Coming of age in a depressed area of England during the 80s, I go for Bruce Springsteen above any homegrown artists. Darkness On The Edge Of Town, The River and Nebraska are the main albums that captured not just that time but somehow the texture of life up ahead. 'Soon as you got something they send someone to try…

Codswallop. Do you American people say that?

Mmm … but surely the first reading of the script pointed towards a comedy? The character names, in fact, should've done that.

I myself was talking about this the other day on one of the other Mad Men threads. I don't think a definite conclusion was reached as to the impact of what I termed 'backstage shit'.

John89 - I think I read somewhere (perhaps in On Writing) that King wasn't even aware he was an alcoholic when he wrote the book. Later, though, he saw it as a message from his unconscious warning him about the path he was started on. Which is maybe the sort of thing Stephen King would say, but I kind of believe him.

Same here. Earlier in that episode, of course, was Don's speech about love being invented by guys like him to sell nylons. Then later you realise he's got a wife and kids …

The song coming back over the credits was one of my favourite moments too - perfect, and well worth the sum they paid for the rights.

Pairesta - I wondered if it was something like that. It seemed an abrupt ending, though beautifully worked out, for a character they could've done a lot more with.
But I suppose I don't want to believe that personal shit backstage can affect a show like Mad Men.

Nothing to add, other than that the very first Onion headline I ever saw was something like 'Terry Gilliam Barbecue Plagued By Production Difficulties.' I pissed myself laughing and have looked at the Onion just about every day since.

You just spoilt all the fun.

It's highly likely - he's an authority on that kind of stuff as well.

Anyone know why Sal was written out?

He's probably totally unknown in America, but I can recommend Stewart Lee's 'How I Escaped My Certain Fate'. It's three of his stand-up routines, annotated - kind of like a DVD commentary track. Introductory essays on the changes in British comedy over the last few decades, too. The nuts and bolts of comedy, comedy as…

When I go I'll take the world down with me.

Bruce Springsteen and Neko Case. It's a privilege to be alive at the same time as them, and when they go, I go.

Super Furry Animals. Thank you very much.

No, he was the son of East End barrow boy and girl types, I believe.
He was the biggest thing in British horror throughout the entire 70s and 80s, and still had a following up until his death. One of his books was adapted for TV just a few months ago. King spends a few pages on him in Danse Macabre. The books were…

Nah.

In Stuart, though, he appears nude while covered in blood, holding a knife, screaming, and in a house that's burning down. So that one must win.

Speaking of hacks, is no-one here aware of James Herbert? He died the other day, taking part of my adolescence with him. He was, for a long time, billed as the English Stephen King. Did he not sell in the US? Oh, all the gore and the chapter-long sex scenes.