Mad Men Recap

Episode Five, “The Fog”, has Don and Betty visiting Sally’s teacher, Miss Future Hippie, because Sally got into a fight with a fat girl after recess. Betty looks like she is wondering what this has to do with the most important person in the world, herself. Don looks like he is trying to figure out her cup size. Miss Future Hippie puts two and two together when Betty tells her that her father died a week/month/sometime ago (time is not relevant in Bettyland) and comes up that Sally is upset about her grandfather’s death. Miss Future Hippie tries to be a comfort to Betty, but since normal human emotions are foreign to her, Betty goes to the bathroom.

Meanwhile, the New British bosses at Sterling-Cooper are trying to watch that budget and are nickel and diming the boys to death. Don tries to get the Brits to lighten up, but they are immune to his charms.

In seasons past, this would have caused Don to run in to the arms on one of his many trollops, but he goes home this time only to have Miss Future Hippie call. She said she was calling about Sally but I think she was calling about Don. Of course, Betty has to ruin all of Don’s fun by going into labor.

At the hospital, modern viewers were given a peak at what it was like to be born in the 50’s and early 60’s. It involved heavy drugs and Nurse Lisa Simpson. While in the waiting room, Don meets a regular Joe, a prison guard and they bond in a superficial way as only Don Draper can.

At the office, Pete Campbell gets a phone call from someone even more slimier than himself, the comically named Duck Phillips. For some reason, Duck has never really made it big in advertising. Really Duck?! What do you think the problem could be, Duck? How come people do not take you seriously, Duck?

Pete agrees to meet Duck for lunch and who is there? Peggy, his baby’s momma from the first season. Duck wants them both to come work for him at his new agency. Pete walks out, but Peggy stays for lunch, no surprise there.

During her labor, Betty has a series of odd dreams, culminating in a dream about her dad, mom and Medgar Evens. Like most of the things in this show about Betty, it is long and pointless, but it did end with Betty waking up with the baby in her arms. She wants to name him, Gene, after her dad. Don, reverting back to the old Don (Yay!) isn’t too thrilled with this and asks Betty is she knows Miss Future Hippie’s phone number.

Pete, when he is not walking out on lunches, is trying to create a new ad campaign for Admiral and realizes that black people spend money too. This leads Pete to do market research on the only black person he has met-the elevator attendant. Armed with all of this information, he goes in the presentation with the message: sell to black people. This alarms the Admiral people who in turn go to both Sterling and Cooper to complain. Pete gets chewed out by both of them. Shows that’s how messed up the 60’s were: Pete is the only one trying to do the right thing.