Mad Men Season 2
Last night was the second season finale of Mad Men. In case you aren’t familiar with Mad Men it is the story of advertising men in the early 1960’s at the agency of Sterling Cooper, the story is centered around Don Draper.
This show is great on so many levels. My mother claims it is her favorite show on television, and I think it is only because the creators have gone to such great lengths to re-create the era. The show portrays pregnant women smoking and drinking. Children playing in plastic dry cleaning bags. A family picnic where the only clean up afterwards is duping all the food and trash off the blanket on to the ground. Drinking to excess in the office, and of course chain smoking. Every person I’ve spoken to who grew up in that time period talks about how one moment or another in the show reminds them of their childhood.
Mad Med is a smart show with lots of talking and sometimes not enough action. It has a very Glengary Glen Ross feel to it. The series has won numerous Emmy’s including Outstanding Drama Series. The critics love it and is considered by many to be on the best shows on television. All that being said, no one is watching it. Why, you might ask? For starters it is on AMC, a network that doesn’t have a reputation for original programing, and it is on basic cable. Second, there is no big name talent involved (although John Hamm who portrays Don Draper is making a name for himself and even hosted SNL this past weekend). Third, if you haven’t watched from the beginning it is hard to catch up on what’s going on. Lastly as I stated before there isn’t a whole lot of action, and a lot of talk which normally doesn’t relate to the masses. I worry that this show will become the next Arrested Development or Sports Night, a great show that will get cancelled because people aren’t watching.
If you are interested in watching but haven’t, both seasons are available on iTunes right now. Mad Men is defiantly worth a watch if you appreciate great stories and great acting.
3 years ago