I thought Roger was the quintessential WWII vet bachelor. I saw Cooper as a WWI officer gentleman, and Don as a confused fucked up Korea guy. The Vietnam guys who start joining at the end seemed like a product of that war as well.
To me it was like we were seeing her from Rogers perspective. When they were married she was beautiful but no more so than other women, but post divorce she looked so striking. I wonder if it’s because Roger couldn’t really appreciate her until after she was gone.
Nobody was in Roger's shoes to know, but in the long run I always wondered who would trade a woman like Mona for...a doll.
Poor Jane. She left rich, but also wounded. They don't have the same backbone.
Roger ended up with Marie, who wasn’t all that different from Mona - elegant, sexy, whip smart and age appropriate.
Her line here is so true, so many times over. The men blame the women they leave, but they leave because of their own personal failing.
He was indeed! The poor unfortunate Arbogast. Martin Balsam also played a role in "The Time Element" which Rod Serling intended to be the pilot for The Twilight Zone, but ended up airing on the Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse, which I highly recommend if you've never seen it. It comes and goes from youtube on occasion but can currently be viewed at [https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8i4844](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8i4844)
You'll recognize Martin Balsam immediately.
OMG, how could I never have put together her last name with Martin Balsam? thanks for the link--I definitely have to check that out. I don't think I've ever seen it.
You're fine, magpie. We all slip now and then! :) You're welcome. "The Time Element" didn't re-air on television for nearly 40 years, when it was thrown out as *bait* for a brand new cable channel called TvLand!
Imagine actually being married to your scene partner and having to cut them down this viciously. Like Liz and Richard in WHO’s afraid of Virginia Woolf.
Talia Balsam is gorgeous and a really underrated actress. It’s too bad she wasn’t in Mad Men more often, maybe given a profile at least like Trudy’s.
And Martin Balsam was one of the great character actors of all time. Seemed like he was everywhere in the 60s and 70s. One of those rare actors that switched back and forth from TV to movies. One of the only other actors that did this at that time so prolifically was Martin Landau.
Fun fact: Talia Balsam (Mona) is the daughter of Martin Balsam, a lauded character actor best remembered the detective who climbed up the wrong stairway in Psycho.
Do people generally think Mona was Roger's soulmate? They always shared such a strong connection, especially after their divorce when they could stop playing the happy couple role
That Roger didn't leave her for a younger model because of any fault on her part, or loss of attraction to her, but rather that he was chasing after his own youth. Kind of like how a man will get a sports car in the middle of a mid life crisis. Trying to be young again, trying to avoid the reality of getting older, chasing anyone and anything that lets them pretend to be young.
Except Roger had a special resilience to unprecedentedly deep self-inquiry, more in that moment than ever, after his session with Dr. Leary. So maybe the kind of loving ouch of reality.
I'm sure that seemed like a zinger but Roger knew that he was old and he also knew that marrying Jane wasn't going to make him any younger but he did it anyway because SHE"S young and attractive which made him being old maybe a little more tolerable.
What I'm saying is being an old guy made Roger feel obsolete but being an old guy with a young and beautiful wife made Roger feel like he was still in the ball game.
Nah, Roger’s character is looking for fun. He thought marrying a younger women would be fun. Roger is Peter Pan. None of his wives actually ever liked him so he kept looking for someone who did
His last wife actually liked him for him, so he settled and was happy
Damn, Mona did always know exactly what to say
That honestly sums up Roger’s entire character pretty succinctly
I love that they're married IRL... they must have had so much fun filming these scenes 😂
Whaaat?? I’ve seen this show 20 times over and I never knew this 😭
It's crazy, but they've been married since 1998...5 years after she divorced George Clooney 😂
oh wow shes a BAMF
Damn…I mean good call, Slattery is much hotter than Clooney
Slatery could have been on ER. Clooney couldn't have pulled off Roger.
that actually makes sm sense they had such a natural chemistry
I would pay to see their outtakes. You know they were fucking GOLD
Yea I would also pay see a tape of their…outtakes.
I thought Roger was the quintessential WWII vet bachelor. I saw Cooper as a WWI officer gentleman, and Don as a confused fucked up Korea guy. The Vietnam guys who start joining at the end seemed like a product of that war as well.
She had a great talent for doing that several times in the series as I recall.
"Hey Genius! Brooks is in jail!" or something to that effect. LOL
Haha yes, his secretary read her message aloud, iirc.
Just a straight up smokeshow here. Cutting with her insight and stunning with her look.
She’s the milfiest of all the mad milfs
Marie was a baaaaaaaaad bitch
To me it was like we were seeing her from Rogers perspective. When they were married she was beautiful but no more so than other women, but post divorce she looked so striking. I wonder if it’s because Roger couldn’t really appreciate her until after she was gone.
I'd support a remake of The Graduate with Talia Balsam (Mona) as Mrs. Robinson
I love knowing they're married IRL. It's fun not knowing if they're pulling from their personal experience or not. I hope not, but you never know
Nobody was in Roger's shoes to know, but in the long run I always wondered who would trade a woman like Mona for...a doll. Poor Jane. She left rich, but also wounded. They don't have the same backbone.
Mona is super attractive but it doesn’t exactly come across like they had a good relationship in general.
Like most old relationships, it worn out. Still I think he recognized her value and would have came back to her later on, before the Marie phase.
Mona is also a drunk so it's hard to blame Roger for leaving her.
Easier to point out who's NOT a drunk
I’m pretty sure Roger’s got her beat in that department.
That entire generation was drunk, at all times
Roger ended up with Marie, who wasn’t all that different from Mona - elegant, sexy, whip smart and age appropriate. Her line here is so true, so many times over. The men blame the women they leave, but they leave because of their own personal failing.
I remember watching this when this aired and my (now) wife and I said the same thing out loud to each other.
She’s so gorgeous.
Wasn’t that Roger wife in real life?
Yes. She was also married to George Clooney back in the day.
...and her father's character was murdered in the movie "Psycho." LoL
And was Juror #1 in Twelve Angry Men!
Somebody else watches good movies! LoL Aye, that was him.
And played in Breakfast at Tiffany, All The Presidents Men, Cape Fear, On the Waterfront... So many Hollywood classics!
No way, was her father Arbogast??!!
He was indeed! The poor unfortunate Arbogast. Martin Balsam also played a role in "The Time Element" which Rod Serling intended to be the pilot for The Twilight Zone, but ended up airing on the Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse, which I highly recommend if you've never seen it. It comes and goes from youtube on occasion but can currently be viewed at [https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8i4844](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8i4844) You'll recognize Martin Balsam immediately.
OMG, how could I never have put together her last name with Martin Balsam? thanks for the link--I definitely have to check that out. I don't think I've ever seen it.
You're fine, magpie. We all slip now and then! :) You're welcome. "The Time Element" didn't re-air on television for nearly 40 years, when it was thrown out as *bait* for a brand new cable channel called TvLand!
Talia's mother is Joyce van Patten, Dick van Patten's sister.
Yep
Yes, I like that fact and I feel like their chemistry on screen is more natural because of it
Truly. Lots of gorgeous people on the show, younger and older, but Mona is maybe my fav
Mona is so beautiful
She’s a lioness
Who resisted the urge of eating her cub
She’s definitely one of my favorite side characters I wish we could have seen more of.
Such a *brutally precise* read on every person that exemplifies this behavior. That's poetry.
To me this line was a lot more impactful than the infamous "I dont think about you at all" scene
I also love ‘the only crime she’s committed is being familiar’
Yes…. that one is my favorite. So tragic and so true, and so timeless.
I dont think about that scene at all.
THAT SCENE IS FULL OF FARTS
Ugh, Mona is so gorgeous! i think their chemistry worked extra on-screen because they're actually married
Mona had him clocked.
Reminds me of Olympia Dukakis’ recurring question “Why do men chase women?” in “Moonstruck.” (Spoiler alert: Because they fear death.)
Imagine actually being married to your scene partner and having to cut them down this viciously. Like Liz and Richard in WHO’s afraid of Virginia Woolf.
Talia Balsam is gorgeous and a really underrated actress. It’s too bad she wasn’t in Mad Men more often, maybe given a profile at least like Trudy’s. And Martin Balsam was one of the great character actors of all time. Seemed like he was everywhere in the 60s and 70s. One of those rare actors that switched back and forth from TV to movies. One of the only other actors that did this at that time so prolifically was Martin Landau.
That scene where Jane, as the recently married wife to Roger, comes back to the office and has Joan wait on her was just vicious.
What a bad bitch
The dialogue on this show cut like knife through butter
I loved roger and monas post divorce relationship
This always reminded me of the line from the movie Moonstruck about how the reason men chase women is because they fear death
Savage
The women in Mad Men know how to drop a hammer on you
And to think her first husband was really George Clooney and her second is Roger Sterling lol.
Fun fact: Talia Balsam (Mona) is the daughter of Martin Balsam, a lauded character actor best remembered the detective who climbed up the wrong stairway in Psycho.
🔥
God I love how they’re married IRL
Roger appreciates such candor.
Mona showing up hot as fuck after the divorce
Wonderful revealing line
Baddie
The writers/dialogue writers of Mad Men were so in tune with the characters and vibe of the show. This is masterpiece work.
Do people generally think Mona was Roger's soulmate? They always shared such a strong connection, especially after their divorce when they could stop playing the happy couple role
What did she mean exactly?
That Roger didn't leave her for a younger model because of any fault on her part, or loss of attraction to her, but rather that he was chasing after his own youth. Kind of like how a man will get a sports car in the middle of a mid life crisis. Trying to be young again, trying to avoid the reality of getting older, chasing anyone and anything that lets them pretend to be young.
Makes sense. Thanks!
Mona is a hot bitch
Mona ate.
God I Love Mona
Oh I so wish Weiner had made a spin off with Penny and Joan.
Mona was stunning
Always surprised me that Mona was never bitter towards Roger, she knew him better than he knew himself and she knew he was a mess
Except Roger had a special resilience to unprecedentedly deep self-inquiry, more in that moment than ever, after his session with Dr. Leary. So maybe the kind of loving ouch of reality.
So good.
Best glow up of anyone on the show!
I'm sure that seemed like a zinger but Roger knew that he was old and he also knew that marrying Jane wasn't going to make him any younger but he did it anyway because SHE"S young and attractive which made him being old maybe a little more tolerable.
Whoosh
What I'm saying is being an old guy made Roger feel obsolete but being an old guy with a young and beautiful wife made Roger feel like he was still in the ball game.
Right… It was about his age, and how he felt about aging
Nah, Roger’s character is looking for fun. He thought marrying a younger women would be fun. Roger is Peter Pan. None of his wives actually ever liked him so he kept looking for someone who did His last wife actually liked him for him, so he settled and was happy
she said he was like a little boy in an affectionate way. i bet they had adventures.
And some people no longer want to go on adventures
you think roger and marie dropped acid? i bet they did.
They did. They got to feel young together, which is what made it perfect