Jon Hamm as Don Draper
Well…that was interesting. I spent just over three months with Mad Men. Immersed in it. Binging all seven seasons and ninety-two episodes. Novelistic. One of the great TV shows of all time. People were variously fascinating, odious and pitiable. I was often unsure of whether I should cheer them on or revile them. I did both.
Mad Men was fascinating on many levels particularly in its depiction of how people delude themselves, lie to themselves and put up false fronts for others. Most of the time people were calculated in what they said or did or if not they were drunk and totally reckless. Everyone was self interested and loyalty could be bought and sold. I think it's a real reflection on business environments and the difficulty a lot of people have living in their own skin and more than that, understanding and appreciating others.
People were verbally vicious in a way that I sometimes felt was unrealistic. Alliances were formed but soon dissipated. Friends became enemies and vice versa. People wanted money, power, respect and sometimes just to be acknowledged and maybe loved a little bit. Relationships were mostly transactional. Even marriages. Trust was nigh on impossible.
Who can relax into life in such circumstances? No wonder everyone drank constantly. They needed to self-medicate or turn into nervous wrecks. Some did both.
At the center was Don Draper (Jon Hamm). Outwardly the uber handsome, cool, creative superstar of advertising. But as is the case with human beings he was a complex character which means he had a past that formed and deformed him — boy did he. It can be maddeningly difficult to know one’s self, when you steal someone’s identity that equation is many times squared. How could others really know him if he didn’t know himself? Understand him? The impossible dream. It was no wonder he bounced from one relationship to the next. How could he find love and contentment when he couldn’t find it in himself? Sex was often another way to avoid introspection. When you’re intimate with another person, surely everything is okay. But then you get out of bed.
Draper was at the center of the story episode after episode so we had to root for him. This became easier as we saw his vulnerabilities. It’s hard to hate a person when you know so much about them. And we got to know Draper — one of the richest characters television dramas has ever produced. We also got what we most want out of characters — change. How does this character grow throughout the series? How do they respond to events around them, particularly the ones over which they have no control?
It was not a one man band. Draper was surrounded by a deep supporting cast. The most compelling was Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss). From something of an ingenue to a big wheel in a big company, she had an interesting ride and went through an array of changes. There were failed loves (what on Earth did she ever see in Duck? — Yuck!) And big wins and little losses. Her relationship with Draper was one of the best things to watch on the show. It was a good choice not to have them consummate it, that would have been too easy a move and not quite right for either character. As the show progressed Peggy was often angry, sometimes justifiably so and other times unnecessarily. Given the level of sexism she was dealing with, one has to give her a pass.
Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) was another female character whose story arc was highlighted. Unlike Peggy I never warmed to her. She was so often so cold and I never understood why she literally prostituted herself to gain an account for the firm. But even more than Peggy she had to navigate the roiling waters of sexism that could have drowned a lesser woman. (Imagine what it was like for “real” women in that time and before and even since. Infuriating.) Like a lot of the characters Joan could be heartless in her remarks to co-workers, often Peggy. I found this damn near unrealistic. People said things to each other — cruel, personal, insulting — that would leave deep long-lasting wounds. I realize the business world of the Sixties was different than what I’ve experienced but still remaining friends with someone who verbally eviscerates you seems a stretch. I was also bothered by just how much drinking Draper on others did. Not morally offended, but it seemed beyond the limits of what a human could endure and remain ambulatory.
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| Elizabeth Moss as Peggy Olson |
I much preferred Roger Sterling (John Slattery). He was a right bastard but a charming and witty one. He was a man who didn’t know what he wanted but had a lot of fun looking for it. His LSD trip episode was particularly enjoyable. Sterling represented a certain archetype. The man from money and the right school who comes to be defined by his money, power and hedonism. I think he admired, even loved Don Draper, but everyone else was window dressing — unless they were available young women.
There are many other characters that much more could be said about and therein lies one of the great strengths of the show. There were no stick figures. Everyone was fully drawn and fully believable to the point where they began to feel familiar.
One of the beauties of Mad Men was how it took it’s time. The pacing was always nearly perfect. Scenes were allowed to breath but they were never languid and always to a point. Writing and directing like that is a rare thing. In watching all ninety-two episodes I was rarely bored (a few story lines were less appealing than others). The were no wrong notes. Characters may have surprised you from time-to-time but they were always consistent with who they were.
It’s amazing that it took me over ten years from the end of the show’s run for me to start watching. I can’t explain it other than to say we often come to things when the time is right for us. It was my kind of show particularly because it was set in the Sixties a time I grew up in and have had an enduring fascination with.
We get heavy doses of sexism, homophobia and racism not to mention a dollop of classism. But we get the coincidental social and cultural changes of the time. People’s attitudes soften, hair grows longer, there is a begrudging acceptance of “others.” The period accuracy was particularly appealing to me.
How did I feel about the ending of the show? The same way I did about the beginning and most of the middle — spot on. They took some strange twists and turns to get there but wrapping it up with the iconic “Hilltop” Coke ad with the subtle suggestion that it was a Don Draper invention, hit the mark. Surely he went back to the ad game. He’d wandered, he’d wondered, he’d found a bit of himself, he’d experienced contentment and enlightenment. But for fulfillment, well that required him going back to work. Creative people have got to create. Otherwise, what else are they? I imagine it was a long time before he retired. I’d also guess that Peggy was working alongside him till he left and they still never slept together. After all, she’d finally found love and it had been right under her nose where only we in the audience could see it.
Where do I rank Mad Men among TV show?. You’ll soon find out. A future post will list my favorite TV dramas. Rest assured it will be near the top, which, considering some of the programs produced this century, is already high praise.
I’m damn glad I invested the time in Mad Men. (I’m also glad it’s over so I can catch up on other things like reading.) It was deeply satisfying to plunge into story so rich in ideas. Mad Men took itself seriously and invested in characters and authenticity and all the small things that make a show special (set designs, period detail, wardrobe, the use of just the right music).
I’m glad I got to know Don Draper — well, as best as one can.
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