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Mad Men - Season 6 - Sundays on AMC

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Linius

Member
It was just a joke about being able to swear once. No, GAF doesn't ban people for saying fuck, or cunt in fact, go wild.

Well you had me. I was afraid rules on that were different from the community threads because of your post. Coming from Football Gaf I say cunt too much so I'll leave that be :p
 

DominoKid

Member
7tFKTDX.jpg

i thought that was her but i kept telling myself it couldnt be her.

betty's rape joke caught me so off guard.
 

Axiology

Member
Do they censor this on AMC? On iTunes 3 instances of "fuck" were censored. I don't remember this from last season.

When I caught up with the series on Netflix it was uncensored, but they do censor it on AMC.

What I found strange about the F-bombs was that I thought it was AMC's policy that you only got one "fuck" a season (I haven't been keeping track, but off the top of my head I can't really remember when a season had more than one.)? It seemed like this episode was dropping them like confetti.

Edit: Ah, I see.
 

Loomba

Member
Was a great premiere, glad it's back. Really didn't like Don cheating again, I liked him when he was faithful, I remember the time last season where he leaves Megan at the hotel/diner and then when he finds her at home drops to his knees begging for forgiveness, showed how much he loved her... eh suppose he can't change too much but still.

Also lol at Betty, was watching it with my mom and even she said "what the shit, Betty?" and she hardly ever curses.
 

jtb

Banned
Finally got a chance to catch up on the premier. Didn't really like it. Mad Men's not really a show that had enough to fit in the 2 hours, and this episode was particularly (and surprisingly) heavy-handed. Yes, we know what symbolism is Weiner. Yes, we get that these characters are obsessed with death. Also, too many plots in this episode, I think.

still, it's good to have it back. I enjoyed it, even if it was a bit disappointing.
 
To be clear, AMC's policy is just AMC's policy. As a cable network, they can use as many profanities as they want, legally. There will be no fine if they do. The reason they don't is simply they're afraid "harsh" profanities, used frequently, will cut into their advertising as potential sponsors are scared off from selling their wares on a show that says the fuck-word a lot.

FX and other cable networks have similar policies, but they're not legally constrained. If they wanted, the characters on Justified could say "Fuck" all damn day if they wanted. They could do a "Wire" homage and have a whole episode be nothing but the word "Fuck."
 
Man, this episode was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen on tv.

Every scene just felt like an excerpt from an anthology about weird people in a weird society, and there was no glue in between the scenes. A scene would begin way too late with a focus on a character who would immidiately start talking with another character. The scene would then progress without the character moving or leaving the room. And as soon as the scene was over, another scene would immidiately begin with another character talking with another character, with absolutely no connection to the previous scene. Scenes need that breathing room where they establish an area first, and then a character, but here they would cut from people sitting down, to people standing up. It felt kind of intrusive and almost like they were cutting 5 seconds of every scene to save time.

Then stuff like the rape-joke, the guy going on the skies, the scene where Don just ignores the woman asking about the wedding, the scene where Megan doesn't ask where Don's been for several hours, the scene where Betty is trying to find a completely random girl in a crackhouse while teaching hobos how to do gulash etc etc.

It had the basic level of disconnect from a goofy show like Children's Hospital, but with like a twang of surrealism from something like Twin Peaks.

Man, I don't know, it wasn't bad, it was entertaining, just... really fucking esoteric, like looking through a glass at something satirical on human society.
 

Mangotron

Member
Mad Men's not really a show that had enough to fit in the 2 hours, and this episode was particularly (and surprisingly) heavy-handed.

Well it's technically two episodes out of the season, not one giant one.

I never feel like I "get" the opening episodes of a Mad Men season until after I've seen the whole thing. I strongly disliked the opening episodes of 5 until I saw where they were going with it.

I was mostly bothered by the incredible implausibility of Don's new affair, unless Megan is supposed to be retarded or purposely ignoring it. I also don't feel like they've given her any real value at this point, generally Don has only cheated with women who are giving him something his wife isn't.

I also don't feel like these new characters are needed, they've fleshed out so much of their existing cast story-wise that I can't imagine how they'll fit all of it in. Why not do something with Ken/Harry instead of adding another accounts guy?
 

smokeymicpot

Beat EviLore at pool.
Mad Men is that show watching the first episode it is like alright. Then after the rest of them it fits the whole story and feels like one.
 

Linius

Member
Wouldn't it be weird to have a new floor with lots of new employees without introducing one of them? I'm interested to see where they're going with that new guy.
 

barrbarr

Member
I was mostly bothered by the incredible implausibility of Don's new affair, unless Megan is supposed to be retarded or purposely ignoring it. I also don't feel like they've given her any real value at this point, generally Don has only cheated with women who are giving him something his wife isn't

Do you think that, that woman from the fondue party is the person who he's having an affair with? I just thought that she had a thing for him, I guess it makes sense.

I really liked the new doctor friend, I hope we see more of him.
 
Man, this episode was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen on tv.

Every scene just felt like an excerpt from an anthology about weird people in a weird society, and there was no glue in between the scenes. A scene would begin way too late with a focus on a character who would immidiately start talking with another character. The scene would then progress without the character moving or leaving the room. And as soon as the scene was over, another scene would immidiately begin with another character talking with another character, with absolutely no connection to the previous scene. Scenes need that breathing room where they establish an area first, and then a character, but here they would cut from people sitting down, to people standing up. It felt kind of intrusive and almost like they were cutting 5 seconds of every scene to save time.

Then stuff like the rape-joke, the guy going on the skies, the scene where Don just ignores the woman asking about the wedding, the scene where Megan doesn't ask where Don's been for several hours, the scene where Betty is trying to find a completely random girl in a crackhouse while teaching hobos how to do gulash etc etc.

It had the basic level of disconnect from a goofy show like Children's Hospital, but with like a twang of surrealism from something like Twin Peaks.

Man, I don't know, it wasn't bad, it was entertaining, just... really fucking esoteric, like looking through a glass at something satirical on human society.

Yeah, completely bizarre and you got it right comparing it to Twin Peaks.
 

jtb

Banned
Man, this episode was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen on tv.

Every scene just felt like an excerpt from an anthology about weird people in a weird society, and there was no glue in between the scenes. A scene would begin way too late with a focus on a character who would immidiately start talking with another character. The scene would then progress without the character moving or leaving the room. And as soon as the scene was over, another scene would immidiately begin with another character talking with another character, with absolutely no connection to the previous scene. Scenes need that breathing room where they establish an area first, and then a character, but here they would cut from people sitting down, to people standing up. It felt kind of intrusive and almost like they were cutting 5 seconds of every scene to save time.

Then stuff like the rape-joke, the guy going on the skies, the scene where Don just ignores the woman asking about the wedding, the scene where Megan doesn't ask where Don's been for several hours, the scene where Betty is trying to find a completely random girl in a crackhouse while teaching hobos how to do gulash etc etc.

It had the basic level of disconnect from a goofy show like Children's Hospital, but with like a twang of surrealism from something like Twin Peaks.

Man, I don't know, it wasn't bad, it was entertaining, just... really fucking esoteric, like looking through a glass at something satirical on human society.

I would say (and, I'll totally admit that I hate this excuse, because it's contrived and lazy) that... well, that's the whole point! In that... that disconnect is exactly how Don (and others like Roger, I guess) are expereincing their passive drift towards death.

Which would have worked better for me, if they hadn't included all the other superfluous stuff (the Betty storyline, the Peggy storyline). Then the surrealism would make sense, and it would've made for a really compelling bottle episode. But instead, it's just disjointed and inconsistent jumping back and forth from rape jokes to Don being in a perpetual hangover/trance.
 
God fucking damnit, Don. He cut right back into man whore mode. I thought it might wait til mid-season

Roger has always been one of the best dressed characters, kinda disappointed he sporting the Ron Burgundy look now
 

maharg

idspispopd
Well they did imply he'd be back to his man whoreing ways in last seasons finale.

Well, they implied that he had a choice.

He doesn't seem to be enjoying it as much as he used to, though.

I'm gonna make a silly, not even nearly enough info to make this guess yet, early season bet and guess that the doctor dude tries to kill Don before the end of the season.
 

Polari

Member
Wasn't too impressed here. I don't mind the show's languid pacing at times but a two hour season premiere is not the place for it. Last season's nailed it, one of the most enjoyable episodes to date, whereas this one felt a bit flat. Having Betty take up a quarter or so of it didn't help. Worst character ever.
 
Yeah, completely bizarre and you got it right comparing it to Twin Peaks.

It's really eerily similar in how it goes from scene to scene with characters already established with barely any breathing room between scenes.

Like in the span of three seconds a character can end a scene with a sentence, followed by another character in a completely different scene and location, start their sentence. I'd guess that was intentional in Twin Peaks, but here it just comes of as someone not knowing how to film establishing shots, or because of an editor who was incredibly constraint on time.
 

Amir0x

Banned
Also, is "Why don't you go in there and rape her? I'll hold her arms down." the single most what the fuck line in Mad Men history?
 
Well, they implied that he had a choice.

He doesn't seem to be enjoying it as much as he used to, though.

I'm gonna make a silly, not even nearly enough info to make this guess yet, early season bet and guess that the doctor dude tries to kill Don before the end of the season.
Attempted murder? So over-the-top and jarring for a series that has cannily avoided blatant theatrics. Not going to happen.
 

hamchan

Member
Man, this episode was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen on tv.

Every scene just felt like an excerpt from an anthology about weird people in a weird society, and there was no glue in between the scenes. A scene would begin way too late with a focus on a character who would immidiately start talking with another character. The scene would then progress without the character moving or leaving the room. And as soon as the scene was over, another scene would immidiately begin with another character talking with another character, with absolutely no connection to the previous scene. Scenes need that breathing room where they establish an area first, and then a character, but here they would cut from people sitting down, to people standing up. It felt kind of intrusive and almost like they were cutting 5 seconds of every scene to save time.

Then stuff like the rape-joke, the guy going on the skies, the scene where Don just ignores the woman asking about the wedding, the scene where Megan doesn't ask where Don's been for several hours, the scene where Betty is trying to find a completely random girl in a crackhouse while teaching hobos how to do gulash etc etc.

It had the basic level of disconnect from a goofy show like Children's Hospital, but with like a twang of surrealism from something like Twin Peaks.

Man, I don't know, it wasn't bad, it was entertaining, just... really fucking esoteric, like looking through a glass at something satirical on human society.

I felt exactly like this but just couldn't describe it in words, so thanks for this. This episode felt weirder to me than even the Roger gets high episode.
 

jtb

Banned
Attempted murder? So over-the-top and jarring for a series that has cannily avoided blatant theatrics. Not going to happen.

eh, the series has had some pretty ridiculous stuff (lawnmower scene, anyone?) but in context, none of it has ever seemed that bad. Honestly, the only time that I've ever felt suspension of disbelief was broken was in that one episode where Don writes in his little diary; that VO was way out of character for me.

I don't know if the guy will try to kill Don, but I'm sure if they went down that road, they'd dress it up in a way that didn't break suspension of disbelief.
 

Solo

Member
Just watched the premiere. Pretty sure I enjoyed those two episodes more than the entirety of the subpar S5. If thats any indication of things to come, then Mad Men is back.
 
The scenes with Betty and her family were extremely uncomfortable to watch, because of how little they seemed to care about what the other people said and did. No real dynamic conflict, just broken smiles and people yelling mean things.

Reminds me a lot of this commercial the swedish army did: http://youtu.be/Ie-TzLrl6V4
 

Axiology

Member
I can definitely agree about the weird cuts in this episode. It didn't really take anything away from the episode for me, but it was a little strange. Reminded me of The Dark Knight Rises in a way, where somewhere near the beginning of the movie several cuts happen in such short succession that you sorta wonder if they're playing a joke on you. It wasn't as bad as that in this episode, but it definitely stood out in a show where they usually let things breathe and progress at a suitable pace.

What was even stranger about that effect was that there were still scenes that took their time, and it almost seemed random when they appeared. All the Betty scenes, for instance, were slow and unraveled at a relaxed speed, but then pretty much everything at SCDP screamed along at breakneck pace-- even though those scenes were far more complex with and had loads more characters. You really never got more than a glimpse of Stan or Ginsburg, but you spend a whole afternoon with the bums in the village. Very strange, but I guess it's just a casualty of having to reintroduce all the characters, establish the time period and tell an interesting story in the time they had. I did appreciate that they went "We'll see more of those guys later-- in the meantime here's Don and Roger" mode instead of "This whole episode will be a transparent catch-up episode" mode, at least.
 
Also, is "Why don't you go in there and rape her? I'll hold her arms down." the single most what the fuck line in Mad Men history?

This exactly. Really came out of nowhere and had me questioning some of the writing in this one. I appreciate subtlety but some of the stuff in 1-2 wasn't connecting like it usually does in Mad Men.

But yea, that fucked up exchange between Betty and Henry was just absurd.
 

Dance Inferno

Unconfirmed Member
I'm rewatching the entire series and I just finished Season 2 Episode 12, and the very last scene is Don walking into the sea after he was spending time with Anna Draper confessing how his marriage with Betty is falling apart.

Kinda ties into the whole "jumping off point" ad pitch he just did in the season 6 premiere.
 

Amir0x

Banned
This exactly. Really came out of nowhere and had me questioning some of the writing in this one. I appreciate subtlety but some of the stuff in 1-2 wasn't connecting like it usually does in Mad Men.

But yea, that fucked up exchange between Betty and Henry was just absurd.

I liked the episode a lot, but tonally it felt off at times, and I definitely am curious to see how it plays out throughout the season
 
Man, this episode was one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen on tv.

Every scene just felt like an excerpt from an anthology about weird people in a weird society, and there was no glue in between the scenes. A scene would begin way too late with a focus on a character who would immidiately start talking with another character. The scene would then progress without the character moving or leaving the room. And as soon as the scene was over, another scene would immidiately begin with another character talking with another character, with absolutely no connection to the previous scene. Scenes need that breathing room where they establish an area first, and then a character, but here they would cut from people sitting down, to people standing up. It felt kind of intrusive and almost like they were cutting 5 seconds of every scene to save time.

Then stuff like the rape-joke, the guy going on the skies, the scene where Don just ignores the woman asking about the wedding, the scene where Megan doesn't ask where Don's been for several hours, the scene where Betty is trying to find a completely random girl in a crackhouse while teaching hobos how to do gulash etc etc.

It had the basic level of disconnect from a goofy show like Children's Hospital, but with like a twang of surrealism from something like Twin Peaks.

Man, I don't know, it wasn't bad, it was entertaining, just... really fucking esoteric, like looking through a glass at something satirical on human society.

Thank you for this. I had the exact same reaction and I was so confused and excited. The crying was the most weirdly satrical/ironic/metaphoric moment ever. It's such an unsettling episode(s).
 

maharg

idspispopd
eh, the series has had some pretty ridiculous stuff (lawnmower scene, anyone?) but in context, none of it has ever seemed that bad. Honestly, the only time that I've ever felt suspension of disbelief was broken was in that one episode where Don writes in his little diary; that VO was way out of character for me.

I don't know if the guy will try to kill Don, but I'm sure if they went down that road, they'd dress it up in a way that didn't break suspension of disbelief.

Yep. I have faith that if they do do it it'll be done well.

I mostly just think that all this focus on death has to be going somewhere. And the conversation about death between Don and the doctor, followed by Don going up to bang his wife, seemed a little pointed to me. I don't think it'd be wrong for the show to give Don a big fucking wakeup call to the damage he does to people around him.
 

anaron

Member
It was definitely a very unsettling episode. That being said, Don's scenes dragged and were easily the weakest for me. It was like a demonstration in Weiner's ability to stretch and borderline retread Don Draper being an angsty asshole. Nothing they're hinting at his storyline being about this year is interesting to me so I'm desperately hoping it surprises me.

Barring Megan, my favourite scenes were probably all involving the ladies. Happy that Betty was featured so prominently and relieved about Peggy's equal amount of screentime. I'm so, so pleased she and Stan are all buddy buddy. Adorable.


and lol @Harry not getting photographed.
 

RangersFan

Member
lol this was the best betty has been EVER. dat fucking rape joke lol. guess the writers trying to give her character a new path as fat betty got the shit kick out of her in s5. fucking roger man, steals every scene he's in. love the hair and styles as the 60's start to come to an end. and did they replace bobby again? lol
 

DarkKyo

Member
Since Henry ultimately shrugs the rape joke off are we to assume that he just has a rape fetish(that Betty knows about) and Betty was just playing around with it? It was pretty odd, I didn't know how to take it.
 
Since Francis shrugs the rape joke off are we to assume that he just has a rape fetish(that Betty knows about) and Betty was just playing around with it? It was pretty odd, I didn't know how to take it.
If we're going off Weiner's demented interpretation, the conversation demonstrates how comfortable the two are with each other.

Yeah...
 
Since Henry ultimately shrugs the rape joke off are we to assume that he just has a rape fetish(that Betty knows about) and Betty was just playing around with it? It was pretty odd, I didn't know how to take it.
It's been shown multiple times in the past though that he doesn't approve of this behavior though, but he knows that she almost can't help it.

He has a protector complex. I think he likes that Betty is "broken" and that he gets to "fix" her.
 

lobdale

3 ft, coiled to the sky
Betty is into some crazy kink (and I have had very similar absurd conversations, I am sure it's as previously mentioned just to show "they are comfortable with each other" but also maybe that Betty is just loosening up... though she's always been kind of an impetuous goofball anyway). There might be some associations there with Betty's own childhood or some sort of complex though too, she equates the girl to herself in a lot of ways and I think feels a connection, was watching Henry "eyeing her" and who knows.

Also, have we heard about the name of the firm yet? I assume that now that Lane is toast and Joan is a partner we should be Sterling Cooper Draper Harris? But I cannot remember if she got naming rights. At least they gotta take Pryce outta there don't they. I don't remember hearing anything about it this time.
 
Betty is into some crazy kink (and I have had very similar absurd conversations, I am sure it's as previously mentioned just to show "they are comfortable with each other" but also maybe that Betty is just loosening up... though she's always been kind of an impetuous goofball anyway).

Also, have we heard about the name of the firm yet? I assume that now that Lane is toast and Joan is a partner we should be Sterling Cooper Draper Harris? But I cannot remember if she got naming rights. At least they gotta take Pryce outta there don't they. I don't remember hearing anything about it this time.

I think Sepinwall pointed out that one of the doors still says Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, so we'll see.
 
Thank you for this. I had the exact same reaction and I was so confused and excited. The crying was the most weirdly satrical/ironic/metaphoric moment ever. It's such an unsettling episode(s).
I was convinced that the episode was trudging through a Mad Men through the looking glass purgatory. In fact, as I was watching it I realized just how evocative of the surrealism that permeated the first three episodes of The Sopranos Season 6 Part 1. Part of why I thoroughly enjoyed this episode is because it took the fatalistic and borderline absurd tone that defined The Sopranos in its last season and ran with it. It finally feels like Mad Men is pulling towards a tragic conclusion with unassailable inevitability.
 
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