There are a lot of things we can’t say about tonight’s premiere of Mad Men. The powers that be on that show are especially strict about the “who, what, and where” of it all. But one thing we can discuss, is the “when.” With a few exceptions, most Mad Men seasons have followed the events of about a year or so. (Season 4, for example, was extra ambitious and covered two.) Last season covered 1968 from New Year’s Eve to Thanksgiving Day. Tonight’s premiere picks up shortly thereafter, at the beginning of 1969. Mad Men, as you know, is going to be split into two final seasons of 7 episodes each. It’s possible that we will spend the first half, or even the entire final 14 episodes in the year of 1969. And wouldn’t that be fitting? Mad Men started in March of 1960. If Weiner closes everything out right around December of 1969, he will have created the perfect snapshot of a decade.
However, despite working in historical events and pop culture references, Mad Men has never been bogged down in meticulously tracking every swing of history’s pendulum. Sure, Weiner has worked in movie references, presidential campaigns, and, most memorably, assassinations. But for a show that takes place during one of America’s most contentious wars, Weiner has chosen to take the larger view. This show is, ultimately, about how people and attitudes shift gradually, and almost infinitesimally over time. But if that means that at the end of seven seasons we’ll wind up with a portrait of a decade, then so be it. To give you some context for the next who-knows-how-many episodes of Mad Men, here’s a timeline of the formative events of 1969* that are most likely to affect the Mad Men world. These events may crop up, or they may not, but knowing what happened in the past should help prepare you for what’s to come this season.
January 12: Led Zeppelin released their first album. We’ve come a long way from the more conservative music of Season 1.
January 12: The New York Jets won the Superbowl and Joe Namath is named MVP. Mad Men has never been too concerned with sports, but this was also a big moment for the advertising world.
January 20: Richard Nixon succeeded Johnson as the 37th President of the United States of America.
January 26: Elvis Presley continued his comeback and recorded the "Long Black Limousine" album which included “In The Ghetto,” his first non-gospel top ten hit since 1963.
January 30: The Beatles gave their last public performance on the roof of Apple Records, London.
February 5: Conrad Hilton, Jr. died of a heart attack. This is not a huge, ground-shaking cultural event but it could possibly open the door for the return of Conrad Hilton Sr. (Chelcie Ross) who we haven’t seen since the Season 3 episode “Close The Door Have A Seat.” For what it’s worth, Conrad Hilton, Jr. both had a relationship with his step-mother Zsa Zsa Gabor and was Elizabeth Taylor’s first husband.
February 8: The last issue of The Saturday Evening Post hit magazine stands, putting a firm end to the Norman Rockwell era.
March 3: Sirhan Sirhan admitted to killing presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.
May 25: The X-rated, Oscar-winning film Midnight Cowboy premiered.
May 26–June 2: – John Lennon and Yoko Ono held their second Bed-In in Montreal. Their first was in Amsterdam in March of the same year.
June 28: The gay rights movement began in the United States with New York City Stonewall Riots. What will this mean for Bob Benson? Or, better yet, for Sal?
July 7: French became recognized as Canada’s second national language. Okay, this isn’t hugely important, but we’d like to take the opportunity to request more of Megan’s mom Marie, please.
July 8: The first U.S. troops pulled out of Vietnam.
July 18: Teddy Kennedy drove off a bridge on his way home from a party on Chappaquiddick Island. A former Kennedy campaign aide, Mary Jo Kopechne, died in the car and Kennedy fled the scene. Kennedy pleaded guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury and received a two-month suspended jail sentence. You can see his public apology here.
July 20: If you believe it, we put a man on the moon. 500 million people watched as Neil Armstrong took his first steps.
August 8: The Beatles took a very famous stroll across a very famous street.
August 9: Charles Manson murdered a pregnant Sharon Tate and several others at Roman Polanski’s home in Los Angeles. Mad Men conspiracy theorists have been waiting for the show to cover this.
August 15–August 18: Everyone keep your fingers crossed that Sally Draper goes to Woodstock.
August 21: First Gap store opened in San Francisco, CA. They boast “Levi’s, Records & Tapes.”
September – October: The nation was transfixed by the courtroom antics surrounding the trial of the Chicago 7.
September 13: Scooby-Doo premiered. Keep your eyes open for an uptick in bell bottoms and neckerchiefs.
September 22: Willie Mays became the first baseball player to hit Babe Ruth’s record of 600 career home runs. Say hey.
September 23: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid premiered.
September 26: The Brady Bunch premiered. Harry Crane will be overjoyed.
October 5: Monty Python's Flying Circus premiered. We wish poor Lane could have seen it.
October 16: The Mets won the World Series.
October 25: Pink Floyd released their Ummagumma album.
November 10: Sesame Street premiered.
December 1: The U.S. held the first lottery draft since WWII. I’d be very surprised if someone we know and like doesn’t end up getting drafted or tries to dodge the draft. After all, wartime lies are what got us here in the first place.
December 2: The Boeing 747 jumbo jet made its first passenger flight. As you know, air travel is a big ol’ metaphor this year on Mad Men.
December 6: Most agree this marked “the end of the 60s.” A young man named Meredith Hunter was killed during The Altamont Free Concert while the Rolling Stones were playing their set. It’s a sour, discordant note to end the decade. Would it be too on the nose for Weiner to use this over the closing credits of the finale? Maybe so. But either way, a change has come.
*This is by no means a comprehensive list.
