Sal Romano

Listening to Martin Luther King on the murder of four girls in a Birmingham church, Betty opines that maybe this civil rights thing is premature. But Betty should know that a dream deferred can dry up like a raisin in sun.

A satisfactory if not scintillating opener for the third season of Mad Men. The show captures the air of uncertainty that grips today's U.S. economy, and hints at major culture clash ahead.

There are a number of ways to view Mad Men. For my own part, I can take it as a period piece, a sort of time capsule of the early '60s, at once relatively close yet far enough away to be intriguing for its unfamiliarity.