Author: Ella Fornari
Dust off that felt fedora and get ready for some heavy office drinking because Mad Men is back, and it’s just in time for finals season. For those unfamiliar with the show, Mad Men follows the inner-workings of a ’60s era Madison Avenue advertising agency and the lives of the Ad men and (very few) women who work there. If plot lines surrounding fast talking, heavy drinking and morally questionable upscale Manhattanites in the 1960s don’t sound interesting, production value is enough reason to at least give Mad Men a watch (for further temptation, seasons 1-5 are available on Instant Netflix).
To set the scene for the start of Season 6: Megan’s still the new Betty, Betty’s gone brunette, Peggy’s the new Don, Don’s okay with being Dick, Rodger has a therapist and every scene doesn’t start or end with a door opening or closing. Season 6 picks up in the late 1960s (speculated to be 1968). The agency and the world around it have come a long way since Season 1; the city’s a bit grittier, ideals of the nuclear family are questioned further and Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce now has a female partner.
From the West Village to Harlem and suburban perches in Westchester and Connecticut, Mad Men intricately establishes New York City as an element of character and plot development. New York Public Radio WNYC even came out with an interactive map last week showcasing all the locations featured in Mad Men, some of which are even in Los Angeles. The tensions between wanting to live in the suburbs versus the city are especially interesting and will likely play out more this season as Pete Campbell gets a Manhattan crash pad and Sally Draper gains the independence to travel into the city alone.
As always, it’s serious business at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Advertising. Especially when business means vacationing at the Royal Hawaiian. Season 6 opens with the tableau of Don reading Dante’s Inferno on a tropical beach (oh, the irony) and wife Megan laying next to him sipping on a Blue Hawaiian.
Back home in the big city little Sally Draper (not so little anymore after her ‘welcome to womanhood’ last season) is sassier and more sarcastic than ever. She’s obnoxious, but understandably so; who would want Betty as their mother? It appears the Weight Watchers worked because Betty’s lost a bit of weight from last season (still not at her original model size though). One of the most striking moments of the premiere comes when Betty, back to her normal horrible sense of humor, jokes to husband Henry Francis that he should just go ahead and rape Sally’s friend. Well, that was dark. So much for the scenes of lighthearted Don sipping Mai-Tais on the beach back in Hawaii.
This comment though leads to perhaps the best scene of the premiere: Betty in a Lower East Side beatnik house. Betty discovers that Sally’s friend Sandy has run away to the city and tracks down Sandy’s violin to the Beatniks’ address. Even in the gritty rat-invested abode Betty finds her way to the kitchen and helps the beatniks make some kind of a stew. It’s an unfamiliar kitchen though, so Betty just exudes “independent woman” in this scene. The act of just standing in the beatnik house also seems to motivate Betty to go from a Marilyn to a Jackie. So, here’s to hoping Betty’s attitude changes along with her hair color this season.
6 Predictions for Season 6:
1: Don runs into Kinsey during a visit to L.A. only to discover that he’s gone complete Trekkie, maybe Kinsey will even greet Don in Klingon (nuqneH!). Because, the immediate transition from Hare Krishna in NYC to Trekkie in L.A. is just too good.
2: Sally’s friend Sandy who is introduced in the Season 6 premiere will likely have a little fling with Glen Bishop. Not to be playing match maker, but as Sandy and Glen are Sally’s only friends and are similarly independent and the same age, this prediction only seems fair.
3: Harry Crane finally moves to Los Angeles because he never stops talking about L.A. anyway. Also, Pete took his office last season, so surely he will be pining all season for something grander.
4: Rodger’s therapy sessions lead him back to ex-wife Mona. Even if this prediction is wrong, his couch monologues this season are sure to be enthralling. After all, the whole therapy model is perfect for someone whose dialogue is more soliloquy than conversation.
5: Peggy’s kid will find its way back into the story line. It’s been awhile since Peggy’s family has been seen and since Peggy’s no longer at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce it only makes sense that the now 5-6 year old is seen again.
6: Someone is officially diagnosed with lung cancer. No explanation needed.
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