Welcome back "Mad Men"!

And away we go!

First reaction: I am, truth to tell, just a wee bit disappointed with the S3 premiere. The writing was more uneven than usual, to my mind - some parts didn't ring quite true, and some themes/storylines lacked, well, freshness, though it's too early to tell where some of them are going.

However: There were excellent moments, as always, and I DEFINITELY think the episode planted some very, very promising seeds for the rest of the season.


WARNING: MANY spoilers below














Things I loved:

-Pete v. Ken: Awesome setup for the rest of the season, and the contrast between the two of them was hilarious.
-Pete's little dance of joy
-"Moneypenny."
-The look on Don's face when he saw what was going on in Sal's room. Also his reaction later to Sal, and Sal's reaction to his reaction. Great acting by Bryan Batt throughout this ep.
-All of Roger Sterling's five minutes he had onscreen. And I don't even like the guy (John Slattery, though, is marv)
-Bert Cooper's taste in art strikes again!

Things I didn't love/things that felt forced:
-The vapid flight attendants, esp. the blond one (btw, was she or was she not supposed to have a Southern accent?)
-Related: Don cheating. It's just...getting old.
-Don's "flashback" sequence at the beginning (though of course it couldn't have been a true flashback - more of a reconstruction based on what he knew, I guess)
-The meltdown by the head of accounts after he got canned. It was funny at first, and then it wasn't.
-Don being able to reassure the anxious London Fog guys in five seconds and about as many words. I mean, it was a good line, but really, I wasn't buying *them* buying it.

Jury's out:
-The Brits. Especially the new non-secretary who's a dead ringer for Pete

Favorite comment thus far from Television Without Pity:

"Needed more: Peggy, Roger with a drink, cigarettes, Joan.

Needed less: Dippy stewardess, Pete whining, Trudy (although her hat can stay)."

As the chappies from Putnam Powell & Lowe (which I keep thinking of as "Dewey Cheatem & Howe" in my head) would say - brilliant!