Season Five of Mad Men has been one of my favorites. So much happened this season: Roger took LSD, there was an entertaining fist fight between Lane Pryce and Pete Campbell, a surprising suicide, an equally surprising decision by one of the advertising firm’s creative stars to leave for another agency, and a decision by a female employee to eventually give in to what amounted to prostitution (to win the coveted Jaguar account) after haggling over the price (a partnership in the firm). Tonight will probably provide another cliff-hanger so I’ll be counting the days until Mad Men returns. This may be the best cable series ever.
I need no persuasion to agree with you. It has exceeded its medium, I think, in what it bring to the screen.
The casting of MAD MEN is brilliant, Patti. And the writing far exceeds the TV norm.
Not having seen any episodes, I tried to find it on On Demand, but only the last few episodes were there. So I guess the first couple of seasons are long gone, and I’m not going to try to jump in at this late date. Too bad, it has sounded good, from the reviews. Oh well, more reading time.
MAD MEN is a series worth watching, Rick. AMC has MAD MEN marathons occasionally so you can watch it from the first episode to this season’s finale!
MAD MEN is uneven…at its worst, it’s overstated and if anyone was likely to have a flaw specific to the NYC upper middle class in the 1960s, it will be dutifully trotted out. At its best, it’s pretty solid…but it’s not better than the best of THE WIRE, BREAKING BAD, DEADWOOD, nor any number of other series on cable (not to mention such broadcast giants as HOMICIDE, ONCE AND AGAIN, and, again, several others…I should probably go back and look at the original adaptation of THE FORSYTE SAGA again before citing that one).
You’re right about THE WIRE, BREAKING BAD, and DEADWOOD, Todd. But MAD MEN manages to capture the nature of American family life because it isn’t afraid to include kids in their cast. You never know what Sally Draper will do.