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.
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Supermanfan-1331 May 2022Mad Men was such a terrific show that is absolutely just as good as everyone says it is. I never watched it when it was originally on but after hearing so many great things about it I finally gave it a chance and streamed it. I was blown away but how much I loved it. There's a reason it won so many awards when it was on...because it's terrific! The acting, writing, directing, production, attention to detail, etc are all among the best in television history! I can see why some people may not like it because it does starts off a little slow but give it a few episodes because it absolutely pays off and then you won't want to stop watching it until you binge the entire series!
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When I started watching Mad Men, the rhythm of it felt slow.
Pretty quickly did I realize how much more powerful the slow story & plot development rhythm would be, allowing us to discover the characters, mostly in seasons 1 and 2, and then really be in the thick of it in subsequent seasons.
Indeed, this series has pushed character development so far that they are the entire and only reason why this series is interesting. The actual events happening at the advertising agency is a pretext to throw more things at those characters and have them deal with it. In fact, the characters are so interesting that there is practically no violence needed (except a few minor events) over 7 seasons to keep this series going. I find that tremendously respectable to be able to craft a series in this way, not using gun shots and bombs to make it lively.
Finally, I have not lived in the early 60's time period the series is set in, but I can only say that it's all seemed to me very interesting and all these "vintinge" props and costumes, hair style and such made it all the more fascinating to watch.
Absolutely great work. -
crewbie3 September 2009The 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. -
Instant_Palmer30 August 2015The 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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filiperubini22 July 2020Everyone has a back burner watchlist of TV shows considered to be the greatest. These are often graced by the likes of Breaking Bad, Deadwood, The Wire, The Sopranos, and, of course, Mad Men. Even though these shows may be indeed great, you may be familiar with a weird avoidance mechanism that usually kicks in: we may regard those landmark pieces of TV not very exciting, especially if they are a few years old - not unlike "must-read" literary classics that nobody ever reads - and thus we relegate them to the bottom of our watchlists, while we consume the latest, more exciting, and often less fulfilling offers.
Then, when you finally make the effort to watch that landmark series and realize it is every bit as good as everyone said it was, you flagellate yourself thinking why you held back for so long.
This Great-TV-Show-Avoidance-Mechanism happened to me in regards to Mad Men. A show about advertising and corporate people did not seem very exciting to me, and I wasn't really a fan of anyone in the cast (save Elizabeth Olson). Having in the past started to watch best-of-all-time TV shows just to drop them along the way - I'm looking at you, The Sopranos - I kept it on the back burner for a very long time. Now, after consuming all of Mad Men in a relatively short amount of time, I think it is the most consistently good TV show I have ever watched.
Out of the 92 episodes in the entire series on IMDb, I have rated only two a 7. All the rest got a rating of either 8 or 9 (I don't believe in perfection, so 9 is as high as I go). The key word here, alongside consistency, is even-handedness. Even though there are standout episodes, usually popping out unpredictably within seasons, rather than near the end like most other shows, Mad Men's episodes are so well balanced in terms of drama, character development and plot advancement that you feel you are witnessing interesting lives go by - extremely well costumed, photographed, written and acted lives, but fictional nonetheless. Compared to most other shows, there is a refreshing under-reliance on plot twists and melodramatic acting scenes, which now seem to me like the bluntest tools in the writer's bag of tricks to keep viewers tuning in every week. Perhaps Mad Men's greatest achievement is just that: through the power of character and acting alone, it manages to capture the viewers' interest while dispensing with more traditional tricks of storytelling. Of course, other facets of the production, such as the attention to period detail, costume design and cinematography are really good too. But what stands out and keeps us watching is the near-perfect marriage between solid writing, first, and solid acting, second - acting here defined in terms of how perfectly the actors inhabit their roles, not the showy, larger-than-life, award-stealing acting scenes you find in Oscar bait films. And I tell you from experience, the binge pull of the series makes it nearly impossible to watch a single episode in a sitting. I have only been able to pull that off once, with the final episode.
The way the plot is handled is simply masterful. For instance, if a character goes on a quest to achieve something, and we spend some time witnessing the build-up to it, it is not guaranteed they will (ever) succeed, or that at least a lesson will be learned at the end of the day. Things may end up just like they are - a lot like real life. The backdrop of US history unfolding is neither overpowering, i.e., stealing attention from the characters or events at hand, or just a side note mentioned without consequence. These historically-inspired scenes excel in revealing interesting takes on people's attitudes (secretaries crying over Marilyn Monroe's death, for instance) while providing startling contrasts to our times. Another striking feature of the show I'd like to mention is that, now and again, there are a few scenes with unimportant characters - like a child doing something they ought not to do, feeling guilty, and trying to hide it afterwards - that seem to be there mostly to make us feel, "yes, I have felt this before, this is familiar to me". Those "snippets of reality," as I call them, serve no narrative purpose whatsoever and don't even advance our understanding of the characters, but they do a great deal to establish the mood and reinforce our connection to the characters, even if indirectly. By including these moments in small amounts and in the right moment, the writers are still able to keep everything on track while disregarding the common writing advice that every scene should either advance the plot or deepen character development (or better yet, both at the same time). By the way, I have rarely seen such "extraneous" scenes elsewhere, and when they do appear, they are due mostly to an editor or writer's incompetence rather than to the command of their craft.
On top of all that, the show is also a wonderfully honest piece of television. It does not promise or deliver anything more than what you see on screen. After a couple of seasons, you are likely to be able to predict to a high degree of accuracy how it is all going to end - Mad Men operates within such a well thought out "narrative system", with clearly defined bounds, that you know exactly what NOT to expect. The way the series finale begins and ends makes you feel like you are watching just another episode and, miraculously, still manages to satisfy.
In closing, I should note that Mad Men does not provide the blockbuster-y thrills of, say, Game Thrones before it became a catastrophic failure, Westworld in its first season, or Breaking Bad during the Gus Fring phase. Above all, it shows that it is entirely possible to make great, often magnificent, television without any sort of sensationalized acting, clichéd dialogue or narrative acrobatics. I have already completely forgotten Game of Thrones and don't plan on rewatching any time soon. I find it unlikely I will ever do the same to Mad Men. -
killercola13 March 2022One of the greatest shows ever made. The Sopranos, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Game of Thrones, Mad Men. That's it. That's the list. If you haven't watched this show you're missing one of the absolute best shows ever made. Top notch acting, costume design, writing, acting, period piece. Watch it.
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ChubbyChecker9 September 2018I'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. -
Nooshin_Navidi11 September 2010This 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.
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John_Truby8 January 2010Mad Men is one of the best-written and most ambitious TV shows in some time. It is worth close study, not just for learning how to create a well-structured show but also how to write one that is truly original and potentially groundbreaking. Story world, or arena, is one of the key structural elements in any TV drama (see the TV Drama Class for how to create this element, as well as the other essential structural elements of a successful show). It is where the story takes place and it usually exists within some specific arena that not only delineates a recognizable unit but also has a set of rules, activities and values that defines the characters. One of the strengths of Mad Men is its story world. Instead of the usual arena of cops, lawyers, or doctors, Mad Men takes us into a Manhattan advertising agency in 1960. Besides being totally unique in TV, this story world is extremely detailed. And the detailing isn't simply a matter of the set design, which is fabulous. It is written into every episode. The writers weave all manner of cultural icons of the late 50s-early 60s, including TV shows, ads, and fashion. This has two great advantages. One is the pleasure of recognition. If you were a kid at that time, as I was, the show is a virtual time machine. And even if you weren't, the authenticity and texture immerse you in the world and make you feel that "You are there!" The other great advantage is that this past world tricks the audience into believing that this is how it really was back then. The first thing we notice when we see all of these details is how much the world has changed. Everybody smoked back then. The men were in charge and the women were all secretaries and housewives. That sets up the kicker. By first thinking how much we've changed, we then realize, with even more impact, all the ways we haven't. This story, set in 1960, is really about today, or more exactly, the ways that human nature only puts on a new skin and the same fundamental challenges of creating a meaningful life must be faced by each of us, every moment of every day. Another structural element that immediately jumps out at you if you want to create a TV show or write for one is the desire line. In Mad Men the desire that structures each episode is fairly nebulous, and that's probably going to cut into the show's popularity (I hope I'm wrong on this one). Desire is the main reason almost all TV shows are set in the cop, lawyer, and doctor arenas. These jobs give their shows a simple and repeatable desire line that tracks the episode every week. Catch the criminal. Win the case. Save the life. But of course this is extremely limiting. Most people don't spend their daily lives solving crimes, prosecuting bad guys, and saving lives. So while the desire line on this show may be more nebulous, it is far closer to what most Americans do in their daily lives. These Mad Men are in the business of selling, which, as Arthur Miller pointed out long ago, is the archetypal American action. But they aren't selling a particular product. They're selling desire, some image of the good life that, because it is a fabricated ideal, is always just out of reach. Writer Matthew Weiner's brilliant conception for this show is to connect the selling of desire to America to the personal and work lives of the ad men themselves. The ad men want the image of the good life in America that they are selling to be true, even if they intellectually make fun of the poor suckers out there who buy it. Main character Don Draper is handsome and talented, with a beautiful wife and two cute little kids. But he has some secrets he's keeping like a mistress in the city and he feels a terrible void he has no idea how to shake. Draper is a master at manipulating desire and creating facades, so when he tries to live the promise for real, the "good life" falls apart in his hands. We are in Far from Heaven and American Beauty territory here. And the second episode even had Draper give his own version of the Existentialist credo of Sartre and Camus that was seeping into pop culture during the late 50s (how's that for a sweet detail on a TV show?). We'll have to see whether Mad Men can extend beyond a few episodes without imploding. Besides the lack of a clean desire line, the subject of hollow suburban existence will make it extremely difficult for the writers to develop the show over the long term without beating a spiritually dead horse. In the meantime, I'm going to sit back and enjoy some great dramatic writing, and nowadays TV is the only place you'll find it.
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dilocorinne9 January 2020Just finished the finale. My husband & I watched this over the last few months. I felt like I was reading a book. Character development, story lines, sets, period pieces, costume & design, acting, writing, all top notch. I will miss this show. I may have to rewatch again some time! So good.
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stephen-105024 July 2009I also am utterly bemused to see so many negative comments on this show. I haven't taken to a TV drama so much since 'Our Friends in the North' (UK only I think) For those who seem to think the show is about pointing out the improved morals of the 21st century, or don't catch the story lines as being evolved enough, or think the characters shallow - I'm afraid you're missing the (beautifully painted) picture completely.
Mad Men oozes. It oozes class, style, sophistication, cinematic production, dreaminess and the wow factor. It seeps into your mind. It doesn't leave you alone, lingering around the corners of your mind for hours afterwards.
As a bonus (as if all this wasn't enough) you've got Don Draper (Jon Hamm). If there's a better cast character, being better acted elsewhere on television in the 21st century then I missed it. The fact that Don is also, or used to be Dick, just adds to the dreaminess.
It's gorgeous, just enjoy. -
Stylish and well crafted, and possessing one of the best performances by an actor (Jon Hamm) that I have seen in a TV series. Yet, the show also dragged at times, which is why it took me nearly two years to watch the entire thing. (Though I always felt compelled to keep watching.) The final episode unfortunately, brought me only a little bit of satisfaction.
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shanayneigh10 March 2020I first started to watch Mad Men when it was in its fifth season or so. I gave up in the second or third season because I didn't find it particularly interesting or engaging. Now that the entire series is on Netflix I decided to try again and watch the whole thing no matter what. My initial take on the show hasn't changed.
Having worked on several, I recognize a soap when I see one. People are so dazzled by the show being set in the 60's and the effects it has on set design, costume and hairstyle. And the setting is fun, with people smoking everywhere and office workers drinking like sailors on shore leave. But once the novelty wears off, the storylines are straight out of soap operas and the only thing more flat than the characters is the dialogue. And despite the show's attempt to be racy with its many, many sex scenes, in the end it's very chaste since it's on basic cable. Not a female nipple in sight, with blankets being pulled up to the armpits one split second post coitus and one swear word per show or season. Clutch the pearls and get the smelling salts.
The show is obsessed with Jews for obvious reasons, but it gets pretty old after a while. What else have you got? For a show trying so hard to be progressive, I find it somewhat amusing that the only religious and ethnic minorities which Hollywood (not only this show) deems worthy of attention are Jews and blacks. Perhaps it's because of the era the show is set in, but most likely not.
Don Draper has got to be one of the least interesting main characters in television. Having other characters commenting on how mysterious he is doesn't make him an interesting character. Forget for a minute how dashing Jon Hamm is playing him: Aside from screwing every woman who enters his field of vision and being afraid of his (not so terribly engaging) secret to come out, what does Don Draper want? After watching 92 episodes I still can't answer this basic question.
Evident from the plot point about his contract, it's clear he doesn't want to be tied down. So why did he choose to get married? And twice at that. In fact, why does he choose to work in advertising? He seems to enjoy neither his work nor his marriage(s). He just sort of trundles along sticking his weiner into any woman who happens to cross his path. I don't think there's anything wrong with Hamm's portrayal. It's just that he's given very little to work with. One character says the following to Don in the last season: "You don't have any character, you're just handsome!". I'm sure it was meant as a tongue in cheek joke by Weiner et al, but it accidentally summed up Don Draper to me. He's meaningless.
But singling out Don is unfair, most of the characters are one note. The acting is for the most part serviceable, with some notable exceptions. Vincent Kartheiser playing Pete is one example. It's not that I don't like the character, it's just that not a single moment (especially in the latter seasons) rings true.
But the prime example has got to be January Jones as Betty. I'm sorry to be piling on, because she has already gotten a lot of flak, but this is possibly the stiffest acting I have seen in a high budget project. She certainly looks the part, being a dead ringer for Grace Kelly, but every single line reading comes off as her reading from the phone book. But wait, it gets worse. In a move of blatant nepotism Matthew Weiner's son is cast as Glen, a boy with a dead-eyed thousand yard stare and all the likeability and charm of a serial rapist who crosses paths with the Draper household. The scenes he shares with Betty (of which there are many) are nothing but torture. One got cast because of her looks, the other because of his DNA, and neither one could act their way out of a paper bag. -
This is truly one of the best drama series in the history of television as it has everything a drama should have: great characters and ensemble cast, superb writing, mind blowing sets and costumes. It's a character driven story that follows Don Draper and the people around him for ten years from 1960 to 1970 and the writing in these 7 seasons have been interesting and enjoyable to follow. Matthew Veiner created a piece of art with his unique and spectacular writing, mixing fiction with non fiction made him get freedom and with that he could create the many characters that the show has to offer and they are all realistic and believable characters, it's some of the best characters in a show that I've seen.
How Matthew Veiner and his crew have recreated New York in its 60's have been something incredible to see as it's detailed from the clothes that the people wear to how they act and the whole world has a feeling that is hard to capture but the crew behind Mad Men succeeded. So what are you in for if you choose to watch this piece of art, more than one of the best drama's in TV history you get to see the fine acting of the whole ensemble cast and mostly Jon Hamm, the man that plays Don Draper, everyone did incredible and emmy worthy performances. -
atinkerer6 November 2022The central character in this show is a deeply damaged man called Don. He has a strong survival instinct, but he's incapable of loving or even trusting. He is running scared. He compensates for his insecurity and emptiness by pursuing primal things that soothing his ego. He has to feel that he's in control, even though he's living on the edge. He tries to be the "Alpha Male" conquering all around him. In reality, he is a juggler about to drop all the balls.
The others in this show are complex human beings whose characters dictate how their lives evolve and ultimately end up.
One interesting character that you follow throughout the series is Peggy. She enters the world of advertising as a total innocent, but as the show progresses, you'll see her become a worldly and powerful business woman.
The show is full of examples of the attitudes and mindset of the 1960s. The type writer was designed "so even a woman can learn how to use it". Everybody smokes, a lot. It's ok for kids to play with plastic bags over their heads. Women are treated in a way that would surely be considered sexual harassment in today's world. These unacceptable things jump out at you and startle you, and give you a flavor of that era.
The show was a hit for a reason. It's very good! -
Tweekums12 December 2018Set in the changing world of advertising in the 1960s this series is centred on the employees of one agency as they work to gain new contracts and maintain the ones they have and deal with take-overs and buy-outs. There are many major characters but most important is Don Draper; a man with the magic touch in his business who is far from perfect; he cheats on his wife, drinks rather too much and has a secret that could get him in a lot of trouble if it came to light. We also have Peggy Olsen; a secretary who quickly becomes the only woman on the creative team; office manager Joan Harris; the ambitious Pete Campbell and Roger Sterling, the somewhat amoral partner with an eye for the ladies. The series doesn't only follow the characters at work; we see their home lives; Don's family, particularly his wife Betty and daughter Sally, are as important as his colleagues.
If you are looking for action and expect stuff to happen all the time this might not be for you; but if you want a great character led drama that really captures the feel of the era in which it is set then this might be just what you are looking for. The characters might not be the most likeable but their flaws make them feel real. The ongoing story nicely incorporates the news stories that would affect the national consciousness at the time as well as the changing attitudes to race and sexuality. The cast is superlative; most obviously John Hamm who is great as Don but Elisabeth Moss, Christina Hendricks, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones and John Slattery whose characters stand out. Kiernan Shipka deserves separate mention as she does a great job as Sally; a role she started when she was about six years old. The series provides plenty of drama but also a good number of laughs and one gory shock involving a lawnmower and a foot! Overall I would definitely recommend this superior series. -
niccolor23 July 2022It's a masterpiece, probably the BEST drama series ever made.
It will be long until we'll be able to enjoy another truly brilliant,truly deep, well written and perfectly casted and acted show.
The themes underlying each story arc are the grat themes since the beginning of time: identity, friendship, loyalty, love, money ,death, rebirth.
A good teacher could use the show to discuss philosophy,or writing fiction, or design.
Mad Men is deep and light at the same time, entertaining, funny even, at times.
Chapeau. -
I must admit I'm more likely to be shocked how many users find this drama dull.I remember the night I had the chance to gaze at one of episodes for couple of minutes.Betty posing for a coke ad didn't seem charming or appealing to me at all, I changed the channel...
Long after the series won the Emmies, beautiful tunes of David Carnobora buzzed into my ear via commercials and I thought I might have to get the complete DVD.
HBO absolutely made their worst business move maybe in their history by dissing this show.Cos Made Men is clever, cool, charismatic, sexy but more over it's targeting the audience HBO has created over years.Not random Americans who switch between Idol, a weirdo doctors unpleasant patients who will recover thanks to him or ugly police officers digging a carpet for a strand to discover a guy who you already know committed a homicide.
OK lemme tell you about why I adore this show.Mad Men is ultimately written by people who has a giant caliber of creativity and talent.This show demands the audience to be careful, tedious, curious about what they are watching.This show is not to be figured out in a single episode.After I completed season one I had some feeling towards what Weiner had in his mind while pitching the series to channel executives.Do not let the name fool you, Mad Men is not about ad- business or copywriters, show merely talks about ads, even when they are doing an ad.It is about America, how America transferred itself -and the world which depended on it- through out the sixties.In which manners capitalism can market itself with big lies.
By showing us the differences between 60's and 2000's series easily projects ideas about our time during a past decade.Characters in the show are so real, then I mean not just protagonist Don Draper, every other big, tiny or one time characters gets his/her time on screen and therefore show builds up a magnificent universe which you believe it exits and roam safely.Mad Men is not show yelling or speaking out loud, it politely whispers...We the audience witness a group of peoples lives in NYC, Matthew Weiner cleverly puts mile stone political, social events of USA balanced with everyday life of people as well, balanced fastidiously.The one biggest disappointing down side of Mad Men is that there are almost zero on-location shootings.We never get to see the - city- or anything else.This gives the feeling of being locked in sometimes for the viewer.Cast is totally cool and sexy with their superb retro wardrobe.Jon Hamm is the perfect choice for a lead, January Jones is so sexy that you can't get her out of your mind.Smokey, brownish production design is sweet and elegant.Also soundtrack selecting is so much joyful.
I can't say Mad Men is an easy chew.You have to be patient also alert.As I sad you can get a clear feeling only after watching an entire season.Do you want to watch the same TV shows over seasons or want some fun, intelligent brain gymnastics ? The codes of Mad Men are there to decode for your own sake.Do not miss it... -
thejdrage26 December 2021When I saw the 8.5, I had to comment on why it wasn't a 10. Holy crap! Come on people! Talk about a series that sucked us in and had us always wanting more!!! Well, it as a 10 in my book.
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saabrian-18 April 2022Such a well crafted drama. The characters were so frustrating in that whenever you thought they had overcome this or that character flaw, they would relapse. But that's human nature. People rarely change their fundamental nature.
My only complaint is that Bobby was the only member of the Draper/Francis family that always remained shallow and superficial despite being on the show for the entire time. Sally evolved into a really interesting character who challenged Don in a way that not even his wives did. She become more than just a dumb kid. That the writers didn't do the same for her brother was a missed opportunity. -
tranquilbuddha8 September 2007I don't watch TV drama usually, with rare exceptions: The Sopranos (especially the early seasons) and Entourage, if that counts. Mad Men is one of the most original, refreshingly dark and complex shows I've ever seen on TV. Despite its potential for soap opera story lines, it consistently transcends expectations and explores fascinating characters and a radically changing social environment in a beautifully shot, artfully designed and, above all, excellently acted manner. After watching virtually no TV recently (less than three hours per week), my wife and I have been hooked all week, catching up on every episode - although we have yet to see the first, which a technical glitch in our On Demand service is holding tantalizingly out of reach. I loved Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven, and this is like a generously extended - and in some respects even more fascinating - adjunct to that. Madison Avenue is the perfect prism through which to view the early 1960s, and Mad Men, with its post-noir, Nixon/JFK/beatnik/martini melange, is a hugely enjoyable, finely measured cocktail that leaves just the right taste in the mouth.
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bob_meg9 September 2009I bought the DVD of Season One based on sheer buzz from friends.
It didn't knock my socks off at first --- it's not a show that's so out-of-the-box that it screams to be noticed --- but gradually the characters and scenarios grew on me. The writing was above average and even though the story lines seemed a bit thin from time to time, the acting was so good, the set design was so spot on, it got me hooked. And it did pick up momentum as the season sped toward it's conclusion.
Season Two's premiere episode left me dry. Even looking back, it's a strange one. The dialog is stilted, much of what comes out of the character's mouths doesn't seem to fit and --- ABSOLUTELY...NOTHING...HAPPENS. I kept reading people raving about Season Two, but couldn't quite see what they were enamored of. But Season Two got better...way better....the increase in the tension was elegant, effective. Good plots twists, nice character refinements.
Now Season Three.... As of this writing, we are now a third of the way into this year's installment and still not much has happened. Worse, virtually all of the story lines this year seem as banal and self-indulgent as that on the average soap.
We are just now getting into more Draper back story --- the only thing I could find interesting in FOUR HOURS of footage. Instead we have: -The Sal-in-the-closet plot. Boring...and done to death elsewhere. Perhaps if we were to explore '60s style repercussions or the threat within them that Sal is/might be up against, it might be interesting. So far, that hasn't happened. Nothing has. And the opener with the bellboy? Right, that was believable. Try Red Show Diaries, Matt. It was about that plausible. -The John McCain and Cindy Brady Show --- This grandfather/granddaughter sub-plot is taking up far too much time...it's literally a quarter of every episode and it belongs on Lifetime! The fact that the actors are grating and the characters weak and annoying don't help. I really hope there is a point to including this drivel later on. It's really hard to sit through. Thee you on the thee-thaw Cindy...like never! - Joan's Marriage - This is moving abysmally slow. Christina Hendricks is a great actress. She needs more to do. - Roger's Marriage - Again, standard soap opera fluff. OK, maybe that's too harsh...Doug Sirk standard fluff. That's better.
The exception here are Peggy and Pete. Despite the fact that the baby subplot seems to come and go in the show's writer's minds, almost at whim, Elisabeth Moss has ensured we still care about this character and her travails. Same with Vince Kartheiser's flawed and funny Pete.
All of this is not bad for passing-time-TV. It's the standard we've come to expect from networks that cow-tow to limited attention spans and low intelligence. But that's not why I started watching Mad Men....it's now become like EVERY OTHER SHOW.
To listen to Matthew Weiner's excessive self-accolades within his excessive commentaries you would think he'd created a Great Work of Deconstructionalist Art. I just think he was a writer who had a great idea at one time, but now hasn't any idea how to make that idea compelling any longer and has now fallen back on tried and true clichés. -
drj-132484 September 2016I'm puzzled by the good reviews. I'm also puzzled by the bad reviews that only harp on how unsympathetic the characters are, or how much they drink and smoke. Mad Men is a terrible show, but it isn't because the characters are bad people who drink too much. It's because the writing is awful. I'll attempt to enumerate the ways.
With stunning regularity, major characters are suddenly written off of the show. Paul Kinsey, Sal Romano, Max Ginsberg, Bob Benson, Jim Cutler, the list goes on and on. Of course, it's sometimes okay if characters in a show leave, die, or otherwise get written away. But in Mad Men it always feels like it's for no reason. The character hasn't finished their story line or developed in some way, they are just suddenly gone, often without a good bye, and often in the middle of a plot line. Jim Cutler literally just disappears and is never mentioned again. It seems like sometimes the writers didn't know what to do with a character and just decided to bag it.
And, sadly, it isn't limited to characters - the same thing happens with entire plot lines. A large quantity of story lines go absolutely nowhere, reach unsatisfying conclusions, or are completely forgotten about. Betty's hands, Peggy's child, Glenn joining the army, the random waitress that Don spends half a season looking for, the list goes on and on. It happens so often that you start to distrust the show. On the rare occasion that a plot line is interesting, you spend most of your time worrying that it will be forgotten about. Perhaps the largest culprit in this regard is the supremely uninteresting story of Don's past. The show wastes HUGE amounts of time on this, and it is just bizarre to me. It has nothing to do with anything, doesn't fit the premise of the show, and doesn't seem to inform Don's actions or personality, except in the handful of episodes where they suddenly decide that it's super important. Need Don to do something out of character or that no normal person would do? Easy, just show a three minute flashback to his past. This would be lazy writing even if they did it correctly, but half of the time even after the flashback you still don't understand Don's motivation or reasoning.
Speaking of character development, or lack thereof, after SEVEN seasons most of the characters that have been there from the beginning are still barely developed, and the relationships between many of them are nonexistent. How does Don feel about, say, Ken Cosgrove? I don't know. How do Pete Campbell and Harry Crane get along? I don't know. Near the end of the show, Peggy shares a sentimental moment with Roger Sterling like they've been friends for years, and I caught myself trying to remember if they had ever even had a scene together before. I couldn't think of one. Maybe they did, but it speaks volumes that I can't remember. Part of the problem here is that instead of expanding on the existing characters we know and care about, there is just a constant influx of new ones. Even in the last two episodes we were still introducing new characters and spending more time on them than some of the main ones. It's hard to care about any of these characters because a) they're new, b) there are so many, and c) you know they'll either be forgotten about or remain just as undeveloped as the rest of the existing characters. There are so many characters that in any given episode about half of them don't appear because there wouldn't be enough time to show them all. Even Peggy, who is probably the second most important character, is only in about half of the episodes. It's ridiculous.
Another obstacle to any kind of character or story line development is Don's insistence on constantly leaving Manhattan, where the show is set. About once a season, Don packs up and heads off on some completely pointless sojourn, typically to California. We abandon everything else going on and get to be bored to tears by his aimless wandering and endless encounters with random characters we don't know or care about. This might be the most exhausting part of the show. Just why? The whole second half of the last season is comprised of this nonsense, which makes for a very disappointing ending to a very disappointing show.
On the topic of setting, the show is set in the 1960's. But the setting is entirely irrelevant other than constantly beating us over the head with hamfisted "remember this product/invention we don't use anymore?" and "check out this retro outfit" and "wasn't it racist/sexist back then?" moments. The latter is particularly annoying because they exaggerate it so much. At times, it seems like every male character is a chain-smoking alcoholic that can't say anything asexual or non-condescending to their female coworkers, all so that the audience can smugly sit back and say, "I sure am glad that we advanced beings of the future don't behave like THAT anymore." Please. The show doesn't tackle the subjects of technological or social advancement in any kind of meaningful or thoughtful way.
Finally, there are a number of characters that are annoying and difficult to watch. The primary offender here is Sally, Don's daughter. She is just insufferable. I'm sick of movies and TV shows always writing in the precocious, strong child that is smarter than all of the adults. Kids are stupid and don't know anything. I don't want to watch a 12 year old girl parade around with an attitude while her parents refuse to discipline her. Betty, Don's wife, is almost as infuriating.
In the end, I have no idea how or why I slogged through seven seasons of this garbage. The destination was nowhere and the ride wasn't enjoyable. Save yourself the pain. -
"Hey Jude," have you watched Mad Men yet? If not, "Come Together" and give it a try. "With a Little Help From My Friends," I'll tell you that this show is a masterpiece. From the "Revolutionary" 60s-themed setting to the "Magical Mystery Tour" of advertising, Mad Men is a "Day Tripper" through the lives of the men and women who made Madison Avenue what it was.
"Something" you'll notice right away is the incredible attention to detail in the show's production design. From the "Norwegian Wood" furnishings to the impeccably tailored suits, everything feels like it's from the era. The "Long and Winding Road" that leads us through the characters' personal and professional lives is expertly crafted, with each episode offering "A Hard Day's Night" of drama and intrigue.
One of the show's strongest elements is its characters, each with their own quirks and motivations. Don Draper is a "Nowhere Man" struggling with his identity, while Peggy Olson is a "Blackbird" rising through the ranks of a male-dominated industry. Together, they form a "Band on the Run" that keeps us hooked episode after episode.
In conclusion, Mad Men is a "Ticket to Ride" that's not to be missed. Whether you're a fan of the Beatles or not, you'll find plenty to love in this "All You Need Is Love"-filled series.