10 Things I Loved About the Premiere of Mad Men: Season 4

1. Betty Draper Still Has A Stick Up Her Ass: Oh my beloved Betty, what would we do without you? Yes, it was a sexist age and she had a painfully protected childhood but you still have to wonder, why the hell is she so mean? I’m glad to see that even though she has a new fresh start with a beautiful family, she still plans on being as difficult as possible with everyone. Not giving up the house for no reason. Pinching the children. It wouldn’t be Mad Men without her throwing a fit.

2. John and Marsha: If you’re like me, you’re young and didn’t understand the “John and Marsha” inside joke between Peggy and Mark. Luckily, what they are referencing is…well…it’s interesting…

3. It’s Still About Advertising: I can’t stand it when a show loses its focus. When Friday Night Lights stops being about football in a small town community and becomes a show about who slept with who, it loses something.  When Smallville stops being about Superman and becomes a show about who slept with who, it loses something. Relationships and sex can be important thematic elements, but if that’s all you have left to say than just stop talking.

4. Roger Sterling Gets More One-Liners: Everything that comes out of John Slattery’s mouth is hilarious. The character of Roger really needs his own Twitter feed. The show gave him tons of one-liners in the premiere and even though I hope he doesn’t become a small comic relief character, I can’t deny how much his witty commentary improved this episode.

5. It’s Still Revolves Around Don Draper: Thank god. With the division of the offices and a split in the family this season could have been so many different kinds of nasty melodrama bullshit. Can you imagine if we attempted to stick around with the rest of the cast? Horrible. When writers drift into the relationships of supproting characters, that’s when I get annoyed and that’s when it becomes a soap opera. I’m not saying Jon Hamm has to be in every shot, but the way he grounds the show is why Mad Men works so well.

6. The Sugarberry PR Stunt: Who doesn’t like a catfight gone wrong? It introduces the wonderful world of public relations to the series and is the event that causes the powerful argument between and Don and Peggy. An argument that I think will be present the rest of the season.

7. New Business, New Problems: I’ve embraced just about every aspect of this show’s story. However, towards the end of Season 3 when Don started an affair with his daughter’s teacher I had to say “here we go again…”. Luckily the writers are finally taking the show in a new direction. Now they can not only tackle new advertising problems, but also a different set of moral principles with Don.

8. Harry Crane: While he’s never had a lot of screen time on the show, I’m hoping that since they brought him into the new office that they have some new plans for him. He’s head of media and TV is still in its glory days so his presence should be important. Plus, Rich Sommer is a talented actor and all around great guy.

9. The New Office: I have a lot of good memories of the old Sterling Cooper, but I’m not going to miss that dark muted office. The modern offices are much cooler and with every floor that the agency gains, the more badass it will become. The bright lights and see-through walls reflect a more transparent company. Not only do the characters have more freedom professionally, but also have more freedom in their personal lives (Don’s bachelorhood).

10. Draper is Mad as Hell and He’s Not Going To Take it Anymore: Somebody’s learning how to express their emotions. Don doesn’t keep everything in the closet anymore. That classic cloud of mystery was cool and we love him for it, but now that were all aboard the Draper train he doesn’t need all the suspense to keep us interested. Don has never shown as much anger professionally then in this episode. Don has never been so lonely and isolated emotionally in his home life. The new Don gets slapped around by prostitutes and most importantly the new Don can fail.