That was sort of strange. In most scenes Lane is usually being reviled or dismissed by the SC execs and staff, and yet he comes out smelling like a rose re the performance of the office. I guess they are making bank in the background.
For that matter, I doubt most viewers cared about him since he was basically a foil. It’ll be interesting to see if they develop his character more now that he’s seen his funeral and didn’t like the Sterling Cooper eulogy.
I assumed when the Brits said “no complaints” they meant from clients. They expected resentment from the Sterling Cooper employees and really didn’t care. Lane did his job of getting Sterling Cooper ship-shape, and they were ready to send him off to India to absorb another poor little firm into their collective. (Although how many ad firms were there in India in 1963?)
And I can kind of see their point. Lane’s good at “turning pennies into pounds,” but he’s not a pretty-boy schmoozer and he obviously doesn’t have the corporate connections or the intuition needed to land new accounts. Guy would have been able to fill those roles after Lane had trimmed the fat. But now everything’s on standby after the John Deere incident. Don, Roger and Bert will all have time to digest where the Brits think they should stand on that org chart and decide what, if anything, they want to do about it.
I only just started watching this so I have tons of catching up to do. I’ll be ordering the DVD, but in the mean time, can anyone tell me the story behind “Dr. Rape”?
That’s what we call Joan’s husband. He came by the office one afternoon, before they were married but after they were engaged, with a bouquet of flowers to take her to dinner. He asks her to show him Don’s office (I believe Don was still in California.)
While in there, he starts to put the moves on Joan, but she demurs. He basically forces her down to the floor and has his way with her. She looks off to the side and endures it. This was an interesting tie-in to earlier, when they were in bed and she was in the mood and he wasn’t. She pressed a bit, but backed off when he got pissy at her hint that she “could do the driving.”
After the rape, she pulls herself together and goes off to dinner with him, but leaves the bouquet on the desk.
Nutshelled, in Season 2, Joan started dating and became engaged to some doctor. We never saw much of him but in one scene Joan tries to get frisky with him in bed. He says he’s tired and Joan offers to do the work. Her fiance gets scandalized like a blushing maiden and acts all pissed.
Later (in the season, not that day), Joan brings him by the office. She goes into Don’s office after hours (she was working his desk between secretaries and dropping something off) with her beau and he starts getting frisky with her. She says “No” and he forces himself on her there on Don’s nice clean floor while Joan gets a dead look in her eyes.
Edit: I’ll trust Ivylass’s memory that she was just showing him the office. Minor point, anyway.
How delightfully schmucky! Thanks, Ivylass
and Jophiel!
The way I remember it, Greg was fine on that office visit until Roger came by and chatted Joan up. Greg sensed something. That combined with his diminished libido and he needed to reassert his maleness.
What exactly do founder Pete Cooper and Roger Sterling do for the firm at this point now that the British are covering administrative tasks? Are they just hanging out?
I seem to remember it went something like:
Dr. Rape: We’re going to a French restaurant!
Roger: I thought you hated French food.
Dr. Rape: Seethe.
(Apologies to the folks at Attention Deficit Theatre, who probably did it better but I’m too lazy to look it up)
Oh, yes, Joan pointed out there was a new chef, implying that when she and Roger went the chef was not good.
For someone with a medical degree, Dr. Rape sure has all kinds of self-esteem issues.
Bert Cooper, you mean? I think he and Roger gladhand clients. Sterling, when dressing down Pete Campbell, said something about how he had to tell Admiral that he had Pete killed. So I guess they do customer relations? Maybe they still attract clients from their social and business contacts? Clearly they are not busting their asses by any means, but they provide familiar, trusted faces for long-term clients, and experienced, seasoned faces to new clients.
Interesting interview with “Pete” of Mad Men.
My sense was that Pete, for all his foibles, was pretty spot on re advertising strategy, and apparently the shows creator has said the same thing.
Damnit, I can’t believe they’re making me start to like Pete.
Pete was on the ball about Kennedy too, right? Something about America and youth…