“Mad Men,” Season One: Wrap-up Post

To put it simply, Matthew Weiner and his crew have created a masterpiece, that is “Mad Men.” This masterpiece depicts the early 1960’s to a tee. Between the writing, the acting, and the vibrant visuals “Mad Men” is nothing short of addictive. From the very first installment this show keeps the viewer wanting more and the viewer keeps getting more right up until the season finale that ends with surprising twist.

As Will Harris, a writer for Bullz-eye.com writes, “It [Mad Men] requires a deft hand and a considerable amount of restraint to do a period piece. Those who can’t exercise self-control quickly fall back on the obvious, smacking the viewer in the face with punch-lines about the differences between then and now that are underlined with the biggest, thickest marker possible. Matthew Weiner, the man behind “Mad Men,” understands this, choosing to integrate these differences in a truly organic fashion, weaving them into the storyline rather than blatantly drawing attention to them.”

And I completely agree with Harris. Recreating a time period that was practically 50 years ago in such a vastly contrasting world today is not at all an easy thing to do, but Matthew Weiner does it extraordinarily and naturally. “Mad Men” presents the world of the 1960’s to the viewer in moderation through male domination, excessive drinking, uninhibited smoking, stereotypical housewives, and the segregation of minorities. But all of these facets are not in the viewers face – they are intertwined through all thirteen installments subtlety and it truly does paint a picture of the 1960’s. Harris’ review was one of the many positive reviews I read about “Mad Men” and many reviewers dubbed “Mad Men” the best TV series of 2007.

I don’t think that I can compare any other show that I’ve seen to “Mad Men” because it is truly one of a kind. In retrospect, each episode made some type of social commentary on the early 1960’s. Before I began my journey through “Mad Men” I really did not know what to expect. This show exemplifies its time period in such an honest way that it could be truly shocking to a modern-day viewer. For example, African Americans are just completely non-existent throughout the show unless they are playing the role of someone in the service industry such as, someone cleaning the dishes off a table at a restaurant or someone pressing a button on an elevator. There are a few strong, independent female characters on the show such as Helen Bishop, Joan Harris, Rachel Menken, and Midge Daniels, but for the majority of the female characters, the “glass ceiling” is extraordinarily low.

However, all that is “Mad Men” goes much deeper than the face of the 1960’s. The complexity and intricacy of each episode and each character surely has been the reason why season one has been such a success.

There is one quote that was said by leading character, Donald Draper, in the very first episode that truly sums up the essence of everything that, Sterling-Cooper, the fictional advertising agency represents: “What you call love was invented by guys like me…to sell you nylons.” Quotes as spectacular as this one are intertwined throughout all thirteen episodes, capturing an aura that is “Mad Men.”

I’m one of those people similar to the characters of Midge’s hippie friends who see the world of advertising as the “enemy.” The world of advertising is a complete fabrication of what the real world is like. Advertising is based on trickery and it tries to captivate people to make them believe that their life will be better once they have a certain product. Donald Draper is the mastermind behind Sterling-Cooper and he is absolutely phenomenal at what he does. Donald Draper represents a corporate world in which I despise, but from episode one I absolutely fell in love with his charm and his creativity. Draper’s job by nature requires him to be deceptive, and he is just as deceptive in his work field as he is in his private life, but yet no matter how many extramarital affairs he has I find myself enchanted with him and constantly rooting for him.

The Donald Draper story plot is absolutely fantastic. From episode one I found myself yearning to know more about Donald Draper. I kept asking myself – who is Donald Draper? And this was one of the major questions that was answered throughout all thirteen episodes. The fragmented episodes chronicle the life of Don Draper or should I say Dick Whitman up until his present state and his flaws turn him into a very relatable character. If Donald Draper was everything he exuded to his peers on a daily basis, he wouldn’t be very relatable. The American public likes tragedy, and we like characters that are flawed. Draper is like a sculpture of a Greek god – perfect and beautiful from a distance, but once you get close you begin to see all the cracks and imperfections.

When you watch a television show, the characters you come in contact with from episode to episode become your friends, even your family. You get to know each character and in a sense I felt that I had one up on almost every character on “Mad Men,” because I got to know Donald Draper from a bird’s eye view. I got to analyze and get that close to him and no other character really got that from Don, except maybe for Pete Campbell who did some snooping around to get to know the information that he did about Don. And getting that close to a character makes you feel so deeply for them, which is why I even shed a tear for the last second of the season finale when Don sat alone in his home reflecting on what he has turned his life into.

The one element that a TV series needs in order to be successful is obviously good writing, and this show has phenomenal writing. As I said in previous posts each episode, except for one, revolves around some type of product that the men at Sterling-Cooper, specifically Donald Draper, have to sell. In turn, the idea that Don comes up with to sell a specific product serves as an underlying theme to each episode. The only negative thing I have to say about “Mad Men” is in regards to the “Nixon versus Kennedy” scenario. The Nixon-Kennedy scenario was built up beginning from the earlier episodes and it seemed like it was going to be a very important factor in the episodes to come, but it just wasn’t. The Nixon-Kennedy scenario completely dropped off after the twelfth episode. But this is just me nit-picking to find a negative about the show; this one instance really had no effect on my overall opinion of the show.

It is evident that an enormous amount of thought was put into each and every episode and it was important to really digest each episode in order to grasp its full complexity. Watching each installment of “Mad Men” was an experience that opened me up to the world of the 1960’s, the world of advertising, and the world of flaws that make all of us human. Each character on this show no matter how perfect they seemed on the outside was flawed in some way and one of the best examples of this would be through the character of Betty Draper. Betty Draper is the ultimate trophy wife at face value, but the viewer comes to find that Betty is very damaged and she struggles with her everyday life through the reality that Don is not faithful to her.

I enjoyed the fact that no matter how well I thought I got to know each character and the aura of “Mad Men,” I was still managed to be shocked. And one of the biggest shockers came from the season finale. In just seconds Peggy Olson went from being on top of the world to being pregnant and unwed – it was fantastic. I can safely say that although the blog assignments have come to an end, my journey with “Mad Men” will continue. I cannot wait to begin watching season two.

I rate the season one a 5 out of 5, and if possible a 6 out of 5, just to show how much I enjoyed it.