"Mad Men" is the critically acclaimed darling that debuted on AMC in 2007. At the time, we watched an episode and liked it yet did not begin watching the show regularly. Flash forward to this summer, which like any summer is re-run central, and we ordered the first season of "Mad Men" through Netflix. The results: true love :)
We have zipped through Season 1 pretty quickly and are now awaiting our next installment that will detail the public & private lives of the staff at fictitious ad agency Sterling Cooper. Set in 1960, the show paints a picture of what the ad industry, which has always been known as Madison Ave, was like almost fifty years ago when it was predominantly a male industry. Women DID work in agencies but almost exclusively in support roles: switchboard operators and secretaries. In some ways, people were far more formal in the workplace than they are today - both with regard to attire as well as in the way they spoke - and yet alcohol flowed freely at the office and office trysts were a dime a dozen.
The show is well written and many of the lead and supporting actors are developed in detail, though this process is a slow one--characters like Don Draper, Betty Draper, Peggy Johnson, Pete Campbell are revealed to us over time, peeling back their true selves layer by layer. Allusions to future development are there - if you're watching closely - and double entendres abound, though again these don't always jump out at you.
Great writing and acting aside, the show is also noteworthy for its representation of the '60's as the attention to detail is terrific: from the fashion (particularly the women's wear) to the political climate (our nation on the cusp of its first Catholic president, a young Irish upstart by the name of JFK) to its depiction of these ad executives' home life - it allows us, in 2009, a way to be transported to 1960 Manhattan and the surrounding suburbs. Nice to visit, though I greatly prefer the current 2009 showing.
Anyway - if you're not watching this gem, what are you waiting for? When several friends heard I wasn't watching, they were surprised and said I'd love it. They were right.
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1 comment:
ha, i think i'm one of said friends- i knew you would! there was an excellent segment on NPR's "Fresh Air" the other week (9/25) with interviews from my 2 fave cast members (hotties Sterling & Draper.
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