Inaudible the Agency

So as I’ve mentioned once or twice, for a while now we’ve been watching Mad Men* streaming on AMC+. I haven’t done a “Not a Review” of it, mainly because it never puts my wife to sleep, barring extenuating circumstances, such as starting an episode right before bedtime (and even then she still might stay awake for it). This puts it right up there with Breaking Bad** and The Queen’s Gambit*** on the short list of “Shows That Never Put My Wife To Sleep”, but also leaves me with not much to write about it, since I, of course, don’t do actual reviews myself, on account of I like everything. Except August Rush.

Anyway, speaking of Breaking Bad, I read once that AMC allowed them to drop an F-Bomb only once, or maybe twice, a season, and judging by what we’ve seen over six seasons of Mad Men****, the same rule seems to have applied to this show, because there have been several instances of dialogue where, quite clearly, one character F-Bombed another character. And just as clearly, AMC+ is bleeping the broad savannahs where the wild F-Bombs once roamed.

First, to provide a little background, Don Draper had previously told his second***** wife, Megan, an actress, that they would be moving to the agency’s new California office, the idea being that she could then pursue work in Hollywood, while he schmoozed the agency’s California clients; but then, because reasons, a different executive ended up being transferred to California instead. When Don informed Megan that “the agency”****** had decided to send someone else to California, Megan informed Don that the agency could go inaudible itself up the inaudible, because not only did they bleep what is very obviously an F-Bomb, they didn’t even include it in the subtitles:

There’s not a lot other than an F-Bomb that could properly detonate in that inaudible space. “Screw”, sure, if this had been network television, I could have bought a “screw” there, but this was AMC (and, as my wife points out, you don’t say “screw” with your mouth wide open like that). “Forget”? I think Megan is a little too angry for that to be a “forget”, plus that’s got more syllables than Megan’s lips have movements and as this is not a dubbed kung fu film that’s not going to fly. This also excludes various other options, such as “To hell with” and “Who cares about” and “I’m going to burn down”. So, no, that was definitely an F-Bomb, and either AMC+ or Apple TV (or both) decided that, for whatever reason, it needed to be scrubbed, along with all the other F-Bombs Mad Men let fly over the years.

Well, fuck that. And fuck the agency. Megan quit her job, Don!

* AKA Don Draper Makes Bad Decisions.
** The episode “Fly” excepted
*** Which only had like, what, six episodes? So not as big an achievement I guess.
**** We have just started Season 7, and my wife is already pre-emptively mourning for the fact that we’re going to run out of episodes in a couple of weeks; I have been instructed to let her know when we’re down to the last few so that she can prepare herself.
***** Depending on how you count.
****** “The Agency” being, of course, Don.