The Return Of "Mad Men"

I watched the premiere episode of the fifth season of "Mad Men" last night, and without giving too much away - AMC reruns it tonight at 9 PM Eastern for those who haven't seen it yet - it was a fine start to a new season.

The story picks up at the end of May 1966, at the end of the Memorial Day weekend. Don Draper is re-married, to his beautiful secretary Megan, but finds her a little more free-spirited and uncontrollable than he bargained for. Pete Campbell is in charge of bringing in all of the accounts but feels he lacks respect - and cranky old Roger Sterling (whose own marriage to his secretary has soured) is making his life miserable by showing up at Pete's meetings unannounced, and Joan is on leave with her newborn baby and afraid of being replaced. In fact, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce runs an ad in the New York Times for a secretary and Joan thinks it's her job on the line.

The cynical Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP) executives who think they control the mores and values of America through the power of persuasion that is advertising are starting to see the world become more complex. The war in Vietnam is intensifying, riots are beginning to take place in the cities, and the civil rights movement is gaining steam . . . and having achieved some of their desires, Don, Roger and Pete are realizing that living happily ever after is not in the cards. Joan finds out that motherhood changes more than just adding another person to the household. Peggy Olsen, meanwhile, is still trying to find her creative voice as one of the few women in a male-dominated trade. And all through the two-hour episode, none of these people have any idea what to do about it.

One thing that comes through in this series is something that didn't seem to be conveyed very well, if at all, in ABC's "Pan Am," that other 1960s period drama, which is not likely to make it to a second season (more about that some other time). For all the conniving and maneuvering that goes on, the people at SCDP seem to care about each other. Lane Pryce values Joan too much to let her go, and lets her know in no uncertain terms. Roger pays off another co-worker to trade offices with Pete so Pete can get more space. And Don, who hates surprise birthday parties, can't stay mad at Megan for planning one for as long as Megan stays mad at him for being unappreciative of her gesture. You care for them as much as they care about each other. How does it all work out? See the repeat tonight if you missed it last night!

I will give away this much. The episode begins with white ad men taunting black civil rights demonstrators with water balloons, only to be shamed when a black woman and her child - both soaking from the water balloons - confront them face to face in the office lobby. It ends with SCDP's help wanted ad promoting the agency as an "equal opportunity employer" having turned out to be a phony ad to tweak Young and Rubicam (Y&R) for their racial exclusiveness . . . because the SCDP execs aren't exactly comfortable with blacks either and besides, they can't afford another employee. But then several black applicants show up at the very moment Y&R "answers" the ad with an African statue and an attached resume that explains its "experience" as "totin' that barge and liftin' that bale" for five years. SCDP won't take the bait; they accept the resumes from the applicants (with the likelihood that they'll find room to hire someone), and it's likely the civil rights struggles will more prevalent in future episodes.

The times, they are a changin'. :-)

(Note: How did I figure out it was 1966? As noted, the story picks up at the end of a three-day weekend for Memorial Day. Memorial Day wasn't officially moved from May 30 to the last Monday in May until 1971, so before then a long Memorial Day weekend could only have been possible when May 30 fell on a Monday. That happened only once between 1965, where "Mad Men" last left off, and the end of the 1960s - in 1966, so that's how I figured it out.)