I’m breaking every TV rule I have for Mad Men. I know, I know… loving Peggy and Joan and Don and (oh god!) Roger is in no way original, but this show is composed as if it were made for the big screen.
I mean, when was the last time a hour long program showed any restraint? Sure, the excesses are there, but they just set the scene. They don’t drive the action. The last show I really fell for was Six Feet Under, but it started falling apart when ape-shit crazy stuff started happening. Mad Men really gets that it’s all about the people. It’s easy to appreciate on a casual level, and for those of us who obsess over it, we are rewarded with Matthew Weiner’s great writing. There are echoes of episodes past, factually accurate cultural references, and a constant flow of appropriately noticeable symbolism. Other shows, take note!
