"Mad Men:" "Losers tonight; winners in general"

OK, so let's say you're one of the people who saw "Mad Men" take the top prize at the Emmy Awards on Sunday and you think to yourself, "Well, if that show's as good as everyone says it is, I should give it a chance." And you tune in Sunday night, and so the first big bit of business is a guy p!ssing himself in the office. You - the hypothetical person who had never seen it before - are probably thinking, "Classy show."

Onto AMC's spoiler-rich synopsis:

"Freddy Rumsen disappoints his team during a pitch. Pete finds an opportunity at the office to exploit while Don proves his loyalty to an old friend. Betty finds a welcome distraction in Sara Beth."

As the episode opens, Marilyn Monroe has made headlines by committing suicide, and the more lachrymose types at Sterling Cooper are responding to the sad news. Don's (Jon Hamm) little secret - he and Betty (January Jones) aren't living under one roof - is slowly becoming not such a secret; Roger (John Slattery), for one, senses a seismic shift in Don's demeanor. Betty herself isn't responding too well to the separation, moping about the house, burying the pain under glasses of wine.

And so, the guy (the Freddy Rumsen of the synopsis) p!sses himself, passing out just before an important presentation, leaving Peggy (Elisabeth Moss), Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) and Salvatore (Bryan Batt) - who responds to Freddy's impromptu evacuation by just kind of sitting back and laughing at it - to fend for themselves. Freddy, awakens, and attempts to escape the office, his soggy shoe squishing ignominiously on his way out.

And make no mistake - he is on his way out; seems we've finally landed on some bad behavior that can actually materially hurt your career here. So, naturally, what do Don and Roger do for a guy whose alcoholism cost him his livelihood? They take him out for a night of drinking, of course, at an underground casino, which, given that the episode began with that Marilyn Monroe newsflash, may not be a great idea. Don and Roger ruminate on the nature of love and marriage, with unexpected results.

Oh, and remember that snippet of a flashback a few episodes back when a woman walked into the car dealership where Don was working and told him, "You're not Don Draper?" If not, you're in good company: The writers don't seem to, either, as they still haven't revisited it.

The façades are falling this year on "Mad Men:" Beneath the glorious production design and the dapper and pert costumes, the characters are downright curdling, barely holding it together. The season's entering the final homestretch now; it'll be fascinating to see who survives this psychic bloodbath.

- "Mad Men:" 10 p.m. Sunday, AMC.