Mad Men - a new obsession and a fun fact

I've recently become a tiny bit obsessed with the 16-Emmy-nominated show Mad Men. AMC ran a little marathon of Season 1 several weeks ago, and slowly but surely, I am catching up. I've tried to explain the show to people, but it's kind of one of those things that you have to see to understand. It's dark, occasionally confusing, and at times completely infuriating (sexual harassment much?), but I can't get enough of it. Season 1 is out on DVD if you want to see what all the fuss is about.

I just love this promo...although, technically everyone should have a cigarette in their hands, not just the saucy redhead. Even pregnant women smoke and drink on this show.

The show is about New York ad execs in the 1960s. Drinking martinis at lunch, smoking two packs a day, and indulging in office affairs are just another day in the lives of these folks. The opening of the Season 1 premier says it best:

Mad Men:

A term coined in the late 1950s to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue.

They coined it.

One very interesting thing about the show is that I'm not really sure if I'm supposed to be rooting for the main character, Don Draper, or if I am supposed to dislike him. He's handsome, successful, has a beautiful wife and cute kids, but then he goes and cheats on his wife at least once every episode. I know affairs were kind of accepted and even expected in those days, but really? Every episode? Poor Betty Draper.

Don is demeaning to his employees, rude to clients (which could never happen today) and seems unable to change with the times. I think that's actually one reason I really like the show. I'm seeing a different side of the 60s other than the typical carefree, hippie, pot-smoking lifestyle we've come to equate with the decade. This is a man who grew up during the Great Depression, worked hard to get where he is, and believes in earning things (imagine that) unlike many of the 'kids' who work for him and want to be handed everything on a silver platter. Hmm, maybe I like him more than I thought! Except for the affairs...those still annoy me.

Note: when I posted my picks for the Emmy nominations, I had not seen Mad Men, but I am now rooting for John Hamm (Don Draper) in the Lead Actor Drama category.

Another fun promo...

I definitely want to write more about the show later (maybe some recaps while I wait for Lost to come back in January?), but for now, I'll post a fun fact. I was watching Love Actually on tv the other day and who should pop up but January Jones, the beautiful actress who plays Betty Draper. She was one of the "hot American girls" in the "typical American bar" in Wisconsin.

Betty Draper


Hot Girl in American Bar

Go watch an episode or two and tell me what you think...