Official Synopsis:
Set in 1960 New York City, Mad Men explores the glamorous and ego-driven "Golden Age" of advertising, where everyone is selling something and nothing is ever what it seems. And no one plays the game better than Don Draper (Golden Globe - winner Jon Hamm), Madison Avenue's biggest ad man - and ladies man - in the business.

Our Take:
Are you watching the coolest show on TV? You are? Great, then you don’t have to—what? No, no I’m not talking about Lost. Sigh. No, I’m talking about a show that exudes cool in every scene, even while showing you the dirty underbelly of a bygone era. That’s right, I’m talking about Mad Men.

Why haven’t you heard of it? Well, if I had to guess, I’d say it’s because it’s AMC’s first scripted television series, and its ratings have definitely been lower than they should be. Luckily the extremely well-deserved Golden Globe awards the show won (for best Dramatic Series and Best Actor – Drama for lead Jon Hamm) have brought a little more attention to it. Mad Men gives us a look into the lives of the men and women who make up one of the top advertising agencies of the early 60’s. It’s a time when men drank scotch through meetings, smoked in the office, and sexually harassed their secretaries as part of a regular workday. Mad Men recreates this shiny-on-the-surface era without missing a beat. You’ll be amazed at how many little details about the differences in every day life between then and now are seamlessly placed into each episode.

The show is anchored by the aforementioned Jon Hamm, who plays mysterious head ad man Don Draper. The iconically tall, dark, and handsome actor is everything the lead of a show should be: charming, funny, charismatic, yet with something deeper and darker underneath. Veteran television actor John Slattery (Ed, Desperate Housewives) also shines as Draper’s boss, but the Underrated Performance Award easily goes to Vincent Kartheiser. You might remember the actor as playing Connor, Angel’s son from the future on Angel. He’s all grown up now, playing Pete Campbell, a conflicted young account executive who tries to get ahead by almost any means necessary. Kartheiser and Hamm are both magnetic on screen, and there isn’t one scene they share that isn’t utterly fascinating.

There is a nice collection of extra features included in this four-disc set as well, but I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t mention the extremely cool limited edition packaging the set comes in. Fashioned to look like a Zippo lighter (which you see plenty of in the show), the box is surprisingly more functional then I would have expected. Most importantly, though, it looks really, really cool.

* Commentaries – Each episode features a commentary track by various combinations of creator Matthew Weiner and stars Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Vincent Kartheiser, Elisabeth Moss, January Jones, Rosemarie DeWitt, and others.

* The Desire of the American Dream – Focuses on advertising in the era of the show.

* Scoring Mad Men – A featurette on the music for the show.

* Pictures of Elegance – A costume and make-up feature.  

* Mad Men Music Sampler – Pretty much what it sounds like, a preview of the soundtrack CD that’s available.

If you’re the kind of television viewer that loves seeking out new shows and being on the cutting edge of cool, then you need to check out Mad Men. If, on the other hand, you simply don’t like  well-written, cutting edge, well-acted TV shows, then skip this one and go back to wondering what that black smoke monster on Lost is.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:
Show: A
DVD: B

- Mike Spring

Editor