@E.Buzz Miller Yeah, but the positions of the sliders on the mixing table of Liberalism was significantly different back then.

I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm simply saying that one of them is more apropos. Apologies for being unclear.

Yeah, good point! I'd forgotten that.

@avclub-eb058ced22520c3a8f4e4a6e2fb16403:disqus I don't agree at all, because I get a very strong sense of an overall dramatic arc to the entire series, as one story. It's pretty clear to me that we're in the nemesis portion of a classical hubris/nemesis narrative; the events of Season 6 (and, probably, to an even…

@avclub-7f1909495ef590046fdc4f001d246606:disqus Why?

Not what we see on screen.

Yes. I'm actually surprised that his transparently manipulative schtick works as well on Megan (an actress) as it did on Betty (not nearly as bright).

Still!

If he's waiting for people to acknowledge how important having a guy like that around is, he's going to have to wait decades. His kind won't have any cachet until the MTV era.

Agreed, but you're applying a modern framework to events taking place in an antique environment.

You're ignoring the sweeping historical context and its effects on the characters, which is arguably the entire point.

What are you talking about? He was totally charming…and it was a summer camp. Where did all these curmudgeon commenters come from suddenly?

This is nonsense. Emile Calvet is an effete academic with European pretensions who believes himself "above the fray." Abe is part of a vital journalistic trend (that included Jimmy Breslin and Norman Mailer) that was crucial in swaying public opinion about the Vietnam War and the injustices of late 1960s society.

Serpico's a little more significant, being a true story of the events that instigated sweeping, revolutionary advances in the New York Police Department, while Carlito's Way is just a made-up melodrama about an isolated criminal life.

I figured once Mad Men got into 1968 we'd start to see comments like this. Respectfully, you have no idea what you're talking about (or, whoever you're quoting has no idea what he/she is talking about).

None of the five of you are being nearly respectful enough of the "cops are Fascist pigs" position.

The best thing about Sybok was that, in the context of a movie series that's gotten Christopher Plummer, Christopher Lloyd, Tom Hardy, Malcolm McDowall, Ricardo Montalban, Eric Bana and Benedict Cumberbatch to play villains, Shatner's production was such a total disaster from the outset that they could only get this…

@disqus_okgItcD0yy:disqus That's a bit of an overstatement of my position. It's not that it's "such a masterwork"; it's just that it's a certain kind of storytelling, wherein the exact sensation you're describing — the intense frustration that characters whom we love and identify with and want to succeed are…

They've adjusted the character. It happens. They've done the same thing with Ted Chaough. (Oh my God; I finally spelled it without looking!) And they adjusted Joey in the other direction. Not quite a retcon; just "adjustment." It's a tribute to the actors that they can handle the transitions and make it believable…

@Automocar:disqus Now you're getting it.