Nixon vs. Kennedy (11 Oct. 2007)

Election night arrives and the staff of Sterling Cooper has a party while watching the returns. The election is close and it's obviously going to be a long night. Now a senior partner in ... See full summary »

Director:

Alan Taylor

Writers:

Matthew Weiner (creator), Lisa Albert,

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
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
Robert Morse	...	Bertram Cooper
Alison Brie	...	Trudy Campbell
Mark Moses	...	Herman 'Duck' Phillips
Troy Ruptash	...	Lieutenant Donald Draper
Alexa Alemanni	...	Allison

Storyline

Election night arrives and the staff of Sterling Cooper has a party while watching the returns. The election is close and it's obviously going to be a long night. Now a senior partner in the firm, Don Draper must hire a new head of account services, a post that Pete Campbell yearns for. Aware of Draper's secret past, he tries to strong-arm him into giving him the job. With his secret out, Don panics and he asks Rachel Menken to run away with him. Regaining his composure, Don calls Pete's bluff leading to a confrontation with Bert Cooper.

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Plot Keywords:

id tag | switched identities | dismissal | homecoming | blackmail | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 2007 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

46 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Jon Hamm' broke his hand while performing a stunt during a Korean War flashback scene.

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Goofs

When Don and Pete meet in Bert's office to discuss Pete's revelation of who Don really is, after Pete is dismissed, Bert suggests to Don to "Fire him if you want". This comment by Bert is contrary to what was stated in New Amsterdam (#1.4) where Bert gives Don and Roger the complete picture of why they cannot fire Pete, as his family name is a "marquee issue" for the firm. It is possible that Bert may feel that a personal attack on a senior member could justify the firing, in this case.

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Connections

References Highway Patrol (1955)

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Soundtracks

"Metro Polka"
(uncredited)
Written by Vaughn Horton (as George Vaughn)
Performed by Frankie Laine
played during office party

User Reviews

If only Television was this good all the time...

Mad Men is by now, in it's fourth season, one of the best television shows of all time. It cannot be denied of the power and talent it holds, and episode 12 of the first season reinforces that idea completely.

The episode on one hand is light, and focuses on a lot of characters that are usually in the background for the most part. The office holds a party for the Nixon/Kennedy election, not knowing that the final outcome will not be favorable to what they want. There is a brief scene where Joan and Salvatore are acting out a play that after a kiss between both, there is a very subtle expression on Joan's face... could this mean she suspects something?

The episode also shows just how much Peggy's sense of character and the way others see her has changed since the beginning of the season. It shows how much Moss shines, especially in a particular scene. Of course, we also continue the story of Pete finding Don's old belongings. Pete Campbell is the most unlikeable character on the show, and the nerve that he has to impose such an action on part of Don's behalf in this episode is ruthless, although not completely shocking. We always knew Pete was this type of character. We also see the truth to Dick Whitman's final fate in some amazing scenes.

Overall, this episode is so far the best o the first season, and having seen the four seasons of Mad Men, one of the best of the entire series. Films rarely get this good, not to mention even in the category of television, this series is going to go down in history.