Daily Archives: April 8, 2012

‘Mad Men’ gets freaky with ‘Mystery Date’

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Except for the fact it aired in April, tonight’s “Mad Men” on AMC seemed like a very special Halloween episode. Characters were fascinated — or haunted — with news of Richard Speck’s gruesome killings of several nursing students in Chicago.

And Don Draper, who’s shown more than a little bad judgment during the course of the series, risks ruin with new wife Megan by allowing an old fling to come into his apartment and bed … only to choke the woman to death and stuff her body under his marital bed.

Or did he?

It was that kind of episode. “Mystery Date” showed why the series is one of the most subtle but intriguing shows on TV.

The undercurrent of the episode was the Speck slayings. The staff at Sterling Cooper Draper Price were fascinated by crime scene photos shared by Joyce, Peggy’s magazine photographer friend.

Meanwhile, while Henry and Betty are out of town, Henry’s mother stays over with Sally, who’s curious about the Chicago mass slayings. At first the two don’t get along. But by the end of the episode, they’re bonding over their mutual terror. Henry’s mom has a trusty butcher knife and Sally is sleeping under the sofa. Awww.

There’s a lot of discontent going on. Joan’s military doctor hubby returns from Vietnam with plans to go right back. Don is sick with the flu and irritated by Ginsberg, the new young ad writer. Peggy takes Dawn, the new secretary, home with her but succumbs to the prevailing thinking of the day.

And Megan, understandably irritated when Don’s old girlfriend comes onto him in an elevator, stakes her claim on Don.

But will Don’s philandering ways end both his marriage and the old fling? It sure looks like when Don — in a scene mirroring the “angry housework in lingerie” seduction from a couple of episodes ago — gets a little rough, killing the fling and stuffing her body under the bed.

Does Don Draper have to choke a bitch? (With apologies to Dave Chappelle.)

While I thought “Mad Men” had choked the shark there for a moment, it was all apparently a fever dream. But holy crap, it seemed real.

Other memorable moments:

Roger is a walking ATM machine (well before ATMs existed) this season. A while back he paid out of pocket to settle Pete’s complaints about his office space. Tonight Peggy shook him down for extra work she was doing for him. How long before Roger’s world blows up?

Peggy has always been a great character but her moments tonight were among her best ever.

Joan’s mom is like a character plucked out of a 1960s sitcom and set down in this very bleak situation. And it works.

Classic toys: Major Matt Mason

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G.I. Joe, Captain Action and Johnny West were the toys of choice in my childhood, but Major Matt Mason and his moon base were cool playthings that had the advantage of being timely.

The United States was deep into the space race in 1966, when Mattel released the Matt Mason action figure, his cohorts and their gear. The astronaut figures — military types with flat-top haircuts — were obviously inspired by real-life space jockeys.

The Mason characters were different from the hard plastic action figures of G.I. Joe and Captain Action in part because of their size — a little more than half the height of the 12-inch action figures that dominated the boys’ toy market at the time — and because they were rubber figures with accordion-like joints.

I was about six or seven when Major Matt Mason came out and I probably had one fairly early. I base that on the fact that characters introduced later in the toy’s run, according to online sources, are totally unfamiliar to me. While I had Mason and some of his fellow astronaut figures like Sgt. Storm, I have no memory of Captain Lazer, the “giant” figure that was part of the set.

Truth be told, the Major Matt Mason gear that I loved the most was the moon base. Molded white plastic floors and red support beams with blue plastic windows, the moon base could be built and stacked in “creative” ways. I suppose Mason’s moon base was the equivalent of Barbie’s dream house and maybe it shows my frustrated architect instincts, but I liked playing with the moon base best.

I have no memory of what happened to my Major Matt Mason stuff. More than a decade ago, I saw a few of the figures and part of a moon base at a nostalgia shop. The prices were outrageous and, needless to say, I didn’t pay to recreate my memories.

There’s been talk about a big-screen Major Matt Mason movie starring Tom Hanks. If the project happens — and why not, in these days of movies based on Transformers and games like Battleship? — it’ll be interesting to see if the toys make a comeback.

The Great Newspaper Comics Challenge Part 8

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Our weekly look at the Sunday funnies. Because surely the best comic strips didn’t set sail with Prince Valiant?

“Classic Peanuts” gives us Charlie Brown vs. the Kite-Eating Tree, Part 127,423. Charlie taunts the “stupid tree,” avowing that it won’t get his kite this time. What does the tree do? It “wumps” over onto the kite. Look at it this way, CB: The tree’s roots are pulled out of the ground, so surely that’s the last time this will happen, no?

“Baby Blues” finds the parents worried that the kids haven’t uncovered all the Easter eggs. They do … except for the one left over from last year. Mercifully, it was on the porch. Otherwise, you know, I think they would have noticed it before now.

“Pickles”: Grandpa advises Nelson not to take it personally that Gramma is grouchy. “We need to be slow to judge others, though, son,” Grandpa says. Then Gramma comes in, announces “I believe these are yours,” and throws dirty laundry all over Grandpa. Funny.

“Lio” shows the little boy wishing for a companion. The Good Fairy turns his doll into a real boy, ala Pinocchio. Final panel: The newly created boy is doing Lio’s homework. Good, very “Calvin and Hobbes.”

I literally laughed out loud at today’s “Dilbert.” A female office worker asks Wally to lunch. He tells her he’s become “digisexual” and is no longer attracted to people. “I only like technology. People creep me out. You’re basically a delivery system for viruses, germs and unreasonable favor requests. I’m willing to take a picture of you, but that’s as far as I’ll go.” he says. “This is the most disturbing conversation I’ve ever had,” she says as Wally snaps a picture. “Thank goodness for photoshop,” he says.

In “Blondie,” Dagwood gives us our second Easter egg hunting joke, finding his treat in the attic. Not a lot of laughs, but it’s topical!

“Foxtrot” brings the Easter funny as the kids dye eggs in a manner that turns the egg inside funny colors, thus convincing kids at school that they’re eating rotten eggs when they takes egg salad sandwiches for lunch. Funny, but do kids take egg salad sandwiches to school anymore? Do kids even eat egg salad anymore?

And it’s the return of Ghostly Grandpa in “The Family Circus.” The spectral ancestor shows baby PJ where to find hidden Easter eggs: On a step (that’s just asking for a smashed egg), under a bush, behind a trash can. Then Grandpa’s ghost lifts PJ up into a tree so he can get one there. Now, let’s think about this for a moment. Grandpa’s ghost lifts PJ up. How can he do that? How can he touch PJ, no less lift him? And what would the rest of the family think if they saw PJ suddenly floating up into a tree, aided by invisible Grandpa? I think the Keanes just wrote the script for the “Poltergeist” reboot.