Here is a comment we just received from someone going only as “Someone Who Knows”:
Season two will open with a long segment at Sterling Cooper, and is being written to grab first-time viewers who will be checking out the series after all the pre-Season Two buzz, while still delivering upon the expectations of returning fans. A machine-gun paced segment at an advertising agency at the top of its game, it’s full of the crackling dialogue, hints of key dramatic plot points, and has one tremendous laugh. Everyone will be blown away. Peggy is there, don’t worry!
Now, in truth, the game we’ve been playing is fun and we can keep on playing, but I know TV. And what “Someone” has described is exactly how a Season Two opener of a ‘best show no one’s watching’ needs to be constructed. We will meet each key player, in a way that will both open our (the loyal viewers’) eyes to where they are now, and catch the new viewers up on who they are and why they are important.
Most brilliant catch-up-its-viewers season opener ever: West Wing, two-parter following Rosyln. (So far!)
(Thanks, Someone!)
Update: Deborah here. I have been able to check out “Someone Who Knows” and, while I will not violate this person’s choice of anonymity, I can confirm that this is, indeed, someone who knows, and this is a legit scoop. I am tingling with scoopy excitement.
April 3, 2008 at 7:51 am
Funny. Funny.
Now: Is “Someone Who Knows” someone that knows? Or is it someone that likes to think they know? I’m not guessing either way.
Best part is we get to find out.
There is a “tell”, though … “pre-Season Two buzz”? This is AMC – there won’t be any buzz!!! If we’re lucky, Aaron Staton will be the third guest on Craig Ferguson in late June.
Totally right, Roberta, whether Someone is someone or not, it’s a spot-on description of the way TV thinks. And if it’s correct, you guys get major points for nabbing the eventual scoop. Rooting for you …
April 3, 2008 at 8:08 am
I don’t know who Someone is, but as has been mentioned, we have fans all over the place.
AMC is not the only hand in the pot, remember. There’s also Lionsgate.
Hopefully someone gets their shit together.
April 3, 2008 at 11:09 am
Hmmmm. A Peabody Award. Two Golden Globes. Directors Guild. Producers Guild. Possible Emmys yet to come. Doesn’t all that count as “pre-season 2 buzz” ? Plus, Jon Hamm was just on Bill Maher, so hopefully that means AMC is going to work to get its stars a higher profile.
April 3, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Good “down-low” info on season dos….
Hopefully, AMC will get its act together and promote the hell out of this upcoming season!
April 3, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Oh, I agree that there’s tons of buzz. Mad Men is the best little show that no one’s heard of. Look how big and prominent the “best of 2007″ tag is. Major TV writers love it. Conan O’Brien loves it.
The whole notion of buzz is all about what the cognoscenti know and everyone else will catch up on. Exactly like the first season of West Wing. I think Mad Men is going to be a big hit with some real ratings numbers.
We’re certainly doing our part!
April 3, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Great to see that update, Deborah. Woo-hoo!
Interested, I wouldn’t equate awards and critical acclaim with buzz. As we all know, the list of canceled (read: unwatched) shows is littered with Emmys, Peabodys, Golden Globes and 4-star reviews (ahem, S1 of “Chicago Hope”).
The AMC publicity machine has been idling almost since “Smoke” debuted. I’m secretly hoping that “Someone” is indeed an AMC insider with the ability to pull the lever on a decent press/ad effort.
April 3, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Dan, I agree that it’s not the same thing. There was, however, one big pre-finale push where there were spots on network television during normal viewing hours, but nothing since, barely even on AMC itself.
(‘Course, we didn’t have this blog then, so my attention to detail was not so honed.)
April 3, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Good scoop but…the source says that Sterling Cooper is “an advertising agency at the top of its game.” Is that really true? Didn’t Matt Weiner say just last week that Sterling Cooper was always on the wrong side of things? They’re not big on research, they didn’t understand how the Volkswagen campaign would impact the business, they were responsibile for the Nixon campaign, as we get deeper into the 60s, there’ll be more problems for the tobacco industry, and art still follows copy, instead of a marriage of the two disciplines. All these things would hugely affect how advertising was done in the 1960s. Will S/C have adapted and incorporated those changes? And if they did, wouldn’t they still be behind the times for having come on board so late? Granted, they got a new head of accounts in Duck Phillips, they won the Kodak and Clearasil accounts, plus they have their golden boy Don, and a new rising star in the form of Peggy, but will it be too little too late?
April 3, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Ineresting.
First of all, who knows where they will be when we come back.
That’s all. I don’t really have a Second of all.
(But I don’t think they can be blamed for Nixon. They took on a sinking ship. Although they did go after that sinking ship.)
April 3, 2008 at 4:40 pm
Totally agree hulla (or do you prefer loo?) … S/C is like a painter stepping back admiring his/her work as a great wind is about to rush through the studio and destroy everything he/she has ever created. Dead firm walking, unless something drastic is afoot to reverse what is clearly a shop on the edge of oblivion.
Again, that term ‘inflection point’ – which is usually used incorrectly – refers to that hidden (or near-hidden) turning point which leads to the conditions necessary for a significant change to take place … it’s not the change itself. So the period of the early 1960s is the inflection point for the more dramatic changes that take place later in the decade.
In this case the reactionary, backward-looking attitudes of the S/C team is setting the stage for being blindsided down the road. Probably not as early as 1962, but we’ll definitely continue to see the evolution of that inflection toward their downfall.
April 3, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Exciting scoop!
We talked about Tarot Cards a while back and there’s a card called The Wheel of Fortune. (Interesting when considered with title of the last episode.) The concept of the card is the constant change of fortunes as the wheel turns.
One rendering of the card had people around the edges — a man ascending with the wheel and proclaiming that he will reign, a wealthy and powerful man at the top proclaiming that he currently reigns, a man descending and stating he had reigned. Often the wheel is on the back of a peasant who, of course, bears the brunt of it all with no hope of reigning.
The point is that Sterling Cooper is among those that reign. They’ve perhaps slipped a little, or never been the most successful, but they have some power and influence. It makes sense for them to be seen as at the top of their game season 2 — perhaps even landing some stellar acount — but saying that also acknowledges that the wheel keeps on turning, and they will be descending sooner than they know.
This might be one of the main themes of the show — how power changes, and how nobody stays on top. When last we saw them, Don was at the top of the wheel and Pete was ascending, but you’d have to be blind to not see how precarious it all is, and how descent is as inevitable as ascent.
As a side discussion, I think of this when people make fun of a celebrity for being a has been, or make fun of old people. Nobody stays at the top of the wheel, and it keeps turning — even for the people who in their youth and stupidy mock others.
April 3, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Hull, Duck Philips replaces Don as Creative Director, not head of accounts. So he could be highly influential. (Unless I’m wrong. Someone is sure to tell me if I’m wrong.)
Dan, S/C isn’t the painter, not really. They’re more like a drunk driver crashing into a tree. Because they’ve been willfully backward-looking. “Remind me not to hire any more young people” is not a painter who has actually painted anything lovely.
Glass, nice tie-in to the Tarot. So with a card for each major player, we also have a card for Sterling Cooper.
April 3, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I’ll check in a bit, but I think you’re wrong. I think Duck is head of accounts… the position that Pete wants. Either way he is clearly highly influential.
And I have to say, I don’t think S/C is the train wreck that everyone seems to think it is. They are old fashioned, and no doubt turning a deaf… something-or-other to what’s happening in many arenas, but they are still innovative and talented. It’s Toasted. The Carousel. Menken’s rebranding. Mark Your Man.
Glass, love your comments. Don’t forget about the toppling Roger and rising Peggy.
April 3, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Joan will be descending, too, not to mention Joan types. The irony is that Madison Avenue will be the ones responsible for the Twiggy-fication of America.
April 3, 2008 at 7:20 pm
And remember Weiner also said he didn’t foresee anything good for these people…
Maybe Sterling Cooper will be in the midst of a takeover? Maybe Cooper is tired and wants to call it quits, wants to sell his (controlling) interest in the firm to the highest bidder? Where would that leave Roger, Don, and all the others?
April 3, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Maybe we’re over-interpreting “top of their game.” Maybe bustling and successful, while still full of angst, is “top” enough.
April 3, 2008 at 7:36 pm
According to AMC, Duck is Head of Account Services. But, AMC also has Don as Creative Director, and Duck is being hired for the open job—Don’s. So color me confused.
April 3, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Don is partner and CD. Just like Roger was partner and head of AS. Duck’s not replacing Don, he’s replacing Roger.
And I agree that we’re over-interpreting ‘top of their game’. Although, to continue the over-interpretation, it could be considered ‘their’ game–the agency’s itself, not the entire game, that they’re at the top of.
However, let’s everybody breathe. S/C is not toppling. It may have its little dips, but let’s not forget what this show is about. Advertising. First and foremost. Buffy didn’t close that hellmouth for seven years. Advertising is the mirror of the times and the people living in them; it’s the metaphor for anything these writers need it to be. The fact that they get it wrong and still remain on top of their game is just fine with me. It will be interesting how much of that is acknowledged. Will anyone other than Pete notice that Marlboro did what Don threw in the trash?
I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see what is changed about these people and what is the same. I can’t wait. Have I mentioned I can’t wait?
April 3, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Of course we’re over-interpreting. We over-interpret everything. That’s what this blog’s for, right?
April 3, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Right.
April 3, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Bear in mind, the inflection point is usually not identified until it’s well past … the benefit of our 48 years of hindsight is what makes most of our observations possible.
So, they are indeed at the top of their game … from the standpoint of 1960/62.
In 2001, the year they declared bankruptcy, Enron was #7 on the Fortune 500 list. Not saying it will be that swift, but you don’t always realize when the Reaper has entered the room (or the executive suite).
April 3, 2008 at 9:53 pm
btw – the minute we stop over-interpreting, it’s time to pack it in and stick to seinfeld and raymond reruns.
do you think al gore invented the internet so everyone could share rational, fully formed, coherent opinions?
April 3, 2008 at 10:05 pm
My goal is to interpret exactly enough. We will continue to write posts and respond to comments about all of the nuances of character and situation that make MM the best thing on television. But when we start writing 400 page treatises on the meaning of the color red when on the shirt of an ensign, well, I’m outa here.
April 3, 2008 at 10:09 pm
just piss all over my next post, why don’t you?
April 3, 2008 at 10:19 pm
LOL!
April 3, 2008 at 11:39 pm
LOL. Glad I didn’t make that trekkie reference.
And…
“do you think al gore invented the internet so everyone could share rational, fully formed, coherent opinions?”
Who said anything about rational?
April 4, 2008 at 12:18 am
The Wheel of Fortune post was too much, right?
April 4, 2008 at 8:28 am
The “top of their game” doesn’t mean the top of the advertising game. Maybe the best Sterling Cooper can do will never be good enough.
April 4, 2008 at 8:46 am
I have nothing to add but I love all the comments. I agree with Glass’ observation about ‘have-beens’ and older people — there’s a lot of shame in the culture about not being a constant success or forever young, when both of those goals are impossible to hold on to forever.
April 4, 2008 at 8:48 am
And for the record, I wouldn’t mind re-watching Seinfeld but please please please don’t make me watch Everybody Loves Raymond.
April 4, 2008 at 9:53 am
LOL. Glad I didn’t make that trekkie reference.
I speak from experience.
April 6, 2008 at 5:28 pm
[...] And in some ways the most exciting, BoK anonymously received a description of the planned opening sequence of Season Two, Episode One. [...]
April 22, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Here are a few more anonymous non-verifiable scoops for you. I’ve been growing antsy and strolling about my neighborhood for any potential Mad Men production crew sightings (the Draper home is right around the corner from me). So far, nothing, but…
Multichannel News reports that filming just began this week in and around Los Angeles. (I guess they were still in rehearsals and pre-production/writing before?) http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6554147.html So maybe I jumped the gun? I checked my city’s film calendar, but the only thing they have listed for Mad Men is slated for May 30. Looks like there’ll be a nice outdoorsy scene (maybe the Draper’s go on a picnic or Don goes fishing?) considering where they’ll be filming on that day.
I was also thinking that perhaps the Draper’s moved on up and into a different neighborhood, but that would mean having to get new neighbors, and the end of the Francine, Helen and Glen storylines. Is that likely? Who knows. I hope the Draper home is still in my neighborhood, though. I have seen those cryptic signs that indicate a film crew is in the vicinity–one of which was even labeled “MM,” but I was en route to an appointment, and couldn’t stop. I hope to encounter more of those, and will certainly stop if I’m able to do so.
Given that they just started filming, and will continue filming at least through May 30, I wonder if a July start date is still feasible? Will they be able to do all the post-production in less than a month? Hmmmmm.
E Online’s “Watch with Kristen”
http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=a3bb6bfc-1685-44f7-8d03-179d72d529de
reports:
“Sexy Joan has an honest-to-goodness boyfriend this season. As for the launch date of season two, we only know it’s sometime in July 2008. However, I can tell you that, just as the story of season one ended on a holiday (Thanksgiving), season two begins on another nonreligious holiday. Guesses?”
So, there are some things to fuel speculation. I can’t wait for season 2.
April 23, 2008 at 7:43 am
Valentine’s Day.
April 23, 2008 at 8:38 am
Really. really. f-ing good answer.
(Though it’s a little cold for outdoorsiness.)
April 23, 2008 at 8:38 am
(But don’t let my parens fool you. I think you hit it on the head.)
April 23, 2008 at 9:34 am
Hull, if you get pics of neighborhoody excitement, we’ll be thrilled to post.
I read somewhere that filming begins (began) April 21, so multichannel is right. I thought I posted that. At the moment I don’t remember where I heard it. April 21…did Rich Sommer blog it? I think that’s it.
Love Watch With Kristen’s scoop, and I have no idea why my newsfeeder didn’t give it to me. I’ll have to tweak settings. And promote it to the front page. Love Joan with a boyfriend. And I think Valentine’s Day is correct. Non-religious, Kristen says, and Matt Weiner said Feb-March, so the only other choice is Easter. Or President’s Day (yawn).
And Valentine’s Day is THE PERFECT way to introduce everyone’s current relationship status. Brilliant.
April 23, 2008 at 9:46 am
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April 19, 2009 at 11:23 am
[...] And in some ways the most exciting, BoK anonymously received a description of the planned opening sequence of Season Two, Episode One. [...]
April 19, 2009 at 11:27 am
[...] tip to our own Hullabaloo, who pointed out an EOnline scoop that we can all get excited about. Watch With Kristen says: Sexy Joan has an [...]