One thing about Mad Men: they don't sugar-coat adultery. They show it for the sordid, unsatisyfing sin that it is. Nothing will keep a guy faithful better than watching Don Draper's filthy, philandering lifestyle slowly ruining his relationship with his wife, his friends, and with the children that he loves. You can see that the conflict is killing him inside -- as real-world adultery does.
Plus the show is packed with honeys, wall to wall, all wearing the kind of clothes people used to wear when grownups were running the country. Christina ("Joan Holloway") Hendricks is so freaking attractive that it's frightening -- I mean, it's like taking a baseball bat in the gut every time she comes on camera. I mean, I love my wife, but OH YOU KID. Sometimes I think that women like her ought to be kept in trust by the Department of the Interior for all Americans to enjoy. Even the mousy girls on the show (yes, the Progressive Insurance girl is one of them) are well turned out and cute. Hats, gloves, nylons — those were the days.
And she's a damned good actress, too. In fact, all the actors and actresses on that show are of top quality. The scripts are zingy and smart, with just the occasional hint of wry nostaligic humor. (Condescending Beatnik: "How do you sleep, man?" Ad Exec Don: "On a bed made out of money"). Yes, it's uncomfortable to see blacks and women kept "in their place" as they were in the real-life world of early-1960s America, but even with the casual racism and objectification of women that was everywhere in those days, I sometimes wonder if the lives of most blacks and women are fundamentally better in our modern "liberated" age.
And of course it's lots of fun to see people smoking pack after pack of cigarettes (in bed, at work, in public, everywhere), driving gigantic gas-guzzling street panzers without wearing seat belts or strapping the kinder into child restraint systems, drinking on the job, throwing litter everywhere, letting their kids play with dry-cleaning bags — you know, doing all the naughty, dangerous, and irresponsible things we used to do back when this was a free country. It's wicked. It's refreshing. It's hard to imagine a time when the federal government played essentially no role in the lives of average people.
If you haven't seen Mad Men, give it a try. But be warned: it's hip, witty, cool, and fun, but it's also at its root a sad story of a sad man. Go, and do thou otherwise.
Each season on the show moves a few years ahead.
In the early episodes of a new season, they make reference to some well-known historical event to give the audience the timeframe.
Great post.
Agree and BTTT. Of course now I’ve got this thread bookmarked for the pics... ;)
regards,
What a great recap!