OK, I live under a rock. AMC's Mad Men is awesome TV

[Taverner]

On par with Six Feet Under, Twin Peaks, Firefly and any Bob Newhart show (OK - I'm biased)

The characters are so complex - "Don Draper" who's the true John Galt but with issues. And anyone into the Ayn Rand Porn Mythos of John Galt as the ultimate lover goes right out the window when reality meets the road.

Understanding our alcoholic past as a nation, culture and society is important - and nowhere is it so present in this show.

I recently poured through Season 1 and am doing Season 2 right now.

Wow...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. As one who was a child/early teen during that era

I think they've caught the look and mood of the times very well, especially considering that most of the actors weren't even born in the early 1960s.

[Taverner]

2. I missed that period completely

Born in 1970

[AwakeAtLast]

12. I was, too, and I really like that show!

[Brigid]

3. I love the way "Mad Men" captures the era.

If anything, it does that almost too well. The casual sexism in the first season was just more than I can take, and I stupidly stopped watching.

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. I feel the same way. The eps are at the video store if you want to catch up. I haven't

been emotionally able to deal with it yet. ha ha!

[cwydro]

21. Yeah, I agree.

I remember my mom's bridge nights...all the ladies dressed so nicely; the smell of cigarette smoke and perfume filtering into my room. Lol, I used to love that!

[Lex]

4. All the smoking and casual sexism was kind of eye-opening.

We've watched all the episodes and it's a great series, I agree.

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. The casual sexism & black employees asking before getting on elevators with whites..cringe inducing

I stopped watching

[supernova]

6. Same here.

I was a born in 1962 so, while I don't remember this era, it really does hit home how much my mom and her friends had to put up with.

It's almost too painful to watch. :-(

[Liberal_in_LA]

15. I entered the work force in the late 70s. it wasn't as painful because we didn't know anything else

All the women were secretaries, and blacks were the janitors. In hindsite... I DON"T WANT TO RELIVE IT... that said, the show is excellent, so well acted.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

7. As someone born 20 years after the show takes place, I felt the same way.

But I love the show, and it's only a reflection of how things were back then.

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. I watched most of the 1st season, then realized it was bringing me down... lol.

Some scenes turned me off the most: The black employees asking permission of the whites to ride the elevator with them. The woman talking about how complicated machines like typewriters were for women. The casual affairs of the men.

[ceile]

25. Me too.

It was making me angry. I watch tv to escape-I don't need to watch something that's going to raise my blood pressure.

[Taverner]

9. Smoking, drinking, littering - all so casual

I remember when life was like that - and I was born in 70!

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. No seatbelts. I remember sliding on the slick seats when my dad turned a corner.

We'd climb back and forth into the back of the station wagon.

[NewJeffCT]

22. My old boss used to tell stories of smoke-filled offices

and, I've heard it from enough people that I'm pretty sure it was true.

And, I think really blatant "casual" sexism started to die in the 80s, though there are still plenty of examples of it to this day, and there is still plenty of subtle sexism out there now.

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. Smoke filled offices until about 1986. cough cough... I sat in an smoke cloud.

Every meeting, the room had ashtrays and a few people smoked.

[fishwax]

8. it's a great show -- I'm looking forward to the season 2 dvd

I'll probably rent it this week or next weekend. I saw the first few episodes of Season 2 when it aired, but then got a bit too busy to keep up.

Not too long after I watched the first season on DVD I wound up flipping through old copies of New Yorker, Saturday Evening Post, and similar mags from the 1960s for a project at work, and some of the ads looked like they could be promotional stills from the series--they've done a great job with the set design, wardrobe, etc., in capturing the era pretty perfectly.

[Taverner]

10. We're watching it now

We've recently gone through S1 and are working on S2...

S3 starts soon - and apparently its several years after S2 finishes...

[RandomThoughts]

11. Never been able to watch it.

I imagine a few 70 year old executive wanted to tell their story of their view of their glory days back in the 50s. Seems those days had alot of crassness and unfairness.

Its about marketing people right?

[Taverner]

24. Advertising

And it could be, but it also goes into how fucked up everything was at the time as well...

[Silver Swan]

13. I grew up in that era

and what I recall from the first season was a dress just like one I sewed in home economics class in spring 1960.

So I can say the fashions are accurate, at least.

(And I like the show.)

[Liberal_in_LA]

18. I vaguely remember my mom and I wearing mother and daughter starched dresses, cinched in the waist.

[Taverner]

23. Did it flounce out on the bottom (if that's even a word)?

[Liberal_in_LA]

27. yes. Heavily starched to stick out, kind like this pic

[proteus_lives]

14. It's a damn good show.

My parents remember that era and they say it's pretty accurate.

[Liberal_in_LA]

20. Best scenes of season #1... spoiler below

Powerful scenes... Main Mad men is having all these affairs and there is NO SIGN that his almost air head like wife is aware.

1st scene... pregnant neighbor wife has just found out that her husband has an affair. While venting to main mad men's wife she something like "how do you deal with it"? That's the first we know that the neighbor women know that main mad man is a dog.

2nd scene... at Psych office, wife let's it slip (purposely) that she knows about her husband's affairs. She knows the Psych is going to tell her dog of a husband. That's the firs we know that she knows.

[rd_kent]

26. So is "Breaking Bad". Watch that too!

You will not be disappointed.

[Eurobabe]

30. I loved Season 1 of BB

but Season 2 was harder for me to connect with, not sure why? Partly because I didn't watch it religiously? Fits and starts. :shrug:

[Eurobabe]

29. That show had me at Hello. Looking forward to season 3!!

One of my all-time absolute favorites. Riveting, thoughtful, great character development. Did I mention, outstanding? There isn't a bad actor in the bunch!

Congrats to entire cast of Mad Men for their prolific Emmy noms too!