I don't know how many of you see the director's chalkboard intros, but in this one we see Louis E behind his cannery desk, getting ready to act. Then he gets a bit more time to gear up, as stock film is shown of amiable, Sears catalogue model Roger with coat over shoulder, waving hi to underlings. He walks a long way like that, which appears silly and uncomfortable to me.
Carolyn sends Roger on a "charming" spree. The scene where he speaks Maniac with David is one of the strangest and most interesting of DS's, especially since it's still a real-world drama, and still 1966 at this point. TV's been full of irresponsible fathers, crossing lines you just aren't supposed to cross with your kids, for years, in fact to an extent it's "normal" now (such as on sitcoms where the father is like an overgrown kid)-- but this scene crosses the line in a weird, original and (over-used word) disturbing way, and in the time of "safe" family shows. Their relationship crosses that line all the time, but I'd never seen something like this before...
It's unclear how far Roger expected David to go with Vicki. He's probably inducing willful ignorance in himself, by making the conversation be more about driving her away. Roger, though, is one person who can never claim ignorance of how far David is willing to go, when he hates someone.