I started renting the Mad Men DVDs several weeks ago after reading so much “Best show on TV!” praise that I finally couldn’t ignore it any longer. Often that kind of praise winds up being a turn-off… it’s easier to dismiss the hype and pride yourself on standing apart from the “cool kids.” I’m reminded of a B.J. Novak blog entry titled “I will watch The Wire when I watch The Wire!” that was aimed at all his friends who kept goading him about that show.
I’ve found, though, that once I give in, I’m almost always glad I did. That’s how I discovered Friday Night Lights, Battlestar Galactica and Buffy the Vampire Slayer — three of my favorite shows ever. And if I ever decide to watch The Wire, I’m sure I’ll wonder what the hell took me so long.
So I finished Season One of Mad Men yesterday, and I can say without hesitation… believe the hype. The show is absolutely worthy of the Best Drama Emmy it picked up earlier this week, and then some.
Initially, the show Mad Men most reminded me of was The Sopranos, only set in a 1960s ad agency rather than modern-day New Jersey. The characters are fascinating, entertaining and horribly flawed. Racism and sexism is rampant, adultery is par for the course. And the main character, Don Draper, is somebody we can’t help but root for despite his apparent amorality.
But somewhere over the course of its first 14 episodes, Mad Men started going deeper. The characters felt less like boorish archetypes and more like real people. The women, treated with such derision in early episodes, blossomed into the most powerful and interesting characters on the show. And Don Draper’s steely facade began to crumble, as flashbacks filled him in and explained (but never excused) his behavior.
Ultimately, Season One of Mad Men was about family, love, loss, regret and denial. Every character had moments of triumph and moments of bitter failure. It’s a deeply sad show because it’s hard to see a way out for these people. They are trapped in lives dictated not by them but for them, harnessed in by the vintage deco furniture and the cigarette smoke that curls into every frame.
And yet they are not without humor, not without a sense of possibility. Professionally, these men and women are always looking for a way to sell consumers on a dream of happiness… the irony is that they are the ones most in need of that brass ring.
Below is a scene from the final episode of Season One (it doesn’t contain any spoilers in the traditional sense). Don Draper is making a pitch to Kodak, who have designed a new “wheel” slide projector, using his own photos. His family life is crumbling away — he rarely sees his children and his wife is increasingly suspicious of his affairs. He’s realizing (too late?) exactly what he’s allowed himself to become.
I won’t suggest anybody watch this show. Don’t want to be another annoying voice in that chorus. But I’ve had a hard time not thinking about it, and felt like giving it a little love on the blog.
Meet Me In Montauk 
If Friday Night Lights had been nominated, would you still be glad Mad Men won?
No, that would have been a travesty. And I personally would have picked Lost over Mad Men, too. But that’s about it.
Okay, okay, now I can entertain the rest of what you said with more clarity.
I was mildly impressed by the first few episodes, but neither Dana or I found ourselves “rooting” for any of the characters. I guessed that a few more episodes might have changed that, and I certainly found Draper’s secretary and his wife to be fascinating characters, though I also found it disturbing to watch the severe limitations placed on women at that time while dealing with the whole Clinton/Palin debate in our own. Maybe once all the rhetoric has died down, I can go back to the rest of season one and give it a fair view. It certainly is a well-written and great looking show.
We watched the first two episodes last night, and we’re pretty impressed so far. We’ve certainly come a long way as far as sexual harrassment in the work place. And nobody has to worry about second hand smoke since everyone seems to be smoking. We’re definitely going to continue the rest of the season.