Dark Shadows (13 May 2012)

A depressed Betty tries to make things uncomfortable for Don and Megan, Roger tries to take out some secret weapons for a meeting with a prospective Jewish client, and Don makes a snap judgment that angers the creative department.

Director:

Scott Hornbacher

Writers:

Matthew Weiner (creator), Erin Levy

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 Francis
Christina Hendricks	...	Joan Harris
Jared Harris	...	Lane Pryce (credit only)
Aaron Staton	...	Ken Cosgrove
Rich Sommer	...	Harry Crane
Kiernan Shipka	...	Sally Draper
Jessica Paré	...	Megan Draper
Christopher Stanley	...	Henry Francis
Jay R. Ferguson	...	Stan Rizzo
Robert Morse	...	Bertram Cooper
John Slattery	...	Roger Sterling
Peyton List	...	Jane Sterling

Storyline

Betty is going to Weight Watchers to deal with her weight issue. Whether she wants to admit it or not, she is aware that her envy of Megan is part of her unhappiness and associated eating and weight gain. After an incident with Megan (of which Megan herself is unaware), Betty decides to use Sally as a pawn, which places Sally, Don and Megan in the middle of Betty's game, of which only Don seems aware. At the office, Roger is hustling for the Manischewitz wine account to show that he, beyond financing the company, is still useful in a day-to-day sense, and to show that Pete, who has lined up a potential major New York Times article featuring SCDP, is not the SCDP wunderkind he makes himself out to be. Roger's plan, the creatives for which he plans to pawn off as his own to the clients, includes the use of both Jane and Ginsberg, which doesn't sit well with Peggy or ultimately with Jane. And Don decides to go back into the creative realm, coming up with an idea at a brainstorming ...

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Plot Keywords:

manischewitz | weight watchers | family tree | thanksgiving

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 2012 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Center Studios - 450 S. Bixel Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate Television, Weiner Bros.

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When working on a project involving a product named "Sno-Ball" one of the ad men suggests naming a pig that, but doesn't give a reason. In fact, Snowball is the name of a pig who is one of the main characters in George Orwell's classic anti-Communist novel ANIMAL FARM.

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Goofs

At the beginning of this episode, Don Draper is seen checking colour proofs of ads. However, digital proofs of the kind were most definitely not available in 1966. He should have been looking at Cromalin or Geva analog proofs.

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Quotes

Roger Sterling: They make wine for Jews, and now they're making one they want to sell to normal people. You know what I mean - people like me.

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Connections

References Dark Shadows (1966)

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Soundtracks

"Sweepin' the Clouds Away"
(uncredited)
Music & lyrics by Sam Coslow
Performed by Maurice Chevalier

User Reviews

Something seems to be building here

It surprised me a little that the "Dark Shadows" episode was set in November 1966. The series is definitely moving at a fast pace. But we finally get to see a episode focused more on Betty Francis, as well as her husband, Henry. We also learn that Roger Sterling's soon-to-be-ex is Jewish. And we get to see more drama unfold when Sally learns of Don Draper's first wife, Anna.

Oddly, the references to the TV shows of the day in Season 5 seem to be death related: Don Draper's calling his ex-wife and her husband "Morticia" and "Lurch" in the opener, a reference to "The Addams Family": and then to "Dark Shadows," which began broadcasting in June 1966. In this episode, Megan is scornful of the Gothic soap opera, and she had some justification: ABC had many soaps, such as "The Young Marrieds," which came and went frequently, and it looked like "Dark Shadows" would become another statistic. It was doing very badly in the ratings.

But the actress whom Megan seems scornful of would have the last laugh, because she gets the part for the show. And five months later, Jonathan Frid's character of Barnabas Collins debuts, turning the show around, and allowing it to remain on the air until April 1971.

And yes, it is ironic that this episode came out when the movie version of "Dark Shadows" did, and one month after the passing of Mr. Frid.

Beyond that, the episode adds to the notion that something is building here. Some have speculated that one of the major characters may pass away, but that remains to be seen. We do know that something seems to be brewing up ...