What I’m Watching: Mad Men (Season Premiere)

Mad Men: Season 3, Episode 1 “Out of Town” (B+)

The highly anticipated return of one of the most acclaimed shows currently on television doesn’t disappoint. This is one case where a “previously on” sequence really does seem necessary, even though the show’s jumping ahead in time a bit and the British invasion is well into its takeover of Sterling-Cooper. The episode-opening flashbacks to Don recalling the way he came into this universe offers a nice parallel to his current situation with Betty, and really cements the show’s tone as intense and spectacularly dated in its feel. The way things are running at Sterling-Cooper certainly has changed with the arrival of the British, and it’s interesting to see how some characters have remained true to themselves but still adapted to the new management, like Joan, who’s still driven and shrewdly manipulative when she wants to be, and Roger, who comes in drunk and late to a meeting where someone got fired. I thought I recognized Burt Peterson as actor Michael Gaston (“Jericho”), and upon further research, it turns out I was correct. It’s great to see that the actor is able to play against type and be quite funny when he’s hamming up his role. The dual hiring of Pete and Ken is a fantastic move for the show, especially to see how both of them handled it in this episode and how they’ll work together in the future. Tremendous credit should go to Bryan Batt, who does a phenomenal job as Sal in this installment, keeping up with Don through all his lies and charades but failing to keep his own secrets hidden. His plane conversation with Don which only skirts the surface was extremely powerful, and it’s nice to see that Don is at least capable of being discrete and humane despite his chauvinistic and homophobic beliefs. Don’s pre-fire alarm encounter with the flight attendant was a wonderfully subtle scene, capped off by Don’s haunting admission that he’s been married a long time, and there are lots of opportunities to cheat. Not much has changed, but this show is just as good as ever.