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Should I start watching Mad Men?
Callum_Brown
Posts: 745
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As Breaking Bad is coming to a close, I'll soon be needing a new series to watch. After browsing the US Netflix, I discovered that Mad Men is available.
I've heard lots of great things about it through twitter, as well as its multiple Emmy honours. Considering that I adore Breaking Bad and MM is also AMC, do you think that I'd enjoy the show?
Or perhaps there are better shows for me to watch on Netflix?
Any response would be appreciated. Thanks.
I've heard lots of great things about it through twitter, as well as its multiple Emmy honours. Considering that I adore Breaking Bad and MM is also AMC, do you think that I'd enjoy the show?
Or perhaps there are better shows for me to watch on Netflix?
Any response would be appreciated. Thanks.
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There is nothing remotely interesting about advertising or the people who work in it.:)
Not sure about MM being boring as I haven't seen it myself but Suits is well worth a watch. One of my favourite programs at the moment.
F&B is more light hearted but worth a watch and haven't seen Magic City.
From season five or six, though, I felt Mad Men took a downward turn. By then we knew all there was to know about the characters, and everything has started to get re-hashed - everyone just repeats what they have already done on a loop. Plus, they never seem to go outside! It makes for a claustrophobic experience when we are either at the office or in someone's home practically all the time.
Also, from around 1966 (psychedelia, drugs, paisley shirts), the use of wigs, fake beards and moustaches, plus other prosthetics, begins to look rather stupidly obvious. I've spent as much time gawping at stuck-on beards and sideburns as I have paying attention to storylines, and once sympathetic characters have been becoming more and more bitchy and bastardly and generally unlikeable.
Definitely give it a go, though.
Wow
That's probably fair. It does seem slow-moving when you first start watching it, and there is a lot of dialogue. I found that after a few episodes it suddenly clicked and I then found it riveting. The characters are not all exactly interesting, some are intriguing, some are boring, some are unpleasant, but they develop over the series. For example if you stick with it you'll find that Pete Campbell becomes one of the most memorable and watchable characters in modern TV (won't say more in case of spoilers).
I say stick with it.
Itsa character study more than a show about advertising...and its one of the best shows ever made:)
I think I lasted a couple more episodes than you, but just didn't find that I was too excited when new episodes appeared in my planner. I was watching a few other shows at the time and one of them had to go.
How long does it typically take for you to decide whether you're "in" or "out" on a given series?
It took me four episodes of The Bridge to decide I was going to "jump off."
The selling points for Mad Men:
VISUALLY SEDUCTIVE.
Expert depiction of institutionalized sexism.
Excellent performances.
The OTHER (What was America like in the 1960's [for a *very* select group of characters]?)
But...
The story-telling goals of Breaking Bad and Mad Men are very different; generally speaking, nothing much happens on MM except for the season premieres / season finales.
And the best Mad Men seasons (imo) so far have been seasons 4 & 5.
But why ask the forum? Why not sample a few episodes?
If you're forcing yourself to watch anything, that doesn't sound like too much fun...
Not saying that's necessarily true on this thread, just in general.
Cheers everyone, I'll definitely give it a watch then report back.
Mad Men is a slow unravelling show and some of the pay off's for story lines, you don't get even in the same season. But for me that makes it. Its a show you invest in. The characters are multi faceted.
- and as for seasons 5-6, the novelty and cult factor had gone, the show was now really popular (used to be hidden on beeb 4, then 2 and now Sky) so it was opened to more criticism. Plus the Hour and other shows jumped on the time period band wagon, making that aspect less novel.
Only issue with season 6 for me, is there seemed to be a few gaps in the story telling (i.e. the writers seemed to assume the viewer knew what was in their minds when they wrote it and forgot to actually write parts of the story - but I see the same in Dexter) but it was still good!
Well worth a shot.
Some philistines will tell you the pace is too slow because they can't comprehend drama existing beyond the threat of death and violence, but it's absolutely one the best shows of recent times.
It is NOT just a story about how different things were back then. Quite the opposite, in fact.
And if series 7, which is the last ever series, carries on just as strongly as series 6 finished then it would beat The Wire for second in my all time list of great television. I can't ever see anything beating The Sopranos.
Mad Men is a must watch.
What good taste
I can't decide between Sopranos, The Wire and Mad Men for the order of my top 3 but they are definitely the top three for me.
There is so much layering to enjoy.
For example, I just LOVED the end track they play at the end of episode 2 S1 (takes me back to my yoof)
Series 5 was superb, best yet I think.
Currently watching Breaking bad S4 and am finding it a little one dimensional so hoping that it picks up having enjoyed season 2 and 3 very much.
Homeland could be pushing for the number 4 spot if Season 3 doesn't let it down (a la Prison Break)
Beware .
It's addictive but sadly after downloading and watching up to and including Series 3 Ep 7 - through On Demand .
Then the bombshell !
I went to download the latest batch , end of Series 3 and they have ALL gone !!!
All I could find was a few episodes of Series 4 .
Disgraceful - they should at least have some kind of warning message or something .
At first I struggled with it and wasn't sure at all as I found it very niche - even the language was so specific to New York early 60s advertising.
But I stuck with it and about half way through S1 I was hooked. The attention to detail is superb and the characters are multi layered and of course imperfect.
I do think that S3 and S4 are the best and it probably peaked with those, but I will have to stick with it until the end.
Enjoy.
ive just posted about this
ive been glued to it for 3 seasons....then where the hell is season 4....?
:mad: