Normally I blog about each week’s Mad Men episode here. I avoid Slate and Esquire and everywhere else that offers analysis and simply try to reflect on the more interesting aspects of the show. Then I’ll go over to the other sites and realize I know nothing. I am reminded of Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor explaining to Otis that “some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it’s a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.” Consider me the former.

I am also reminded of what the actor Joe Pantoliano once told me about The Sopranos. He called it “a TV show you really need to earn the privilege of knowing. Most people don’t.” (Pantoliano played the vicious Ralph Cifaretto.) He went on,