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Nov. 08, 2009
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LIFE ON THE COUCH: Frustrating 'Mad Men' season full of ups and downs

CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE
LIFE ON THE COUCH

Elsewhere

Las Vegas features prominently in "The Legend of Jimmy The Greek" (5 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN). The documentary about the famed sports handicapper is part of the channel's "30 for 30" film series.


Many of "Mad Men's" supporting actors -- including, from left, Rich Sommer, Michael Gladis, Aaron Staton and Bryan Batt -- were given little to do this season.



January Jones stars as Betty Draper and Jon Hamm stars as Don Draper in "Mad Men."



Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) plays the accordion in a scene from the strangest episode of "Mad Men" yet.

Having to question the generally unimpeachable genius of creator Matthew Weiner is enough to make any lover of quality television wince. But here goes: What in the name of Betty Draper's fainting couch is going on with "Mad Men"?

The Emmy-winning drama swaggered into its third season with all the confidence of Don Draper after a quickie with the coat check girl. But it's spent most of the past couple of months limping toward tonight's season finale (10 p.m., AMC) like the British guy -- aptly named Guy -- who lost his foot in the lawnmower.

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    • It has nothing to do with the performances. Top to bottom, "Mad Men" still has TV's most interesting, capable cast. But that lawnmower -- a John Deere 110 lawn and garden tractor complete with a little-known foot-shredding attachment discovered by a drunken secretary during an office party -- played a larger part this year than most of the Sterling Cooper regulars.

    Paul Kinsey's (Michael Gladis) biggest moments involved scoring weed and a random encounter with a janitor named Achilles. I can't recall Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton) being given much to do besides acquiring that carnivorous lawnmower. And I've started waiting for Harry Crane (Rich Sommer) to turn up on the side of a milk carton.

    The exquisite Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) -- she of the breathy-whisper voice and the walk that cries out to be accompanied by that burlesque-style "boom-ba-ba-boom" music -- was exiled to the dress department at Bonwit Teller.

    And poor, sweet, "Bye Bye Birdie"-loving Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) was heartbreakingly fired, then shamed for his homosexuality, after rebuffing the drunken advances of a bullying tobacco scion.

    The show's called "Mad Men." Plural. But for painfully long stretches this season, it's become "The Don and Betty Show."

    Don Draper's (Jon Hamm) extramarital conquests always have garnered plenty of screen time, but his courtship of daughter Sally's teacher (Abigail Spencer) this season seemed interminable. Although it was downright efficient compared to Betty Draper's (January Jones) long-distance flirtation with a too-slick governor's aide (Christopher Stanley).

    And it was particularly infuriating having to watch as those affairs branched off into time-sucking subplots involving the epileptic brother of Don's mistress and an awful lot of hullabaloo about Betty trying to save a reservoir.

    Those were in addition to "Mad Men's" typical meanderings, like the one in which Don, driving merrily along yet another detour with a stiff drink in hand, picked up a young hitchhiking couple, gladly downed a couple of their Phenobarbitals, then ended up in a motel, watching them dance while he talked to a hallucination of his dead father, before waking up the next morning alone, bloodied and robbed.

    And -- Sweet Sally's Lisp! -- I'm still not sure what to make of the season's third episode, which saw, among other things, Roger Sterling (John Slattery) belting out "My Old Kentucky Home" in blackface, Joan playing the accordion and singing Cole Porter's "C'est Magnifique" in French, the normally staid Peter Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) dancing a wild Charleston as though his life depended on it, and prim Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) announcing her entrance into the era's drug culture: "I'm Peggy Olson, and I want to smoke some marijuana."

    Frustrating as it's been, though, this season still has had its share of standout moments.

    Chelcie Ross has been a hoot, by golly, as late-night-phone-calling, hotel-on-the-moon-wanting Conrad Hilton.

    The world was given a fantastic new pickup line when rival ad man Duck Phillips (Mark Moses) seduced Peggy: "I wanna take you in that bedroom, lock the door, take your clothes off with my teeth, throw you on the bed and give you a go-round like you've never had."

    And having Don's entire world come crashing down around him -- forcing him to tearfully admit to Betty that he's really Dick Whitman, the illegitimate son of a prostitute, who took a dead lieutenant's name in Korea -- led to some of Hamm's finest work yet.

    Hopefully that last one, combined with this past Sunday's beautiful handling of the Kennedy assassination, are signs that "Mad Men" finally is shaking off its funk.

    I'd hate to think the series won't bounce back to reclaim its spot as TV's most outstanding drama.

    But if it doesn't, as Joan observed: "That's life. One minute, you're on top of the world; the next minute, some secretary's running you over with a lawnmower."

    Christopher Lawrence's Life on the Couch column appears on Sundays. E-mail him at clawrence@ reviewjournal.com.

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    Craig Taylor wrote on November 09, 2009 01:32 PM: An excellent review of this season. The show is the best there is on commercial tv, and the acting is outstanding. May I add a few comments:
    Don is perilously close to becomming a one dimensional bore. Does this man ever ever smile ? After all, why drink day and night if alcohol can't budge your morose personality ?
    Betty is simply not interesting. She certainly complements or shall we say, compounds the gratingly moribund hubby's persona. The writers have to 'get in there' and dig deeper into character devlopment.
    Peggy brings a breath of humanity to the series. Very unfortunate that the writers cast out the homosexual story line as this also would have brought some depth to the series.
    We love the show and accept its weaknesses. As was the case with the fabulous "Sopranos", many episodes disappoint. What is practically inspirational is the fact that amidst the 'Very Vast Wasteland' aka; tv, this show thrives.


    Jessica wrote on November 08, 2009 04:06 PM: This season has been all over the place. First of all, I was really expecting for it to go more into what Pete's reaction was to finding out that he had a child by Peggy. We also need to see more of Jane and Joan, and more of what Joan was expecting from her marriage to the jerk surgeon.


    jill wrote on November 08, 2009 03:45 PM: This season was amazing, yet HIGHLY inconsistent. It seems there was a lot of experimenting with a lot of different writers and directors (of course I wasn't behind the scenes, but it felt that way). I liked the introduction of side characters and stories, but thought Matt Weiner spent TOO much time away from the office. The proportion didn't feel right. I happen to love Betty, so I loved spending time with her. At the same time, I missed spending time at the office and with the other characters. And Sal... WTF! I haven't even heard the other characters talk about missing him. What's going on with that?


    chris wrote on November 08, 2009 02:48 PM: Thank you for reminiding me that I'm not totally mad..I found this season to be maddening while the precious few moments of each episode were eaten up by characters I did not even care about, and the office boys were rarely seen. I agree with everything you said, and totally believe that Draper's confession to Betty was one of the best acted scenes anywhere; it was moving and believable. Peggy's pot, the lawnmower attack (with the black humor of the spirting of blood across the people, walls and windows (to be smeared away by a cleaning person.......) and Joan's accordian performance,(and the smashing of the vase over hubby's head)... wild touches, but we need longer episodes and a longer season to satisfy the fans' hunger to learn where it's all going. So many questions left unanswered. Thank you for a wonderful column.


    Judy wrote on November 08, 2009 01:41 PM: Good Review - I thought it was just me and my hormones kicking up - I would watch each episode in the consecutive program to see if I had missed something important (actually, I'm pretty sure that I "need a life" of my own). Maybe tonight will save the season, one way or another. Thanks.


    Bill wrote on November 08, 2009 01:11 PM: I agree with what's been said. I too got a little frustrated with the "soap opera" theme of Don and Betty, but things seem to be getting back to their previous high levels of drama and interest. I'm still really glad I got hooked on this program. "Mad Men" and "The Office": the best two programs on TV by far! Keep up the great work!


    Kathy Pearson wrote on November 08, 2009 12:49 PM: The author doesn't look old enough to remember the sixties. things were pretty crazy in that decade. I'm sure things were a bit crazy on Madison Ave, too. Things happened behind closed doors that no one but the participants knew about. I haven't seen this season yet because I don't have cable but some of the things the author talked about in his piece reflect what was going on at the time. I'm 57 and I remember.


    Klara wrote on November 08, 2009 12:32 PM: How funny to read this, as I completely agree on all your points. Particularly the unnecessary subplots - I was bored and annoyed out of my mind with the school teacher. She got more screen time than Joan and Peggy combined, I think. I too agree that the Kennedy assassination was handled beautifully and Conrad Hilton was one of the better additions, etc. etc. Really, agreed on just about everything with you here... Let's hope the season finale is as marvelous as the show itself!


    MadMan wrote on November 08, 2009 12:15 PM: That's why we watch it. It is unpredictable. Go watch grey's anatomy...more your style.


    Phillip Moya wrote on November 08, 2009 08:33 AM: We need to see more of Christina Hendricks. With or without her husband. I am hooked on this show I lived through the 60's. I wish the lady's still dressed like that. I wish this wasn't the last show of the season. I can wish can't I. It is Sunday I will be lost in the sixty's tonight.


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