# Mad-Men: 5.04 "Signal 30" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907 "2012-04-16T00:34:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/1 "2012-04-16T00:34:41Z")
[QUOTE=TVGuide] Lane makes an interesting friend. [/QUOTE] So Dawn or the mob mistress? Joan is also back to work (or she’s still on leave and there’s a random flasback to her working). ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/2 "2012-04-16T02:19:04Z")
Nice jacket, Don! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/3 "2012-04-16T02:55:44Z")
“Do you want to take out your teeth, or shall I knock them out?” That was great! ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/4 "2012-04-16T02:57:55Z")
This is season five episode five. The season premier counted as both episodes one and two. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/5 "2012-04-16T02:58:21Z")
The title refers to [this](http://archive.org/details/Signal301959). > [@](#): > > Legendary “shock” driving safety film featuring numerous scenes of mutilated cars and injured/dead people and a voiceover lacking in compassion. Produced in cooperation with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and shown to millions of young drivers for over 40 years. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/6 "2012-04-16T03:04:51Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The title refers to [this](http://archive.org/details/Signal301959). They showed \*Signal 30 \*in my driver’s ed class in 1971. There were others: _Broken Glass_ and \*Red Asphalt \*come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/7 "2012-04-16T03:24:06Z")
That was an odd episode. I’m not sure what I think about it. Lane was butch, Don was virtuous, and Cosgrove was sort of interesting. If Pete wasn’t still so pathetic I’d not have known what show I was watching. He is totally turning into Don of a few years back, though. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/8 "2012-04-16T03:35:01Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > If Pete wasn’t still so pathetic I’d not have known what show I was watching. He is totally turning into Don of a few years back, though. Unlike Don, Pete is totally physically repulsive in every way (except in the scene at the end in the elevator, he was wearing a very nice suit). So how about Lane claiming his Victory Kiss–yikes!! And Roger telling Ken he can’t write stories on his own time? WTF? Good for him simply creating a new pseudonym. I remember the Charles Whitman shooting. We lived in San Antonio, and I had friends who were attending UT Austin at that time. When I went to their graduation a couple of years later, we went up to the top of the Tower where he had fired from. There was a lot of violence in the 1960’s, when you look back on it… starting with the Kennedy assassination. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/9 "2012-04-16T03:46:12Z")
I was expecting a BIFF or a WHAM to go with the cheesy fisticuffs. Great episode though…have they mentioned where Pete & family live? CT, NJ, LI? ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/10 "2012-04-16T03:56:11Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Unlike Don, Pete is totally physically repulsive in every way (except in the scene at the end in the elevator, he was wearing a very nice suit). Both Jon Hamm and Vincent Kartheiser are looking a bit dissolute nowadays. Don just looks tired all the time, and Pete has gained weight and I think they’ve made his hairline look like it’s receeded. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/11 "2012-04-16T04:16:51Z")
What was the story behind Cosgrove and Peggy’s pact? I don’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/12 "2012-04-16T04:28:25Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I remember the Charles Whitman shooting. I liked that someone got Charles Whitman’s last name wrong and Don immediately corrected them. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/13 "2012-04-16T04:44:19Z")
Pete got shown up for the pussy that he is which people have been clamoring for all season. Don fixed the faucet that he couldn’t, the young guy got the Driver’s Ed girl and, of course, Lane kicked his ass. Some really interesting edits in the first half of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/14 "2012-04-16T05:31:27Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The title refers to [this](http://archive.org/details/Signal301959). _Death on the Highway_ was the one we saw. Will we get to see Pete actually learning to drive–in car full of teenagers? More comedy possibilities there. Seeing his misadventures in this episode was like watching Joffrey getting slapped… That wasn’t [just any game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_FIFA_World_Cup)–I can see why Lane got into the spirit. Of course, the other guys at the company went “World Cup, what’s that?”… > [@](#): > > The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934. Glad Joan didn’t leave the room after Lane kissed her. She opened the door to keep things businesslike–but kept talking to him… ETA: A friend of mine had planned to attend UT; she & her dad visited the campus the day Charles Whitman did his thing. So he sent her to the University of Houston, instead… ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/15 "2012-04-16T05:44:34Z")
That little fisticuffs scene was about the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time! Also - I thought I heard Pete call his wife “Tweety” in the season opener, but wasn’t sure that I didn’t just imagine it. But he did it again in this ep. More proof that he is turning into Don, who would occasionally call his wife “Birdie.” “He thinks you’re a homo!” Also, apropos of nothing - has anyone else noticed that Lane’s wife is played by the same actress who was Ash’s love interest in “Army of Darkness”? ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/16 "2012-04-16T06:18:38Z")
Roger got he best line: I know cooler heads should prevail, but am I the only one who wants to see this? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/17 "2012-04-16T06:22:21Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Roger got he best line: > > I know cooler heads should prevail, but am I the only one who wants to see this? Roger \*always \*gets the best lines! “I don’t know about you fellas, but I had Lane all along.” And is it just me, or is Lane sort of a cross between Niles Crane and the Geico Gecko? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/18 "2012-04-16T06:44:31Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Pete got shown up for the pussy that he is which people have been clamoring for all season. Don fixed the faucet that he couldn’t, the young guy got the Driver’s Ed girl and, of course, Lane kicked his ass. > > Some really interesting edits in the first half of the show. It took me until the scene w/ the girl by the trophy case to realize why Pete was apparently attending a high school class :smack:. I loved watching Pete get is ass handed to him. Loved Joan & Peggy spying from behind the mirror in her office. I liked how the madam casually tried to direct Don to the gay brothel her friend runs. I wonder how pissed off Mrs. Pryce is by all this. On one hand she knows Lane wasn’t involved since; he was at home with her that night, and she got the entire story from Jaugar guy’s wife. On the other hand she lost a perfectly nice set of couple friends. Joan & Lane have actually have very similiar problems at work; those both have positions which are really hard to describe or explain, but are extremely important to the running of the agency. Not that she’ll ever get it, but Joan could handle Lane’s job. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/19 "2012-04-16T07:14:25Z")
Am I crazy or did Pete call Don by his real name in the kitchen? I swear he said “Dick, I’ll get the tool box.” I thought this episode was pretty much the best so far this season. Funny and sad. I wasn’t surprised at all by Lane kissing Joan, I half expected it in their scene together a few episodes prior. I do have to say I’m sad to see Peggy regulated to a 3rd tier supporting character. I’ve been watching season 3 and listening to the commentary tracks and I’m surprised how much emphasis Weiner had on the Peggy and Don relationship in contrast to how it is nearly non-existant. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907/20 "2012-04-16T07:19:01Z")
Sounds more like a quick “damn.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-04-signal-30-open-spoilers/618907.md?page=2)