Wednesday, June 17, 2026

“Mad Men” Makes A Small Mistake, But Otherwise: Don Faces the Future, Joan Finds Love?

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“Mad Men”: this episode, “The Forecast,” took place in June 1970 as the Kent State shootings are referenced by Sally when her old pal Glen Bishop (played by show creator Matthew Weiner’s suddenly grown son Marten) enlists for Vietnam.  One slight mistake: the song at the end of the show, Roberta Flack’s “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” was a hit in 1972 after being released at the end of 1971. Whoops! Maybe AMC doesn’t pay fact checkers any more.

Bruce Greenwood guest starred as the man who could be Joan’s future, Richard, a wealthy real estate developer. Is he Joan’s end game? We’ll see. He’s wearing leisure suits and ascots. That part was indeed 1970. PS Who is that girl babysitting Joan’s son? Did I miss something?

Don is assigned by Roger to write a 2500 word speech outlining the agency’s future. At the same time Don is giving good and bad advice, selling his penthouse apartment, and quizzing everyone about the nature of life. “The Forecast” moved only Joan’s story and maybe Sally’s forward, while leaving Betty in her Rye kitchen, and Peggy looking smart in a new suit.

Are we spinning wheels? What happened to Harry Hamlin’s character, and Bob Benson? “The Forecast” felt too general at this late date, with the show quickly winding toward the end. Let’s hope next week is a little more character and plot specific. PS Christina Hendricks looked like a million bucks.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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