MAD MEN starts its sixth season tonight with a 2-hour opening episode (9 P.M. EDT on AMC, check your local listings for times in your area). Although I’m not fond of the soap opera aspects of MAD MEN, I find myself fascinated by the characters and the plots. Advertising is a shady business (basically telling lies) so having so many flawed characters spinning their stories just adds to the drama. I’m amazed MAD MEN has been able to keep their talented cast together for so many years. The series ends next year and I’m already missing it.
I have yet to watch any of this series. At this point, it’s probably to late.
MAD MEN is on NetFlix, Randy. And, the Seasons are short (12 episodes), so you can get up to speed quickly.
This serial is currently running on Indian cable though I haven’t watched any of the episodes. It is broadcast in the evening when I am hopping off the train and hopping into a bus or an autorickshaw. I’ll try and watch some of the episodes on the weekends.
Prashant, if you’re interested in American advertising in the 1960s (and American culture around that time), MAD MEN captures the essence of those times.
It is one of the few successful non-crime and non-medical dramas on TV. The cast is almost equal to the writing. Although Betty Draper is a definite minus.
Patti, have you noticed that since the divorce, Betty Draper’s role has been diminished. And the role of her daughter has expanded.
As I said yesterday over on Patti’s blog, if Mad Men is as complicated as it looks to be, I’ll probably never watch it. Too bad, because I’d hoped to pick it all up on Netflix or DVD and work my way through it season by season. Seems if a person doesn’t get in at the evry beginning there’s no chance.Maybe some day, but tonight I guess I’ll watch 60 Minutes and then read for the evening. I’ll not be watching the country music awards show!
For those of us who love MAD MEN, Rick, every clever plot twist excites us. It’s worth the investment of time and effort.
So, how was it?
I found the two-hour premier of MAD MEN a bit on the slow side, Rick. I liked the parts about designing ads for Koss Headphones and Sheraton Hotels in Hawaii, but the soap opera aspects leave me cold.
Not too shabby. And it isn’t as complex as all that. It frequently strives for a weight it doesn’t achieve, but it usually delivers well enough to make it worth watching.
Dick Van Dyke’s verisimilitude criticism: “Their suits are too good.”
Todd, you’re right about MAD MEN skating on the edge of gravitas, but not quite achieving it. But, sadly, MAD MEN is one of the few dramas on cable today that actually requires the audience to THINK! I’m also surprised to see that THE KILLING is returning in June. I thought AMC canceled it.
Nope…AMC changed their minds at the eleventh hour on THE KILLING. Perhaps strong ancillary sales (dvd/downloads) or some such convinced them.
I find a number of series are as thoughtful as MAD MEN…though perhaps the fact that THE VENTURE BROS. is one of the densest dramatic presentations we have should give us pause…BORGEN is being replayed again on Link TV and its website…I await this cousin of THE KILLING’s next season…while still fond of THE GOOD WIFE, JUSTIFIED, and certainly of the new parody series NEWSREADERS…
Todd, I watched all of THE KILLING despite the glacial pace of its story-telling. I like the cast so I’ll be watching this surprising new season. My wife considers THE GOOD WIFE her favorite program.