MAD MEN 6.08 THE CRASH

I know that a lot of critics have just not taken to this episode in any way or form, but, do not put me in that category. I absolutely loved this episode, but that may be due to Stan Rizzo's actions evoking fond memories I had of a high school friend.

My friend used to run around with his shirt off and a tie around his head saying crazy shit, imitating everyone (really well and fucking funnily), doing crazy shit all the time and just basically always having the attitude that said lets roll the dice and say fuck it and do it. A lot of the times he could just sit there with a blank expression when he talked with you, as if he did not give a shit and then he could be crazy. Man I miss him, it was always an adventure hanging around with him.

Every time Stan was on screen he evoked those memories and I had a smile the size of the Missouri whilst reminiscing.

As for Don, Urgh, even if he was making some sort of breakthrough's...he totally ignored his kids, just so he could create this grand pitch to make to a married women who is not willing to throw everything away like him. Silvia told him to leave her alone, told him that it was a short term thing, told him that he should know when to let go and told him that this is upsetting her. But Don Draper has to have that charge that comes from the beginning of things, it is so old and so repetitive that I just could not stop laughing my ass off when he was running to his apartment muttering his great speech to Silvia to win her over. Fuck the work he was supposed to do, fuck his colleagues, fuck Chevy, fuck the agency, fuck his kids, fuck Megan....fuck everything!   Whatever man, I am tired of this shit.

Yes, what made this episode for me was everyone else's actions and going on's. Elizabeth Moss was fantastic, you could tell that she was genuinely having a blast while J R Ferguson was doing his shit, she gave a very complex performance with her heart to heart with Stan, she was great with Ted and she was fantastic in calling out Don's shit. Ginzo was funny and annoying, Harry was great, Cutler was excellent, Ken and his joy riding and tap dancing was just epic and Roger is always awesome, we need more Sterling's Gold and more Sterling one liners in general and......all good.

Something that also made me appreciate this episode was that in the first time in a long time, there were periods were the surrealism made me feel like we were right there in the 60's. Whenever I visit relatives who lived in the 60's there love affair with that time period and era, along with the pictures...they always make me feel an odd sense. Gleason's first appearance did that...her doing those Eching and all the crazy other hippy shit made me feel like I was staring at those family albums and made me feel like I was living some of their stories. Excellent all round. I loved that that all the characters were in that zone...more please.

By the time we got to the end and Ted is holding Stan's 600 odd ideas of which half were crap and Stan's drawings where he misspelt Chevy...I was on the floor laughing my ass off. Stan just does not give a shit and banging Gleason's daughter was just awesome! So way to go Stan, you Awesome SOB!

Next time I will throw the knife! If you ever want to do some crazy shit brother, I am here, just give us a shout!

Grade: A+

Stray Observations:

- The time jumps were just fantastic, made me laugh every time Don seemed so lost when he did not know where he was or who some of the people in the room were.
- See when Ginzo takes the pen from Peggy, he has to click it so he can write, she was pretending to write Stan and Freddy Crane's crazy ideas, Peggy Olson for the win!
- I think the fact that I only started watching this show after season 4 helps. The fact that I first heard of this after the first 4 seasons were uploaded to Netflix - and I could binge watch them helped. It makes me less impatient over the repetitiveness and allows me to enjoy the rest of the episode that is not Don centric or Betty Centric or whatever. I feel for critics who have had to study and spend hours upon hours going over every episode since 2007. Sorry guys!

That is all folks, as usual, shit grammar from me, but you knew that was coming!

Please feel free to comment!

Shawn Mahone

Mad Men 6.06: For Immediate Release

When Pete Campbell slipped in this episode, fan response suggested that it was a comedic moment, that may be true on some level. But I think it represents the moment that Pete Campbell fell from his high perch (on the second floor with the same view as Don) and lost the last bits of power and control in his life. Dow and Jaguar, his babies are gone. Trudy has ended their marriage once and for all and any chance Pete had of going to the next level is gone too. I doubt Pete will have his name on the door, I doubt that Pete will ever be in a position of power again. From now on in Pete will have to fight day and night to keep what little he has left, the sad thing is he just does not understand that he is losing everything, he never respected or enjoyed what he had and now it is all gone.

Don may seem like he is on the up, but that smile he had when he got Chevy was telling. Yes, he always wanted Chevy, but this is yet a new beginning, we all know how Don loves beginnings. How long until he gets bored and starts causing more shit? Peggy knows that this is all going to go to shit, the look on her face said it all. Now not only are the people at SCDP fucked, but so are all the people at CGC.

This is not going to end well for anyone.

Joan had every right to be angry with Don, she has been around from the beginning and knows just what Don is capable of. I fully understand her explosion, he cost her close to a million dollars (a shit load in todays money), losing Jaguar cost her a meal ticket that would have meant she never had to rely on a man again. Don lost her independence, he lost her the chance to take care of baby Kevin, to buy a nice apartment in Manhattan, to finally not feel just like a secretary.

Just who the fuck does Don think he is? not everyone can keep starting over and over and over again. They do not have that luxury as Pete so pointedly remarked towards the end of the episode. I can understand on some level that by losing Jaguar and Vic's and CGC on the brink with the imminent retirement of Gleason and the loss of Alpha that this was the only solution offered to them. I mean they went through with the loss of Ketchup and had to up their game but as history shows time and time again this will be a complete and utter fuck up.

Watching this episode I got the caper vibe that made me so happy in Shut the Door and Have a Seat, but 3 seasons later and I am wiser to how this will end up. Also Matt Wiener last show was all about how no one changes and it all gets worse and worse until death (RIP Sopranos), so this is going to fail. Too bad. SCDP's clients are telling. Dow is in the shit because of Vietnam, Lucky Strike like all cigarette firms of the time were labeled as murdering people and the Chevy Vega is considered the worse car ever produced in the history of the automobile industry. None of this bodes well for the future.

I have not reviewed this show for a time because I have had this sinking feeling, that this will end up with everyone jumping off of the Time-Life building but I had hoped they could fix some of this shit. I seriously doubt they will, ugh. Cable shows like this and The Wire, The Shield, Sons Of Anarchy, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, etc all show that the end is going to be a downbeat and dire affair, that is ok, I understand that. But that is why Network shows will always have a place in my heart. Quantum Leap ended on a downer, but what came before was brilliant and heart warming and gave me incredible hope. Sam saved his brother and saw his family again and saved Al's family and although he was stuck leaping forever....the high's that came before made up for this ending. Chuck was not perfect and ended on a kind of downer but what the show demonstrated before was that things were going to be ok, Sarah would remember and I believe that kiss worked. The show over 91 episodes showed that everything would be ok. They showed deep down that Sarah could not help love Chuck, it showed the power in giving characters their wins it gave them hope.

I have no problems with sadness or drama but I do need some hope, this is not hope it is schadenfraud and it is getting too much. I think the ratings are indicative of this, I hope cable shows can evolve or they will start to realize what Roger Sterling realized....they will start to lose everything.

Episode Grade: C-

Shawn Mahone