Mad Men is one of the shows most recognized for its quality on television today. The period drama set in the 1960s has a large cast and continuing stories, but somehow escapes the "soap opera" stigma. Each year, the program, which airs on AMC in the US, gives us 13 new episodes to ponder. This entry was begun in November, but made available in December.
On the home front, season three was about the destruction of the marriage between Don and Betty Draper. Betty had thrown Don out of their home in Ossining during season two due to his infidelity, and only reconciled with him due to pregnancy. Don and Betty's relationship was built on a shaky foundation, as Betty had no idea of Don's true identity. It was revealed earlier on in the series that Don was really a man named Dick Whitman. Dick's fear in combat cost the life of Don Draper. To get out of the army and serving in Korea, Dick swapped dog tags with Mr. Draper and assumed the other man's identity. Since everyone in the Mad Men universe calls Dick Whitman, by his assumed name Don Draper, I will do so for the rest of this entry. Betty discovered the secret by opening a drawer in Don's home office, which included pictures of his deceased family members and a stack of money.
An additional stress was added to the family when Betty's father Gene moved into their home. While shopping at the supermarket, Gene passed away. Betty then gave birth to their third child who she named after her deceased father. While on a business trip to Rome, Betty and Don reconnected, but it was the “last hurrah” of their relationship, as the time out of time did not fix their problems.
The older Draper children Sally and Bobby had to deal with all of these changes. Sally acted out in school after losing her grandfather. Bobby blamed himself for his parents' separation. Betty started an emotional affair with a man named Henry Francis who worked for New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller. They met while Betty was still pregnant with baby Gene, worked on a project together for the Junior League and became smitten. As Betty was meeting Henry, Don met a fictionalized version of Conrad Hilton. Hilton became a thorn in Don’s side, but ultimately changed the course of Don’s life. After throwing Don out of the house, Betty and Henry left for Nevada to complete her divorce. Meanwhile, Don had an affair with Sally's teacher. They broke up prior to the end of Betty and Don’s marriage.
At the Sterling Cooper advertising agency, we saw how the 60s continued on as they were under the control of PPL a British firm. There were job losses, and the Americans had issues dealing with the new bosses. Roger Sterling didn’t make the organization chart even though his father was the Sterling in the masthead. His marriage to a child bride seemed to be pleasant, but she drank too much. Some wondered if Roger continued to carry a torch for his former mistress Joan, who was now married to a doctor. Harry, the head of television was given a promotion, but didn’t realize it. Joan quit due to her marriage, but her doctor husband’s dream career was dashed, and had to join the Army to become a surgeon. Lane Pryce from the UK had to deal with being hated by those in the US for having to cut the workforce at the company, while being taken for granted by those in the UK. He was the consummate company man, until he realized they were lying to him. Sal lost his job, because he didn’t respond to the overtures of the son of the Lucky Strikes owner. While being homosexual, he didn’t feel comfortable becoming involved with a client. Don knew about his sexuality, but the firing had to stand due to how much revenue the company brought to SC. Peggy continued to hit the glass ceiling, tried marijuana, was disrespected by Don and began an affair with Duck, who now worked for a rival ad agency. Pete cheated on his wife with a nanny (whether it was consensual or not has been debated by many), wanted to leave Sterling Cooper after losing the head of accounts job to Ken Cosgrove and bristled with the others as he wanted to explore creative ways to sell products.
While the Sterling Cooper we knew was dead, as was the Draper marriage, a new life was beginning. Bert Cooper, Roger Sterling, Don Draper and Lane Pryce left the company in a daring to do over a weekend. Lane fired Cooper, Sterling and Draper that broke their contracts with the company, which led to his dismissal from PPL in the UK. The four men worked together to build a new company called Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce. They brought in clients and trusted personnel from Sterling Cooper. Don had to convince the others this was a good idea, and apologized for taking Roger, Peggy, and Pete for granted. This coup was thanks to Conrad Hilton, who told Don that PPL was selling the company to McCann. Pete brought along the client files he had planned to take along with him if he had quit, and that along with the Lucky Strikes account was enough to get the company off the ground. Roger called Joan to join the team, as she knew Sterling Cooper. We saw the reaction of those left behind, specifically Don’s secretary Allison, Ken and copywriter Paul. The new streamlined company worked out of a hotel.
Real world history was also touched upon with Mad Men. The penultimate episode of the season took place before and after the Kennedy assassination. We saw how it affected the lives of the characters as authentic news clips played in the background. Items from that era are also mentioned like Bye Bye Birdie (which considering Don using Birdie as a nickname for Betty was early foreshadowing) and Patio (the cola version became Diet Pepsi). They make a lot of effort to make things period correct, like having most of the characters smoke and drink as part of every day life even during pregnancy.
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