Edit
Storyline
The professional and personal lives of those who work in advertising on Madison Avenue - self-coined "mad men" - in the 1960s are presented. The stories focus on those at one of the avenue's smaller firms, Sterling Cooper, and its various incarnations over the decade. At the heart of these stories is Donald Draper, the creative genius of the company. That professional creative brilliance belies the fact of a troubled childhood, one that he would rather forget and not let anyone know about except for a select few, but one that shaped who he is as an adult and as an ad man in the need not only to sell products but sell himself to the outside world. His outward confidence also masks many insecurities as evidenced through his many vices, such as excessive smoking, drinking and womanizing - the latter despite being a family man - and how he deals with the aftermath of some of the negative aspects of his life. Written by
Huggo
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Taglines:
Where The Truth Lies ...
Edit
Did You Know?
Trivia
In 2008, this series and
Damages (2007) became the first basic-cable shows nominated in the best drama series category at the Emmys.
See more »
Goofs
In many outdoor scenes, the tops of palm trees can be seen - Particularly in the horse-riding/stable episodes in the first few seasons.
See more »
Quotes
Pete Campbell:
A thing like that!
See more »
Soundtracks
The Best Things in Life are Free
(uncredited)
Performed by
Robert Morse See more »
The first episode of Mad Men honestly represents the drinking, smoking, sexist fifties, a time when Madison Avenue's attitude and control permeated our entire culture, including one international political blunder after another, a time before anyone ever heard of political correctness. Gays were still in the closet, women slept their way to wherever they wanted to go, and advertising executives ruled the world. Everyone smoked because we all just looked so damn good doing it.
Mad Men captures not only the look of the fifties, it grabs all the details along with it. Here's a show for Aaron Sorkin fans, a show that treats the audience as adults, smartly written, yet a show that avoids pandering. At first, characters appear one dimensional but there's a hint of turmoil below the surface, a promise of things to come in future episodes. This, my friend, is an expose.'
I suspect Mad Men will be a small audience success story. It's a quality show, for grown ups, and the fact that it's on AMC will mean it can live a full life with less than network audience numbers.
I really enjoyed the first episode and look forward to the next. Good job!