The show's creator Matthew Weiner didn't just suddenly appear with a hit drama, he served as producer and writer on the HBO hit The Sopranos for 2 years prior to taking his talents to AMC in 1960. The stories are elegantly told, with brilliant cinematography and a cast of characters that really make you wonder who is a good guy and who is bad.
One of the things I love about this show is it's historical accuracy and it's depiction of a totally different world than we live in today. Other shows attempting to set their drama in the 60's era (The Playboy Club and Pan Am) seemed to use minor details to convince audiences of the world around them such as hair, clothes and cars. Mad Men gives the look and the feel that you have literally time traveled for an hour and stepped into the world of social change and cultural phenomenas. One of my favorite scenes from season 1 that really shows you how the world has changed is during a birthday party for one of Don's children. A child who is attending the party is running around the house playing and accidentally knocks over a drink. A man who is not the child's father immediately slaps the boy across the face as punishment. The real father of the boy then comes over and asks the child to apologize to the man who slapped him. He then scolds him and tells him to run along and says "and tell your mother to come clean this up."
The show brings up very topical issues but puts them in a completely different context and shows the struggle with these issues from a different decade. It deals with African-American rights and equality in the workplace. Women's rights and a woman's struggle to enter into a career path. It discusses divorce, homosexuality, single parenting, and adultery. But it shows these topics how the 1960's handled them. I really feel like it's a history lesson every week when I watch.
The characters are what really keep the show going, and all actors give equally compelling performances. Overall between the 6 acting categories at the Emmy's the cast of Mad Men has earned 25 acting nominations yet has not won a single one. Jon Hamm and John Slattery are always nominated, as well as continuous nominations for Christina Hendricks and Elizabeth Moss. Although the show it's self has won Best Drama Series 4 years in a row (Only to be beaten my Homeland just his year) It's actors have not gotten the full recognition they deserve.
I will continue to watch Mad Men and hope to show my children this utterly phenomenal show because I think I've learned more about the 60's watching an episode of this show, than I ever did in my high school US History class.
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