Tis the Season Review: Mad Men's 1st

Where to begin? I remember seeing ads for this show way back in the day when it first premiered. It looked immediately appealing because I'm a huge fan of anything 60s and appeared to be a dynamic dramatic show that picked up where The Sopranos left off. Little did I know, Matthew Weiner, creator of Mad Men, was a writer on the HBO show. I put off watching the show for years, due to whatever reasons I'm afraid I can't recollect now. A few months ago, I started watching the show through Netflix instant and immediately fell in love. It quickly became one of my favorite shows on TV and easily is my favorite dramatic show. The Sopranos was great, with The West Wing also providing a solid example that TV can provide us with all around great production value and worthwhile characters. Mad Men, even in season one, proved itself as not only the best show of contemporary television, but among the best of all time.

The centerpiece of the entire show has always been the enigmatic Don Draper. The purest epitome of cool since Clint Eastwood, Draper, brilliantly portrayed by Jon Hamm, has a dark, tragic history that's in stark contrast with the confident image he presents to everyone around him, including his friends and family. I won't spoil his mythos but you may already know without having seen the show. Regardless, his secret is one that is much easier to keep hidden in the time of the show: the 1960s. It adds a depth of timeliness to the show that helps make it unique. Don represents, in so many ways, the flawed ideal of the American man. His wife, two kids, and white picket fence, paid for by a high paying job and glamorous life of smoking, drinking, and infidelity are just smoke and mirrors of the internal pain that he tries to live with everyday. I have no reservations in calling him one of the truly great original TV characters.

I could go on and on about Draper, but he isn't the solely interesting character in the series. The show's full of Emmy worthy performances, led by John Slattery as Roger Sterling, one of the leaders of the advertising firm that the story takes place in Sterling Cooper. Another standout among a great cast is Elizabeth Moss as Peggy Olsen, Draper's secretary who is eventually promoted to be a copywriter for the firm. Olsen goes through a lot of change over the course of the show, rising up as one of the key characters in the show.

The show's look and feel is unique for any series, especially one for a newcomer like AMC. You really do feel like you're a part of the time that the show takes place in: 1960's Manhattan. Nearly every episode is filled with prudent and relevant references and storylines that utilize the era at its best and overlooked moments. There's also a noticeable mark of the characters reacting to the times around them; these products of post depression/war America find life different in an ever changing socio-economic and political landscape.

I would do a episode-by-episode review of the show, as one of this caliber deserves it. Instead, I'll simply point out the highlights of the season, even though I've yet to see a bad or even disappointing episode:

• "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes": Obviously, the first episode is certainly worth discussion for any show. This set the tone of story, character, and mood that is still continuing to make the show the success that it is. Sterling Cooper is slammed by their biggest client, Lucky Strike Cigarettes, at providing a marketing strategy that counters allegations by Reader's Digest that smoking can (gasp) lead to health problems, possibly death. We see early on that Don Draper really is the genius he's so frequently described to be.
• "5G": SPOILER WARNING . . . . . . Don Draper's past begins its slow revelation: his real name is Richard (Dick) Whitman and he's from a much humbler beginning then one may believe. His half brother, Adam, previously thought he died in the Korean War. Adam pleads with Don to be a part of his life, something that Don outright objects to. A lot more is revealed later but this surprise keeps delivering problems for Don throughout the entire series.
• "Nixon vs. Kennedy": Throughout the season, it's frequently addressed that Sterling Cooper has been hired as consultants to the Nixon campaign during the historic 1960 presidential election. Here, a party is held in the office to watch the results come in. SPOILER WARNING Dick Whitman's transformation into Don Draper is partially explained, painting Dick as someone who wanted to forge a new identity after the death of his comrade at war, Don Draper. He bonded with Don and took his dog-tags after Don's death in Korea.
• "The Wheel": All of the season finales are fantastic and this one is no exception. It's revealed that Peggy was pregnant and didn't even realize it, giving birth to a boy that is Pete Campbell's. Don visits Peggy in the hospital and pushes her to move on from it and work even harder at her job and personal life than she has before. Also, Don presents one of the best sell pitches of all time that will nearly move anyone to tears. The ending to the season is also very thoughtful and poetic, which is certainly a microcosm of the show itself.

I hope I've sold you on Mad Men, or at least created enough of an interest for you to check out the first season. It's pacing and tone is a premier example that some TV can keep up with the production value of cinema. The slow progression of character makes you feel like you intimately know these characters and creates concern for their ultimate fate. And what that fate is is still a mystery to me. But with such a creative mind like Mathew Weiner helming the show, I'm confident that is in safe hands.