I think this show is so smart, and I'm a sucker for shows that don't pander.  The women on this show are doing their best for the time period they're stuck in.  Stunning performances all around.  And I'm glad it's dark--more shows need to be to be able to touch on what really goes on around us.  American shows (compared to say, shows from the UK) are so timid, and it's great to see them, and sad to see them go (as they so often do because the general American population are just so...soo...doltish!)

I should have been born in the UK! or Canada! Argh.

P

If you watch Mad Men long enough to get to know any of the characters, it becomes obvious that there is not a single character who is not oppressed in some way.

While on the surface it might seem that the men have the power while the women hope to be noticed by the "right" man so she will get married and taken care of...the men are just as oppressed as the women because of the expectations and perceptions imposed upon them, just like the women.

Don Draper cheats on his wife Betty with many women...and yet, he is not Don Draper at all. He is a man who got scared and panicked in the midst of a battle and for no other reason than luck, he survived while the real Don Draper was killed. The real Don Draper was a hero...this false Don Draper is a scared little man inside.

Roger Sterling is a WW II veteran who tries to act like a ladies man and a man's man because he is already seen as old and obsolete in his industry and is just chasing skirts and boozing to prove to himself and everyone around him that he still has got it.

And let's not forget Pete Campbell who is castrated in his life having to depend on his in-laws to keep his wife to the standard she is accustomed to...and even though he tries to one-up Don at work...he ends up getting castrated as there as well. That's probably why he traded in a wedding gift and exchanged it for a rifle. Plus is he really in love with Betty or is she just an escape from his life?

No one is happy...no one is really living the life they want...everyone is keeping the real them bottled up inside.

Besides Peggy Olson, my other favorite character is Rachel Menken who has two strikes against her...she is a woman and she is Jewish...and yet that doesn't stand in her way when running her father's department store.

It is an interesting show...it does venture toward the dark...making you want to slow down long enough to watch...kind of waiting and wondering who is going to finally crack first.

Even though I still think the sexism is very hard to watch, I have come to appreciate the richness of Mad Men. So I don't disagree with you at all, late and lamented as I may be! I'm definitely looking forward to season 2.

And Elisabeth Moss is a big part of why I'll tune in. I can't believe that's Zoey. She was also in the Bette Midler made-for-TV version of Gypsy, btw! She played gawky young Louise. (Sing out, Louise!)

Look at that, you got me to post for the first time since departing for sunnier shores ... :)

Lovely to see you, and thanks for commenting ... I hope all is well on your sunnier shores... :)

Elisabeth Moss is fantastic (and hot), the only thing that puts me off slightly is knowing that she's a Scientologist... Why, Elisabeth, why?

Still can't wait for the second season, though. Although being in the UK, I guess I'm going to have to wait, until 2009 from the sound of it.

I watched the first episode and hated just about everyone in it! I had heard a lot of people praising it, but found pretty much all the men obnoxiously sexist and the women just appendages. However, I persisted, and found it a show I really came to admire greatly for its no hold barred depiction of life and how incredily hollow it was for most of them. The characters were really interesting, and the situations, while often horribly sexist (Don's cheating, Pete's treatment of Peggy, the guys all laughing and drinking) were unlike anything on tv.

However, this is not a show I love. I think it is very well written, very well acted and the attention to period detail is outstanding. I just still dislike nearly everyone - apart from Peggy of course! Her copy for the orgasmic pants as in your photo was hilarious! I am dying to see Don get his come uppance, and I feel awful saying it, but I wished the truly horrible Roger had died from that last heart attack!

I am fascinated by this show. The catch for me is the time period. I love the 60's. I lived through them even though I was a kid 2-12 years old. I remember a lot of the pop culture stuff and the furniture, smoking etc. It's a real kick for me.

Yes the women were appendages and the men were sexist. It's basically the way it was, to a degree.

All the characters are fascinating precisely b/c they *are* flawed. Don is so intriguing especially when you become aware of his upbringing  and his relationship with his brother. It's all starting to affect him.

Christina Hendricks is perfect in the role and she's only going to become more interesting as time goes by. That body!  I hope we don't see a skinnier CH this season. If they wanna stay true to the time, that won't happen. 

Thank whomever for cable b/c between  Mad Men, The Closer, Saving Grace, Psych, Burn Notice and In Plain Sight summer tv need not be all game shows and Reality. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

........*drool*

i'm sorry.....what were you saying?

for marathon viewing. I have half a mind to tape every episode and not watch them until the next hiatus.

Hmmm, Christina HendricksTV. All Christina, All the Time!