We’re about halfway through season two now, and this excellent television series is starting to heat up again with numerous references to Don Draper’s secret life and how it has made him become one of the best advertising executives in New York, but also one of the most deeply disturbed.
If you haven’t caught madmen yet, don’t even start now. Go rent the DVD for season one madmen and record anything that comes on now on the AMC network. The reason I recommend this is because, not unlike the Sopranos, every episode is full of layer upon layer of character building, relationship complexity, and intriguing dialogue and settings.
Matthew Weiner, who wrote for the Sopranos and is now the lead writer for madmen, brings his creative intertwining style to this series, making it one of the most intriguing television productions of the last decade. The series focuses on Don Draper who is an account executive with the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency of New York City in the early 1960s. Not only do you get deep and fascinating characters in this series, but it is delivered in an era of political upheaval, racial tension, chauvinistic attitudes, retro fashion and clothes, and the very demanding world of New York advertising.
Don Draper’s character, although fully capable, and at times, masterfully ingenious at his job, is haunted by his own personality, derived from his disturbing childhood and wartime deceit. His obvious intelligence leaves the viewer wondering how he could be so misguided, and at the same time, attracts sympathy as a result of his situation.
Even though Don Draper – played by Jon Hamm – is the main character of Mad Men, it by no means is a narrow dialogue. Think back to the Sopranos, and how diverse that series became even though most people watched it because of Tony, there was quality in every scene. Mad Men TV show is every bit as diverse, disturbing, and intriguing.