User Reviews

This episode shows us a bit more about Pete. It was actually pretty good finding out more about his family and who he is. I kind of feel bad for him that he can't move up and give his ideas that are actually good. We'll probably see more about his moving up the ladder later. Also interesting what his relation with his wife is like. She seems to be really getting all that she wants as he said.

Betty looking after Helen's kids was also interesting. What is wrong with that boy. He kinds of seemed pretty creepy, especially for a child. Was cutting off one's hair and give it to someone a thing back then? Anyways, her session with a psychiatrist was also good. I wonder if she is really feeling sorry for Helen. It seems she is suffering because of being home so much.

This episode showed us a little bite more about Pete's personality, we know that he has talent in order to be a great publicist but his plans can't be well done because his trying to put his work and marriaged in the same page, unfortunately I'd say that his arrogance bring him to a way that he never imagined, I hope he can get the way back. On the other hand, we have a new character, Helen Bishop, she brings something new and fresh to the story, and I can't wait to see what is going to happen next.

The junior executives are in Pete Campbell's office listening to a Bob Newhart recording of his comedy routines. They are in a good mood. Pete's secretary interrupts to inform him his wife has arrived. Pete shows surprise, but Trudy wants to take him away. When Don Draper appears, Pete stops him to introduce him to his wife. What Trudy really wanted to do is take Pete to see an apartment she has found in a new building in the eighties. The asking price is thirty-two thousand, but she thinks they can get it for thirty. Pete explains that his seventy-five dollars a week salary, they would have nothing after the mortgage is paid.

Betty is seen walking the new dog. As she passes Helen Bishop's house, she sees a man, who must be her husband, trying to get her to open the door for him. As he spots Betty, he asks her to use her phone to call Helen, for he is sure she is inside. Betty tells him to look somewhere else because he would not let him into her house. Helen comes to Betty's to explain the situation she witnessed. At the same time she asks her new friend if she could come to her house to stay with her children because she has to attend a Democratic party rally. Betty agrees to come, but she is made feel uncomfortable by Helen's son, who is rapt in his admiration for her beauty. He even asks her for a small strand of her hair, something that unnerves her, coming as it did from such a small boy.

Pete Campbell goes to see his parents. He intends to ask their help for the down payment he needs for the apartment. His father refuses him point blank. He even tells Pete he was given their name and he would like to know what has he done with it. That night, Trudy and Pete dine with her folks. The apartment issue is brought up. Her father is all for it. After all, he is looking as an investment for the young couple.

Walter Veith, the head of Bethlehem Steel, has come to see what Sterling-Cooper has created for their new ad campaign. He is visibly shocked to see the printed material Sal has created. Each one shows a different big city and the message is that each one has used lots of steel from Veith's firm. He is not happy with what he is shown. As he is trying to leave, Pete comes forward to tell the client they can probably rework their approach and invites him to stay again at the St.Regis Hotel with dinner and Broadway show ticket thrown in, as a courtesy from the agency.

Don gets a hold of Pete after Mr. Veith departs. He is angry! He does not appreciate the way Pete went over his head trying to outsmart him. That night Pete goes to meet Walter Veith at his hotel. He has brought a couple of beautiful women, call girls, no doubt. Walter is visibly pleased with the luscious young lady he sits at his side. Pete figures he has done a good job.

The next day, during the presentation of the new rethought printed ads, Walter Veith is still not satisfied with what is being shown to him. Again, Pete tries to act big by countering Don's proposal with one of his own: "Bethlehem Steel, the backbone of America". After Walter's departure, Don does not mix his words. He wants Pete to go pack his things and go. A dejected Pete goes to his office where he breaks down in big sobs.

Don and Roger Sterling go to see Bert Cooper to explain what happened at the presentation and how Pete behaved. They both inform Cooper they want Pete out. Bert has a different idea. He reminds his two top men how things are conducted in New York. Pete Campbell's mother happens to be the former Dorothy Dykeman, an influential woman. Bert Cooper knows that if Pete goes, Mrs. Campbell will be a formidable opponent that will bar him from the elite clubs of the city. It is better to keep the young man, after all, it is a case of "I'll scratch your back, and you'll scratch mine" situation. Both men go back to tell Pete he is not fired. Roger even adds that Don fought to keep him.

Tim Hunter directed the episode written by Lisa Albert. The reality of how things are done in certain areas of business is at the heart of the chapter. Hypocrisy reigns in those upper spheres and no one wants to 'make waves', or 'rock the boat'. Even though Pete has committed the worst sin in going over his superior's head, he will be kept because he is well connected.

Vincent Kartheiser, who plays the reptilian Pete, is showcased in the fourth installment of "Mad Men". He does justice to what was asked of him. Jon Hamm, January Jones, Maggie Siff, John Slattery and Robert Morse, among the regulars are prominently featured.

The fourth episode of Mad Men, titled New Amsterdam (that would be the original name of New York) takes a step back, temporarily abandoning lingering subplots - Dick Whitman, Pete and Peggy, Betty's troubling domestic situation - and offers a more character-driven piece instead, focusing in particular on the tense dynamic between Don Draper and his employees. The result remains as superb as ever.

The tension is caused by Pete's sudden decision to go "rogue": while Don and his team are busy coming up with ideas for a new ad campaign, he goes in and pitches his own idea - without telling his superiors. This leads to a serious confrontation with Don, who has every intention of firing the guy ("Pete, I want you to take a cardboard box, and out all your stuff in it."), but is forced to relent after a talk with Roger Sterling that teaches him a lot about corporate politics. On a side-note, Pete's wife wants to buy an apartment in Manhattan, and Pete's parents are quite cold when it comes to a loan. Fortunately, the in-laws are much more welcoming...

The episode's focus on Pete allows Vincent Kartheiser to go even further in showing his range after the events of the first two episodes, having successfully moved on from the peculiar "troubled teenager" type he played on Angel. In particular, his scenes with Jon Hamm are a great example of two acting generations brilliantly squaring off. The same is true for Hamm's amusing scene with Slattery, which provides a predictable but spot-on justification for the characters' excessive drinking: "We drink because it's what men do". A class act, indeed.

New Amsterdam, the 4th episode in the series, continues the amazing stride of the show. This is coming from someone who is currently watching the 4th season, and the changes some of the characters have gone through is amazing. Jon Hamm plays Don much lighter in this season than in the later ones, as does Betty. January Jones is a brilliant actress who's character transformation from this sweet, quiet Betty Draper persona to what will become a cold-hearted, mentally abused mother in Seasons 3 and especially 4 is really astounding, but it comes to prove how much people can change by how their lives are affected. In a way it is quite brilliant how I am looking back and catching up with this first season (since I started watching from season 2) but I am able to characterize things and appreciate them more.

"New Amsterdam" is the fourth episode of the opening season of the successful American television show Mad Men. The show started strong and definitely stayed that way with these over 43 minutes we have here. There is elaboration on several characters again, but the one at the center of it all this time was probably Vincent Kartheiser's Pete Campbell, especially with what we find out about his family background. This includes the complicated relationship with his father in the scene right between the characters, but we also get to know the financial background or society background of his mother in a conversation between two, or rather three, other characters. This background is also why Campbell is not fired from the company after he was really close to. At the same time, there is elaboration on him and his wife trying to buy an apartment where Campbell is clearly not happy about not receiving and financial support from his own parents while the parents of his wife are ready to happily support. Of course, they do not know about another woman playing a major role in Campbell's life or at least being in his head. You can argue to what extent this was a reason as well for Campbell's skepticism. This woman is of course Elisabeth Moss' Peggy who, with the exception of one brief inclusion, is not a factor at all in this episode.

The rest of the focus is on the Drapers again, but almost more on the wife this time and not on Don, the show's lead character. We follow what happens when she agrees to babysit for a friend in the neighborhood who seems to be struggling a bit, especially because of her own romantic background and the man who is also the boy's father. Said boy is getting close to puberty, which results in two awkward situations with January Jones' Betty Draper during the babysitting, one of which she does not likely, but during another she is almost a bit flattered. It was definitely a bit on the weird side, but it was intended that way of course and another ingredient to a really convincing episode. In general, you will find many pretty women in this episode (Siff, Stanchfield, Brie, Lyons, Moss, McNiven), even if a handful of these are only seen during one scene or shot even. Christina Hendricks, otherwise a key supporting player, is not in this episode at all. As for the business side, a deal with a steel company is at the center of it all and also used to further elaborate on the protagonists here and especially with Campbell it serves as a great character study. I found it especially nice that Robert Morse also had a scene, his only scene this episode, in which he could really shine. Always nice to see him and may he rest in peace. His character humming a children's song at the end of a scene was also truly nice. Perhaps even the best scene of the episode.

This episode is now over sixteen years old and still a massive winner. In general, it feels as if the show was getting better and better not only the longer it went despite being on such a high level early on already, but it also seems to be getting better and better the more time passes since it ended. Definitely nothing too many shows can say about themselves. Slattery's Sterling (maybe my favorite character/actor from the show) has some fine moments in the second half, including a conversation with Draper, but nothing that really totally stands out. There's other episodes for him. As usual, the show is also worth seeing for the reference about the life and times back then. Here Kennedy is included more than once and if you take a closer look, you will find more than that, of course also with some of the music and movies running. On the laughing (or at least smiling) front, the show often also delivers in terms of situational comedy and maybe it was a bit of a running gag how the boys were chilling and listening to entertainment records in Cambell's room. You hear about Bob Newhart there and it is beautiful to say that this man is still with us in 2023. Hopefully, it can stay that way for a while. So yeah, as you see from my rating, this was another episode from Mad Men I really enjoyed and one of the contenders for being my favorite episode of season one. I definitely recommend the watch. The chemistry between the actors and tensions between characters make it impossible to regret seeing this fine piece of primetime television. Big thumbs-up.

Phil Campbell and Don Draper still compete. Phil is tired of being considered minuscule in Sterling Cooper so he pitches an idea to a client behind a big steel company (Bethlehem Steel: The Backbone of America), and it works much to Don's dismay (he spends all night coming up with an additional campaign when his other offered idea is shot down as "flat"). Don's wife, Betty (January Jones, an absolute beauty, but her life is so blatantly hollow and soulless), is asked by her divorcée neighbor, Helen (Darby Stanchfield; Scandal), to watch her kids which she does. When it appears as if Don will be firing Phil (the episode allows us to meet his opinionated, pushy, and always-gets-her-way wife, "motivating" him to get a five-room apartment he really can't afford thanks to his vocally unsupportive lawyer father who won't help him put forth a down payment), the main boss thinks otherwise. So Don's boss (and really growing good friend), Roger Sterling (John Slattery) steps in, telling Phil he should appreciate what Don did for him in support! It was certainly a lie but it allowed Sterling to repair Don's disgust and disappointment and put Phil in his place. There's this code. Don't go around the boss to pitch your own ideas, even if this does make the client quite happy. Phil and Betty's episode is this one. Phil is trapped in a marriage with a wife who gets her way. He has a father who disapproves disgustingly with his choice of career. He has a passion in advertising but his insecure boss, Don, considers him a clod unworthy of a job at the ad company. Yet, but the end, Phil attains his job at the company thanks to "his name". Betty agrees to watch Helen's kids, and he's a bit odd. He stares as she pees and Betty scolds him for doing this, although he seems oblivious to her anger towards him. Helen supports a particular presidential candidate and is off to a gala in his honor...who is this candidate? JFK. When Betty gets Helen's son to apologize he wants some of her hair! Just weird, but the kid wants a hug and even sheds a tear due to her getting on to him. Betty still goes to the psychiatrist even though he could care less and she rambles on about how Helen envies her (ha!), suffering from this "awful life as an independent woman". The show really paints Betty as a clueless ditz who has no clue how empty and shallow her existence is. Meanwhile Don is challenged by this young upstart (he has confidence in his self but marriage and his own father are weights that seem like a yolk upon him) and overacts. So the episode certainly shows that all is not as perfect as life might seem for Betty and Phil. And while Don is good at what he does, the man needs to get over his self.

While checking out an apartment, Trudy is carrying a cute purse with short handles.

Betty walks the dog and a man asks to use her phone. She apologizes and says she does not invite in strange men into her home.

Peggy asks to borrow an erotic book the female workers rave about. It is a banned book. It is about an affair involving a married man and a married woman.

That man Betty saw while walking the dog was her neighbour's ex. The neighbour calls asking if Betty could watch over her kids and Betty comes over. The house and lifestyle of this woman is a mess. Her son walks into Betty using the washroom despite Betty asking him not to do so. He gives Betty a tight hug after and tells her she is pretty, twice. He asks for a piece of her hair and Betty cuts some off. He walks away staring at the hair in his hands.

Peter goes to his parents to ask for money for a home. His parents are rich and at first his father awkwardly tells him about family news. It appears the family is not very close. His father is disappointed in his son's career.

Peter and Trudy go to dinner with Trudy's parents and Trudy tells them they have news. Mother asks already implying she is thinking of pregnancy. The father is an easygoing and funny man who offers to pay for their home. Peter is reluctant to accept that money as he does not want to feel controlled by her parents.

Peter tries to outdo his boss by giving a client his own idea, causing Draper to be furious and firing him. Peter drinks and is upset. But his family's background saves his job as Draper's boss does not want to lose connections from Peter's family.

The ending songs are from the 60s and I like this episode's song a lot.