TV Review: "Mad Men" Season 1
It took my a while to finally get into Mad Men. I was watching Being Human, but that show started faltering early in the second series. I felt that it just was not written as well, especially the whole war the the vampire thing in the first season, it seemed like a small subplot that suddenly became unnaturally big at the end. Anyway, that led me to start watching Mad Men, a show I really wanted to watch basically based on critical acclaim.
The story follows Don Draper, portrayed by Jon Hamm, who is a senior member of an advertising firm called Cooper Sterling. In the first episode, Don gets a new, eager secretary, Peggy, who is trained on the job by Joan. It starts out slow, but each episode delves more into various characters and their histories and numerous affairs. The show is a study in slow but strong character development. It's very well done, making you feel as if you're watching the 1960s. But the characters are what it really comes down to. we learn, through many episode, that Don actually has a brother named Adam, and that his actual name is Dick Whitman. Dick was the son of a whore, and grew up with his father and stepmother, and they had a son named Adam. Eventually, Dick joined the war, but while lighting a cigarette, he blew up his small camp, killing Lieutenant Draper, his only other team member and commanding officer. Don switches the name tags, and he is now Lieutenant Don Draper. We don't know, yet, how he got into the advertising business. But we know he meets Betty when she was a model, and they get married and have kids.
Don's bosses are Cooper and Sterling. Sterling is having an affair with Joan, and many other women, and at some point develops a heart attack, at which point Don is promoted to partner. Peter Campbell is another major character, a more junior executive at the office, and a gunner. Peter has an affair with Peggy, and in the season finale, we see that she is pregnant with his child, and gives birth. Peggy was noticeably getting bigger throughout the episodes, but for her to suddenly become pregnant and delivering was somewhat odd. She looked like she was gaining weight, but not in the pregnant type of distribution.
Anyway, the show got through these major points in 12 or so episodes, which means it is rather slow moving. We see various ad pitches during episodes, and stories about Don's affairs with a hippie and a major department store owner named Rachel. Don also pays a psychiatrist to help Betty with her anxiety, and violated HIPPAA by getting the inside scoop from him, which Betty find out at the end of the season. In a private session, she divulges that she knows Don is cheating on her. And, at the end during a pitch for Kodak's carousel projector, he displays pictures of his family, and ultimately realizes how much he cares for them. Don goes home, imagining going to zthanksgiving with them, only to find them gone.
The strength of this show, again, is its characters. They take their time, develop them well, and invest you in their lives, even though nothing truly epic is going on. After these huge revelations, including Peggy's promotion to junior copywriter, I can't wait to see how the next season unfolds. We found out much more about Don's past than I expected this season, but I suspect there's even more there than meets the eye. And what's going to happen with Peggy and her baby? Definitely a well-done show, in my opinion.
The story follows Don Draper, portrayed by Jon Hamm, who is a senior member of an advertising firm called Cooper Sterling. In the first episode, Don gets a new, eager secretary, Peggy, who is trained on the job by Joan. It starts out slow, but each episode delves more into various characters and their histories and numerous affairs. The show is a study in slow but strong character development. It's very well done, making you feel as if you're watching the 1960s. But the characters are what it really comes down to. we learn, through many episode, that Don actually has a brother named Adam, and that his actual name is Dick Whitman. Dick was the son of a whore, and grew up with his father and stepmother, and they had a son named Adam. Eventually, Dick joined the war, but while lighting a cigarette, he blew up his small camp, killing Lieutenant Draper, his only other team member and commanding officer. Don switches the name tags, and he is now Lieutenant Don Draper. We don't know, yet, how he got into the advertising business. But we know he meets Betty when she was a model, and they get married and have kids.
Don's bosses are Cooper and Sterling. Sterling is having an affair with Joan, and many other women, and at some point develops a heart attack, at which point Don is promoted to partner. Peter Campbell is another major character, a more junior executive at the office, and a gunner. Peter has an affair with Peggy, and in the season finale, we see that she is pregnant with his child, and gives birth. Peggy was noticeably getting bigger throughout the episodes, but for her to suddenly become pregnant and delivering was somewhat odd. She looked like she was gaining weight, but not in the pregnant type of distribution.
Anyway, the show got through these major points in 12 or so episodes, which means it is rather slow moving. We see various ad pitches during episodes, and stories about Don's affairs with a hippie and a major department store owner named Rachel. Don also pays a psychiatrist to help Betty with her anxiety, and violated HIPPAA by getting the inside scoop from him, which Betty find out at the end of the season. In a private session, she divulges that she knows Don is cheating on her. And, at the end during a pitch for Kodak's carousel projector, he displays pictures of his family, and ultimately realizes how much he cares for them. Don goes home, imagining going to zthanksgiving with them, only to find them gone.
The strength of this show, again, is its characters. They take their time, develop them well, and invest you in their lives, even though nothing truly epic is going on. After these huge revelations, including Peggy's promotion to junior copywriter, I can't wait to see how the next season unfolds. We found out much more about Don's past than I expected this season, but I suspect there's even more there than meets the eye. And what's going to happen with Peggy and her baby? Definitely a well-done show, in my opinion.
posted by DarthDooku at
10:02 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home