Episode Report Card Couch Baron: A | 181 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT Indian Giver
By Couch Baron | Season 2 | Episode 2 | Aired on 2008.08.03
In the elevator at SC, Roger bitches that Fifth Avenue is a parking lot. "In both directions." Heh, nice little period note -- New Yorkers will know that Fifth Avenue only goes downtown now (it was two-way up until 1966). Don reminds him that there's a parade for "Colonel [John] Glenn," prompting Roger to snark, "It's incredible what passes for heroism these days." Well, I'm no fan of parades myself, but I think I'd give Glenn this one even in 1962. Roger's just been really testy since his cardiac event. Don disagrees, saying he thinks Glenn's a winner, with his square jaw and "false modesty," and Roger replies, "You gonna go down there with your autograph book at lunch?" Everyone else in the elevator's inside voice: "Get a ROOM."
When Don and Roger reach the office, they see everyone gathered around Hildy's desk. (By the way, just so I don't forget again, the other thing I forgot to mention is that Lois, Don's new secretary, was the new girl last season, the one who had a crush on Sal. I guess her working for Don is oddly fitting, in that he's the second-most unavailable guy in the office.) Roger, thinking they're all gaga over Glenn, is annoyed, but it turns out they're listening to the radio because "American Airlines Flight 1" to Los Angeles went down in Jamaica Bay. Peggy, carrying a vacuum cleaner and a less-visible hangover, enters as Don tells Hildy to turn the radio off. Once she's obliged, he tells Harry to pull any Mohawk Air ads, as they don't want people opening the paper "and seeing a Mohawk ad next to a picture of a floating engine." Not without a really good tagline, anyway. Don stomps off, leaving everyone else, including Pete, free to make jokes at the downed plane's expense. However, Hildy takes a call from Irony at that point, whose timing on this show is just consistently magnificent.
Bertram! I missed him. Roger is in the coot's office when the secretary buzzes that Duck is there. He tells his bosses that someone should tell Don to pull the Mohawk ads, not-so-subtly trying to sell the idea that Don needs supervision, and then informs them he just had a conversation with an old business associate of his who's now at American, and it's complete chaos over there -- they have no idea what happened to crash the plane, and they're going to need to make a fresh start. The significance of that expression isn't lost on Roger and Bertram, although they fail to steeple their fingers and give a Mr. Burns-esque "Eeeeeexcellent." For future reference, I would have forgiven the anachronism.