Mad Men Season 1 — Review
Mad Men courtesy Lionsgate
Brilliantly re-creating the style, attitude and social climate of 1960s New York, this breakout hit from last summer is a definite must-own. Following the boardroom (and bedroom) exploits of a group of Madison Avenue advertising execs (led by Golden Globe winner Jon Hamm as creative director Don Draper),
Mad Men captivated us with its unflinching approach to an era that reveled in itself long before anyone ever dreamed up being "politically correct." Behind all the sex, booze, and cigarette smoke (and there's plenty to go around) is an intelligent cynicism and downright fine drama.
Cleverly packaged to look like a Zippo lighter (like we said,
everyone on the show smokes), this set contains all 13 first-season episodes with audio commentary from - depending on the episode - creator Matthew Weiner, Hamm, John Slattery, Vincent Kartheiser, Elisabeth Moss, January Jones, and more. The "Establishing Mad Men" featurette gives you the standard behind the scenes stuff, and while the "Desire of the American Dream" featurette is an interesting look at the advertising of the era, it doesn't have any real added "bonus" for ravenous fans. Worse, the "Season 2 Preview" is nothing of the sort, offering only clips from last season while reminding us the show starts back later this month. Even so, the show is spectacular, and you should have no problem rushing through each of these fabulous episodes again (or being engrossed for the first time) before the Season 2 premiere on July 27. -
Adam Bryant
