Hmm … I'd say that Peggy admired Joan in the early seasons, and even wanted to be a little more like her (in terms of confidence), but wasn't really interested in being friends with her. She must have known within her first week of work that she and Joan had very different worldviews and temperaments, and very little…

Yup, Babylon is the episode that made me sit up and notice the show. Till then, I couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters, including Peggy, but that episode finally showed an interesting side of her. And in retrospect, it's also the episode where Joan finally starts developing a personality beyond…

Any reference to that song must be followed by a link to this: http://www.youtube.com/watc…. It's a rule of the internet (or at least of the AV Club).

She's a web designer, so probably not.

Out of character? Sheldon slut-shames Penny at least once per episode.

There are times when the casual racism and misogyny make the show sound like some leftover from the 50s.

Penny in the first couple of seasons was the 'everyman' (well, everywoman), i.e. someone with average intelligence who seemed dumb only when she tried to understand what her super-smart friends were talking about. Now she's such a drooling moron that it's seems a miracle that she manages to keep herself alive. It's…

Was Betty struggling with the cake because it was frozen, or were her hands just acting up again? I thought it was the latter, because she was so upset at Don's abandonment, and because she had to rely on Helen Bishop for the replacement cake.

Not until Secor laxative came along.

That's the prime example of the 'Oh look, it's the 60s!' stuff.

*Sigh* The point isn't that world building shouldn't be done, but that it can be done more subtly. It's not an either-or situation.

So is this the first ever mention of the ever-popular Secor laxative account?

B.

Really, cutting out a man slapping someone else's kid makes the show 'just another soap opera'?

Maybe just not do it? After all, the scene isn't remotely important to the story or the main characters. All the people involved are extremely minor characters, who are barely ever seen again. It's only purpose it to show that children are treated very differently in this time than they're now. There are subtler ways…

Yes, exactly, this is why it bothers me so much. On a lesser show, I'd just shrug and let it go as a part of the overall low quality of the writing/directing. But on a show like this, which can soar to great heights, it feels tawdry when it depicts something alien to modern sensibilities in such a non-nuanced way.

According to Glen in season 5, Helen has remarried - which is why Glen was sent off to boarding school.

That's actually great, and one of the few times that the episode doesn't rub the viewers' faces into the time period, but just depicts it naturally. But it happens as a part of the background, and is easy to miss. I myself noticed it only on my third watch.

There's nothing wrong with accuracy to the time period - quite the opposite. But the way it's rubbed into the viewers' faces is just jarring. Rather than being presented as a natural part of the world it's depicting, the show in its early run just keeps shining a huge spotlight on the differences between now and then.…

Also notable for Harry making the suggestion Don could be Batman, which
bears fruit in season six when it is revealed he is Batman.