MAD MEN season 1 review
December 24, 2008 · Print This Article
I just had a dream about working for Don Draper last night. He gave me good advice and liked me. That cannot be said about many other people working in the early 1960s advertising agency on MAD MEN, the excellent AMC show chronicling the rise of the modern ad business and giving viewers a window into what was socially acceptable behavior back then.
I’m one of the biggest anti-smoking advocates in the world, so it took a lot of getting used to seeing every single character, even a pregnant woman, constantly smoking in every scene. It’s still hard to get used to even having finished watching the entire thirteen episode first season. That pregnant woman? She also drinks! These are some of the things that seem shocking to person living in 2008. I couldn’t believe that fetal alcohol syndrome was not discovered by that time.
The show itself is very deliberately paced with it’s own sense of atmosphere. The show is in color, but the washed out colors one expects from that era, with only a few things being shown in vivid color, like Joanie’s knockout red dress she va-va-va-vooms around the office in. She must already have the most famous hips in TV history.
The show is centered on Don Draper, a mysterious but very talented head of the creative department. He is respected, and feared, and envied by some. A young junior-executive openly tells Don that he wants his job and isn’t always above the board trying to get it. As viewers will come to see, Don is far, far too smart and crafty himself to allow any usurpers just yet.
The pilot episode is one of the best in recent memory. It doesn’t have the visceral impact that LOST’s had, or the tangible excitement that 24′s had, but it does a great job of turning your expectations around right off the bat, especially with the final scene.
I’ll be watching Season 2 of MAD MEN beginning this week, I can’t wait!
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