MAD MEN

So... TV.
"A drama about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm's most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper." (IMDB).

Very few TV shows are done this well. I would say The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and several products by HBO and Showtime are quite good. FOX does a nice job sometimes too - such as 24. And then the rest of the networks can make incredibly entertaining not-so-quality-oriented shows.

Mad Men is made by Lionsgate Television - which produced utterly crappy stuff such as Paris Hilton's My New BFF , but has also done some amazing things like Weeds. On this case, they have nailed it, undoubtedly.

In regards to the positive aspects of the show (and oh are there many of those), I would like to point out that:
- the cast is quite extraordinary, mostly due to Jon Hamm and Christina Hendricks;
- the bigger, general plot is as engaging as the single-episode events;
- it has THE BEST opening theme of current programming, with the exception maybe of Dexter;
- the costumes and 60's feel rock; and finally,
- it is mostly a show about universal concerns about life and relationships than about the actual day to day of a publicity agency. Still, always nice to be transported to a different place and time than what is conveyed by 99% of current tv. (this was NOT intended to be a factual statement - watch The Colbert Report)

Personally, I do not get the character of Pete Campbell (played by Vincent Kartheiser). I just can't understand why he does what he does; he seems very weak and vulnerable so I am thrown off when he over-shares about his personal insecurities to Peggy - I mean, why expose yourself more? On the other hand, I realize he does not have many friends, which might drive him to seek interaction with people that do not seem threatening. Who knows?

I am also very intrigued as to if the viewers like or dislike Don Drapper. I am very much thorned. He is clearly not a nice fella (cheats on his wife, mistreats his coworkers, really now, when has he ever done anything good?) - but on occasion, Don is extremely easy to relate to, and we empathize. At least a little.

On a final note - this is one of Jerry Seinfeld's favorites tv shows. If that doesn't mean something, hell, I don't know what does.