A deceptively simple question opens season 4 of Mad Men: "who is Don Draper?" It's an innocent inquiry that's fuelled much of the series so far, as Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is something of an enigma, despite the fact we've known the truth of his assumed identity during wartime for awhile now. But he's still a mystifying man who seemingly had everything (beautiful wife, cute kids, respected job, monetary wealth, style, good looks), before recklessly flushing a third of it away by season 3's finale. This new season is something of a restart for the prestigious show, following the birth of a new advertising agency from the ashes of Sterling Cooper, and Don's new role as a divorcee and weekend father... "Public Relations" was especially enjoyable because so much felt fresh, visually and with some of the central relationships. In less than a year, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP) have bought a floor in the Time-Life building, but it's still a comedown from their sparkling Madison Avenue skyscraper; with a non-existent "second floor" they mention to impress visitors, and lack of a conference table -- which most clients assume is an intentional eccentricity. Success is now a daily struggle (Lucky Strike make up 71% of their entire bookings), but not impossible for an upstart business, especially with Don's commercial for Glo-Coat Floor Wax causing a stir with its cinematic styling. The trouble is: Don's now been positioned as the companys photogenic figurehead, and the great ad man isn't accustomed to selling himself so blatantly -- he usually lets his work speak for itself. The opening scene's Advertising Age interview resulted in a disastrous article that compared Don to Dorian Gray, describing him as a "handsome cipher", causing further ripples in the pond when Harry's (Rich Somner) schmoozing of Jai Lai in Los Angeles falls through because they were upset Don didn't mention them in his interview. As Cooper (Robert Morse) so eloquently puts it to Don: "turning creative success into business is your work, and you've failed." Elsewhere, Pete (Vincent Karthesier) and Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) were keen to keep a Sugarberry Ham account, so decided to go behind Don's back and finance a publicity stunt where two actresses will fight over a ham at a grocery store, generating the kind of buzz money can't buy. Meanwhile, Don was tasked with boosting sales of Jantzen swimwear, a company who want a wholesome ad campaign for their two-piece swimsuit, despite competing against the sexualized bikini. On the home front, Don's ex-wife Betty (January Jones) is still living in their old Ossining home (which he's still paying for), with her new lover Henry (Christopher Stanley), having gone past the date she agreed to move out by. Indeed, Betty hasn't even tried to find another place to live -- perhaps resenting the power Don still has over her life and refusing to make it easy for him? Or maybe she can't move on, and is actually using Henry as a more trustworthy, surrogate Don? Henry himself appears to be aware he's living in the shadow of Betty's ex, or "muck" as his domineering mother puts it. In one revealing scene, Henry's bedroom antics with Betty were shown to be far from stimulating these days, but shortly after coming into contact with Don it felt like Henry felt pressured to assert his masculinity and surprise Betty for an impromptu passionate kiss in the garage. Don's own social life has taken a fall, now living a lonely bachelor's existence after work, only seeing Sally (Kiernan Shipka) and Bobby (Jared S. Gilmore) for prearranged sleepovers. More intriguingly, he's become an object of pity in best-friend Roger's (John Slattery) eyes, who arranges him a blind date with his wife's friend Bethany (Anna Camp), an opera extra who's wise to manipulative men like Don so only permits him an end-of-date kiss in her cab home. Is she to be this season's eventual conquest for Don? Or will she surprise us and be more of a player than he is? Sexually frustrated, Don's later sought comfort from a buxom call girl called Candace (Erin Cummings), and appears to have developed a fondness for light sadomasochism after his split from Betty -- requesting Candace slap him across the face while in bed together, perhaps showing he has feelings of self-loathing or believes he needs to be punished for the heartache he's caused his family. Either way, it's something of a surprise to see Don (the ultimate ladies' man), forced to pay for sex rather than enjoy the pursuit of strong women, as he used to. Is it just not the same thrill for him, when he's footloose and able to do what he wants? And whatever happened to the school teacher from season 3 he was seeing behind his then-wife's back? Truly, this was a strong premiere (the 40th produced) that did a fantastic job outlining the new setups and giving us enough story to already start speculating about how things will progress. I was a little surprised to find that Betty and Henry got married between seasons, half-expecting Don to spend this season trying to get Betty back before she could remarry, but I'm nevertheless sure the writers have made the right decision. There's certainly potential in the idea that Henry's family think he's married Betty for her looks (a mid-life crisis, basically), and hopefully Betty will clash with her battleaxe mother-in-law at some point. There are also opportunities for Sally to shine this year, as it seems she's not best pleased about having to mix with her stepfather's family and is clearly more of a daddy's girl than expected. As someone with first-hand experience of divorcing parents and the tensions it creates when stepparents arrive on the scene, I know for sure there's a healthy vein of social drama to mine here. Overall, Mad Men shows no sign of losing its mesmeric appeal; it's superbly acted, finely layered with subtext/symbolism, and moves with such quiet poise and purpose that its "slow" pace draws you in deep. I'm particularly excited the climax saw Don seemingly embrace his new role, returning for a Wall Street interview and ditching his modesty to give the reporter a captivating tale, with himself as the all-American hero at the centre. Have his partners at SCDP created a monster, if Don's decided to throw off the shackles of his past and make a lunge for the future? Asides I liked the symbolism of the Ad Agency reporter (a Korean War veteran) having a false leg. This was a more physical secret relating to a military past -- likely intended to reflect Don's own, more psychological, falsities. If only Don could so something as simple as strap on a prosthetic and roll a trouser leg over his problems. Always fun to see familiar faces in Mad Men, rocking the '60s fashions. Here, Don's dinner date Bethany was played by the lovely Anna Camp (a toothsome joy as Sarah Newlin in True Blood's second season), and the call girl Don hired was played by Erin Cummings (Sura from Spartacus: Blood & Sand). He didn't get much screentime, but it's great to see a new workplace character in Joey Baird (Matt Long), a junior creative who had some playful scenes with Peggy. Is he a new office romance for her? And does this mean Sterling Cooper semi-regulars like Ken, Paul and Sal have effectively been replaced now?
WRITER: Matthew Weiner DIRECTOR: Phil Abraham GUEST CAST: Robert Morse, Christopher Stanley, Matt Long, Erin Cummings, Anna Camp, Blake Bashoff, Pamela Dunlap, Jack Laufer, Chris McGarry, Ron Perkins & Paul Bartholomew TRANSMISSION: 8 September 2010 - BBC4/HD, 10PM
A deceptively simple question opens season 4 of Mad Men: "who is Don Draper?" It's an innocent inquiry that's fuelled much of the series so far, as Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is something of an enigma, despite the fact we've known the truth of his assumed identity during wartime for awhile now. But he's still a mystifying man who seemingly had everything (beautiful wife, cute kids, respected job, monetary wealth, style, good looks), before recklessly flushing a third of it away by season 3's finale. This new season is something of a restart for the prestigious show, following the birth of a new advertising agency from the ashes of Sterling Cooper, and Don's new role as a divorcee and weekend father... "Public Relations" was especially enjoyable because so much felt fresh, visually and with some of the central relationships. In less than a year, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP) have bought a floor in the Time-Life building, but it's still a comedown from their sparkling Madison Avenue skyscraper; with a non-existent "second floor" they mention to impress visitors, and lack of a conference table -- which most clients assume is an intentional eccentricity. Success is now a daily struggle (Lucky Strike make up 71% of their entire bookings), but not impossible for an upstart business, especially with Don's commercial for Glo-Coat Floor Wax causing a stir with its cinematic styling. The trouble is: Don's now been positioned as the companys photogenic figurehead, and the great ad man isn't accustomed to selling himself so blatantly -- he usually lets his work speak for itself. The opening scene's Advertising Age interview resulted in a disastrous article that compared Don to Dorian Gray, describing him as a "handsome cipher", causing further ripples in the pond when Harry's (Rich Somner) schmoozing of Jai Lai in Los Angeles falls through because they were upset Don didn't mention them in his interview. As Cooper (Robert Morse) so eloquently puts it to Don: "turning creative success into business is your work, and you've failed." Elsewhere, Pete (Vincent Karthesier) and Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) were keen to keep a Sugarberry Ham account, so decided to go behind Don's back and finance a publicity stunt where two actresses will fight over a ham at a grocery store, generating the kind of buzz money can't buy. Meanwhile, Don was tasked with boosting sales of Jantzen swimwear, a company who want a wholesome ad campaign for their two-piece swimsuit, despite competing against the sexualized bikini. 
