Julia Hass is back Guest Clacking for us again after her great five-parter last month:

Like every other family in America, my family will, when asked what the best part about our relatively new acquisition of a DVR (yeah, we’re behind the times) is, answer “we get to fast forward through commercials.” Commercials have been the bane of any television watcher’s life, the scourge of their existence. They are the meaningless fodder stuck in between the tensest moments when you very desperately need to know what happens on the other end of the commercial break.

I don’t know. Call me crazy, but I kind of miss them.

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Things are improving on the set of Will & Ed, er, I mean Trust Me. While I won’t say that I’ve completely separated myself yet from the earlier television personas of Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanaugh, I can say that I am finding myself enjoying their foray into the world of advertising. Whereas the pilot left me just kind of disliking Cavanagh’s Conner, I found him acting much more like an adult here.

I know that creative types can be touchy and a bit prone to childish outbursts, but come on man! He was so ridiculously babyish last week and then suddenly this week he’s completely supportive of Mason’s (McCormack) promotion. Still problematic in the character department for me is Sarah Krajicek-Hunter (Monica Potter). So far, she’s done a lot of bitching, and despite being a high profile “get” for the agency, we haven’t seen anyone give her a chance to do much of anything. I at least thought we might get to see her lines for Arc Mobile at the end of this episode, considering how things turned out.

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Like many people, I usually have a song stuck in my head. For some reason these songs, more often than not, come from television commercials. It probably has more than a little to do with the fact that I watch a lot of TV.

I swear, though, advertisers have some mad scientists writing these songs. I’m convinced there are subliminal messages in them to make sure they get burned into your memory cells. It’s evil, and sometimes I am afraid I’m going to get triggered and enter Machurian Candidate mode and try to kill someone. That’s probably just me, though, right?

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AMC

(Season 2, Episode 12)

“The only thing that’s keeping you from being happy is the belief that you’re alone.” – Anna, to Don

Finally, a question is answered that I’ve had since we found out Don is Dick: what about the real Don’s family? Certainly they would be wondering where their Don was after “Dick Whitman” died in the explosion in Korea. I actually didn’t think the show would answer that question. I thought it would be one of those TV show plots that we’re just supposed to accept and go along with, so it’s great that they’re not only answering the question, but it’s a major plot point as we get ready for next week’s season finale.

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AMC

(Season 2, Episode 11)

“My father will take care of you. He likes you. You’re beautiful and you don’t talk too much.” – Joy, to Don

Don is the James Bond of Mad Men. Seriously, the guy can seemingly get any women that he wants. He doesn’t even have to make a play or flirt or anything, they just zero in on him from across a bar or fall at his feet. First we had Midge and Rachel and then Bobbie (oh yeah, and his wife Betty) and in this episode we get young nomad Joy, who seems to want to take him away with her so he can be her plaything. The interesting thing is that Don goes for it.

That’s just one of the many incredible developments in this episode, the best so far this season.

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AMC

(Season 2, Episode 10)

“I hate my mother. What do you think of that?” – Pete, to Peggy

It’s amazing how much terrain a single episode of Mad Men covers. It tonight’s show we get sadness and fear and jealousy and confusion and anger. Children dealing with difficult parents, couples unable to have kids of their own, the civil rights movement, couples about to have a child of their own, families with money problems, and a whole lot more.

Oh, and two undeniably uncomfortable scenes, including one involving a dad feeling up his adult daughter. Hey, no one said this was My Three Sons.

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AMC

(Season 2, Episode 9)

“If I don’t go into that office every day, who am I?” - Freddy

So here we are with Mad Men’s first new episode after winning two Emmys last week for Best Drama and Best Writing (plus four others). Not sure how many new viewers will check out the show to see what all of the buzz is about, but it has me worried. You can’t just jump into this show. There are too many characters, too many plots, it’s too delicately paced, and it’s so damn layered that it’s hard to penetrate it if you’re new. That’s probably why it was good that AMC ran the marathon the other day, but even that was only a second season marathon. Better to buy the first season DVD set so you know what’s going on.

This week: someone dies, someone gets punched, someone gets promoted, and someone wets themselves.

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