Ladies Room (26 Jul. 2007)

Don Draper is reluctant to talk about his past, or his childhood, whether with his wife Betty or his boss Roger Sterling. Joan Holloway teaches Peggy Olsen how to wrangle a free lunch out ... See full summary »

Director:

Alan Taylor

Writers:

Matthew Weiner (creator), Matthew Weiner

Stars:

Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jon Hamm	...	Don Draper
Elisabeth Moss	...	Peggy Olson
Vincent Kartheiser	...	Pete Campbell (credit only)
January Jones	...	Betty Draper
Christina Hendricks	...	Joan Holloway
Bryan Batt	...	Salvatore Romano
Michael Gladis	...	Paul Kinsey
Aaron Staton	...	Ken Cosgrove
Rich Sommer	...	Harry Crane
Maggie Siff	...	Rachel Menken (credit only)
Rosemarie DeWitt	...	Midge Daniels
Robert Morse	...	Bertram Cooper
John Slattery	...	Roger Sterling
Talia Balsam	...	Mona Sterling
Anne Dudek	...	Francine Hanson

Storyline

Don Draper is reluctant to talk about his past, or his childhood, whether with his wife Betty or his boss Roger Sterling. Joan Holloway teaches Peggy Olsen how to wrangle a free lunch out of some of the ad men. Roger Sterling raises the issue of working for the upcoming Nixon presidential campaign and while Don doesn't have much enthusiasm, senior partner Bert Cooper insists that they will go ahead and orders Don to put a team together. The creative team has to come up with an ad campaign for a new deodorant in an aerosol spray can. Betty Draper's doctor recommends that she see a psychiatrist.

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Plot Keywords:

lunch | deodorant | plastic bag | push ups | divorcee | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 July 2007 (USA)

Filming Locations:

The Prince - 3198 W. Seventh Street, Koreatown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate Television, Weiner Bros., American Movie Classics (AMC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

47 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In Spring of 1960, Don Draper makes a reference to banging a shoe on the table. Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev's famous "shoe-banging" incident did not take place until October, 1960.

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Quotes

Midge Daniels: [finding Don outside her apartment door] 11 a.m. Did you get fired?
Don Draper: Brought Betty into the city to see the doctor, but honestly, I think I'm not feeling so great. I called in sick.
Midge Daniels: Don't bring that here. I'm serious, Don, don't talk to me about her. That makes me feel cruel.

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Connections

References Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958)

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Soundtracks

"I Can Dream, Can't I?"
(uncredited)
Music by Sammy Fain
Lyrics by Irving Kahal
Performed by The Andrews Sisters
heard while the ogling men parade by Peggy typing at her desk

User Reviews

"Most of the time it looks like you're doing nothing"

After the introduction of the pretty large ensemble cast (so large that two regulars are missing in this episode), the second hour of Mad Men takes the necessary time to have a closer look at some of the more troubled characters, mostly female, as indicated by the episode's title (Ladies Room).

Specifically, two ladies are at the center of the plot: Don's secretary Peggy, who gets to learn from Joan how to get a free meal from the male staff (possibly without giving them anything in return), and his wife Betty (January Jones), who we got a very brief glimpse of in the pilot's last scene. On the surface, she may look like an ordinary '60s housewife, but in reality something's not all right, and after a minor accident with the car she thinks it's better to receive some expert advice. Don, on the other hand, has to deal with the new assignment from his boss Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse) to work on Richard Nixon's campaign and Roger's suggestion that he open up a little about his personal life.

Compared to the previous episode, very little time is devoted to the usual ad job the guys have to do (this time it's a deodorant spray), in favor of some crucial psychological development: Peggy is already starting to come off as more complex than she appeared to be, but the real core of the show is the Drapers, one terribly secretive (Don), the other profoundly insecure and confused (Betty). Together, however, they try their best to carry on their reputation as a normal, happy American family. Just like those you see in advertisements.

The claim made by some critics that this could be the new Sopranos is even more justified now than it was in the pilot. Sure, there's no nudity or violence, and the swearing is limited to the occasional S-word (this isn't HBO or Showtime, after all), but with mood, characters and dialogue so perfect, who needs extra flesh, blood and profanity?