Mad Men

The brilliance is all in the subtext. There are many hilarious moments that are only funny if you've been paying attention and understand where the character is coming from. There are also many tragic moments that would pass you by if you didn't know what came before. Many lines have double or even triple meanings. Watch this from the beginning, with a friend. Believe me, you will want to discuss each episode afterward to figure out some of the nuances of what happened.

The main Mad Man is the confident womanizer Don Draper, who is head of the Creative department at a mid-sized ad agency in 1960s Madison Avenue. I admit, at first I kind of hated him, but as the viewer learns more about him and his past, I learned to - not love him exactly - but like him and want to watch him endlessly. He is a complicated character who can be a very good man, but also a very bad man.

Don Draper is joined by a rich cast of supporting characters, many of whom deserve a show of their own: The ambitious young Campbell who is utterly sleazy most of the time, but has occasional moments of growth and even cuteness.Peggy Olson starts out as Draper's secretary, but her growth into a strong, confident woman mirrors what is happening for Woman in the 60's. Silver fox Stirling - he may be morally bankrupt but gets some of the best lines. I could go on . . .

The 60's clothes, hairstyles, decor, and current events provide an interesting backdrop for what is essentially a character piece. The setting provides both the occasional laugh (cigarettes being advertised as "healthy") and the more than occasional cringe (how could dumping trash from a picnic in the park right on the grass ever seem okay?!).

If you need fast-paced action or a laugh track, this definitely isn't the show for you. But, if you like character development and subtlety in your television shows, rent the first seasons on DVD and settle in. You won't regret it.

Mad Men is one of my favorite shows ever. It was one of the most talked about shows when it was on, it's the reason I started watching it. I wanted to see if the show could live up to all the hype surrounding it and it did. It surpassed my expectations in every way. It actually ended up being one of my favorite shows. The entire cast is brilliant but this is Jon Hamm's show. His character, Don Draper, is iconic. Hamm was so good that he was nominated for an Emmy for all seven seasons the show was on and even won for best male actor. The show itself was also nominated for an Emmy for best drama for all seven seasons and even won a few times. In all the show won 16 Emmys and had over 116 different nominations. I'll say that again in case you thought it was a misprint...Mad Men was nominated for 116 different Emmy awards! That alone should tell you how legendary this show is. I love it so much I plan on watching it all the way through again in the near future.

I'll be the first to admit that Mad Men is a show about watching people go to work and live their lives. It should be dull and uninteresting, yet somehow it managed to grip me for a whole 7 seasons and left me wanting more.

The setting is a big part of it. The historical interest of the time (JFK's assassination, the moon landing, England winning the World Cup, to name a few key points in the show) is enough to keep many gripped. It's more than that though. The characters in themselves are worth following and you get invested in them as the seasons progress.

To be frank I didn't like the first season. I just didn't get the formula and was getting close to giving up on the show. I'm glad I didn't though as it only improves from the second season onward.

This is a perfect show in every sense. The opening credits & animated intro are themselves works of art, and the creative direction makes the series so visually exquisite that you can't take your eyes off the screen even for a moment lest you miss one of the many perfect vignettes. The haunting opening music sets the stage for masterful sound design, ranging from each episode's musical selections to the subtlest of ambient sounds. The camera-work is nothing short of stunning; it loves each character and makes even the background action interesting. Talented cast and every character is watchable & believable.

For a period piece, 'Mad Men' is remarkably fresh. The show is set in 1960, following a decade of post-WWII recovery which, with the help of rampant consumerism, transformed America from an industrial society into a "leisure society". One of the most rewarding things about the show is how we get to witness the many cracks which had already begun to form in the manicured facade of the '50s, slowly making way for America's rebellion against the manufactured "good life", and resulting in the social & political upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s.

We get to have intimate glimpses into the various components of this process--money, power, politics, sex, race, gender roles-- in a way that makes us feel as if we're actually there in the room with the characters. The show also does a magnificent job of portraying the simultaneous liberation and objectification of women as consumerism rapidly transformed their role in society.

Each and every well-developed character on this show takes his/her turn to unfold in delicate layers. This unfolding is done with pin-point precision and subtlety, and without ever spoon-feeding us. And every new nugget of information is a highly relevant piece of this very addictive puzzle.

~NN

The journey is a most interesting one in Don Draper's universe that occupies a time (1960s) in American culture when changes occurred in warp speed. No Pollyanna view of the world, 'Mad Men' explores the full spectrum of human relationships, personality types, and emotions.

The show's creator Matthew Weiner (previously executive producer/writer of 'The Sopranos') takes viewers on a high-ball roller coaster of human experiences that explore pursuit of bliss, the depths of where one can go, and the winding roads of inner angst one must often travel.

'Mad Men' is the ultimate ensemble drama series with grown-up adult themes that drill deep into the human psyche and often self-destructive behavior patterns of the 1960s post-WWII Greatest Generation that populated the high-flying, high-pressure Madison Avenue ad agencies.

Those ad agencies created the culturally iconic images cast through television, radio and print media during that turbulent, mass-consumption decade in American society, when Baby Boomers started taking over the reigns of influence in America, much of it in conflict with Greatest Gen thinking.

There is nothing low key about 'Mad Men'. Tension and conflict is layered throughout the series. Weiner covers a lot of territory of the human experience that exists inside complex personalities and their relationships, and the intense emotions that often accompany them.

As it stands now, 'Mad Men' is the best TV drama series of all-time; I don't believe there is even a close second.

The show received 4 consecutive "Outstanding Drama Series" Emmys (21 total Emmy wins out of 116 nominations) to close out it's relatively brief pre-determined tenure of 7 seasons.

Those who have seen every episode in sequence, experience a level of high-quality TV viewing that sets the bar to the pinnacle, and rivals the best theatrical movies in production, casting, acting, and story-telling.

Matthew Weiner's unique concept alone puts it into a must-try category.

For those who have seen the entire series, it is even better the second, third time around (and one gains value in more rapid linear viewing, rather than having to wait months to see the next season, or a week to watch the next episode).

Marathon binge-viewing of consecutive episodes can be exhausting, but the series' irresistible gravitational force inevitably draws you back into the center of Draper's universe to watch the next episode - You just can't look away.

View 'Mad Men' from episode one, season one. The trip is well worth the time.

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