Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B | 330 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT My Dinner With Awkward
By Couch Baron | Season 2 | Episode 3 | Aired on 2008.08.10
Harry's looking pensive as his officemate, who's getting ready to leave, asks, "Is there somethin' due tomorrow that I don't know about?" Heh, I love that -- it shows that Jennifer's perception of Harry routinely working late hours is completely off the mark. When the guy's gone, Harry places a call to an acquaintance of his at CBS, who takes all of three seconds to ask Harry if he's calling because "Sterling Coo [lost] some of its drunken luster?" Harry says he doesn't know, but he thinks maybe he has to move out to move up. The friend, however, says that CBS is not hiring, and what's more, he might be in trouble himself, as he just lost a couple sponsors for one of his biggest shows. Harry tells the guy that he's long on sponsors, so he tells Harry that their show The Defenders was short on scripts and turned in an episode in which they show an abortion in the opening scene, a script on which the network had passed the year before. (This episode did actually air in real life, and was called "The Benefactor" -- hence the episode title.) Harry laughs in disbelief, and the guy goes on that it was just a ploy to get the network to shoot it. "I tell you, I miss a blacklist." Heh. Harry asks him to send it over, and he agrees, although he adds that it's going on with sponsors or without. When he hangs up, Harry sits and looks pensive again. I would be too, if I had to think of a way to tell my pregnant wife that our hopes for a raise rested on an "Abortion, yay!" stance. Not that Jennifer might not be pro-choice, but still, the timing seems sub-ideal.
The next morning, Joan greets Don as he enters, apologizes for Lois, and tells him that she'll be filling in until they can find a suitable replacement. I'll point out that Joan is doing what needs to be done here without projecting any air of being too good for the assignment, which lends credence to her speech to Peggy about how people should just do their jobs and leave the bullshit at home. Don makes an unkind remark about Lois, so Joan suggests that perhaps this time he should be involved in the selection process. Don doesn't think he'll know what to look for, although he does say he doesn't want another Peggy, but someone who'll be happy with the job. Don asks if Jimmy is shooting that day, and Joan says yes. "They were supposed to start this morning, but Mr. Barrett's been showing up around four." Don jokes for her to wake him at three-thirty, but Joan replies, with a stern look, "We'll start with your correspondence." Don gives a "Yes, ma'am" eyebrow-raise. Heh.