Did the Mad Men Season 3 Premiere Live Up to the Hype?
Well the first episode of the new season of Mad Men just ended. Let's scan the internet to get the immediate reactions of a few folks, shall we?
Needless to say, if you haven't watched the episode yet and don't want to have anything spoiled for you, you might want to skip scrolling down on this post.
Tracie Egan at Jezebel live-blogged the episode and came away less than impressed:
10:24 Am I the only one who is disappointed by this episode so far? It's really oddly paced and not getting to any of the shit that interests me (Peggy, Joan, Betty, etc.).
10:55 That was it!?
Vulture's Logan Hill loved it:
If you had never seen Mad Men before, this premiere would have utterly baffled you. But we don't care about you! We loved it: Take these two moments that wouldn't mean anything to a newbie:
The brand London Fog? Pryce explains that there never was any fog there - just the coal dust from the industrial era. This is the most direct metaphor we've seen yet for this unsentimental show. Believe in the romantic mist, or Mad Men's cool, smoky style, if you want: Underneath, it's all carcinogenic. Those cigarettes aren't toasted, they're lethal. The Sterling Cooper men (and this show) willfully perpetuate the lie: "I don't care what they say," says Cooper. "London Fog is a great name."
Another moment: "You look like Ty Power," says the stewardess to Don. "Remember him?" Like Don, Power was a former Marine typecast as the romantic lead. But Power died in 1958, years after his prime. Don, who needs reading glasses, is a relic of an older era in 1963, which is why his advice to the London Fog guys is so last-decade. That season-three poster of Don calmly holding a cocktail as the water rises in his office? Don's too cocky to notice the water rising. He's the oblivious frog who doesn't know the sixties are about to boil him up.
Alan Sepinwall, the TV critic at The Star-Ledger, loved the show and the new London Fog client storyline.
Yes, "Mad Men" is back, and "Out of Town" was an incredibly satisfying way for the show to return from the long hiatus. Heck, even if the rest of the episode had been a drag, it would have been worth it for the running gag about London Fog itself, which served as a metaphor for the whole show.
On Twitter, Jake Tapper felt inspired to light up and booze:
Defamer founding editor Mark Lisanti was enthused over the continuation of Don Draper adulterous ways:
Our new Defamer guy Richard Rushfield had issues with a certain Sterling Cooper in-house promotion:
Mediaite's Anthony De Rosa know's it's still all about the booze:
Yahoo Sports blogger Eamonn Brennan fondly recalled a time when few people cared so much about an episode of the show.
Pop culture enthusiast Max Valliquette was obviously impressed and then immediately saddened by the mindless tripe he watched afterwards:
I'll add more reactions as we find them as they begin rolling in from the West Coast later tonight. And tomorrow our Brian Moylan will have a more extended recap along with some video highlights from tonight's show. But judging by the reactions of the masses found via "#madmen" and "Mad Men" Twitter searches, the reaction seems to be generally positive.
What did you think about it?