# Mad-Men: 7.03"Field Trip" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142 "2014-04-28T00:04:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/101 "2014-04-29T16:20:50Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I think it’s funny that we all hate Don Draper because he’s done - and continues to do - some seriously shitty stuff throughout the run of the show. > > But as soon as they show people being mean to him we’re all like “Hey! Back off! Why is everyone being a jerk to Don? Don’t be a jerk to Don!” > > Well maybe not all of us, but me at least. I just thought of this, how I was mad at Joan and Peggy and Bert and all of a sudden realized “Hey aren’t I supposed to be mad at Don?” 🙂 Well, we generally don’t like kicking people when they’re down either (I have been someone who has at times defended Pete) ;). And Don has been pretty down for a bit, and mostly because he wants to be a better person and be honest about the things he’s tried to hide because he thought they made him weak. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/102 "2014-04-29T17:09:30Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I think it’s funny that we all hate Don Draper because he’s done - and continues to do - some seriously shitty stuff throughout the run of the show. > > But as soon as they show people being mean to him we’re all like “Hey! Back off! Why is everyone being a jerk to Don? Don’t be a jerk to Don!” > > Well maybe not all of us, but me at least. I just thought of this, how I was mad at Joan and Peggy and Bert and all of a sudden realized “Hey aren’t I supposed to be mad at Don?” 🙂 You think that’s bad, when I read Andiethewestie’s post I immediately thought “hey, you can’t talk about my friend Don that way!” and then “wait, he’s not my friend, he doesn’t even know me!” and then “wait, he isn’t even a real person!” and then “wait… WTF is wrong with me?” all in the span of about five seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/103 "2014-04-29T18:01:12Z")
I need to apologize to everyone in this thread for my comments about mini-computers in 1969. It turns out that I was wrong when I said that mini-computers did not appear until the mid-70s. They actually did appear in the mid 60s. However, I do remain skeptical as to just how big and powerful those early machines were and whether they could have handled the applications needed by a medium sized advertising agency. I have serious doubts that early mini-computers had the capacity to handle any real serious applications. But I could well be wrong about that. Then again, I can’t imagine how much computing power an advertising agency would need. I don’t really understand what kind of applications they would need to run. I suppose they would try to keep track of all TV programs run - when commercials were broadcast, etc. If so, that hardly seems like an application that would require much computing power. But there may well be other apps that I don’t know about. So, all things considered, it would be best for me just to retract my previous remarks. Alternatively, I could add that I just don’t know what they would want to run circ. 1979 and that my previous remarks were just my opinions based on my professional computer experiences that began in 1970. I never had any experience with min-computers until 1975 and wrongly assumed that was when serious mini-computers were first available. I’m sorry for any inconvenience. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/104 "2014-04-29T18:20:12Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > Then again, I can’t imagine how much computing power an advertising agency would need. I don’t really understand what kind of applications they would need to run. I suppose they would try to keep track of all TV programs run - when commercials were broadcast, etc. > > If so, that hardly seems like an application that would require much computing power. But there may well be other apps that I don’t know about. [Media buying](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_buying) > [@](#): > > Media buyers are the individuals responsible for negotiating and purchasing time and advertising space for the purpose of advertising.[1] When planning what to buy, they must evaluate factors based on but not limited to station formats, pricing rates, demographics, geographic, and psychographics relating to the advertiser’s particular product or service objectives. The media buyer needs to optimize what is bought and that is dependent on budget, type of medium (radio, internet, TV, print), quality of the medium (target audience, time of day for broadcast, etc.), and how much time and space is wanted. Media buyers can purchase spot, regionally, or nationally. National media buyers might have to factor in determinates based on a state by state basis. Rates, demand of leads, space, and time, and state licenses will vary from state to state. National media buyers will need national media planning to generate national media marketing strategies and national media advertising that can be adaptable from area to area but also work on a national level. This job was absolutely perfect for computers because it is database management at its purest. Some of you may remember the thick books of ratings that Andy Travis used to regularly pour over on _WKRP in Cincinnati_. Ratings and demographics are generated for each six minute time slot during a day. Station rates are determined off of those. Now imagine needing to do that for every radio and television station in America. The media buyer is responsible for determining what stations to run ads on, at what times, in what lengths, and in what frequency. He has to work within the budget that the client has to maximize its effectiveness. Having a computer to sort this stuff out was an incredible advancement over hand methods. Crunching through all the numbers would be slow by today’s standards, but media deals were normally made well in advance and letting the computer chug along all day would have been no big deal at the time. Advertising agencies charged a price for doing this, normally 15% of the money spent. That makes Harry the largest day-to-day contributor of cash flow in the company. And that’s why he feels so underappreciated. In some ways he’s more important than any of the partners. Always has been. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/105 "2014-04-29T18:48:24Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > 1. Re Megan’s outfit, the micro mini with the hem-length crocheted sweater vest: **I had that outfit!** BLECH. :eek: That damned long sweater vest… :smack: **Egads**. At least mine was white and not Harvest Gold. My version of The Vest was avocado and crocheted by my mom. I win. 😉 ---
**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 29, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/106 "2014-04-29T19:49:29Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > My version of The Vest was avocado and crocheted by my mom. I win. 😉 I concede. _\_ ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/107 "2014-04-30T02:00:37Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I don’t have much pity for him either, but your statement was more than a little odd. He didn’t get his comeuppance when they tossed him out the door, but he gets it when they let him come back. That’s when you say “finally”? > > And if you don’t think he’s interesting, then I’m not sure what other character would scratch that itch for you. Don left the agency as the pompous ass he was, but coming back not quite a mangy dog with his tail between his legs, but going back to the agency was pretty awkward for him/ from making him sit around with the other copywriters and a sandwich thrown at him while he waits for the only guy who thought he should come back Roger, but Sterling ignorantly didn’t let the others know, to keeping security on alert, to the partners giving Don what felt like conditions of parole yeah, it was sweet to see the grovel. He’s a shell, it’s time to atone. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/108 "2014-04-30T14:55:42Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > Don left the agency as the pompous ass he was, but coming back not quite a mangy dog with his tail between his legs, but going back to the agency was pretty awkward for him/ from making him sit around with the other copywriters and a sandwich thrown at him while he waits for the only guy who thought he should come back Roger, but Sterling ignorantly didn’t let the others know, to keeping security on alert, to the partners giving Don what felt like conditions of parole yeah, it was sweet to see the grovel. He’s a shell, it’s time to atone. Grovel? I think not…mark my word, Don has a plan. Did you see the look on his face when he said “OK.”? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/109 "2014-04-30T15:07:22Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Grovel? I think not…mark my word, Don has a plan. Did you see the look on his face when he said “OK.”? When he said OK without even blinking an eye, to me it was like he was thinking, “that’s all, that’s all you’re gonna do?” it seemed as if everything was falling into place the just the way he wanted it to. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/110 "2014-04-30T15:30:17Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Grovel? I think not…mark my word, Don has a plan. Did you see the look on his face when he said “OK.”? Yeah, when I saw the word “grovel” I just threw up my hands and gave up on the exchange. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/111 "2014-04-30T15:41:17Z")
Don is not some master planner, though. In fact, one of his big problems is that he doesn’t think things through, he is extremely narcissistic, spur-of-the-moment, do-what-I-feel kind of guy. I don’t think Don has some master plan as much as he has self confidence that he can succeed. ---
**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 30, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/112 "2014-04-30T17:14:56Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Don is not some master planner, though. In fact, one of his big problems is that he doesn’t think things through, he is extremely narcissistic, spur-of-the-moment, do-what-I-feel kind of guy. I don’t think Don has some master plan as much as he has self confidence that he can succeed. But he has instincts that will react in the moment and pull him through. It’s not that he has a master plan already thought through, but that he knows he will be able to do whatever the moment calls for. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/113 "2014-04-30T17:26:56Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > But he has instincts that will react in the moment and pull him through. It’s not that he has a master plan already thought through, but that he knows he will be able to do whatever the moment calls for. Oh I agree, some above were saying he has a plan and things were falling into place. Don’s plan is to be Don and do that Don thing that Don does. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/114 "2014-04-30T20:27:19Z")
Emily Arnett, the mystery blonde, is played by Brandi Burkhardt. She is not listed as having been on the show before. Nor are there any “Arnett” characters listed so not a relative of a previous character, it seems. If she is not a call girl hired by the other firm, then my guess is that she is somehow part of the Dick Whitman world. But she is fairly young. Perhaps younger than Anna Draper’s niece Stephanie. Did Don/Dick meet with any of Stephanie’s friends in California? It was a long day in the office for Don. Showed up at 9, Roger shows up drunk at 11:35, he is called into the meeting at 7:05. That’s a lot of time for him to think. Plus he shouldn’t be as clueless about the company finances as it appears. He knows they want to buy him out. He know they can’t. _He_ sets the terms. E.g., he’ll bring in X amount of business, once that happens the firm is in the black, they can buy him out then. Of course, he hopes that they will be happier with the new business (new Don?) and the buyout stuff fades. Don Draper would never accept this deal. It is a sucker deal. Dating: Roger tells him to come in on Monday. Don’s watch says it’s the 31st. (And someone upthread mentions a calendar with the 31st.) March 31, 1969 was a Monday. BTW: The magazine Don is reading when Roger walks in is the April 4th, 1969 _Time_ magazine. (Ike just died the previous Friday and that is why he is on the cover.) March 31st might still be okay given the weirdness of magazine dating. Can rule out Feb, Apr, May (31st on a Saturday), June. Essentially a month/episode on average. He went to see Megan midweek. What did he do in the meantime? (Besides meeting with the other guys.) Love Cutthroat Bitch is back. I suspect it’s the beginning of another boring “trying to wake Betty out of her coma” storyline. The way she looked at the woman on the bus was … interesting. Not just disgust. Maybe she wishes she could be like that? BTW: Henry is a far from perfect father. Better than Betty, but not a nice person. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/115 "2014-04-30T20:51:39Z")
Looking at the footage of _Model Shop_ that was shown, I noticed what looked like a Playboy Bunny logo on the side of a building. Checking indeed shows that Playboy once had offices/club at 8560 Sunset Blvd. The cars are shown turning off La Cienega onto Sunset. Was that particular shot chosen due to the Playboy reference? Fun fact according to IMDb: Harrison Ford was the first choice for the lead in the film. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/116 "2014-04-30T20:57:16Z")
What? ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/117 "2014-04-30T21:46:31Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What? I’m guessing that _Model Shop_ is the name of the movie Don was watching in this episode. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/118 "2014-04-30T22:00:38Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > BTW: The magazine Don is reading when Roger walks in is the April 4th, 1969 _Time_ magazine. (Ike just died the previous Friday and that is why he is on the cover.) March 31st might still be okay given the weirdness of magazine dating. Can rule out Feb, Apr, May (31st on a Saturday), June. Essentially a month/episode on average. Magazine dates are kind of like “good through” dates, they are the last day the issue should be on the stand. BTW there was a NYT article, although it was in 1970. From [AdAge](http://adage.com/article/media/mad-men-recap-madtech/292920/): > [@](#): > > Time for a reality interlude: There was a Grey computer, mentioned in a 1970 article detailing the state of computing in the ad world. Computers began moving into agencies early in the early 1960s, with as many as 25 agencies boasting them by 1968. Grey and Ted Bates were among the early adopters and they created subsidiaries that charged companies for their use. Grey’s was called COM-STEP; Bates’s was the Cybics Computer Corporation. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/119 "2014-04-30T22:14:42Z")
Maybe the agency can get an early rollout of that hot new IBM 370 everyone’s been talking about. It’s got 240 _thousand_ bytes of memory! ---
**Author:** ![turtlescanfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/120 "2014-04-30T23:09:05Z")
I don’t understand SC&P’s fear of Don going to another firm. If he is so unstable as to be considered a net liability (so much so that they would rather pay him to do nothing rather than pay him to work), why not let him go and good riddance? He stumbles down the street, works some magic for a bit, but ends up crashing and burning again, taking the fortunes of the new firm with them. I mean, all things considered (talent+baggage) they must either believe he adds value or takes it away. If he adds value, why not bring him back… If he takes it away, why not let him go and sabotage a competitor? Or do they believe somehow that Don is only a liability to them, but a boon to anyone else? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142.md?page=7)