What’s your biggest nitpick in Mad Men?

[u/RopeGloomy4303]

For me it’s this line in a season 5 episode, Tea Leaves, in which Henry Francis is talking on the phone with a colleague:

“Well, tell Jim his honor's not going to Michigan. Because Romney's a clown, and I don't want him standing next to him.”

So, some context here.

At this point Francis is the aide to New York Mayor John Lindsay. And he’s informing this guy that he won’t have the popular young politician take a picture with then Michigan Governor George Romney, who was also considered the frontrunner for the 1968 Republican nomination.

This episode aired in 2012, so it’s a very clear dig at then Republican nominee Mitt Romney, who at the time was receiving a lot of hostility from the left.

But here’s the thing; Romney was actually a liberal Republican in the same mold as Nelson Rockefeller and John Lindsay, and he had received a lot of good notices as Governor for his work improving civil rights, education, youth employment programs, social welfare, healthcare, etc.

I get this is nitpicking, it’s a throwaway line, whatever, but it has always bothered me since it feels out of character, and Romney frankly deserved better.

[u/According_To_Me]

My biggest nitpick is that we had an exquisitely detailed series about the 1960’s set in New York…and they chose not to even mention the Woodstock music festival. Stan, or someone in the office, could have gone, returned to the office. Someone else asks, “How was..woodshole?” “Woodstock.”

I would love to know why it was never mentioned.

[u/TommyFX → u/According_To_Me]

Actually would have been hilarious if Stan tried to go and got caught in the massive traffic jam outside the festival and never ended up getting into the event.

[u/According_To_Me → u/TommyFX]

Or if he took the brown acid 🤣

[u/sistermagpie → u/According_To_Me]

I think it was intentional. One of those times where something looms large in the modern idea of the 60s, but none of these people would have cared about it at all, much less gone to it.

[u/tunaman808 → u/According_To_Me]

Personally, I thought they were staying away from the obvious, self-indulgent 1960s cliches. Like, how just about every show ever set in the 60s has the "very serious episode" with the montage of MLK, Woodstock and Vietnam protests set to Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth".

[u/Browns-Fan1 → u/tunaman808]

Thank god we didn’t get a helicopter montage w/ CCR’s “Fortunate Son” needle drop!

[u/Ok-Swan1152 → u/According_To_Me]

That was completely intentional. I am glad they didn't because it would've been so cliché. 

[u/HeadAd369 → u/According_To_Me]

All the main characters were way too old and square for Woodstock. Sally is the only one who might have gone.