinks in Don’s office says something like “I don’t care if it’s true or not, London Fog is a good name”. That’s a classic ad man for you. Forget the truth. The lie sells better.

Looking forward, 1963 is also the year that Martin Luther King told us he had a dream, the year the Beatles released their first album, the year the first James Bond Movie Dr. No came out and the year Kennedy was assassinated. Other things happened that year, but I suspect these will be highlighted in the halls of Sterling Cooper. I can’t wait.