It's been big in America for a little while now, and I've finally had a chance to see it for myself.
I'm only a little way in, but so far Mad Men is excellent.
It centres on Don Draper, the creative director for advertising agency Sterling Cooper in the early 1960s. It's his job to come up with the ideas that sell everything from cigarettes to cars to steel.
The show portrays the prevailing attitudes at the time towards women, race and family. To say it's sexist, racist and paternalistic is accurate.
But the show is more than an accurate representation of the 1960s. It's got great drama. A young man trying to get ahead at work while dealing with pressures from his new wife and rich family. A housewife struggling with anxiety, worried and intrigued by the divorced woman down the street. The war veteran who plays his cards so close to his chest he doesn't even know what he's thinking.
The writer, Matthew Weiner, spent several years as a staff writer on The Sopranos, and the hallmarks of that series are present here. Strong characterisation, entire scenes without dialogue, and the pressures of domestic and working life are prominent in both series.
The costumes and sets are excellent, and it's amazing to see how much things have changed in 45 years or so. Smoking is far less prevalent now, sexist and rascist attitudes have become less prominent, and we are much more aware of how our emotions affect us.
For fans of Firefly, Christina Hendricks plays the saucy Joan Holloway, the voluptuous office manager.
She was 'Our Mrs Reynolds', one of my favourite characters on Firefly.
I'm still getting through it, and I'll probably keep talking about it for a while. It's enjoyable, and I want to see what happens. A large part of the attraction is also the look back at what things were like when my parents were children. They've seen a pretty immense amount of change in their lives.
I'm only a little way in, but so far Mad Men is excellent.
It centres on Don Draper, the creative director for advertising agency Sterling Cooper in the early 1960s. It's his job to come up with the ideas that sell everything from cigarettes to cars to steel.
The show portrays the prevailing attitudes at the time towards women, race and family. To say it's sexist, racist and paternalistic is accurate.
But the show is more than an accurate representation of the 1960s. It's got great drama. A young man trying to get ahead at work while dealing with pressures from his new wife and rich family. A housewife struggling with anxiety, worried and intrigued by the divorced woman down the street. The war veteran who plays his cards so close to his chest he doesn't even know what he's thinking.
The writer, Matthew Weiner, spent several years as a staff writer on The Sopranos, and the hallmarks of that series are present here. Strong characterisation, entire scenes without dialogue, and the pressures of domestic and working life are prominent in both series.
The costumes and sets are excellent, and it's amazing to see how much things have changed in 45 years or so. Smoking is far less prevalent now, sexist and rascist attitudes have become less prominent, and we are much more aware of how our emotions affect us.
For fans of Firefly, Christina Hendricks plays the saucy Joan Holloway, the voluptuous office manager.
She was 'Our Mrs Reynolds', one of my favourite characters on Firefly.
I'm still getting through it, and I'll probably keep talking about it for a while. It's enjoyable, and I want to see what happens. A large part of the attraction is also the look back at what things were like when my parents were children. They've seen a pretty immense amount of change in their lives.
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