Writers: Bridget Bedard, Maria Jacquemetton, Andre Jacquemetton & Matthew Weiner
Director: Tim HunterCast: Vincent Kartheiser (Pete), Jon Hamm (Don), Christina Hendricks (Joan), Elisabeth Moss (Peggy), January Jones (Betty), John Slattery (Roger Sterling), Michael J.X Gladis (Paul), Aaron Staton (Ken), Rich Sommer (Harry), Bryan Batt (Salvatore), Maggie Siff (Rachel Menken), Kate Norby (Carol McCardy), Kiernan Shipka (Sally Draper), Talia Balsam (Mona Sterling), Robert Morse (Bertram Cooper), Elizabeth Rice (Margaret Sterling), Megan Stier (Eleanor Ames), Alexis Stier (Mirabellle Ames), John Walcutt (Franklin Newcomb), Scott Michael Morgan (Ralph Stubbs), Ryan Cutrona (Gene Driscoll) & Allan Miller (Abraham Menken)
Don loses a client's account and Roger tries to cheer him up over a Labor Day weekend stuck in the office. Meanwhile, Joan and her roommate paint the town red..."Remember, Don: when God closes a door, he opens a dress."
-- Roger Sterling (John Slattery)
Do you find that episodes of Mad Men don't really click until you're about half-way through? I get that feeling a lot. That's not to mean every episode struggles to find its feet, it's just that every story teases you along, keeping its cards close to its chest, until it surprises you with some sudden development and revelations. The Long Weekend is a great example; it coasts along nicely enough, taking place over Labor Day weekend, and then rocks you with a few surprises when you least expect them...
The Nixon campaign gets some significant development, as the ad men realize competitor Kennedy's new TV ads (upbeat, memorable, modern) wipe the floor with Nixon's sombre, old-fashioned address from a desk. They consider doing a negative advert about Kennedy -- as positive ones only help solidify supporter's resolve, but bad publicity can sway on-the-fence voters. Don (Jon Hamm) thinks they should focus on Nixon's grass roots upbringing, as voters might not like Kennedy's background as a recent immigrant who bought his way into Harvard.
Rachel Menken (Maggie Siff) also reappears with her father Abraham (Allan Miller) to see how Don's creative team are doing with their department store re-branding. Mr Menken is open to new ideas, but doesn't want to push away his existing customers with too many big changes. Don impresses Abraham with his insight into customer psyche, and leaves feeling satisfied, if vaguely aware he's been coerced into going along with Don's idea.
Roger (John Slattery) is once again turned down by office girl Joan (Christina Hendricks), despite the fact his wife and daughter are out of town over the Labor Day "long weekend". There are signs now that Joan's had her eyes opened by seeing The Apartment; a film starring Shirley MacLaine as an office girl handed around the office. Instead, Joan decides to paint the town red with her recently-fired roommate Carol (Kate Norby), hoping to pull a few handsome men for them both.
Don is later unsettled when he loses the Dr Scholl account over concerns of creativity, although Roger is philosophical about this unfortunate loss in business: "The day you sign a client is the day you start losing them."
There's also an enjoyable scene between Pete (Vincent Karthesier) and Peggy (Elisabeth Moss), with the latter making it clear she's becoming confused and irritated by Pete constantly pestering him. Is he interested in her, or not? Stung by Peggy's newly-acquired confidence and refusal to give in to his usual smarm, Pete leaves her alone.
In an attempt to cheer Don up, Roger takes him to flirt with a group of models (all twins) who have been hired to audition for Cartwright double-sided aluminium. Roger targets Eleanor and Mirabelle Ames (Megan and Alexis Stier), making an executive decision to cast them, before inviting them back to his office for celebratory drinks. Soon after, Roger is flirting outrageously with the twins, making Don increasingly uncomfortable...
As Carol and Joan get ready to hit the town, Carol makes a subtle move on her friend ("I did everything I could to be near you -- all with the hope that one day you would notice me. Joannie, just think of me as a boy..."), but is disappointed when Joan fails to return her feelings. The two women head out, looking for men, and later return with one apiece: Franklin (John Walcutt), a Fordham college professor, and Ralph (Scott Michael Morgan), a carpenter. Joan tales Franklin to her room under the pretence of changing a light bulb for her, as Ralph makes a move on Carol, despite her initial reservations.
Back at the office, Don and Eleanor hear a scream and rush into Roger's office to find him half-naked and having a heart attack, brought on by the sexual activity with Mirabelle. Don has the girls call for an ambulance before leaving, and accompanies his randy boss to the hospital. A little later, Roger is recovering in bed, and his brush with death has him contemplate "human energy" or a "soul", before his wife and daughter arrive. Don leaves Roger's family alone as they embrace and break down into tears.
Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse) is anxious that the Sterling Cooper's clients don't get worried about Roger's hospitalization, so calls Joan into the office late at night to send telegrams to everyone. Upon hearing the news about her lover's heart-attack, Joan tries to control her feelings, but she's surprised when Cooper later warns her not to waste her youth on age, indicating he's aware of his business partner's office romance with her.
At the hospital, Don calls Betty to cancel their short break to the beach house with her visiting father and aunt, before he catches sight of another Kennedy TV advert playing in a waiting room. The ad includes a clip of President Eisenhower rubbishing Nixon; an sly but effective way for the Kennedy campaign to destroy the Nixon threat. How can they possibly counter the current President's lack of faith in their client?
In a daze of confused emotions, Don goes to see Rachel Menken, who lets him and makes him a drink. Don opens up to her -- telling her a story about being a pall bearer at a funeral, where he first realized how fleeting life is. They have sex, but only after Don asks her permission. Afterwards, Don and Rachel lie together naked, and Don once again feels comfortable enough to open up – revealing that his mother was a prostitute who died in childbirth. He was taken in by his biological father and his wife, although his drunken dad later died after being kicked by a horse. Young Don consequently spent his childhood being raised by his stepmother and her new lover...
I was a little worried that four writers had a hand in this episode, but it doesn't seem to have helped or hindered the story. The sexual antics of Roger are becoming increasingly fraught, although his heart-attack could see him turn over a new leaf now. Who knows. And, most notably, Don's shadowy past just got a little more penetrable in a scene that was treated as almost throwaway. So, he's the son of a whore and a drunk, who was raised by country bumpkins. I never really expected the revelations to be earth-shattering stuff, but is that really it? Hopefully not. There are still 3 episodes left, so there must be something more to it. No?
The scene between Bertram Cooper and Joan was also very nice, as he's clearly a lot more knowledgeable about what goes on in his business than we thought. He's been written as the kind of unseen "silent" partner, content to just play games in his office, drink alcohol, and occasionally sit in on some meetings, but Cooper's clearly the brains of the outfit. Someone who has a better work ethic than his overly-sexed partner Roger. It would be interesting to see Cooper's home life in the future. I have a suspicion he's the antithesis of most of the ad men who work for him.
We also got a bit of added complication for Joan, now that her room-mate has revealed her affections for her. At the moment the homosexual characters (Salvatore, and now Carol) aren't getting much to do on the show, and it's all coming a bit late in the season. I suspect Mad Men isn’t really going to tackle the gay issue until season 2, but the seeds have been sown here for a Joan/Carol/Roger love-triangle. Well, unless Roger sees the light and realizes he has a loving family, who are worth living for.
The Peggy/Pete relationship was reduced to a single scene. But it was a good one. Peggy is certainly finding herself empowered just recently, and I gave an inner cheer when she cut to the chase regarding Pete's hot-and-cold treatment of her. Their uneasy relationship is one of the best subplots in Mad Men, and I'm still undecided on whether Pete has genuine feelings for Peggy, or not. But this episode swayed me to the opinion that he's just an immature player; someone who enjoys playing mind-games and likes the thrill of an illicit workplace affair.
Throughout it all, the Nixon campaign popped up a few times – which we already know Kennedy is going to win. Don was bitter enough about losing the Dr Scholl account, so how's he going to take it when the Nixon campaign fails to bring home the presidency for his client? And how badly will that failure impact on Sterling Cooper? Roger seemed level-headed about losing Scholl, but Nixon looks to be one of the biggest clients Sterling Cooper has ever had.
And will Abraham Menken discover Don's sleeping with his daughter now? That's hardly professional, is it? Is this whole season building towards Don's entire life being blown apart, as his affairs are exposed, his unsavoury past revealed, and his business decisions backfire? Perhaps. But it perhaps won't be that disastrous, as there's a second season on the way...
Overall, I enjoyed The Long Weekend, although it took awhile to really grip me, and the understated nature of Don revealing important aspects of his past was a little disappointing. I really hope the show hasn't been building such high expectations about Don's history, if it doesn't have anything to provide a satisfying pay-off. Still, I'm always intrigued and entertained by Mad Men, and things should only get better now we're approaching the big finale...
4 May 2008
BBC Four, 10.00 pm
