A lot has happened in the last Dark Ages; and by Dark Ages I mean the period of time that a persons favorite show is on hiatus. A brief period of time where fans are lost in confusion and slightly scared of the fact that the real world does exist and has to be lived. But I haven't experienced one as long as the Mad Men 18-month hiatus. Let's recap the major events of the past year and a half: Since the last Mad Men episode aired in October of 2010, a deadly earthquake struck Japan, Colonel Gadhafi, Bin Laden and Kim Jong Il perished, millions participated in a little event called Occupy Wall Street, the world lost Elizabeth Taylor and Whitney Huston, Snooki and the Kardashian sisters became 'authors,' two super bowls aired, two Oscar ceremonies were telecasted, and, well, you get the picture. A lot of things happened.
But on March 25th, 2012, Sterling Cooper Draper Price opened it's doors after a long holiday spent sunning in the Hamptons. This means the elusive Don Draper and the stunning cast are back! Don Draper is the man of constant sorrow, the nomad who spent four seasons suppressing the urge to burst at the seems by philandering, drinking, philosophizing, and inhaling a pack of 'Lucky Strikes' in five seconds flat. His 'born alone and die alone' mantra still remains a big part of who he truly is despite the fact that he plays along with societies rules; a quality that makes him so fascinating.
The first episode of the two-hour premiere centered around the 40th birthday of Draper. In case you missed it, Draper is newly married to his former secretary Megan (Jessica Pare), an easy-on-the-eyes Canadian who is the epitome of the French New Wave that was prominent in the 60s and 70s. She is cute and loves to incorporate her little French-Canadian quirks into her everyday interactions; it is no surprise that Draper promoted her to a copywriter. However, her little quirks soon make her the joke of the office ('Zou Bisous Bisous'). Megan, a loving and doting wife, decides to throw her hubby a surprise party, despite the warning from Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss), a woman who has the rare gift of actually being able to read Don Draper, that men, specifically Don, don't like surprises. Megan ignores this and continues with the party planning. In the end, however, the surprise was ruined after an accidental rendezvous between Don, Megan and the Sterlings outside House Draper; one of the funnier scenes from the episode. Don's reaction is pure reluctance. Eventually Megan realizes that Don doesn't like people, doesn't like parties and especially doesn't like birthdays; after all, it is another man's birthday. A *face palm level of 3 (out of 5). There is a moment in the end where she looks like she is just about to 'give up.' She then spends most of episode two of the premiere throwing bizarre tantrums, at one point behaving as an erotic, borderline BDSM, maid with a serious grudge against Don. The irony? Don seems to be the one who is a bit nervous that he may have married a psychopath. I won't go too heavy into episode two, but I am highly intrigued to see how SCDP handles the radical changes happening in society in keeping up appearances.
Of course, there are other major characters that make the show. Peggy Olson (Moss) is back as the copywriter who always seems to be searching for that social scene that is a complete 180 of her Catholic upbringing. She has traits of a beatnik in a skirt and chic hairdo. she still has trouble expressing he inner feelings. Pete Campbell (an enigmatic Vincent Kartheiser) is back as the account man with a new life in the suburbs and, what seems to be, a receding hairline (I do believe his head was slightly shaved to coincide with his diminishing happiness). He is still married to Trudy (Allison Brie, Community), has a daughter, and now commutes, living out in the suburbs on a plot of land. It is noticeable that this new lifestyle makes him feel more physically isolated and emotionally detached from his true reality; city life and the admiration he has for a certain female coworker. Roger Sterling (silver fox John Slattery) is still a partner despite the fact he no longer contributes any work to SCDP besides his usual series of sassy one liners; he pulls off misogynistic pig humor very well. Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) is back, baby in tow, struggling to get reacquainted with her old job and self. Lane Price (Jared Harris) is awkward, goofy, and unaccustomed, basically he is just British. All of the Draper kids make a brief appearance, I am certain, however, that Sally will be a flower child of the late 60s, early 70s. No sightings yet of Mr. and Mrs. Francis.
Kartheiser has proven to be a powerful performer on the caliber of John Hamm; combining sorrow, pity, and charm. He has come into his own character. Let's face it, Pete was was introduced to Mad Men audiences as a conniving, frat-boy weasel that we loved to hate. It wasn't until a turn in season two that we saw his character shift to a lost soul, his true self started to break from his shell. He became the person we hated to love. John Slattery is a natural comedian. Moss, although epitomizing feminism, still seems to be taking a while to truly shout from rooftop. Christina Hendricks is a sweetheart. I would argue that Jessica Pare is the character I am most excited to see developed. I have a gut feeling she will go mad and burn something down. And, of course, there is John Hamm. John Hamm plays Don Draper so well that we forget slight tweeks in writing or little plot holes. Hamm, a man who can naturally combine charm, good looks and the fact he is willing to embarrass himself (he is honestly very funny in real life), has the acting caliber capable of establishing Don Draper as a culturally iconic figure in film and television. I can only hope, however, to see him miserable once again. It is when he is miserable with life that his creative character truly shines.
There are a few downsides to the first two episodes. There are questions left unanswered from the previous seasons. However, this is a classic Mad Men technique of prolonging situations for intrigue, a factor that makes people critical of the show complain of it being too slow. Little plot holes are scattered throughout the show. I am guessing Cooper will always be lurking in the office even though he resigned? No sign of Betty 'Draper' Francis and husband in the first two episodes? They do appear in the next weeks episodes from the looks of the trailer. One of the bigger things was the character of Don Draper, as much as he was billed as the central character in every previous episode, didn't seem to have much material to work with. He has a slight personality change, doesn't seem to have a creative input, and seems to be completely clueless of everything going on around him. Maybe he will regret his decision of combining work with pleasure (work being his marriage.)
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