tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post1761061818776188081..comments2024-03-18T13:50:45.615-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Mad Men, "My Old Kentucky Home": The decline and fall of Roger SterlingAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger316125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-24106698266197738422011-02-11T06:25:57.932-05:002011-02-11T06:25:57.932-05:00I thought it was great to see a few of the charact...I thought it was great to see a few of the characters exhibit skills that we don't usually get to see (and the actors must have trained a bit for):<br />* Don mixing a cocktail (not sure what it was);<br />* Pete and his wife dancing; and<br />* Joan playing the piano accordion<br /><br />These help to shed a more human light onto the charactersAlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10650444163818735311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-47022583709589418992010-05-15T19:28:44.714-04:002010-05-15T19:28:44.714-04:00In Ireland, people say "wash your teeth"...In Ireland, people say "wash your teeth" - must have made it across the Atlantic. I agree it sounds strange when Gene says it though.Caz Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-64118590241298745192009-09-18T16:10:21.160-04:002009-09-18T16:10:21.160-04:00I don't think the Campbells had rehearsed the ...I don't think the Campbells had rehearsed the Charleston. They just knew it. My Mom's family was wealthy and her parents were very much a part of the Jazz Age. Mom was born about the same year the characters of Pete and Trudy would have been. <br /><br />My grandparents taught their kids the dance that was all the craze in their youth,why wouldn't other parents have done the same? <br /><br />In the late 1960s we kids would interrupt Mom during random times in day and demand that she do The Charleston for us. She always would. She was cool like that...The Localhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07248383599240350956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-15519259049376024452009-09-09T21:47:49.202-04:002009-09-09T21:47:49.202-04:00Like many others, I disagree with Alan on the Char...Like many others, I disagree with Alan on the Charleston... it was completely and amazingly engaging and I don't know about anyone else but I was brought out of the Mad Men world and was just absorbed in their performance...it was like a dance seen in a Bollywood movie.<br /><br />I also disagree that Greg doesn't know how valuable Joan is (one commenter also posted this)...he clearly thinks Joan is impressive to his coworkers.<br /><br />Other thoughts...<br /><br />the blackface...I guess i don't put it past Roger and maybe i'm ignorant about the time period, but is it really likely that someone like Roger would have done this at a country club? it seemed a little too absurd for me.<br /><br />also, once more i think the writers might be giving Don a little too much credit, I buy his annoyed reaction to Roger's act, but it's definitely more b/c he's just disgusted with -Roger- than the blackface.<br /><br />The comments about Gene molesting Sally...this did not cross my mind and I hope the writers don't go there, that would be completely unnecessary.<br /><br />what REALLY bothered me this episode was how lucid Gene was...again, maybe this is my ignorance speaking, but i found it unbelievable that he'd be completely out of it thinking it's prohibition a few weeks ago, and totally with it this week, knowing Sally stole the money and being so decisive about his reaction to it. i think the writers are trying to have it both ways...<br /><br />also i'm seeing being behind on episodes due to not having a TV makes commenting here tough... i couldn't get through all 312 comments and surely no one will be reading mine now! :PDiscoLemonadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-82475038268268697112009-09-07T00:17:19.388-04:002009-09-07T00:17:19.388-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.SadEndinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10104166860952973172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-72244561605880442112009-09-06T21:25:33.925-04:002009-09-06T21:25:33.925-04:00Now on to Season 3 Episode 4!Now on to Season 3 Episode 4!PanAm53https://www.blogger.com/profile/13133526724573682036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-50791382159847501782009-09-06T21:13:23.871-04:002009-09-06T21:13:23.871-04:00Thank you, Alan. This truly is one of the most civ...Thank you, Alan. This truly is one of the most civil places to discuss TV shows on the internet, and even though I was not personally attacked by the poster who has been banished, the tone and contents of his comments greatly offended me. I have been a fan of yours since the NYPD Blue days, and I am so grateful for your continuing intelligent discussion of great TV.<br /><br />Thank you!<br />PanAm53<br />AKA AnonymousPanAm53https://www.blogger.com/profile/13133526724573682036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-79971680269838775332009-09-06T21:09:46.370-04:002009-09-06T21:09:46.370-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.PanAm53https://www.blogger.com/profile/13133526724573682036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-55242533191601125872009-09-06T20:58:53.716-04:002009-09-06T20:58:53.716-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.PanAm53https://www.blogger.com/profile/13133526724573682036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5630832277764810012009-09-06T16:07:23.944-04:002009-09-06T16:07:23.944-04:00Jessamyn, you may not have felt insulted, but othe...Jessamyn, you may not have felt insulted, but others did, and I found the tone and content of his comments enough to warrant the step I just took. <br /><br />This is one of the more civil places to discuss TV on the Internet, and while most of that is because you guys are so smart and well-behaved, every now and then I have to step in and show somebody the door.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-45269903525367945412009-09-06T15:53:00.510-04:002009-09-06T15:53:00.510-04:00I, at least, didn't feel insulted, even if he ...I, at least, didn't feel insulted, even if he can't spell my name ;^). I just don't see "old-fashioned" as a perjorative. That's how my parents, who fall in age between Paul and Peggy, thought of those old songs. "Old-fashioned" and "obsolete" are not the same thing at all.Jessamynnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-15452488102565015242009-09-06T15:28:46.770-04:002009-09-06T15:28:46.770-04:00Profjoe, I asked politely for you to be nice and s...Profjoe, I asked politely for you to be nice and stop insulting other posters. You kept on behaving rudely, so now I'm going to ask you to leave and not come back.Alan Sepinwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-41305487174835219482009-09-06T14:47:11.197-04:002009-09-06T14:47:11.197-04:00Alan must be away for the holiday, so I will remin...Alan must be away for the holiday, so I will remind everyone to be nice. Seriously, I would hate to see this forum turn into that other forum where posters say nothing and just delight in insulting each other. You know the one to which I am referring, don't you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-77523496872732701402009-09-06T13:38:36.361-04:002009-09-06T13:38:36.361-04:00Maybe because most families had just one televisio...Maybe because most families had just one television set and adults and children were more likely to sit together to watch shows such as Ed Sullivan. In the same way, I remember sitting with my entire family watching the television coverage of the Kennedy assassination as each tragic event unfolded...the capture of Oswald, Jack Ruby shooting him, and all the events surrounding the funeral.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05040416772190103045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-20749150792166997242009-09-06T10:57:27.134-04:002009-09-06T10:57:27.134-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.SadEndinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10104166860952973172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-45422704713317530862009-09-06T10:54:52.947-04:002009-09-06T10:54:52.947-04:00Since around the early 70s, and beginning in the l...Since around the early 70s, and beginning in the later 60s, there has been a Balkanization of popular culture that was not there in the time of MadMen. The famed Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday nights exposed viewers to opera, ballet, Broadway plays, and Russian jugglers, as well as Elvis and the Beatles. Johnny Carson was not quite as eclectic, but still aimed at a general audience. This no longer exists. A Life Magazine is today shunned by all because we have become compartmentalized. <br /><br />In "Bye, Bye, Birdy", the Ed Sullivan Show is part of the plot. The last kiss of Birdy before he goes into the Army is to take place on Ed Sullivan - Ann Margaret is the winner of a contest to have the honor of receiving it. However, a Russian ballet performance is taking too long and may cancel the inclusion of the Last Kiss. What to do? <br /><br />Ed Sullivan himself is part of the cast and there is a song about the wonderfulness of being on the show. Recall that this TV show was still going strong alongside Dick Clark. Adult culture was not yet a teenager's enemy. Teenagers even knew who Maria Callas was and could probably recognize her picture. <br /><br />Many comments here are anachronistic because of a presumption that 1963 had the separate popular-culture fiefdoms we have today.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15025782058903139785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-74393207854496707232009-09-06T08:11:25.283-04:002009-09-06T08:11:25.283-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.SadEndinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10104166860952973172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-52874109460517383462009-09-06T04:46:28.601-04:002009-09-06T04:46:28.601-04:00"Regarding Stephen Foster, he was a regular p..."Regarding Stephen Foster, he was a regular part of most American school's curriculum through the 1960's, then the roof fell in on tradition and the connection to the past was severed."<br /><br />His music died with Jim Crow. I find that's a reasonable price to pay, until the racists who love to whistle 'Dixie' and display the Confederate flag are only footnotes to history.cgeyenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-77798600564329620212009-09-05T22:31:12.684-04:002009-09-05T22:31:12.684-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.SadEndinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10104166860952973172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-81782069022427640692009-09-05T18:29:01.553-04:002009-09-05T18:29:01.553-04:00Re: the soda gun. After some digging, I found that...Re: the soda gun. After some digging, I found that apparently the "new" plastic-headed soda gun was launched in 1958. Would it have made it to the bar of a conservative country club by 1963? Eh - probably not. But at least it's possible.<br /><br />Regarding the old-fashioned nature of Paul's song choice: My dad was in a barbershop quartet at Dartmouth in the late '50s/early '60s. I learned the songs from him in my own youth: "Coney Island Baby," "After Dark," "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" - all were old songs from the early 20th century. It was just how those groups were, and as a period note it was pitch-perfect (even if the fellas were not!).Jessamynnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-50673597610368937042009-09-05T07:25:08.629-04:002009-09-05T07:25:08.629-04:00From Jan:
Great blog entries! It's taken me a...From Jan:<br /><br />Great blog entries! It's taken me a while to get through them all. The Time magazine cover of Conrad Hilton was fascinating--thanks, Olucy 4:13 PM Sept 01--as were the additional comments on 11:19 Sept 02. Now after reading all the comments, I'll have to go back and read the article--I thought the comment about Hilton doing an old-fashioned dance at hotel openings was insightful. And, of course, I'm going to have to go back and view the episode again (keeping all 296 comments in mind) so I can see how much I missed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-55541318130711755602009-09-05T03:57:06.025-04:002009-09-05T03:57:06.025-04:00"In 1973 I was a sophomore in college" ..."In 1973 I was a sophomore in college" should typed 1963. <br /><br />Great blog. Stayed up way too long to read all the comments.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15025782058903139785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-63977548412819863582009-09-05T03:48:19.738-04:002009-09-05T03:48:19.738-04:00Check out the Time magazine from 1963 with Conrad ...Check out the Time magazine from 1963 with Conrad Hilton on the cover that was linked above by the professor. <br /><br />The inside article about Conrad says he held a party each time he opened a hotel and would dance a very old fashioned dance - " the courtly Varsoviana, brought to America from the palaces of Europe by Mexico's Emperor Maximilian . . . Hilton has adopted the obscure Varsoviana as a ceremonial dance of good luck. ." http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896912,00.html<br /><br />In 1973 I was a sophomore in college and remember doing all kinds of dances. People did a lot of dancing in those days and from time to time the band would strike up a charleston just for fun. We all had a go at it and laughed a lot. And from time to time a couple would be blazing hot and we would all back off to watch and clap. It wasn't a matter of being shoved off the floor by the dancers.<br /><br />As retired lawyer I'll add that what happened between Joan and Greg would not have been a crime if they were married, and probably would not have been prosecuted even if she reported it (as someone earlier pointed out). Juries would have been merciless thinking she called it on herself for dressing like she does - the women would have been harder on her than the men. <br /> <br />"A Hard Days' Night" will be coming out in 1964. Rent it and look for George Harrison's encounter with some advertising types who want to pick his brain about how to appeal to the kids. It's hysterical - they want his opinion on styles of shirts and hair. The power of youth captured on film. <br /><br />I remember in the 50s seeing my father and others doing a soft shoe and singing routine for a fund-raiser -they were all in black face and announced by by an MC called an "Interlocutor" or something strange. Probably still going on in the early 60s, but not so much.Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15025782058903139785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-19047982219824504352009-09-04T18:07:52.249-04:002009-09-04T18:07:52.249-04:00Wow, it's incredible to come back here five da...Wow, it's incredible to come back here five days later and see that we're pushing 300 comments. This show is worth it, too.<br /><br />Alan, if you're still reading these, I thought you should know (assuming you didn't) that Simmons dropped your name, along with Tim Goodman's, on his podcast with Kornheiser this week when they were discussing Mad Men.Hatfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01184680741873873714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-13065343405115075022009-09-04T16:47:27.838-04:002009-09-04T16:47:27.838-04:00Responding to Karen's post --
I think what Ala...Responding to Karen's post --<br /><i>I think what Alan may have meant (correct me if I'm wrong, Alan!) is that Williams, already black himself, exaggerated the blackness of his features via blackface makeup, which is true. </i><br /><br />You read my remarks correctly. BTW - loved the Bing Crosby image!<br /><br />In my haste to get from one job to another, I made a mistake in my post, which read --<br /><br /><i>Unless Paul and his glee club pals from Princeton have been singing at post-graduation get-togethers, the Warner Brothers cartoon ("One Froggy Evening") featuring this tune could have inspired them.</i><br /><br />I meant to write, could NOT have inspired them. "One Froggy Evening" was released on Dec. 31, 1955. As we heard more than once, Paul and his protege from Princeton belonged to the Class of '55. This Warner Brothers cartoon began running after graduation.Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17296485169796195445noreply@blogger.com