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MAN CAVE: Finally catching up on Mad Men
I have to admit that Mad Men originally didn't grab me. That's probably because every time I would catch it, I would watch four minutes of a guy in a suit with a cigarette and whiskey staring into the distance before I moved on to more immediately gratifying entertainment options.
MAN CAVE: Finally catching up on Mad Men
Man Cave is a testosterone-laden Monday feature that highlights the weekend haps of a pop culture-loving Philly dude.
I have to admit that Mad Men originally didn't grab me. That's probably because every time I would catch it, I would watch four minutes of a guy in a suit with a cigarette and whiskey staring into the distance before I moved on to more immediately gratifying entertainment options.
That said, the cultural importance of the philandering Don Draper and Sterling
Cooper advertising was growing to a point where I couldn't ignore it, and I decided to start the series on DVD. I got through the first two seasons in about a month, and this weekend I plowed through most of season three.
At first, Mad Men survives solely on its premise: a zoo exhibit of early '60s office-life. Against the backdrop of today, this unbelievably inappropriate workplace environment is just enough to keep you clicking "next episode" even without substantial character development or plot — both of which, in my opinion, are somewhat lacking until the end of the season. Thankfully, the show survives this narrative and the final episodes of the season really hooks you in.
Some of the Man Cave standouts in these first few seasons are the slick John Slattery (Roger Sterling) and the CurvaSaurus Rex Christina Hendricks (Joan Holloway). Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson) plays a more subtle, sympathetic young lady and Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell) is great as a conniving junior executive.
Seasons two and three really churn it up with more extramarital affairs, some office outcasting of the ambitious Peggy, infertility of newlywed Pete Campbell, a trip to California where Don goes m.i.a. ... even MORE extramarital affairs ... and of course, enough whiskey and cigarettes to wake Humphrey Bogart from the dead and then kill him again.
The challenge is simply trying to pace yourself to get maximum enjoyment out of each episode, rather than scarfing the whole fourth season down like a Big Mac with fries. Sadly, I know how that plays out in my man cave. I'm not sure what it says about my personality that a TV show doesn't have to be great as much as addicting. Luckily, Mad Men is both.
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