American television critics were breathless with anticipation last week as the
second season of the drama series Mad Men began — and immensely relieved
that the season premiere lived up to their incredibly high expectations.
“Every bit as inspired as you have heard,” says Ray Richmond, of The
Hollywood Reporter. “And getting better all the time.”
Mad Men, set in the luxuriant, retro dream world of a Madison Avenue ad agency
on the cusp of the 1960s, was an instant critical hit when it began last
year. It snagged 16 Emmy nominations, unheard of for a series in its first
season, and won two Golden Globes: for best drama series, and for best
actor, Jon Hamm. Hamm was the show’s breakout star, playing the
archetypically tall, dark and handsome, but still mysterious and conflicted,
advertising executive Don Draper.
Critics adored Mad Men’s guiltless immersion in an age before political
correctness. Men — and women — wreathe themselves in cigarette smoke, in a
time before people knew cigarettes led to wreaths. Three- martini lunches
are de rigueur. Blatant sexism and casual racism are so ingrained as to seem
almost quaint and innocent. Feminism is a notion barely formed in Betty
Friedan’s mind. And America, still busting with pride from its triumph in
the second world war, bestrides the world on the strength of its booming
economy and with the righteous power of its ideas: freedom and 30 brands of
washing powder. Those are forged into trenchant catch phrases at agencies
such as Sterling Cooper, depicted in Mad Men.
What gives Mad Men an almost unbearable tension, a Chekhovian edge, is our
knowledge that for America, and for the men so busily selling the idea of it
in the series, the sense of existential certainty lasted for so brief a
moment. We know it’s about to be shattered — by the tragedy of the Vietnam
war, which is barrelling round a blind corner like an unstoppable tank; by
the late-1960s counterculture, which will reject the values that led America
into Vietnam; and by the attendant sexual revolutions, which will radically
change the way men and women relate to each other.
The second season picks up the story two years on. It’s Valentine’s Day, 1962.
Across New York, people are watching their black-and-white televisions as
Jacqueline Kennedy gives a graceful tour of the White House, a residence we
know she will live in for only a short time longer, before tragedy shatters
her life, too. Using Jackie Kennedy as such a motif signals that, as the
first season focused on the dilemmas and desires of the men at Sterling
Cooper, the second will spend more time on the emerging psyches of the women
— the wives, secretaries and lovers.
It’s now clear that Betty Draper, Don’s beautiful blonde wife, played by the
lovely January Jones, is being groomed as a troubled Hitchcockian heroine in
the Kim Novak or Tippi Hedren mould. In the new-season premiere, she begins
tentatively to test just how powerful and potentially dangerous an
instrument her seductive beauty and still unexplored sexuality might be.
“Betty Draper is getting angry,” explains Matthew Weiner, the show’s creator.
“She is an incredibly beautiful woman who married a man she barely knows
because he looks good on paper. She has realised that, when her beauty
disappears, she will cease to exist. She’s not enough for her husband and
she doesn’t want to accept it. She’s terrified of dealing with that problem,
because she cannot get divorced, she cannot be single, she cannot start
over.” Like so many women at that time. There are also strong hints that
Peggy, the secretary whom Draper has promoted to copywriter — who was
shocked to find she was pregnant at the end of the first season — will also
feature more insistently, though, tantalisingly, we learn nothing, at first,
about the fate of her child.
As thrilling as it was to sit down last week to watch the beginning of the
second season of a show that promises true greatness, there is a big problem
with Mad Men: what The Hollywood Reporter’s Richmond calls the show’s
“tragically low” ratings. If only someone would watch the thing,” he says.
By the end of the first season of 13 episodes, Mad Men was averaging just
910,000 viewers on the cable channel AMC. Less than 1m viewers is hardly a
blip on the radar when you consider that top-rated shows such as American
Idol can hit 30m viewers a week, while House, starring Hugh Laurie, the
top-rated drama series on American television these days, regularly pulls in
20m-plus. The first season of The Sopranos on HBO attracted an average of
4.3m viewers; its 2002 season premiere pulled 13.4m.
Some critics believe Mad Men’s dismal audience figures are symptomatic of a
terminal decline in the taste of the American audience, which seems addicted
to ridiculous reality series such as It’s Complicated, starring Denise
Richards, former Bond girl and ex-wife of Charlie Sheen, and the new reality
show featuring the horrifying stage mom Dina Lohan, mother of the actress
Lindsay. More to the point, critics wondered how long AMC, a small cable
channel, whose first scripted series this is, could sustain Mad Men if so
few people tuned in.
AMC, gratified by the plaudits and prizes for the show’s first season, decided
to double down and spend heavily promoting the new episodes — as much as
$25m, according to some estimates. It seems to have paid off. Last Sunday’s
opener doubled the show’s audience, pulling 1.9m viewers. While AMC and Mad
Men aficionados were buoyed by the ratings, some observers doubt the show
will ever be more than a critical hit. Brian Lowry, of Variety, believes
that its “tranquil pace” means it “will likely struggle to significantly
expand its commercial appeal, despite critical accolades”.
Unfortunately, Lowry may be right. Mad Men can be glacial. That is in
startling contrast to the frantic shrillness, addiction to meaningless
action and violence and insistent descent into sentimentality that are the
hallmarks of just about everything else on American television these days.
“There is little in the way of ‘action’,” says Robert Lloyd, television
critic for the LA Times. “It is possibly the slowest, most deliberative show
on television, which is one of the things that makes it so lovely and
mysterious.” The most exciting thing to happen in the premiere was the
arrival of Sterling Cooper’s first Xerox machine, a huge beast that nobody
could figure out where to put.
Despite the acclaim for Mad Men, some interesting dissenting voices,
particularly on the right, are beginning to be heard. Adam Simon, a film and
television writer and cultural critic, agrees that Mad Men is beautifully
executed, but says: “It is just too condescending. I really can’t bear the
it is so certain that it, and by extension its viewers, are so morally and
culturally superior to the characters we’re watching — in fact, to the whole
era it depicts.
“You get to revel in the cool atmosphere while feeling smugly superior to it.
Oh, so sexist, so racist, so anti-semitic. So desperately in need of the
sexual and cultural revolution waiting round the corner. It feels cheap in
that sense, allowing us to pat ourselves on our backs for merely living on
the other side of the great awakening.”
Perhaps that’s what Man Men needs to attract more viewers — healthy
controversy, not just acclaim.
Mad Men 2 begins in the UK in the new year
We've watched Mad Men from the first episode and although it's hard to stay awake that late on a Sunday night, we wouldn't miss a second. Your reviewer is right that we sit smugly gasping at the politically incorrectness, reminding me of my '60s secretarial days at an ad agency in London, then NYC.
Anne Smith, Newburyport, USA
Mad Men is a great show. It is an intelligent show. Not many are going to be able to appreciated, it is a series that have been made for people that appreciate well written plots and great visuals.
The scene in which Peggy is at the church holding a crying baby is a master piece even w/o dialogue
baakanit, NY, USA
MM is delicious, beautifully acted and produced. Some of the best charaters on TV. Elisabeth Moss (Peggy) is astounding to watch. I hate the episodes to end.
NC, Little Rock,
I have no doubt that MM does not portray the ad business accurately - just as so many doctors, lawyers and police series lighten up the way in which medicine is practised and crime detected and prosecuted.
But in terms of the relationships it is utterly brilliant - Betty Friedan was right!
Elizabeth, London, UK
Being in PR, I looked forward to Mad Men, but there's way too little about the ad biz and way too much about set design (which is terrific, btw). Anyway, maybe it's just that, after a few episodes, the viewer comes to realize that the '50s as an era were just plain boring, however glossy the design.
Linda Hewitt, Creston,
i watched about 15 min of this garbage. all it is is a bunch of guys smoking, druinking and adultry. who cares!! i have always gone against what a critic says. if they say its bad. i go and its usually good.new movie"pinapple express" , panned i went evey one was laughing and having fun. nuff said.
carl6352, tampa, usa
The show does a wonderful job with set dressing, set design, and costuming however, it is just painful to watch. That could be why viewership is low. While I've enjoyed other work from various cast members in the past the Mad Men performances come across stiff is this writing or directing.
PattyP, LA, USA
Style over substance - a simulacrum. I gave up after watching three episodes. This show has no plot and no story, as if someone has gone around an editor's 1950's era cutting floor and pasted fragments of b movies together
Read Vance Packard's "the Hidden Pursuaders" instead.
Jack Bloxam, Edinburgh,
I have family who worked in NYC durring the 50's-60's and Mad Men does remind me of my uncle.
This show is like the fine brandy the show so blatenly promotes.
While many Americans are content to guzzle low quality beer, some of us prefer letting a good spirt mellow.
This is Mad Men.
Infosaur, NY, USA
I haven't seen Mad Men, but it sounds pretty self-congatulatory from the comments posted here.
The idea that 'we have come so far' since the 1950s and 60s betrays a lamentable ignorance of history. The double standards by which we live today are every bit as loathsome as those of that period.
David Ballantyne, Raleigh, NC, USA (ex-UK)
I caught the first episode and and was hooked. A time before political correctness, a complicated multi arc story line, a well written script, what more could you ask for as a counterpoise to trend towards mindless "reality" TV. In all fairness there needs to be something for the rest of us.
Gary, California, USA
We're not madder about Mad Men maybe because many are mad at Mad Men.
At that time, the ad agencies were undergoing a creative revolution. Not a sexual one. Mad Men, for me, totally misrepresents agencies of that time. About all MM has right are the size of the cubicles. Not the amount of sex.
rachel peepers, charleston, il, U.S.
How sad that people today do not appreciate a program like Mad Men. We grew up in the 50's and 60's and find the show incredibly interesting. When all the members of a generation die, there remains little behind to give future generations an idea of what past life was like.
ricardo maxwell, Orange Park, USA
Apparently, a lot of posters do not have a clue about the 50's & 60's. My mother-in-law met my father-in-law at the front door every weekday afternoon at exactly 5:25 pm in a dress and high heels with a cocktail. She didn't even drive a car. As bad as some morons think it was, there was little crime
ricardo maxwell, orange park, USA
The commercials they ran before the series started had me very excited. The clothes, snippets of dialogue and so on had me convincing myself that I would like this show. However, I quickly found that this show just wasn't for me.
Good thing I enjoy reading. There's nothing on worth watching.
Stephanie, Smalltown, USA
I tried watching it for several episodes, until I suddenly realised why I wasn't enjoying it; simply put, I didn't care whether the characters lived or died. This, I find, is a major disadvantage when watching a drama series (or, for that matter, a film, such as Run Lola Run).
Andy, Saffron Walden,
I think theres another view on MadMen in that at some level, not only are we looking at a 'period drama' we are also looking at how the same kind of mysogenistic culture still prevails in the world now but thinly veiled under a sometimes hypocritical layer of PC smugness.
Shruti, London,
Mad Men is a terrifically paced series that rewards careful scrutiny. If you know a lot about the period, it is even more rewarding, but several 20-somethings I know also adore it. Hamm has fashioned a fantastically enigmatic and compulsive character from a sublime script and Jones is a revelation!
D Jenkins, London, UK
Mad Men is achingly PC, po-faced, and witless in its writers' fearful hesitancy of having fun recreating the behaviours and views of the time, and just how correct that felt.
Today's ultra-sensitive morals are transported like Quantum Leap into grey suits and hair Brylcreem, and it falls flat.
James, London,
Contrary to the PR, and this article, Mad Men is ultra-PC, and a po-faced witless facsimile of today in different clothing.
They missed an open goal to explore the era by making the characters' behaviour as extreme and accepted as it was. It's like Quantum Leap in taknig our morals back in time.
James, London,
I absolutely love, love, love the show, utter genius. The best thing on TV in this era of ridiculous reality show rubbish. Can't wait for season 2. Don Draper and Joan Holloway are my favourites. I agree with Charlotte, York - I hate House.
Cassandra, London,
I don't like Mad Men. It seems more about style than stories. The first few episodes I watched were filled with cliches and free of drama.
Mike, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Intelligent drama on TV is hard to find & something that relects a time & place so perfectly is a rarity. Dialogue, acting, dress are all top drawer. The waiting wives are something to behold, petticoats & meals on the table, the tidiness but utter blandness of the decor. 'Suits me Sir brill'
peter dukes, bakewell , derbyshire
I'm 23, and I adore it. I feel nourished when watching, it is so clever. The repeat on BBC 2 did mean it got an airing on terrestrial, but it was on really quite late at night. It should be given a prime spot, as it is so well crafted. This is my television treat. Can't wait for season 2!!!
Emmy, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
I would have watched the first season here in England but they put in on BBC 4, a channel which no-one watches! If they just showed it on BBC 2 i'm sure it would be almost as popular as Heroes or Lost!
Samuel, Leicester, England
Ellen, I agree Mad Men is genius in every way. However I don't believe it is for the mature audience only, as a 24 year old I enjoy it simply for being the best thing on television, now that The Sopranos has finished. I just have to wait till next year for the BBC to show season two!
Holly, London,
I was "Peggy" in 1960 in the heart of Manhattan. If you are young, you probably do not have nor want any connection to this show. This show is for the mature audience who actually went through the truth that is Mad Men. It is genius. Thank you, Matthew Weiner and AMC.
Ellen, Loganville, GA, USA
Mad Men also generates smug, PC superiority by its cartoon depiction of the ad business. In reality, MM is about boozy sex tarted up with mid-century tinsel. As Ad Golden Age veterans, we assure you MM’s dysfunctional crew never could create great successful advertising,
Donald E. Creamer and James Baar, Providence, RI, USA
Mad Men is not an exercise in moral superiority. On the contrary, it asks us to take these flawed people seriously as individuals, to sympathize with them and see our own lives reflected in their existential crises, leading us to wonder what we will look like to people living 50 years from now.
Dan, Williamsport, USA
I love Mad Men, hate House. How can you watch a show where the same thing happens every time and you can predict whether or not the diagnosis is correct by the time on you VCR?
Charlotte, York,
I am not a fan of Mad Men, would far rather watch something with much more humour, please do a spread on Hugh Laurie and that wonderfully funny misanthropic character called House, The man and his team is the best US drama on UK TV, too bad we have to wait til around March 09 for new epis.
Cynth., Wrexham,