Mad Men

Oh, Mad Men, why did I wait so long to be lured in by your smoky rooms, cool 50's furniture, and smart writing? Seriously, this show is the best drama on TV right now. Kudos to my friends Jenna and Laura for griping at me for not watching this show. I love TV, as you know if you have kept up with the blog, and they wondered why I wasn't drawn in right away. I don't have a good answer for it, but now I'm in like flynn. I just finished watching the season one finale and it was a doozy. I won't ruin it for those of you still planning on jumping on the Mad Men bandwagon.

What I love about the whole show is the cool vibe it has. The set and costume designs are spot on and the casting is perfect. But, the perfect parts are the writing and acting. The tone of the whole show is understated, which I believe is in keeping with how we perceive the 50's and early 60's. The show actually takes place in 1960 and the season finale was set at Thanksgiving of that year. This is the time period before the counter culture of the mid-60's, so everyone was still "straight-laced" and hiding within themselves. The writers understand this perfectly and the actors' execution is flawless.

Most of the dramas out there are so in your face (CSI) or overly dramatic (Desperate Housewives). Mad Men is refreshing in it's quiet tone and desperation, and it's almost painful to watch. The suppression of feelings and desires is so prevalent throughout the show that when someone has a strong reaction the connection to the character feels more real. Tribune TV critic Maureen Ryan goes into more detail on one of her latest blog posts about Mad Men. As mentioned on her blog post, the "slow burn" is the intriguing part of the show and is what definitely captured my interest. I want the build up...the anticipation. I've always found that the best shows don't give you instant gratification.

Plus, for your viewing pleasure, here is the star of the show, Jon Hamm.