MAD MEN -- Season FIVE Official Thread....

My favorite episode remains "The Suitcase" from last season.

 

We've seen her sacrifice her pride before, and for far less pragmatic reasons than this. But watching it this time was especially tough. The moment when she tries to retain a shred of dignity by insisting that Herb unzip her dress instead of just mauling her was heartbreaking.

 

January Jones had 2nd billing on the show for the first two seasons: certainly Jones and Jon Hamm were the stars who were on magazine covers, etc., and Jones's role on the show has been drastically cut over the past two seasons. I don't think that who has top billing necessarily determines who's safe on this show.

 

Don't be so sure about that.

A couple of weeks ago on the final episode of Season 8, Grey's Anatomy one of the main character's Dr. Lexie Grey was killed in a plane crash. Several other main character doctors on the show were badly injured. One is klinging to life as we hit the summer hiatus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexie_Grey

In May 2012, Grey's Anatomy creator, Shonda Rhimes revealed why she decided to have Lexie die, "I love Chyler and I love the character of Lexie Grey. She was an important member of my Grey's family. This was not an easy decision. But it was a decision that Chyler and I came to together. We had a lot of thoughtful discussion about it and ultimately we both decided this was the right time for her character's journey to end. As far as I'm concerned Chyler will always remain a part of the Shondaland family and I can't wait to work with her again in the future."

 

Yeah, I'm trying to see how it fits, but still don't think it works - sure, "You Really Got Me" rocks and was great to hear the riff blast out, but was its use anywhere near as good as The Nashville Teens "Tobacco Road" from an earlier season? That has to be the best use of a song in 'Mad Men' - and my favorite episode (love the bookend interviews).

Remember when Don chastised Peggy for saying "sex sells" from a previous season? And here we are - Joan is a partner and SCDP now has Jaguar.

Now that Mr. Jaguar has had the one "date" with Joan, why wouldn't he ask - ur, demand - another? If he doesn't get what he wants, will he come down to SCDP with threats and on his way out get the shaft? I know, I know...

 

2nd billing

>>>>Not any more.

 

Elisabeth Moss has had second billing on the show from the beginning. January Jones was always billed fourth, after Vincent Kartheiser.

 

Billing

But I dont think that matters in the least regarding what happens to Peggy's character now.

I cant see the predictable plot line of Peggy becoming a star at the other agency and competing with Don. That would be too easy. Weiner doesnt really do that in his shows.

Rather, I think that Peggys departure creates lots of opportunites for new characters like Ginsberg. Every show needs new blood and Mad Men is no exception.

I'd also disagree with the notion that some have here that Peggy was such a vital, top billing charcter. I've never felt that way. To me, Don, Betty, Roger, Pete (what a dip) and Joan were higher up on the feed list than Peggy.

 

What Peggy did was very realistic. It's common for people to switch from agency to agency .

 

What was the first scene of Episode 1, Season 1?

 

I think Peggy was up there with Don (Dick) as the most important character in seasons 1 and 2. We saw more of her back story than anybody else (except Don/Dick). However, in the latter seasons she has become increasingly marginalised.

 

Interesting that so many people can't even imagine that Weiner would write a popular character off of the show in service of the larger story.

It's TV, dammit! I want to see the same characters in the same office doing the same things, week after week, until I die.

 

Law & Order lasted so long BECAUSE the cast changed and evolved.

Good luck to Peggy Olson. Time to bring in Putney Swope!

 

Big Pu$$y getting whacked at the end of Season Two of The Sopranos was a huge deal at the time since he was such a central figure in Tony's crew and one of his closest friends. That kind of built up over the course of the season though. As others have said, Peggy was kind of hinting at leaving several times in the past year.

I was kind of shocked, but once Don threw money in her face and told her to go to Paris I figured all bets were off. That huge smirk on her face as she left (while You Really Got Me played) kind of surprised me and I half expected her to fall down the elevator shaft. She seemed very confident in her decision and figures its the right move for her career. I'm sure this isn't the last we've heard of her. She may be treated badly and marginalized by the other firm and beg for her job back or she could be a thorn in the side of SCDP winning accounts they were vying for or attempting to steal their business.

I like how Mad Men skips several weeks in between episodes but I hope we get to see everyones reaction when they find out she skipped town. I wonder if Don will attempt to coerce Megan back into the office till things settle down?

 

This is kind of how I'm hoping it plays out. Mad Men without at least some Peggy Olsen during the remaining seasons simply isn't Mad Men to me. I have zero problem with the absence of Betty, since she never resonated with me. Peggy, however, was one of the most interesting characters on the show right from jump.

Obviously, we all have our favorites, and I'm just voicing my opinion based on what parts of the show I like best. I really hope it's not the last we see of Peggy.

 

I don't think Peggy would literally steal accounts from SCDP: she's not an account exec like Pete and Ken. If her creative work is so good that clients ask for her, as was hinted at when Mr. Chaough? told her that Clearasil, now with Chaough's agency, still talked about the work that Peggy did on the account when Sterling Cooper had it, then, yes, Peggy could slowly win business for her new firm, especially if she does become a creative star on the level of Don Draper (which I wouldn't rule out). But, again, I don't think, at this point, she would immediately steal accounts from SCDP.

 

I expect we'll still have Peggy on the show, but we'll see her in a competing agency, more responsibility, playing a bit of the "Don" she picked up from him, but without having to report into him. I also think we'll see her and Don compete for the same business, except she;s playing his game much better than he is right now. I can't imagine she's gone. If anything, I bet her new agency will bring new cast members and maybe even some SCDP will go there.

 

The Office has some parallels to Mad Men, in that both shows are set in a workplace. But, every time that The Office did something to shake up the central premise of the show, such as having Michael Scott leave to found the Michael Scott Paper Company, or having Jim transfer to a different branch after he and Pam initially didn't get together, you knew that the show would return to the status quo fairly quickly, because radically changing the central premise of the show isn't the way that broadcast TV works. When Michael Scott did leave, and things did change on The Office, it's because Steve Carell's contract ran out, and Carrell didn't choose to renew it. If Carell had renewed his contract, they would have milked the same Michael Scott character and premise of the show until the show no longer made money for NBC and got cancelled.

I think Matt Weiner has already demonstrated, many times over, that Mad Men doesn't play by those same old rules that have always governed TV series. I wouldn't consider any character, except Don Draper, to be safe, or to be guaranteed a continuing role on the show.

 

I could see this, but dividing time between two agencies could be a tricky move to pull off. There's still only one hour of show a week: does Weiner really want to have two separate stories going on in two separate agencies? As I just mentioned, The Office tried that for part of a season when Jim transferred to a different branch, but you knew that Jim would be back in Scranton pretty soon, and he was. I don't see Peggy coming back to SCDP, ever. Which means that the show would have to spend two seasons flipping back and forth between SCDP and the Chaough agency.

I wouldn't bet on this, but, if this were real life, I could imagine Pete, and maybe even Ken, joining Peggy at the new agency. Much like Peggy, Pete has been frustrated all season by his lack of upward mobility at SCDP, and, love him or hate him, he works harder than any other account man there. But I can see how winning the Jaguar account could keep Pete at SCDP, if the new money and prestige flowing in from that account means that Pete gets a promotion from junior partner to full partner. If Pete stays stuck at junior partner, though, I could see him jumping ship just as Peggy did.

 

What exactly is the pact that Peggy has with Ken Cosgrove? Is it something like whoever finds a better agency to work for gets the other one a job there.

 

That's more along the lines of what I meant by stealing clients.

 

I want to see more Megan and Joan, Roger and Don.

 

I started watching 'Mad Men' because of the agency - not to spend time with the Betty character. Having another agency to watch every week would be good with me. Please, show me Peggy at her new job. Please, please!

 

'Jaguar is cool with looking like total scumbags on Mad Men'
http://www.avclub.com/articles/jaguar-is-cool-with-looking-like-total-scumbags-on,75814/