There have been many strong national marketing campaigns over the past 17 months. But as the 3.5 million viewers on Sunday indicate, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP) is still America's favorite advertising agency.
Mad Men, the Emmy award-winning drama, returned from its long hiatus with a two-hour season premiere. The episode, entitled "A Little Kiss," was met with the show's largest audience ever in its five-year run.
"A Little Kiss" holds back on the stunning reveals one would expect from such a hyped season premiere. It instead focuses on the current state of the series' characters and the social conundrums they face. The emphasis is especially rewarding to fans that have watched these characters evolve so much over the past four seasons.
One of the premiere's most attention-grabbing moments happens right in the opening scene. There is a group of African-Americans protesting in front of an advertising agency. Mad Men has moved months forward into the thick of the civil rights movement and it was quite interesting to see the show start off establishing the time period so early in the episode.
Mad Men has been met with criticism about its indirect treatment of race, an argument that is refuted by the fact that Madison Ave. based agency is far removed from the movement. Matthew Weiner's (Mad Men'screator and writer for this episode) immediate inclusion of the struggle feels like a strong piece of meta-writing on his part, especially since the plot downright invites the movement into the upper class environment.
Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the show's main character and SCDP's creative director, suggests running an equal opportunity help-wanted advertisement to mock his advertising competitor's water balloon prank on the opening scene's protesters. Unaware of the joke, multiple African-American applicants show up at SCDP's door expecting a fair shot at a job. It was a clever turn of events.
The civil rights storyline was second to the character development, however. Season four left many storylines unfinished, and "A Little Kiss" wastes little time addressing them.
Within the first 20 minutes, we learn that Don has decided to go through with suddenly marrying his former secretary Megan (Jessica Par?(c)), that Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) actually decided to keep her baby despite the adulterous circumstances, and that SCDP is still struggling.
The actors' performances make each of these plotlines engrossing. The characters have grown in depth throughout the series, but their emotional states have changed from last season. Don isn't stern, but oddly happy in this episode. Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) is still as self-gratifying as ever, but it seems he's gotten much bolder during the time skip.
Such changes can easily lead to thin performances, but there are little nuances such as Hamm's consistent expressions and Kartheiser's condescending tone that make everything feel as authentic as the '60s era set designs.
The gorgeous Hendricks arguably had the best performance in the episode. Joan was once portrayed as the show's confident femme fatale, but she's become increasingly vulnerable in later seasons. The character has taken a leave of absence after giving birth to SCDP partner Roger Sterling's (John Slaterry) child, unbeknownst to him.
The situation makes Joan appear more helpless than ever before, as she struggles between keeping her autonomy and her growing domestication. The problem leads to a dramatic, perfectly acted scene where Joan has an emotional breakdown while confronting SCDP partner Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) after she misinterprets the help-wanted ad.
The superb writing also carries this episode. Mad Men has always featured strong writing, but this episode had more instant quotables than usual. The clich?(c)d, but always fun Roger gets most of these lines.
When Roger discusses the possibility of hiring a black secretary he exclaims, "We can't have one out there." The comment is horribly racist, but it comes off as a bit of dark humor because of Slattery's delivery.
The best line of the episode comes when Roger greets Joan when she visits the office with her child.
"There's my baby," Roger said. "Now move that brat out of the way so I can see her."
Plus, what's not to like about Megan's performance of "Zou Bisou Bisou" at Don's surprise party?
The episode's main success is the built anticipation of what's to come for the upcoming season. There's the burgeoning tension between Roger and Pete, the potential workplace complications involved with Don and Megan's union, and Joan's increasing desperation.
The apparent normalcy of some of the plotlines may alienate some newcomers, but the fans who know what the characters are capable of should be aware of how combustible some of these situations are - especially with the civil rights movement as a backdrop.
Season five should be a treat.
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