Mad for Mad Men

(Yes, I Mad Men'd myself. Before you make fun, try it yourself at madmenyourself.com).

In the past year, I was sucked into introduced to the show Mad Men. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Mad Men follows the lives (office or otherwise) of the men and women who work in advertising on Madison Ave. in the early 1960s.

I used to live by myself (and therefore could not afford cable television) so I resorted to binging on the entire first three seasons via Netflix. Now that I have roommates and can afford cable television I was quite excited to catch the season four premiere this past Sunday.

I’m pulled into this show for multiple reasons but the primary aspect I love about it is how character driven it is. Arguably for some, the show can be a bit sluggish. The plots are complicated and slow to develop at times, but while the plot builds we as viewers are given a full-tour of the characters personalities, flaws and quirks. Patience pays off as the plot catches up with the personalities and at this crux is where, in my humble opinion; the show really earns its accolades.

For example, in last season’s episode where Don’s secrets were finally revealed, we see his two lives come crashing in to one another, resulting in a train wreck at the Draper residence. Or, when we learn supporting character Kesey is dating an African-American woman—and the tense/awkward situations that follow. An even bigger event is when Salvatore is fired from Sterling Cooper due to his closeted homosexuality being revealed. All of these events, whether heartbreaking, tense or controversial (often all of the above) resonate with the human condition in the early 1960s. I could go on and on, but clearly the writers know how to develop the characters and weave them into a plot thick with intense topics.

A collection of my other reasons for loving Mad Men include:

-The fabulous retro clothing, material culture and overall design

-The fact that Betty Draper is a spitting image of my paternal grandmother. It’s truly eerie how similar they look. Eerie, but flattering for my grandmother was a gorgeous woman

-The variety of characters and issues addressed throughout the series

-And let’s be serious, Jon Hamm is easy on the eyes:

(imdb.com)

I rest my case.