Take a look at the most popular shows on television, most of them are violent epics (“Game of Thrones”), intense thrillers (“Homeland”) or outrageous comedies (“Arrested Development”). But for an hour on Sunday nights, one show bucks the trend and perhaps that is what makes it so incredibly entertaining.
As it nears the end of its sixth season, AMC’s “Mad Men” has not changed much since its premiere in the summer of 2007. Every episode shows off the cast’s witty dialogue while exploring some social theme of 1960s America. The characters deal with racism, sexism, alcoholism and pretty much all of the other “isms”.
It makes sense that the drama’s strong sense of realism appeals to people like my parents, who actually lived through the era. Yet what makes a show that mainly features men in perfectly tailored suits debating advertising so addictive to young adults, especially males?
Well part of it is certainly thanks to January Jones and Christina Hendricks, but aside from them, maybe it is the fact that Mad Men displays a time period so contradictory to our own. While viewing, you know many of the interactions are unprofessional, inappropriate or just plain wrong, but your eyes stayed glued to the television.
Photo courtesy of AMC
Sometimes I think to myself, did businessmen really drain as much whiskey as Don Draper? Did they relentlessly hit on their secretaries like Roger Sterling? I honestly don’t know and I’m not sure I want the real answer revealed. Mad Men is obviously a fictionalized drama, but at times it seems like a painstakingly accurate representation of a past generation’s America.
The cast deserves a lot of the credit for this as each character plays his or her role superbly. January Jones in particular as Betty Draper is such a perfect match that I cannot help but wonder if she is that miserable in real life.
While Jones earns a good deal of praise for playing herself, my favorite character is Roger Sterling, played by John Slattery. Sterling serves as the head of account services for the show’s advertising firm, but since he lost his biggest customer, it’s unclear what he actually does anymore. What remains clear is that Sterling is the recipient of some of the show’s best writing, delivering so many brilliant one-liners that they inspired viewers to compile them in a series of YouTube videos.
I could probably write an entire blog post about Sterling alone, but it seems unfair to not mention the series’ main character, Don Draper. Jon Hamm’s portrayal of Draper has become so good that I think people in a way take his acting ability for granted. The mysterious countenance of Draper has graced Sunday night cable for so long that it is almost lost in the shuffle. So Roger Sterling may drive the show’s humor, but “Mad Men” is nothing without Don Draper.
As season five progressed, I worried that even with an all-star cast, the show was beginning to lose its initial momentum. Thankfully the conclusion of that season and the entirety of season six have put any of my fears to rest.
It is as entertaining as ever and at this point my friends and I can only enjoy the four-time winner of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series as it concludes its penultimate season. So if for some inexplicable reason you haven’t given the show a chance yet, you might as well spend your summer by streaming it on Netflix. If you’re like me, your biggest issue with the show will be knowing that after next season, it’s coming to an end.