The Strange World of Thomas P. Coombe

Mad Men Season Finale: Don Pops the Question

 Last season Mad Men ended with the heist-movieish thrill of Don, Roger, Pete, etc. basically stealing Sterling-Cooper from its new British owners and starting their own firm. The home stretch of this season offered a different sort of thrill, as we saw SCDP struggle to survive.

 Cheers to Matthew Weiner for not offering any easy solutions, either for the company or the people in it. There was some speculation on-line -- based on the fact that the finale was called "Tomorrowland" -- that Disney would swoop in as a new client and rescue everyone. Thankfully, that didn't happen. No big victories here, just small ones like Peggy scoring the pantyhose company and Don (maybe) winning over the American Cancer Society and its well-connected board. 

 And no easy answers for anyone else, either, least of all Don, who sacrifices an honest, loving, adult relationship with Faye to be with Megan, his secretary/lover/nanny pretty much the moment he sees that Megan doesn't turn into Medusa when Sally and Bobby act up in public. 

 You know, the way Betty would.

 (For some good thoughts on Betty's role in this episode in particular and on the show in general, I'll direct you to the always astute Amanda Marcotte, who disliked this episode for a variety of reasons, including Joan's decision not to have the abortion. "On TV, 99% of women who enter abortion clinics have a change of heart and leave," Marcotte writes. "In reality, I’m guessing the numbers are reversed.") 

It's a baffling decision; I expect most of the audience reacted the same way Don's colleagues did. I know I left the season -- which I'm ready to call Mad Men's best -- feeling a bit off-kilter. I made a Groundhog Day joke on Twitter last night about the finale's choice of closing song: "I Got You Babe." But the more I think on it, the more the use of the song seems intentional. Don's just as stuck as Bill Murray.

 Other thoughts:

•  How great was that scene with Peggy and Joan? It lasted like a minute, if that, yet told us so much about far these characters have come.
• Another nice moment: Don falling face down on his bed, then telling the kids "pick me up and move me to my bed." We hardly ever get to see him doing goofy "dad" stuff like that.
• No Sal this season. In retrospect, there was never really a good time to reintroduce him.
•  I missed the previous two episodes, so a lot of this is running together, but I can't let the season end without saying how cool Don's full-page ad was.
• And that's it for this season, and Mad Men. The blog's going dark for the rest of the month, as I transition from my current job to my new one, and then travel to Florida for my brother's wedding. I'll return next month to talk Walking Dead. See you then.

  Tom Coombe

Fringe: Bad Robot?

If you're writing a TV episode and going to reference Blade Runner -- or at least its source material -- it's probably a good idea to say something at least semi-interesting about humanity and identity. 

 In the case of tonight's Fringe, mission accomplished. Mostly.

 "Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?" didn't have anything quite as cool as this scene, but it at least took the time to get inside the head of its sympathetic villain (played by Marcus Giamatti, cousin to Paul). Until now, the shapeshifters had been cold, efficient killing machines (or, as Walter put it, creatures that are neither and both human and machine). 

 Here, we learn that just as the shifters are capable of insinuating themselves into the lives of the people whose identities they steal, they're also susceptible to taking on that person's emotions, the way poor, fake Ray Duffy came to realize he needed his impostor family. 

 All that aside, there was just a lot to like about this episode: it gave pretty much all the characters something to do, it found just the right blend of creepiness, humor and humanity, and it featured one of the best pre-credits sequences this show has ever had. 

 I'm excited to see where things head next, how long Fauxlivia can keep her cover intact and what Olivia's up to Over There. See you all on November 4.

 Tom Coombe

What I Haven't Been Watching, and Why

I have no idea what's going on at Dunder-Mifflin these days. Same thing goes for Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Price. 

I have no clue what the boys of SAMCRO have been up to the last two weeks, or what godawful stuff Kenny Powers has gotten into south of the border, or how Hank Dolworth's fledgling detective agency is doing.

 In short, all my plans for writing about TV shows this fall -- not to mention actual viewing -- have fallen apart these past few weeks.

 But I have my reasons. First, as I've said before, my job eats up a lot of my time. Secondly, my friends and I have started the "Dracula 2012" project, which you can follow on Facebook and Twitter. So far, it's been a lot of fun.

 Also, I've been preoccupied, because I'm about to start a new job. Starting October 25, I'll be in the employ of Patch.com, AOL's local news service, covering Easton, the city I've called home for the last decade. I doubt I'll be working shorter hours, but at least I won't be commuting to New Jersey anymore. Hopefully, I'll be running at full steam here by year's end.

Fringe: Too Smart For His Own Good

Since we'll be spending at least a little while in Fringe's alternate universe, I'm glad the writers have chosen to make it a real place, as opposed to just "dark, backwards America."

 Even if Charlie, Lincoln and Olivia are in the employ of a mad genius, they're still good at their jobs (Lincoln and Charlie could've solved the case themselves when you think about it). And like their counterparts on this side, they're working for the common good.

 Still, I wasn't thrilled with "The Plateau," which I thought had some interesting ideas -- specifically the horrific Flowers For Algernon-like experiment that turned Milo into a supervillain, then a supercomputer -- but moved a bit too quickly towards setting up Olivia to figure out who she really is. 

 Granted, the writers probably had a good reason to have her where she is, but I sort of expected her to go along thinking she was Fauxlivia for at least a little longer.

 Other thoughts:

•  Recurring Fringe director Brad Anderson returned this week, doing a really nice job with Milo's orchestrated accidents.
• Things Sure Are Different In This Alternate Universe, Vol. 6: Ballpoint pens and avocados are rare, smallpox is a serious problem, and America fought in the Arabian (?) War. Update: Noel Murray of the AV Club -- who liked this one much better than I did -- says it's "Aruba War." 
• Android-like Astrid is almost as adorable as the one we're used to. Nice job by Jasika Nicole in the dual roles. Lance Hendricks' Broyles seems to be the same guy in both universes, but it's tough to complain, because hey, he's Lance Hendricks.

Tom Coombe