Christmas Comes But Once a Year (Mad Men)
Encyclopedia
"Christmas Comes But Once a Year" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Mad Men
, and the 41st overall episode of the series. It was written by series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner
and Tracy McMillan, and directed by Michael Uppendahl. It originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on August 1, 2010.
The episode opens in December 1964, as the newly opened advertisement agency is hosting a Christmas party. As the company faces the problems of its limited client base, Don Draper's private life becomes ever more chaotic. Critical reception of the episode was positive.
invites himself to the event, the company has to go all out. The evening ends up with Garner getting drunk and publicly humiliating Roger Sterling. A more hopeful occurrence is the return of a sobered-up Freddy Rumsen, who brings along a valuable new client.
Don Draper's life continues to unravel, as a female psychologist from a hired consumer research
company brings to light his issues with his own past. An encounter with a young nurse from across the hallway leads nowhere, but he later ends up getting intimate with his secretary Allison, a situation which leads to awkwardness in the workplace.
Peggy Olsen is initially happy about Freddy's return, but finds working with him to be difficult, due to his dated attitudes toward advertising and toward women. She has also come to an impasse in her relationship with her boyfriend Mark. Torn between a fear of loneliness and her ambivalent feelings for Mark, she eventually agrees to sleep with him. Meanwhile, Don's daughter Sally is having problems with accepting her father's absence, especially during the Christmas season. Glen Bishop, the family's neighboring boy, has taken an unhealthy interest in Sally, and ends up vandalizing the Francis residence.
by the same name. The episode was written by executive producer Matthew Weiner
, who has written a number of episodes, and Tracy McMillan. It was directed by Michael Uppendahl, who had directed three previous episodes of the series. The episode also saw the return of Joel Murray
in the role of Freddy Rumsen, for the first time since the season two episode "Six Month Leave".
After the season premiere episode "Public Relations", series creator Matthew Weiner was displeased about the amount of disclosure that had gone before the episode, through the release of promotional clips. As a result, the amount of information revealed about the second episode was severely reduced. Pond's Cold Cream
, the account brought in by Rumsen, is a real-life product by Unilever
. This product placement
was not meant to promote Pond's itself, but was intended as a tie-in
for a commercial for Dove soap, another Unilever product. This commercial featured actors reminiscent of the characters from the show, and ran during a commercial break of the episode's original screening. The deal between Unilever and AMC included six different spots, for six different products, running over the course of the season.
. This piece of legislation was enacted on July 2, 1964, by the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson
, who was elected president in his own right in November that year. The day after the party, Don meets Roger in the office and asks, in a German accent, "Did you enjoy the Führer's birthday?" Roger replies "May he live for a thousand years," with a similar accent and a laugh. This is implied a reference to Adolf Hitler
, and more specifically a reference to Hitler's 50th birthday party
on April 20, 1939, which featured a military parade of unprecedented proportions intended to display Germany's military power to the world.
), Rubicon
, which was the station's most-watched original series premiere ever, with two million viewers.
The fourth season of Mad Men opened to universal critical acclaim, gaining a score of 92 out of 100 on the review aggregation site Metacritic
. For the second episode of the season, reviews were somewhat more muted. James Poniewozik at Time
appreciated the return of several characters that had been absent for a while, particularly Marten Weiner (who is the son of Matthew Weiner) in the role of Glen. Moira Macdonald, writing for The Seattle Times
found it "not an entirely satisfying episode", though she enjoyed little details, such as the subtle development of the relationship between Don and Peggy. In the same vein William Bradley, writing for The Huffington Post
, found that the episode was a good one, "but not one of the classics, and a step back from the season premiere." Bradley warned against reading too much into Don Draper's decline, reminding readers that Weiner "likes to toy with expectations."
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
, and the 41st overall episode of the series. It was written by series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner
Matthew Weiner
Matthew Weiner is an American writer, director and producer of television drama. He is the creator, executive producer, head writer, and show runner of the AMC television series Mad Men. He is also noted for his work on the HBO series The Sopranos, on which he served as a writer and producer...
and Tracy McMillan, and directed by Michael Uppendahl. It originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on August 1, 2010.
The episode opens in December 1964, as the newly opened advertisement agency is hosting a Christmas party. As the company faces the problems of its limited client base, Don Draper's private life becomes ever more chaotic. Critical reception of the episode was positive.
Plot
Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce are planning a scaled-down Christmas party, but when Lee Garner Jr. of the vital client Lucky StrikeLucky Strike
Lucky Strike is a brand of cigarette owned by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and British American Tobacco groups. Often referred to as "Luckies", Lucky Strike was the top selling cigarette in the United States during the 1930s.- History :...
invites himself to the event, the company has to go all out. The evening ends up with Garner getting drunk and publicly humiliating Roger Sterling. A more hopeful occurrence is the return of a sobered-up Freddy Rumsen, who brings along a valuable new client.
Don Draper's life continues to unravel, as a female psychologist from a hired consumer research
Marketing research
Marketing research is "the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information — information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve...
company brings to light his issues with his own past. An encounter with a young nurse from across the hallway leads nowhere, but he later ends up getting intimate with his secretary Allison, a situation which leads to awkwardness in the workplace.
Peggy Olsen is initially happy about Freddy's return, but finds working with him to be difficult, due to his dated attitudes toward advertising and toward women. She has also come to an impasse in her relationship with her boyfriend Mark. Torn between a fear of loneliness and her ambivalent feelings for Mark, she eventually agrees to sleep with him. Meanwhile, Don's daughter Sally is having problems with accepting her father's absence, especially during the Christmas season. Glen Bishop, the family's neighboring boy, has taken an unhealthy interest in Sally, and ends up vandalizing the Francis residence.
Production
The title "Christmas Comes But Once a Year" is from a 1936 animated shortChristmas Comes But Once a Year
Christmas Comes but Once a Year is a 1936 animated short produced by Fleischer Studios and released on December 4, 1936. It is part of the Color Classics series.-Summary:...
by the same name. The episode was written by executive producer Matthew Weiner
Matthew Weiner
Matthew Weiner is an American writer, director and producer of television drama. He is the creator, executive producer, head writer, and show runner of the AMC television series Mad Men. He is also noted for his work on the HBO series The Sopranos, on which he served as a writer and producer...
, who has written a number of episodes, and Tracy McMillan. It was directed by Michael Uppendahl, who had directed three previous episodes of the series. The episode also saw the return of Joel Murray
Joel Murray
Joel Murray is an American actor who has starred in film and on television.-Early life:Murray, one of nine children, was born and raised in Wilmette, Illinois , the son of Lucille , a mail room clerk, and Edward J. Murray II, a lumber salesman. Murray, along with his siblings, grew up in an Irish...
in the role of Freddy Rumsen, for the first time since the season two episode "Six Month Leave".
After the season premiere episode "Public Relations", series creator Matthew Weiner was displeased about the amount of disclosure that had gone before the episode, through the release of promotional clips. As a result, the amount of information revealed about the second episode was severely reduced. Pond's Cold Cream
Pond's Creams
Pond's Cream is a brand of beauty and health care products that is produced by the Ponds Institute which is owned by the multinational company Unilever.-History:...
, the account brought in by Rumsen, is a real-life product by Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
. This product placement
Product placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
was not meant to promote Pond's itself, but was intended as a tie-in
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
for a commercial for Dove soap, another Unilever product. This commercial featured actors reminiscent of the characters from the show, and ran during a commercial break of the episode's original screening. The deal between Unilever and AMC included six different spots, for six different products, running over the course of the season.
Cultural references
During the Christmas party there are references to the Civil Rights Act of 1964Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
. This piece of legislation was enacted on July 2, 1964, by the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, who was elected president in his own right in November that year. The day after the party, Don meets Roger in the office and asks, in a German accent, "Did you enjoy the Führer's birthday?" Roger replies "May he live for a thousand years," with a similar accent and a laugh. This is implied a reference to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, and more specifically a reference to Hitler's 50th birthday party
Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday
Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday on April 20, 1939 was a national holiday in Nazi Germany. On that day, the largest military parade in the history of the Third Reich was held in Berlin.-Celebrations:...
on April 20, 1939, which featured a military parade of unprecedented proportions intended to display Germany's military power to the world.
Reception
"Christmas Comes But Once a Year" had a total of 2.473 million viewers, and a 0.8 share of adults between 18 and 49. This was a drop from the season premiere, which had a viewership of 2.918 and a 0.9 share. The second episode aired directly after the premiere of AMC's third original series (after Mad Men and Breaking BadBreaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
), Rubicon
Rubicon (tv series)
Rubicon is an American television series created by Jason Horwitch and produced by Henry Bromell that was broadcast on the AMC television network...
, which was the station's most-watched original series premiere ever, with two million viewers.
The fourth season of Mad Men opened to universal critical acclaim, gaining a score of 92 out of 100 on the review aggregation site Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. For the second episode of the season, reviews were somewhat more muted. James Poniewozik at Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
appreciated the return of several characters that had been absent for a while, particularly Marten Weiner (who is the son of Matthew Weiner) in the role of Glen. Moira Macdonald, writing for The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
found it "not an entirely satisfying episode", though she enjoyed little details, such as the subtle development of the relationship between Don and Peggy. In the same vein William Bradley, writing for The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
, found that the episode was a good one, "but not one of the classics, and a step back from the season premiere." Bradley warned against reading too much into Don Draper's decline, reminding readers that Weiner "likes to toy with expectations."
External links
- Official episode guide at AMC