Watching this show is like hopping in a time machine to see how advertising shaped a decade.
5) "5G." Shades of "The Fugitive," a photo of Don accepting an award brings back a past that he's not ready to face, while another co-worker (Aaron Staton) gets a story published in The Atlantic Monthly and sets all sorts of things in motion--not the least of which is envy. Don has an unfinished novel sitting in a drawer.
6) "Babylon." Peggy earns her stripes when she brainstorms with her boss and shows that she can be more than a secretary. But Rachel feels conflicted when Don seeks her advice for a new campaign.
7) "Red in the Face." An evening of dinner and drinks leads to a rift in Roger and Don's relationship; meanwhile, Pete struggles with his new marriage.
8) "The Hobo Code." As pieces of his past haunt him, Don feels as if he's starting to slip; Peggy, meanwhile, is full of new confidence as she rises at work, and that success begins to threaten her relationships. In this episode, one of the ad men, Salvatore (Bryan Batt), crosses the line with a client.
9) "Shoot." Don gets wooed by a rival agency, with Betty caught in the middle. Meanwhile, these Nixon guys look for ways to best the Kennedy ad team.
10) "Long Weekend." When Don loses an account, Roger tries to cheer him up; meanwhile, Joan and her roommate have a night on the town.
11) "Indian Summer." The plot threads twist slightly as Peggy gets a job that might prove too difficult, Pete grows even more frustrated, and Betty finds an outlet for her dissatisfaction.
12) "Nixon vs. Kennedy." On election night, the Sterling Cooper staff pull an all-nighter as they watch the returns. But Pete finally challenges Don directly in an alpha male bit of horn-locking.
13) "The Wheel." Betty makes a startling discovery, Peggy gets a new opportunity, and Don finds it hard to balance home life with work.
Video:
"Mad Men" is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, which completely fills a 16x9 monitor. The codec is MPEG-4, and this series looks awfully sharp in 1080p, with natural-looking colors and plenty of detail, even in the shadows. I noticed less than a handful of what appeared to be artifacts in a few scenes, but nothing so egregious that it took away from the viewing experience. Skin tones are perfect-not too orange or pink-and the office lighting that's predominant poses no problems. Though the colors are pleasingly saturated, there's a softness that feels compatible with the idea that we're supposed to be watching a show that takes place 48 years ago. And there's a nice sense of 3-dimensionality as well. Press materials indicate that this is an all-region release.
Audio:
The soundtrack is a DTS 5.1 Master Audio, which does the job but doesn't impress nearly as much as the picture itself. Tones are clear and there's a pleasing timbre, but this isn't a dynamic soundtrack and you won't find much in the way of ambient noise coming from the rear speakers. There's some, but not nearly as much as you might expect. Clarity is the biggest thing that the audio has going for it. There's no distortion, and since the Sixties were a time of Mono, I frankly don't have a problem that the soundtrack isn't more pulsing or assertive.
Extras:
Wow. That's all I have to say. Who can get through all these extras? I mean, the producers have included 23 commentaries for just 13 episodes, totaling around 18 hours. I watched a bunch-enough to pronounce them superior, average, or sub-standard-and found myself wishing I had the time to watch more. There's something for everyone here. Weiner appears, but so do the directors (Andrew Bernstein, Lesli Linka Glatter, Tim hunter, and Alan Tayler), who cover all the bases. As a writer, though, I enjoyed hearing from four who penned the scripts, though as with the director commentaries they're pretty standard. What I thought were above-average, though, were the cast commentaries. Here, you really see how committed these actors are to the show. All of the principles appear, and there are even commentaries featuring such production people as the set designer, costume designer, and editor, so fans get the "inside look" on "Mad Men" from all angles.
There's an hour-long making-of feature included as well, and "Establishing Mad Men" charts the show's development from concept to set and costume design, with plenty of behind-the-scene production footage and the usual number of cast-crew interviews.
What's nice is that Lionsgate has included a short (20-min.) feature that traces the development of advertising in America, so you can compare notes with what appears in the series. After that, though, it's all throwaways, as far as I'm concerned. As if to admit that not enough viewers watch full-length features on the music, poor David Carbonara barely has enough time to talk about his scoring in this under-10 minute mini-feature. And the "Mad Men Music Sampler" that accompanies it is really a random edited teaser of clips from the overall soundtrack, none of which even stretches to fill a full minute. Then there's a photo gallery (in Hi-Def) that covers all areas, including costumes, sets, cast, ad campaigns, shooting, etc. A Season 2 "preview" isn't much of anything--no clip, even. Just an announcement that there's more to come. But the commentaries and two features should make fans happy.
Bottom Line:
"Mad Men" is richly evocative of the Sixties. Watching this show is like hopping in a time machine to see how advertising shaped a decade. These ad men may not be as ruthless as "The Sopranos," but the characters are just as complex, and their lives equally fascinating.
6) "Babylon." Peggy earns her stripes when she brainstorms with her boss and shows that she can be more than a secretary. But Rachel feels conflicted when Don seeks her advice for a new campaign.
7) "Red in the Face." An evening of dinner and drinks leads to a rift in Roger and Don's relationship; meanwhile, Pete struggles with his new marriage.
8) "The Hobo Code." As pieces of his past haunt him, Don feels as if he's starting to slip; Peggy, meanwhile, is full of new confidence as she rises at work, and that success begins to threaten her relationships. In this episode, one of the ad men, Salvatore (Bryan Batt), crosses the line with a client.
9) "Shoot." Don gets wooed by a rival agency, with Betty caught in the middle. Meanwhile, these Nixon guys look for ways to best the Kennedy ad team.
10) "Long Weekend." When Don loses an account, Roger tries to cheer him up; meanwhile, Joan and her roommate have a night on the town.
11) "Indian Summer." The plot threads twist slightly as Peggy gets a job that might prove too difficult, Pete grows even more frustrated, and Betty finds an outlet for her dissatisfaction.
12) "Nixon vs. Kennedy." On election night, the Sterling Cooper staff pull an all-nighter as they watch the returns. But Pete finally challenges Don directly in an alpha male bit of horn-locking.
13) "The Wheel." Betty makes a startling discovery, Peggy gets a new opportunity, and Don finds it hard to balance home life with work.
Video:
"Mad Men" is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, which completely fills a 16x9 monitor. The codec is MPEG-4, and this series looks awfully sharp in 1080p, with natural-looking colors and plenty of detail, even in the shadows. I noticed less than a handful of what appeared to be artifacts in a few scenes, but nothing so egregious that it took away from the viewing experience. Skin tones are perfect-not too orange or pink-and the office lighting that's predominant poses no problems. Though the colors are pleasingly saturated, there's a softness that feels compatible with the idea that we're supposed to be watching a show that takes place 48 years ago. And there's a nice sense of 3-dimensionality as well. Press materials indicate that this is an all-region release.
Audio:
The soundtrack is a DTS 5.1 Master Audio, which does the job but doesn't impress nearly as much as the picture itself. Tones are clear and there's a pleasing timbre, but this isn't a dynamic soundtrack and you won't find much in the way of ambient noise coming from the rear speakers. There's some, but not nearly as much as you might expect. Clarity is the biggest thing that the audio has going for it. There's no distortion, and since the Sixties were a time of Mono, I frankly don't have a problem that the soundtrack isn't more pulsing or assertive.
Extras:
Wow. That's all I have to say. Who can get through all these extras? I mean, the producers have included 23 commentaries for just 13 episodes, totaling around 18 hours. I watched a bunch-enough to pronounce them superior, average, or sub-standard-and found myself wishing I had the time to watch more. There's something for everyone here. Weiner appears, but so do the directors (Andrew Bernstein, Lesli Linka Glatter, Tim hunter, and Alan Tayler), who cover all the bases. As a writer, though, I enjoyed hearing from four who penned the scripts, though as with the director commentaries they're pretty standard. What I thought were above-average, though, were the cast commentaries. Here, you really see how committed these actors are to the show. All of the principles appear, and there are even commentaries featuring such production people as the set designer, costume designer, and editor, so fans get the "inside look" on "Mad Men" from all angles.
There's an hour-long making-of feature included as well, and "Establishing Mad Men" charts the show's development from concept to set and costume design, with plenty of behind-the-scene production footage and the usual number of cast-crew interviews.
What's nice is that Lionsgate has included a short (20-min.) feature that traces the development of advertising in America, so you can compare notes with what appears in the series. After that, though, it's all throwaways, as far as I'm concerned. As if to admit that not enough viewers watch full-length features on the music, poor David Carbonara barely has enough time to talk about his scoring in this under-10 minute mini-feature. And the "Mad Men Music Sampler" that accompanies it is really a random edited teaser of clips from the overall soundtrack, none of which even stretches to fill a full minute. Then there's a photo gallery (in Hi-Def) that covers all areas, including costumes, sets, cast, ad campaigns, shooting, etc. A Season 2 "preview" isn't much of anything--no clip, even. Just an announcement that there's more to come. But the commentaries and two features should make fans happy.
Bottom Line:
"Mad Men" is richly evocative of the Sixties. Watching this show is like hopping in a time machine to see how advertising shaped a decade. These ad men may not be as ruthless as "The Sopranos," but the characters are just as complex, and their lives equally fascinating.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]23618[/release]