| Shoot | |
|---|---|
| |
| Production | |
| Season 1 Episode 09 | |
| Air date | 13 September 2007 |
| Written by | Chris Provenzano Matthew Weiner |
| Directed by | Paul Feig |
| Previous The Hobo Code |
Next Long Weekend |
Intro[]
A rival ad agency courts Don, involving Betty Draper in its attempt to lure him from Sterling Cooper. As the presidential campaign heats up, the agency looks for new ways to counter the latest Kennedy ads. Tempers flare over Peggy.
Synopsis[]
Don steps out into the lobby of a theatre/theater. He seems less than thrilled that Fiorello! is only half over when Jim Hobart approaches. Jim, the head of a rival advertising agency, mentions how he and some of New York's most influential were talking about Don's campaigns at the Athletic Club. He encourages Don to consider moving up in the professional world. "If you were with me at McCann, you'd have over 500 people at your disposal," he says. "We can get a lot of things done."
Jim tries to schmooze Don in Shoot.
Their wives approach. Adele, Jim's wife, links arms with Don to get drinks at the bar while Jim chats up Betty Hofstadt. He sees an uncanny resemblance in Betty to Grace Kelly. She admits to dabbling in modeling when she was younger, and Jim thinks she could be just the look for his Coca-Cola campaign. She takes his business card.
The next day, as Betty tidies up the kids' toys, including a BB gun, she tells Francine Hanson about Jim's offer. She remembers when she was a muse to Italian fashion designer Gianni. Within moments, they are in her bedroom as Betty tries on all the dresses he'd made for her.
When Don gets to his office, he notices a package on his desk. It's from Jim, and it's a membership to the Athletic Club. Don calls him and proceeds to listen to Jim's pitch, which includes a high salary, an international network and clients that include Pan Am and Esso. Don thanks him for the gift and hangs up.
Peggy notices the rip in her skirt, in Shoot.
At Arnold Wayne's office, Betty continues to revel in her days as a model. She explains that she met Don while modeling a coat. She also remembers how her mother was dead set against her nascent career, comparing modeling to prostitution. "You're angry at your mother," Dr. Wayne stated. For the first time, Betty took offense to his provocation: "She wanted me to be beautiful so I could find a man, there's nothing wrong with that."
In the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency conference room, the men watch a 30-second video of Jackie Kennedy speaking in Spanish and discuss their plan of attack for how to handle Nixon's campaign. Salvatore Romano thinks women will hate Jackie anyway; "It's like their better-looking sister married a handsome Senator and now she's going to live in the White House? I'm practically jealous."
Back at the Draper residence, Betty pulls a ham from the fridge while she reveals to Don that she wants to return to modeling for a few days a week. Don starts to argue but gives up.
Roger and Don, in Shoot.
The next day, Peggy feverishly scrubs a piece of paper with an eraser when it drops to the floor. When she bends to pick it up, she hears a loud rip. Her skirt split down the side. She ties a sweater around her waist and goes into the break room, where Joan, Marge, and Lois are chatting. Joan offers Peggy her spare outfit to avoid ruining her silhouette.
Meanwhile, Roger Sterling shows up in Don's office with golf clubs. He says they're from Jim and mentions the bonus Cooper gave him. "It was designed as a kind of armor against men like Jim Hobart," he says. "I like to think there's more holding you to Sterling Cooper than trinkets." Roger tries to explain that major clients such as Pan Am aren't as glamorous as they seem and the hands-on approach doesn't follow to major companies, but Don remains silent. "It's business," he says.
As the other men gossip about Don's offer, they notice Peggy in a very attractive yet ill-fitting dress. They switch subjects and focus on Peggy's newfound self-opinion now that she's writing copy. Pete Campbell, however, just listens before leaving entirely.
Pete and Harry reminisce in Shoot.
He and Harry retreat to his office to discuss the Secor Laxatives campaign before they go on a tangent about fraternity memories. As Pete's halfway through a story about how one of his pledges had a funeral for the house dog, Mamie, during a beauty pageant parade, he gets an idea. To boost Richard Nixon's chances in the undecided states, they'll need to decrease Kennedy's presence there -- and they'll do that by buying up on-air ads for laxatives. "We're selling laxatives, Nixon's selling Nixon and John F. Kennedy's watching Mamie's funeral," Pete says.
In the reception area of McCann Erickson sit a row of young models. Among them is Betty, wearing the dress she'd tried on earlier. Clearly overdressed, she fidgets with self-consciousness until Jim arrives. His colleague Ronnie Gittridge, who handles the art for Coca-Cola, escorts her to the audition.
The phone rings at the Draper residence. It's for Betty. She's the girl with the Coca-Cola. Feeling proud, she seduces Don, and as he unzips her dress, he seems genuinely happy for her.
Betty's Coca-Cola photoshoot, in Shoot.
The next day, Betty puts on a smile for the photographer as she sits on a picnic blanket with her bottle of soda. Meanwhile, Ethel, in her 60s, sits asleep on the couch as Robert Draper, Sally Draper and their dog Polly barrel through the living room into the backyard. Just then, their neighbor Ross lets some pigeons out of a cage and Polly grabs one in her mouth. Quickly, Ross grabs Polly by the collar and the bird falls from her mouth. It's wounded but healthy. "I see that dog in my yard again, I'm going to shoot it," he says.
That night, Betty wakes up to the sound of Sally sniffling and sobbing. She had a bad dream that Ross was going to kill Polly. This is news to Don and Betty. Angry, Don gets up to have a few words with his neighbor, but Betty stops him.
In Don's office, Harry, Paul and Pete all compliment, some more reluctantly than others, Don's work on the Lucky Strike campaign when Roger and Bertram Cooper barge in. "Who is responsible?" Cooper asks, regarding the purchase of yet unproduced Secor commercials. Harry and Pete timidly take ownership, and to their surprise, get nothing but congratulations.
Pete and Ken get into a scuffle over Peggy, in Shoot.
Peggy and Joan bump heads, in Shoot.
Before Don leaves, he gets another envelope from Jim. This time it's pictures of Betty and her ideal family from the shoot. A bit disgusted, Don flips them face down and leaves and beelines for Roger's office. He demands a raise with no contract and Roger obliges, happy with Don's decision to stay. Don assures his boss that if he leaves, it won't be for advertising. "I'd like to stop talking about it and get back to it someday," he says about life.
Don calls Jim to decline the offer, despite Jim getting his wife into the company. "It's a pity to lose both of you," he says. Meanwhile, Betty poses for another shoot when Ronnie approaches with some bad news. They're looking for more Audrey Hepburn, less Grace Kelly.
Pete and the boys are celebrating his success in the bullpen when Peggy walks by. As they did before, they make fun of her. "They call a girl like her a lobster," Ken says. "All the meat's in the tail." All of a sudden, Pete clocks Ken in the jaw. They fight onto the ground while Don and Roger leave, unfazed.
Betty at the end of Shoot.
That night, Betty tells Don over a casserole that although they offered her many possibilities, she doesn't think she wants to go back to modeling after all. Don gets it. The next day, Betty goes through her morning routine and sits in the kitchen. When she notices the pigeons circling the sky, she grabs the BB gun, takes aim and fires at the birds.
Trivia[]
- Having the Jackie Kennedy clip appear right after Betty’s therapy done on purpose, to show the value of beauty.
- The inspiration for this story came from Robin Veith, a writer on the show, whose mom did the same thing Betty did, except she didn't model or kill the pigeons.
- According to the commentary track for season 1, the breakfast and laundry scenes at the end of the episode are intentionally shot to look like a commercial.
Cast[]
Main Star[]
- Jon Hamm as Don Draper
- Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson
- Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell
- January Jones as Betty Hofstadt
- Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway
- Bryan Batt as Salvatore Romano
- Michael Gladis as Paul Kinsey
- Aaron Staton as Ken Cosgrove
- Rich Sommer as Harry Crane
- Maggie Siff as Rachel Menken (credit only)
Guest Star[]
- Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper
- John Slattery as Roger Sterling
- Nathan Anderson as Ronnie Gittridge
- Anne Dudek as Francine Hanson
- Crista Flanagan as Lois Sadler
- H. Richard Greene as Jim Hobart
- Andy Umberger as Arnold Wayne
- Dey Young as Adele Hobart
Co-Star[]
- Stephanie Courtney as Marge
- Maxwell Huckabee as Robert Draper
- Julie McNiven as Hildy
- Rick Scarry as Ross Beresford
- Kiernan Shipka as Sally Draper
Quotes[]
Joan: "I heard you were being considered for an account because a cilents wife saw you and thought it would be ok if he worked with you."
Peggy: "You know you're not a stick."
Joan: "And yet I never wonder what men think of me, you are hiding a very attractive, young girl with too much lunch."
Peggy: "I know what men think of you. That you're looking for a husband and that you're fun. And not in that order."
Joan: "Peggy, this isn't China. Theres no money in virginity."
Peggy: "I'm not a virgin."
Joan: "No, of course not."
Peggy: "I just realised something. You think you're being helpful."
Joan: "Well I am trying, dear."
Peggy: "Im going home."