I enjoyed watching your new character, Mrs. Clifford Lyman, as the high society type who's still climbing the social ladder and very impressed with Pete's family name. Perhaps you will get her to work with Pete or Pete's wife for their mutual benefit? Collaborating in future episodes to improve Pete's contacts for the ad agency and raise Mrs. Lyman'status by her association with Pete?

My dad worked for Pure Oil; made a deal with Nascar to advertise which created sports marketing as we know it today. His ad agency was Leo Burnett, a prominent figure.

Have you considered scripting any competition between New York and Chicago ad agencies? Obviously, Madison Ave. remains KING.

How about a forum of people who worked in the business during the 1960's? Like a focus group? I have a Master's Degree in Advertising from Northwestern, 1983.

Nancy Wishmeier

917-509-1987

I am ecstatic over the fact that again, Rosemarie DeWitt, is playing a part in a show that is a hit. I am so very proud of her accomplishments and she is such a beautiful young woman. I know she has a lot more interesting things in her bright future. Keep up the amazing work that you do. This is one truly proud fan.

Your sistah from Maine,

Linda Joi

why would peggy want to be with the sleazy guy. He is creepy and rude, I guess I could understand if he was hot. So, why is she supposed to like him?

I would love to see The Questor Tapes. please can you show it.

AUTHOR: kathy valle
EMAIL: nefie5@verizon.net
IP: 71.106.198.10
URL:
DATE: 08/16/2007 10:30:27 PM

AUTHOR: kathy valle
EMAIL: nefie5@verizon.net
IP: 71.106.198.10
URL:
DATE: 08/16/2007 10:31:10 PM

Pedestrian and predictable. The writers have tried hard (my heart goes out to them) but they have come up with a pseudo 50s/60s version of a reality show. Is that what television viewership is waiting for? I'm not sure it is.

We want drama, not some mediocre soap opera with above average camera work. Watch the BBC for some pointers you guys.

In the TV series Mad Men, which is set in the year 1960, Selectric II typewriters are featured prominently on the secretaries' desks, even though they weren't introduced until 1973.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Selectric_typewriter#Selectric_Trivia

I love the show, 50's /60's reality, wrong year typewriter and all. It takes my mind off all the crap that goes on in life.

It would be nice to see one mad man be true to his woman.

Mad Men looks beautiful, what video or film format is the series shot in / what camera system? What is the cinematographer's approach and favored tools for lighting the series?

Born in 1956, I find this to be an extremely fascinating series to watch. I recognize everything. Even the lighting is familiar. My dad was one of those guys, even though we didn't live in New York — or even close to it, he was one of them. My mom and the women in my neighborhood were those women. Pregnant women smoking. They all did.

I ended up becoming an art director at an ad agency. This is an incredibly good series, which means it probably won't last long.

Just wanted to know-where do the Drappers live?

my name is chuck phillips. i was the 1st employee of chiat/day in 1968 and was an executive of that agency for 25 years. i'm almost certain i hosted the last gathering of of the of ddb founders: bill bernbach, ned doyle and max dane. i was the only other person in the room. my purposes for this e-mail is two: 1) being from that era, i totally enjoy your show. and 2) one of canada's legendary creative directors, peter lanyon, has recorded a song "merchants of desire" that would be the perfect theme for your show. i have no personal stake in this, but you ought to hear the song. if you respond to this i will send it to you.

keep up the excellent work.

- chuck phillips

Robert Morse as the head of Sterling Cooper! How funny and fabulous is that?! This show is really dialed in.

I remember, as many must, the ABC series "thirtysomething", that featured another angst-ridden ad-man. It also tackled a lot of the same issues such as family, ambition, sex, and office politics. I wonder if Mr. Weiner watched the series, or was influenced by it in any way? Also, I'm curious about how he went about casting Mr.Hamm for the lead, I heard that he had wanted George Clooney at one point. But I believe Mr.Hamm as well as the rest of the cast is perfect! I hope this show last as long and great as "The Sopranos"!

It took me a while, I concede, but I finally realized that the dark secret that Don Draper hides so well is one that is no longer very dramatic - but one that was, at the time, deadly. He's Jewish.

I applaud the writers for their incredibly sensitive handling of this issue. I knew that Don was someone who was "passing," but I didn't know what he wasn't supposed to be until the fifth episode.

Why Jon Hamm??!! This guy is drop dead gorgeous and he draws you in - George Clooney couldn't shine his shoes, the scruffy commie. Besides Clooney would never do TV.

We discussed the Jewish angle after the first episode- hello! That may very well be so but something more sinisyer is going on here

No, I don't think Don's secret is that he is Jewish. I thought so at first, until I learned he has a brother who is a janitor.

Can you please cut down on the smoking ?

It's making me nauseous. Maybe you could confine it to parties, conference room meetings and bars/restaurants without getting too far afield from reality. I especially had trouble with smoking in the bedroom and around kids or in tight areas. Your actors must hate you.

You don't have to be *that* realistic at the expense of the message it gives off/portrays.

PS: 20+ years of non-smoking under my belt.

Love the series. I've been a keen observer of the advertising profession for many decades.

The clothes and set decorations are "spot on". Incidentally, I had an IBM Selectric in 1965 -- a red one! All the executive secretaries in our company had them, and we could pick our color -- thanks to our very progressive electronics engineering firm in Central PA.

Good luck to the series and all collected with it!

I love this show. Do any of the actors smoke? For the non-smoking actors, how difficult was it to constantly smoke like that? Thanks

honestly, I have been looking forward to this show all summer long and have been watching since the premier. Great show, well written, it could move a little bit faster, but all in all I think it could possibly live up to the sopranos. make it last please, thursdays have always been my favorite day, but now theres a reason.

p.s. I'm glad there is an encore presentation after the show so I can watch it again and see or hear something I missed the first time around. Smart thinking.

This is for Sandy H, on set they only smoke herbal cigarettes.

I love the music at the opening of the show, as well as the longer version of the song in the trailer. How sings it? Is it a hit, past or present?

Also, I'm not sure what type of art style the picture in the begining is, but I've got the same question -- where do you pick it up?

Thanks - it's awesome.

Any chance of a you folks releasing a soundtrack from the show? I love the musical selections!

Congratulations. This is by far the most interesting show I seen for years.

All the actors are superb. I am more and more impressed with Hamm, Slattery and especially "Pete Campbell" for each and every episode. (I wont try and spell his real name though)

My question is DVDs. Have you thought about what they will contain? Also, how long does it take to make an episode?

How great amount of time and what do you use for reseach about this time?

Thank you!

The clothing designer is fantastic. I have enjoyed watching the show tremendously with its excellent plot line, outstanding actors & actresses and intrigue. To top it all off everyone looks polished and elegant. Who puts together the clothes for the men and women? Are these clothes that are already on the set from years ago or is there someone who designs the cloths just for the show? Thank you.

This show lives up to its hype and my husband and I look forward to it every week. What a great ensemble cast and hope that SAG remembers this program at award time. If anyone doubts the progress our country has made in regards to race, ethnicity and gender this program speaks volumes.

To add to my previous blog it is so great to see Robert Morse again..I have been in love with him since seeing him in How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying thanks AMC!

I love this show! It showcases the social changes over the past 40 years: especially the role of women in society. The production quality is fab: the acting terrific: the story line: soapy, but is redeemed by the exposure to the era. I stumbled upon the first episode and then left for Europe for 3 weeks: I couldn't wait to get back and catch up!

I hated that AMC changed its format several years ago to appeal to younger viewers: but now you have redeemed yourselves!

May Mad Men drive us crazy for a long time!

Dear AMC, Mr. Weiner and the Cast,

I love the show !!!

1. Who was the dark haired woman that Don was sleeping with in Episode 5 ?

2. Why is Don trying to avoid his brother so much ? It's not like the brother is asking to move in with Don ?

Steven M.

I wonder what town the Draper's are supposed to live in? Is it somewhere in Westchester or Connecticut?

The show is fabulous! Hats off to all: writers, cast, crew, producers, etc.

If writers are interested in more fantastic research on advertising, I strongly suggest Roland Marchand's "Advertising the American Dream" (if you haven't already consulted it!). There's a lot you could use there to tie actual ads/campaigns to the messages of the show (not all that unlike the Liberty "executive account" pitch or the inclusion of Volkswagen ads which are CLASSIC!).

Also, please don't loose a pure gem of the broadcast by eliminating the writer/cast/director comments at the end. I love hearing about the creative process, and I thought this was a feature that made the show truly unique. I was disappointed that "5G" didn't include it!

Finally, including 'factoids' relevant to the upcoming *real* spot was a stroke of genius! It really draws viewer attention in an age where many have learned to filter out commercial clutter. Who knew that "Cocktail" was filmed in the original Fridays?! I bet your advertisers are thrilled. And while I try to limit my intake of commercial messages (believing that we live in a culture that consumes 1k x more than we need because of it), I can appreciate creativity and innovation in any industry. Pushing the boundaries of advertising alongside a show about pushing the boundaries of advertising is nothing short of inspired.

Thanks for making Thursday night fun again!

Love the show it's like time travel. I was a kid in 1960 and this is exactly how my parents and all their friends looked, dressed and acted. The pacing is dead on, things didn't move as quickly then. People were also more grown-up than today, the show has a very adult feel to it. How refreshing.

So this is how they get cigarette advertising back on the tube. I'm done. Hate I sat through all of No. 5. The period stuff was cute for a couple episodes, but this is now just mediocre TV.

Thoroughly unlikeable characters, although I'm getting behind the Draper actor for the Staring-Into-Space Emmy. And is it me or is the audio really seriously inconsistent?

I like the fact that you show so much alcohol and cigarettes since that was the way things were back then. But I think it would seem more authentic if there were more coffee, around the office especially. Do you think so?

Mad Men is the best show of the year. My only question is, where are the newspapers? In 1960, everyone got their news from newspapers. People carried newspapers with them everywhere they went. Look at the movies from the Fifties and you'll see.

Mad Men is a great show. Finally, there's a show my 20-something daughter and I can enjoy watching together. But I think it could be improved if some of the cast had slight "New Yawk" accents, especially the secretaries. This is Manhatten in the '60's after all!

i cannot view mad men in california on demand. can you address this to amc to offer in this state. especially on cox.net, thanks, cz

The last few episodes were very inspired. It was cunning how you drew out the suspense behind Don's last encounter with his brother. I couldn't guess what Don was carrying in his briefcase. I breathed a real sigh of relief when I saw it was "only" a stack of money. I also like the way you've turned Don's life into a metaphor for the advertising industry. We'll have to wait and see how long he can keep up the pretense of his new life with his family and co-workers. He has been able to "sell" his makeover to everyone else so far. But it remains to be seen whether he be able to buy it himself in the end.

My husband and I like Madmen, but we are thinking that it is underwritten by Big Tobacco. It has to be, we decided because everyone smokes all the time, even when it doesn't fit the drama. This is a new way Tobacco can advertise on TV (since it is prevented by law). Gratuitous smoking, please cut it out. The good writing will sustain the show.

Barb,

Don't you get it? These people lived in the dark ages of health consciousness. They all smoked like chimneys. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be seeing some of older characters develop smoker's cough and STD's.

I enjoy the show very much. One thing that struck me was that the secretaries are using IBM Selectric typewriters (the ones with the print ball). I checked, because I used to use one of those typerwriters myself, back in the day, and those were not introduced until July of 1961. I assume we're in 1960 because of the Kennedy/Nixon stuff.

I'm surprised, with the attention to detail, that this would have slipped by.

I am recommending this show, which I love to all my friends & family. Love the music, the style and clothing, the acting is phenomenal, and the story is original. I am hooked! Mad Men portrays the sexism and racism of the time in full Technicolor and with such barbed comments that for the first time in a while (since SATC) I wait with bated breath for the next one to come on. After the 5G episode I literally said to myself (This show is soooo good). Juicy summertime show. I also find the main character Jon Hamm/Don Draper, who is a bit of an bad-boy enigma, totally hot. I have issues, I know.

I would just like to urge the powers that be to continue this series. It is truly remarkable -- the set and costumes alone are amazing and the characters are vivid and compelling. Great viewing!

I'm still loving Mad Men. It's the only show I watch on television. You guys really go above and beyond what viewers expect.

Yes, the smoking is extreme but in no way do I see this as enticing people to smoke. It's just downright disgusting. However, it is distracting - there's a lot going on in each scene and we have to pay attention. The writers could probably eliminate 20% of the smoking and we'd still get the idea that people smoked alot, all the time.

When I first heard about this show I thought Wow. A red hot expose about how things are rotten just below the surface in surburbialand. Now there's an idea I haven't seen more than 30 or 40 times (and wasn't American Beauty just a Desperate Housewives episode that took itself very very seriously?)But you did something very smart. You went and hired yourself some brilliant actors. Every single one of them delivers the goods. They breathe life into that old "beneath this pretty surface ugly things lie" chestnut. I used to womnder. Why can't pretty things lie beneath the pretty surface? Why is the pretty surface always hiding a big ugly lie? Or a lot of ugly lies. At least on tv. But I digress. To tell you the truth I always hated the Sopranos. Everyone talked about how brilliant it was so I tried to watch it. Couldn't see what was brilliant about watching horrible people behave horribly. And I came to dread the mandatory bursts of graphic violence every episode. Whatever Mad Men's faults I don't have to watch anyone get beaten, stabbed or shot. And I don't have to listen to the f word three times a minute. I know, that's how gangsters talk. One reason it gets tiresome to hang around gangsters. I'd rather watch the boys in the grey flannel suits. Their power struggles may be just as vicious as the New Jersey mob. But they play them out with so much more style.

I am a bit late to the game and have just seen the last two episodes. I think the show is a real winner and the set direction complements the writing and acting perfectly.

I have one point to bring up, however. In each of those two episodes certain characters use the word "swell" in reaction to something they were just told. To my ear -- I am 54 years old -- it sounds just a bit off. In that context, as a reaction vis-a-vis a simple adjective, the word "swell" seems anchronistic by a couple of decades, at least.

This is no big deal, but I wonder if there was much (or any) discussion about such a word before its placement in the script?

Love the concept, but when are you going to make ANY of the characters remotely likeable? I finish watching, and feel nothing but contempt for all of them.

I know the show is meant to be a snapshot of the era, but come on! Not everyone was so one-dimensional, duplicitous and horny.

A little content in the outline, please!

I too love this show and anxiously wait for Thursday nights. Many of my thoughts have been reflected in other posts so I won't repeat them....with the exception of two things:

1 The lack of New York accents - given all the painstaking research into the era, why wouldn't some of the characters have the obligatory accent? Especially Peggy, who says she's from Brooklyn. Being from Long Island myself, I know that Brooklyn accents are quite distinctive.

2.The sound doesn't seem to stay at the same level. There are times that I have to turn up the volume to full blast to catch some things. It's not my TV because on my computer, watching the videos, I have to do the same thing.

Ok, I lied.. one last thing...PLEASE PLEASE posters, lay-off the typewriter already!

Excellent show--gets better with every episode as the characters are fleshed out.

I've gotta laugh at the comments here regarding the "gratuitous" smoking. ALL smoking is "gratuitous!" I'm in my 50s and I can tell you that the smoking in this show is not overdone and adds a great period texture--I can almost smell 1960.

When will the DVD set of season 1 be available? (Hopefully for Xmas?)

Love, love, love the show! Salvatore... when will it come out that he is gay?

Absolutely excellent. I think its a wonderful show, and tragically stylish. Its interesting to see the amount of smoking people did, knowing whats coming. A recent scene of Don and his wife walking and talking in their bedroom had so many coughs neither of them noticed, and won't for twenty more years. That was really how people smoked then, just as the elevator service man was a painful reminder for me, as a young black woman, of the almost non-existent role of blacks on Madison Avenue (or anywhere of the type).

Also, Jon Hamm as Don Draper is mesmerizing. I can't tell if I am falling in love with the actor or the character, but his beautiful face in those sharp suits is almost too much. He is like a pacifier for grown women! Even in his flawed adulterous way, he is charming. Have I mentioned how superiorly handsome he is? Good grief!

Love the show. It brings back many memories when I was a fresh young thing out of school working as a secretary for a big Chicago ad agency. The men were all on the prowl, but now looking back, I think it a lot of it was show by some of them, as they probably thought that had to act that way to be part of the group. I also smoked at my desk..we all did. And the Christmas parties...well, enough said!

What is Don's secret? At first, I assumed it was some kind of abuse, but after reading other people's comments, it has to be he is Jewish, or at least part Jewish. Why would he react to Rachel the way he did in the first episode? He lashed out at her because of what she represented.

Brown text on brown background does not a great website make.

I love the show. It is the only show I make a point to watch and then you took it off Fridays at 7:00. Bring it back.

Lee

I've posted here before and I've simply run out of accolades and hosannas of praise for Mad Men. It's just breathtakingly great. All I can do is second the emotion expressed by Nancy Franklin in The New Yorker, who said, "can you marry a TV show?" Or at least Jon Hamm? Yowzaa!

My only quibble with earlier episodes was with the men's clothes. I thought everything should be a little narrower (ties and jackets) and ties should be darker. Maybe I'm imagining it, but in last night's episode, the suits did seem more period-correct to me. I especially love the millimeter thin sliver of pocket hankerchief in several of the men's breast pockets. That was a great subtle touch that really pulled the whole outfit into the correct time frame.

Thanks to the sharp eyes and researching of the other posters about the Selectric typewriters. That should be corrected, if they are right. About where the Drapers live, my guess is Westchester.

About whether Don Draper is Jewish - for some reason, it didn't occur to me, but now that other posters have mentioned it, it seems like an obvious duh. That's why he's avoiding his brother, and paid him $5,000 to go away. Whe he went to meet Adam, I thought for sure that what he slipped into his briefcase was a gun. But of course! Now it all makes sense. Jews don't shoot people! Especially relatives. The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit meets Gentleman's Agreement.

P.S. All I want for Christmas (and Hanukkah) is the first season of Mad Men on DVD. Please!

P.P.S. Wouldn't it be funny if the actor playing a closeted Jew is named Hamm?

My question is are we going to get to see them making/producing TV ads? So far all they've done is print.

I would love to see the 60s take on casting commercials, filming, post-production. A lot of TV advertising was still done live as sponsored ads -- would be fun to be behind the scenes on a TV show.

Also, someone on TWoP noticed you have a mental health consultant on staff? What does he/she do? Provide advice for the writers, actors, or counsel the production team?

P.S. I think the "Is Don a closet Jew?" is a red herring. Not sure why it's gained so much currency here. It's not as if his name was Moishe Finkelstein and he changed it to Don Draper. He wouldn't have needed to change his name (Dick Whitman) and engrave a Purple Heart to "pass." I think there is something darker and more psychologically based going on.

Just remembered something - in the first episode, the head of Sterling Cooper asks Don if they have hired any Jews. Don's answer: "Not on my watch". Of course, Don didn't hire himself. Another clue?

A question about Peggy: was she really attracted to Pete, just lonely, or was this a calculated attempt to sleep her way upward? She also made a pass at Don and the look on her face when he rebuffed her should win her an Emmy. I could almost feel the heat of the blood in her face. I agree with other posters, she and other characters should have a New York/Brooklyn accent, but it's too late to change that now.

Love this show so much! I missed last night's episode so when I looked it up on TV guide it was listed to air at 7pm Friday. Gosh, what a bummer! Please update your schedule and offer times that are more viewer friendly. 2AM? Give me a break, that's just too late.

I love Don's character and the way he lets Pete get under his skin even though HE is the superior man, flawed yet classy. It would be great for Betty to have an "interest" in another man. The twists and turns here are brillant.

where can I buy my husband those Knights in Armour cufflinks from episode 4?!?!?! LOVE!

Where did the inspiration for the show came from?

Joan mentioned/lied? about the quality of the sound. I find myself doing the same thing. Why is that? There are moments when everything is clear...then dialogue seems so mumbled and volume low. It really is a detraction from such a great show. May be why I fall asleep and watch on Sunday! Has this happened to anyone else?

When Don went M-I-A with his daughter's birthday cake ultimately finding himself in front of the train tracks with the red signal lights flashing before him him, was he contemplating suicide?

Is the show trying to show the relationships between the new rich and old rich and how the compete and then the outcome of the conflict.

Thoroughly enjoyable, this return to the 60's. Many very nice touches, and I'm surprised to be so nostalgic (I was age 10-20). But as several others commented...TOO MUCH SMOKING!! It's painful to watch! A little should do the trick nicely. And maybe even a little touch of the racism of that time. Goodfellas movie was great because it was genuine--not PC. Keep up the good show.

Smoking: People smoked everywhere back then, seems logical to me.

Don Jewish: Well, he may turn out to be since he was a child of an affair his mom had or adopted/taken in...

Newspapers: Good observation made earlier on the board; they were ubiquitous back then, literally under every arm, dailies ran multiple editions back then...

Hats: Hats, in the spring of 1960 were still the rage, fashion it was John Kennedy's dislike of them that is said to have killed the hat industries omnipotence among men's fashion... AND men would often wear their hats into the buildings in big cities and right into the elevator UNLESS a female was in the same car, then it was considered good manners to take it off... once one stepped onto ones floor off would come the hat...

Peggy: Not much happening with her of late... would like to get her story line moving

A trvia note for your set people.

Don Draper's valet is missing a shoe rack which fits below the seat. If you look at the floor runners you will see two holes on each side, into which the rack fits.

Just so happens I have the same valet, which I received from my dad. I believe he acquired it in 1963.

I discovered Mad Men on Cox Cable VOD and loved it right away. Shared this with my husband and friends -- then intended to watch on Thursday, but got busy so went to Cox Cable "On Demand" on Friday to catch up only to find it had been removed. Cox Cable says that their access to content is determined by AMC. Why did AMC remove this from "On Demand" just as the buzz was building?

FANTASTIC! Cast, Writing, details you have sucessfully nailed the era well.

DON'T CHANGE A THING! Having read the postings here;geeeeze some folks don't get it. That is how the era was I REMEMBER IT!

Was curious, at the bar,the bachelor party Salvatore's remark to the girls comment that she loved the place because it's full of men...Sal's manner while replying..

Closeted gay?(As was that era before Stonewall.)

THANK YOU AMC!

Love the show. Don Draper sure is easy on the eyes. I cannot wait for the next showing on Thursday evenings. Just wandering what other secrets Don has? Please give more information about the cast.

pam

"MadMen" has got to be one of the best shows on television. The creators, cast and crew are doing an excellent job keeping people who are sick of 'reality' shows entertained. I hope it continues on AMC and I'm sure that the secrets beginning to come out will make it even more interesting! Just one question, though: In Episode One, Peggy Olson went for a pelvic exam so she could get birth-control pills. Shouldn't there have been a nurse in the room at the time? I thought it was a law or something.

The show is superb! All concerned, writer, actors, director have captured the flavor and mores of the times. I do question the presence of Selectric typewriters on the desks, I did not think they came into use until the early 70's. The opening title drawings are especially brilliant. They also suggest the possibility of suicide in the final episode.

Well, those cigarettes, herbal, are pretty horrible. We used to have a different brand which were "flavored", but just harsh. The newer brand is less harsh, but these things won't get you to to smoke. I quit smoking over 25 years ago, and there's not a chance I'll be starting up again, regardless of seeing my smoking on the show.

And I can put on a New Yawk accent really well as I'm from Queens NY, but I'm just the non-speaking artist on the show, you'll see me with portfolio walking through to the "other floor" occasionally, or in the conference room in the "5G" ep. Its almost a typecast part as before acting, and still, I've been an artist/illustrator, and back in NY was an art director on ol' Mad Ave about 15 years after the Mad Men point of time. Used to use those old Selectrics too.

Its a great set, with great crew, and Matt sets the mood, making it one of the best sets in Hollywood to be working on, and I'm sorry its coming to a close as we're finishing the season in just a few days. Crossing fingers that we're back for another go round, and maybe I can show off my NY accent and draw a few sketches with some old markers, just like the old days.... And I like my suit too..:)

In the first episode when Pete dropped by Peggy's apartment on the night of his bachelor party, just how did he know where she lived? This was her first week at work and they didn't know each other. Wouldn't her home address be confidential information? Also, if he was hanging around Manhattan with the boys, how did he get all the way to Brooklyn to see Peggy?

Regarding Cathy's comment about the pelvic exam, I don't think it was a law then for a nurse to be in the exam room. I certainly never remember it when I went for a pelvic exam.

this is the only show on tv I make time in my schedule to see, I feel like I'm in a time machine.

I agree with some previous posts, I would expect to see more newspapers and coffee floating around the office.

My current employer (in the 60's and 70's) used to require female employees wear white gloves coming to/from work, and aslo required male employees to wear hats (felt in winter, straw in summer) when coming/going from the office. interesting how times have changed.

Keep up the good work, you've got a hooked viewer here.

The actress who plays "Joan" is the reason I got hooked on Mad Men - in the first episode, when she was talking to Peggy about the Doctor, she said something like "He's got a great summer home, not that I know..." and she made this little sideways tip with her head...it was just great! I think we don't see enough of Joan, even though she's quite shallow socially, she's obviously really a smart cookie! I absolutely love the show - I was 6 years old in 1960 and all my parents friends smoked like crazy...around the kids, pregnant, whatever - and they all drank a lot too. I think the show is very authentic. I look forward to Thursdays - it used to be such a dismal night for TV! Thanks!

This is for the writers:

My father was about the same age as Draper. I remember as a child, that my father told me about Horatio Alger books. I was reading Nancy Drew at the time and he said that he read the Alger books as a boy.

My father was dead at least 30 years before the lies he made up about his parentage came to light. My mother never questioned him and they lived in another part of the country, having no contact with his family.

This is my question: Are you presenting something that happened often in the time period after WWII? Did men often hide their background to succeed in the business world at that time? I found this storyline powerful in light of my personal experience.

Enjoy the show. Is there a possibility that the initial episodes could be replayed, missed those.

I typically watch documentaries or read, show has gotten my attention.

Thank You

the first show was SEINFELDIAN BRILLIANT, but its getting too soapy and creepy! make it a swaggering office intrigue swashbukler, now that would be cutting edge, FUN ENTERTAINMENT WHAT A HIGH CONCEPT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANACHRONISMs. I LOVE the show. Since you

are so careful of the period and use lingo, like "just swell", please be advised

I'm hearing frequent linguistc anachronisms:

last night talking about their Mother,

"...she passed". NO ONE prior to the 1990's outside the urban black community

would EVER say just "passed", the term was "passed ON" or "passed away" but NEVER,

just "passed", that is ghetto speak for

the 1960s, just as the word "disrespect" was ONLY used as a noun until the 1990's, when urban blacks on daytime talk shows started using it (legtimately) as a VERB,

and that is the provenance of the euphemism

"passed" (sans adverb)...1990's shows like

Springer and Oprah. "Passed" is a glaring

anachronism to any white person who remembers the 1950's, so I know you won't use it if you read and research my input.

Just trying to help perfect this nearly perfect show. Jon Hamm is intensely pensively taciturn. He is INCREDIBLE and

his character reminds of of Paul Newman's in Mr and Mrs Bridge.

HOW MUCH MONEY ARE THE CIGARETTE COMPANIES PAYING YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS TO MAKE THIS DISGUSTING AND FILTHY HABIT SEEM GLAMOUROUS AGAIN? I WATCHED THE FIRST 5 EPISODES THINKING THAT, OK SMOKING WAS MORE ACCEPTABLE THEN AND YOU WANTED TO SHOW THAT, BUT ENOUGH ALREADY!SMOKE,SMOKE,SMOKE! EVEN IF THEY DON'T HAVE A CIGARETTE IN THEIR HAND YOU MAKE SURE THE SMOKE IS RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THE SHOT. I'M SICK OF IT, AND NO MATTER HOW WELL THE SHOW IS WRITTEN I'M NOT WATCHING IT ANY MORE AND I HOPE NO ONE ELSE DOES! I AM ALSO GOING TO LET THE SPONSORS KNOW HOW I (AND I'M SURE MANY OTHERS) FEEL.

Is there a significance to the show's lead-in where the silhouette of a man in a suit is falling from tall building covered with advertising symbols? Does the silhouette perhaps signify Don Draper as the shadow of a man, hiding his past, and the fall the inevitable downward spiral his character is heading for? It's one of the most interesting and intriguing lead-ins I've seen on a TV drama.

Thank God for AMC!!! After suffering through several years of flipping channels noting television is a wasteland of vacuous, self-serving reality based television(writers must be starving)along comes "Mad Men". Fabulous story line, accurate dialogue and sets, I am in heaven watching this series. I watched the last episode twice and will again. The mystery and pathos exhibited between Don Draper and his brother is palpable. And OMG! Does it get any better than John Hamm??? Move over George Clooney. Keep on trekking around the world, Brad. When no one was looking Tall, Dark and Handsome moved in on your territory. Looks and talent...what a package.

Question when will the first 3 episodes be aired again?

Thank you

I too am hooked on the show. Seems tremendously realistic to me (but I was only 3 when it takes place so I don't know for real).

In episode 1, Don is so proud of his brilliant and new idea about Lucky Strikes trying to sell them as being "toasted." Well it was not a new idea at all. In a 1928 print add, Amelia Earhart (of all people) poses in flying cap with a pack of Lucky Strikes with the words "It's toasted" in bold print. (A photo of the add is in a biography of Earhart). So much for the accuracy of the show's 1960 setting....Though I love it anyway.

Don Draper jewish? I didn't pick that up. I think he and his brother were orphans or foster kids of some sort and had some terrible times....nothing more mysterious than that.

I worked in TV Radio Traffic at McCann Erickson from 1963-65, and have been surprised by your version of an Ad Agency, since my experience was different than what I view on your show. My roommate was secretary to a female Ad Executive and impressed with her intelligence and consideration as a boss. I worked with the Minute Maid Ad Executive, something Pickering, and was under the impression he came from old money, but he was an intelligent, considerate, good working colleague.

Before working at McCann, I worked at CBS on the 19th floor at 485 Madison, when Jim Aubrey was President of TV. Although a different place, similar and again I didn't see this behavior.

In both companies, secretaries were well qualified and professional. I never saw any indication of sexual harassment, only appreciation for the help and assistance secretaries provided.

I may have been naïve but I was at both places for a fairly long time and knew the people well. I don’t think I would have “missed” what I see on your show, had it been that blatant.

I think people are forgetting a major clue from the first episode. Don pulls out some old excercise gadget from his drawer and a Purple Heart with the engraving LT Donald Draper on the box falls out. Of course he was supposed to be Army so it should have said 1LT or 2LT, but I think he assumed the name of his former Platoon leader from the Korean War.

I started my first job in 1960 in the Advertising and PR Dept of WBKB, a Chicago tv station. MAD MEN's creators have got 99.5% of the period exactly right. Yes, everyone smoked everywhere all the time. And boozed..but coffee was ubiquitious, too. Certainly newspapers are missing -- they and magazines were at that time the ONLY source of information of any kind -- trade or otherwise. The clothes, the colors, the furnishings, social behaviors -- parent/kid, husband/wife, male/female, employee/boss, the matter-of-fact sexual harrassment, even peoples' posture is authentic. I watch with horror and nostalgia! However, there was one jarring error in the dialogue in Episode Three: Don fires Pete by saying to him "I need you to get a cardboard box and put all your belongings in it and leave the bulding." The phrase "I need you to..." didn't exist in 1960. Also, as has been pointed out, the sincere use of "swell" was not in use. When it was used, it was as a sarcastic exclamation meaning its opposite. As to the complaint that the storyline has turned soapy...I can testify that real life in 1960 was indeed soap opera-like. Hard to imagine, but yes, it's true.

I really like the show overall, but I have to say the smoking thing is getting pretty distracting. I realize how prevalent smoking was at the time. But the actors on this show look like they've never seen a cigarette before and don't know how to use one. I read how you use some special type of theatrical cigarette, probably so everybody doesn't die of smoking-related illnesses. That's fine, but when people on this show smoke they hold the cigarette and inhale it as if they're confused by it and think it might explode.

When are they going back to that club with the sexy blonde dancing, doing a striptease?? (from the first episode) She should be in the show. Who was that gorgeous gal?

I love the show.

On Time Warner Cable in Dallas, Mad Men is advertised as having episodes debuting on Thursdays and then being available on On Demand the next day. Repeatedly, the episodes are NOT available the next day; as of now (August 20th), the 5th episode, which debuted last Thursday, Aug. 16, has still not shown up! Calls to Time Warner only yield "customer service" operators blaming AMC for the problem. If it is indeed AMC that is causing this delay, you need to fix it immediately. It is unethical to offer crack to people, get them addicted, say you will keep them supplied, and then fail to do so. We pay HUGE amounts of money every month, and are not getting what has been sold to us. Can y'all do something about this? Please?!

No problems with Time Warner here in Los Angeles. Anyway, my question is to Vincent, what kind of research, if any, was done to prepare yourself for the character? Being that its advertising exes have a certain sway to them. Been a fan is since Another Day In Paradise =)

I just love this show. I am 50 years old & it brings back so many memories. Just the little things, like the box of "Das" detergent on the laundry room shelf in a recent episode, brought a memory of my mother using the same brand - the memory of that came back in a flash! I love that everything is specific to that period of time - thank you for that. Nothing's more of a turnoff than watching a film set in the past, with the cast sporting the current hair, especially the length. I can tell the wardrobe is vintage, especially the ladies' dresses. Thank you for making "Mad Men," and I hope there it gets made into a regular program, perhaps on network TV....

Oops! I left the "h" off the Dash detergent in my earlier blog. Hope everyone knew what I meant. That is what I get for not proofing it before sending it!

Were there actaully unethical psychiatrists back in the 60's that broke the doctor/patient privilege, as in the case of Don's wife's shrink calling Don & telling him everyone said in their sessions?? And what was up with the kid spying on her when she was in the bathroom?

Peter IS creepy & has no backbone when it comes to his wife & her family's money.

I'm in agreement with an earlier blogger who would like to see Peggy's character develop more, and Joan's, too.

Can't wait to see what happens next with the long-lost brother.

This show is awesome. It is so real in so many ways, even though we've supposedly moved on... I can't wait for more episodes!

I really enjoy the show. I missed the first three episodes and can't buy them on iTunes because I live in Canada. I wish there was a way I could see them before the rest of the season.

I do love this show. The song at the beginning is Amy Whineheart. I love all the smoking, that's how it use to be. I do agree that there should be some coffee drinking also, which was a big part of them times...smoking and coffee drinking, then the high ball. Keep up the good work, and please don't cancel this!

Got to have a CD of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good". Thought you'd have it available on your Store site, but couldn't find it. Where can I acquire a copy?

Why are people so bothered by the smoking? I spent the first 20 years of my life breathing in everyone else's smoke. That's really the way it was. If anything, this show will make you never want to light up. Back then, they especially smoked in cars — and sometimes more than one person in the car was smoking. I'm getting sick just remembering.

I do have a question for the female actors on this show. How difficult was it, and did you initially have any aversion to, repressing your intelligence, individualism and independence to play your parts? I love this show, but it makes me MAD (no pun intended)to see women portrayed as they are. I'm excited to see how the show progresses into the era of feminism.

Now that I am considering the musings of others that believe Don Draper to be hiding his Jewishness, I am wondering if the name itself is a literary allusion to another "suprise" Jew with many women in his life--Daniel Deronda?

Merle Johnson had it right. Draper must have taken the identity from someone in the army. In episode 6 the picture his brother gave him shows he had seargeant stripes.From Don's discussion with his brother it appears that "that woman" was his step mother and apparently his father had died leaving him with his step mother and half brother. This might explain his attitude towards women as well.

It's about time we have a show that is truly "old school" in nature. The props are amazing - where can I find a cigarette dispensers like the one in Don Draper's office? It's time to open a "Mad Men" online store.

I just want to thank you for making "Madmen". As a 50-year-old, the images are familiar, but with the twist of seeing them as an adult. The cinematography, sets, costumes, writing and acting are superb.

One complaint: As excited as I was to see the pilot, I missed it and Episode 3. I'd like to see repeats, and a DVD release in the future.

Keep up the fantastic work!

This is a great show! Finally a show with substance. I was 11 years old in 1960. On the New Amsterdam episode Don was making a call from a green rotary telephone in his home -- I rememember heavy black telephones in those years. Is my memory wrong? Did they also have colored phones? I'm looking forward to the "Babylon" episode.....

GReat stuff for the most part! We look forward to every week, and I try to post something after every episode, this has hooked me big time!A DVD would be very cool, or a double episode, maybe? Keep up the good work! Cheers! MM:)

I am hooked on this show! Jon Hamm is mesmerizing to watch. His smooth character gives a whole new meaning to sexy!!! Where has he been hiding????

Great story-line......the whole show just has a very sexy twist....

Judy

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IN 1960 THAT DICK NIXON WAS YOUNG AND HANDSOME. WASN'T HE DEVIOUS BACK THEN AS HE WAS IN THE 70'S?

You feature an IBM typewriter in an early episode. It is a carriageless model, not available in 1960. What happened to your careful research?

Hello,

I was wondering if you might be able to tell me what kind of watch Don gives Betty in the second episode, I think it's beautiful! My 18th birthday is coming up and i was hoping to ask for a watch similar to the one in the show. Thank you so much ;)

Ha! I forgot to mention how marvelous the show is!!! Everything is so time-period accurate, it must be a tedious job but the results are wonderful!! Keep up the great work!!!

I agree with the earlier poster about Don in the car near the railway tracks with the train coming he was thinking about life and depressed as he was it at least suggested his state of mind... should I just drive into the train and get it all over... that means that he's got a MAJOR issue to deal with that he's fairly certain is going to come to light... and that plays into the Pete Campbell character who might just be the guy who helps him out of it, thus connecting then in shared secrets... hopefully it won't be as simple as Pete finding out Don isn't who he claims to be and holds it over him... that would be too predictable and limiting in terms of narrative options...

Joan is looming as a real player in the office... should be interesting to see if Peggy and Joan finally begin to meet as oppositional characters in a kind of substrata power play of their own...

Good point about the typewriters, it seems the IBM spherical typewriter didn't come out until July 1961 (if that was an IBM Peggy was given)... so that was just off the mark there... by a year... details, details...

The lenght of the trench coats and the size of the hats are spot on... and grey and brown were still in vogue for the white collar office look in 1960 still...

I have an original cocktail dress with the original Ohrbach's price tag still hanging from the dress. It has spaghetti straps, dark burgundy (looks black) lace over pink tulle, with a 2.5 pale pink sash that is stitched on the bottom side. The sash appears ruched, but it is actually pleated. The bust has bones in it, just ready for Mrs. Draper or Mrs. Campbell or Rachel, certainly not for Peggy. It's a size 7 (remember the "junior" dept.?). The orange Ohrbach's tag reads $12.00.

If your fabulous costumer is interested in seeing the dress for possible use and/or purchase, please notify me. I can post a photo on the web.

I don't miss an episode or a repeat!

Sharon Feinsod

Don makes a comment (Wish I remembered the exact quote) about how good life is in the sixties - who wouldn't be happy.

I'd like to know what about that era the cast like the most and what they're glad has changed in the past forty years.

Something doesn't look right. The smoke looks fake. The people look too healthy. I remember those clouds of blue smoke, your cigarettes light too white and don't give off that thick blue smoke or leave the cloud. Which is really apparent when your on a network that is filled with images of the real thing :-S Your characters look way too young; people aged very poorly with all that smoking and drinking. Oh yeah and they had bad teeth and went bald and wrinkly very young. The picture looks too bright you need to darken the images to give it an aged patina. Oh and they smoked your doing entirely too much lighting of the cigarette and not enough smoking. You can probably tune up these minor details with enough of a digital enhancement budget either now or in the future. The idea is awesome and the show has great power and very very smart period concepts. I guess thats my first impression. The show will probably grow on me and I will forget these initial perceptions. great work I hope it becomes a giant hit :-)

I think the major ethos of the show is to show the hollow nature of the advertising industries promises - if thats all you live by. My hunch is that Dons dilemma is that, as is unfolding, his life has no family roots, he has made his life by buying into the very crap he sells, the trophy wife, winning awards and 'only going forward' he has it all, but is devoid and empty to himself. Thats why hes such a great ad man, because he knows first hand how to manipulate insecurities. Thats why hes a mad man, because hes life is dedicated to this insidious commercial art. The irony is he creates the ads, and is empty himself. How big is the contrast between his loving, open, jaintor brother, and dons money and status and ruthlessness in maintaining that... which of course he cannot, because he has no foundation, which is why he's so threatened by the junior AD, which is why he will end as the beginning of the show starts, in virtual suicide. the twist will be that in his 'jerry maguire' moment, he will exit the system and in doing so, find his soul. this is how he will seize the 'real power' he misses in life, by bucking the system and finally accepting himself, not the products that are meant to make him acceptable!

my 2c

Timo K

Kudos for the meticulous research into this era. Most period pieces fail with the fashions and especially hair styles. But they are all spot on in MAD MEN. January Jones looks like she stepped right out the pages of a 1960 glossy. BTW if you would like to see a movie from this timeframe that provides a similar snapshot of NYC office life (soap and all), try 'The Best of Everything' with Joan Crawford (!), Hope Lange, and the fabulous Suzy Parker. May MAD MEN live long & prosper.

PS The falling man in the opening graphics looks like an obvious homage to 'Vertigo'. Also, most of us who were alive in 1960 lost many loved ones prematurely due to ubiquitous smoking of the decade. Very painful to watch and remember but very very accurate!

Like others, I too find this show fascinating. Unlike others however don't care about the flaws that are discovered from that era. Colored phones, IBM Typewriter and to top it off; certain phrases that may have never been used.."I need you to...." Who could be an expert to know that for sure? Enjoy the show and try not to make it so perfect. Just watching Jon Hamm with the striking good looks of Gary Cooper is satisfying enough. Loved Gary. Mesmerized by Hamm.

I am totally enamored with this show. I would like to know what the plan is beyond the six episodes filmed. Will there be more episodes? If so, when? Please advise.

Thanks!!!

My husband and I are totally hooked on Mad Men and are wondering how long is the series supposed to run? The plot lines seem too well developed to last less than 13 episodes, but you can never tell.

Is John Hamm related to Gary Cooper?

My name is Barbara Kerr Condon, and I played the role of Mrs. Clifford Lyman. Thank you, Maggie, whoever you are, for your kind words about my character on this wonderful show!

Naturally I would be more than happy to return as Mrs. Lyman in future episodes.

I was thrilled to be a part of this terrific show and extremely talented cast. Our director for this episode was Tim Hunter, and he was so good with us actors.

I loved the fact that the scene in which I appeared was a strong reinforcement to the previous scene where the big boss tells Don that Pete has to stay with the firm becuase of his social connections.

Immediately after that is made clear to Don, you see Mrs. Lyman, who is a woman of social standing in her own right, totally impressed and excited about Pete and Trudy moving into the same apartment building.

That certainly shows the status Pete's family name carries. And Mrs. Lyman's reaction to the Dykeman name is another catalyst for Pete to understand more deeply why he is working at the ad agency - not because of any particular advertising talent he possesses, but the family name that is his.

She clearly hopes for social advancement for herself by her association with a "Dykeman on his mother's side."

It was particularly special to have Mr. Matt Weiner come on the set and talk with us while we were shooting that scene. What a gentleman he is as well as a fine professional.

I found the whole experience to be very special. The wardrobe, hairstyle, and make up process was meticulous. I had a grand two days of trying on different outfits, testing different hairstyles and make up, accessories, etc., until the look was "just right" and Mr. Weiner gave his stamp of approval.

Someone else commented that this was a happy crew. I can verify that! Everyone I met during the whole process of being cast, doing wardrobe, hair and make up selection, through the actual shoot was genuinely happy to be working with this team of people on this great show. And that includes me!

Mr. Weiner, you can call me back any time!

OK. As a current and dues-paying member of the digital advertising agency industry; former traditional agency guy, and son of an Agency guy (my father was the archetype for Don Draper)...I can state with impunity that:

- people smoked a lot back then (not as much as depicted), and as a reformed smoker, I feel bad for the actors to have to rely on this unnecessary and life-threating prop

- lechery was as practiced then, as now

- that certain errors in props/set design/language happen on this show that needn't

Enjoy the show! Tivo it.

Matt

We all watched the show and enjoyed it tremendously. Thank you. We all want to know when we can see more episodes; the show is very unique and even educational.

I also wanted to thank Miss Lyman (Barbara Condon) for her comments. Its refreshing to see a talented actress be so down to earth and enjoy her work so much. I hope we will see more of her as well.

I love the (sometimes subtle) little bits which reflect the era. Of course there's the obvious one...people smoking EVERYwhere...but also things like kids playing with plastic bags, climbing over the seats in the car, etc.

I thought the actor who played the Bethlehem Steel guy was hilarious. Little bits of great acting go a long way.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the show!

Please, AMC, keep it coming. My friends and I can't stop talking about it. We each are fascinated by different aspects and characters. This is the best show on tv. I've watched all episodes to date and have downloaded each from itunes to watch again and again.

I LOVE Don Draper. His wife is a perfect little wife. His daughter is beyond adorable. I love watching the family scenes - it humanizes Don Draper. I LOVE hating Pete Campbell. He so needs to feel accomplished to prove his worth! I was beyond shocked of his request of his wife. It should be interesting to watch that marriage be played out.

I could go on and on, but will not. I just hope beyond all hope that this is a series I can watch for many many many years!

Great job AMC!!!!

I cannot believe how good this show is - before now I thought of AMC as a channel that just had old movies with the expletives bleeped out - this show is HBO caliber stuff - I hope it stays as consistently good as it's been so far - thanks for putting something good on - I can scarcely explain my suffering in this reality TV era in which we now (tragically) live - Dan from Chicago

RE: Colored telephones...yes they were avaiable in 1960...actually the Princess phone was introduced in 1959..as I remember. They were just expensive as heck to have...and for the record...touch tone dailing was introduced in 1963....

While there are some "period detail inaccuracies" with this program...the overall impression is one of true 60s retro...takes one right back to the day

Pete's request to his wife did not surprise me more than other conducts displayed on the show. It was Pete's opportune time to make his wife feel obligated to such an act because of the relationship she had with the publisher. It seems woman carried more quilt back then. In the 60s from what I remember, people used more discretion and their conducts were more in tact.

For Betty's pregnant friend to openly flirt with Don astonished me. Regardless if it was jokingly said, I would think it would be taboo.

Really enjoy the show. Jon Hamm is perfect in every way.

Oops! Meant guilt. Needless to say, they didn't carry more quilt.

Did Ad Men really only make $75/week back in 1960 as Pete remarked? Hard to believe. Love the show.

As a senior executive (with a strong background in human resources) and as a woman in the workplace just approaching 40, I am very intrigued by the 60’s type workplace culture that once prevailed. I do not relate to it and it is hard for me to fathom that the displayed behavior is symbolic of how women were once treated in the workplace. I am curious as to how the actors (off set) discuss the human and historical element of the story. It has to raise some interesting emotions especially to the female actors as they portray what once was. I have to believe that some male viewers at home cheer on the crude behavior of the show and say things like, "Yeah baby, and that is how it should be!", and I know young women watching the show are perplexed at what once was acceptable in the workplace. It certainly underscores the old advertising adage "You've come a long way baby!"…and then some. It is interesting to note, since 1968, the Virginia Slims ad campaign embodied “independence, liberation, slimness, attractiveness, glamour, style, and taste.” OK, writers of the show, how about an episode on the guys struggling to whip up an ad campaign around these same components and have Peggy be the one to come up with the idea!

Agreeing with a previous poster about colored phones being available in 1960 — we had a nice yellow one mounted on the kitchen wall of our brand new house, built in May of 1959.

I'm an advertising professional and I totally enjoy this program. I will add to the chorus about the IBM Selectrics; they are not correct. Other than that I see nothing else out of place. Other than seeing creatives in suits on a daily basis, I'm not surprised at a thing about this picture of Madison Avenue life in 1960.

My one question though, is whether the companies discussed as clients on the show paid to be part of the plot a la latter day "product placement." That would seem a natural thing to do in this show.

Kudos also for the smoothness of the editing. I've had to catch up with this on On Demand and I can't detect an obvious "commercial break" point.

I worked as a secretary at Lever Brothers in the late l960's-early l970's. We dealt with J. Walter Thompson, Olgivy and Mather and SSC&B. The men who worked at these advertising agencies (no women that I can remember) were exactly like the characters in Mad Men; especially Don Draper. I think your show is just wonderful and have told all my friends who are now watching it as well! Keep up the good work please!

LOVE THE SHOW, it makes my Thursday nights! It takes me back because my first job out of college was as an admin assistant (secretaries were out of fashion but not function) at Young & Rubicam NY, then into account management at Scali McCabe Sloves. (Most of my subsequent positions were as a dreaded client!) Agency life in the 1970s and 1980s: ad people smoked less, drank almost as much, were more open about affairs (and often the girls started them), ate sushi vs. steak and still couldn't afford it! (But airline clients--I became one--STILL had more fun!) Re the ambiance--large agencies were brightly/harshly lit with fluorescents in work areas where clients generally didn't go; "aged patina" was for the dumpy areas like the mail room and cafeteria! Keep up the good work and character development. BTW looking forward to a Mad Men Marathon!

Not being in advertising, it's difficult for me to see that Draper "fits the mold" of an "advertising executive". Maybe "business executive". He's certainly GQ. Some of his facial expressions too. When he said, "No....EXECUTIVE accounts", he had a smirk on his face that said it all. He is the man, the rest of the guys are just boys waiting to fill his shoes. If anything, he's been respectful of women in the office (he put Peggy in her place when she hit on him). Yes, he's unfaithful to Betty and I'm not sure why exactly(Iknow, the correct answer here is "because he can".

Yeah, she's cookie cutter, maybe a little naive, but she is strikingly beautiful. I would think, if Draper's been at Sterling Cooper for several years, that Joan's tried to sink her teeth into him by now. She also is striking. Think they have a past?

Wrote a song in 2005, "Where Truth Lies".

It's a small world!!

www.christinagaudet.com

http://cdbaby.com/cd/gaudet2

Thank you thank you thank you thank you .... I have only seen up to the 3rd episode but so far I am in love! The acting, the writing, the costumes, the sets, the music , the cinematography...Congratulations to all the talent in front and behind the cameras, you all are amazing.

Great Show!!! I love it, in one of the clips about the making of "Mad Men" (sorry can't remember his name) says it so honestly still 40 years later we are still living in the same mentality at work the only difference are people are just more polite or actually in more honest terms hypocrites. At least people were alot more straight forward either they liked you or they didn't. Keep up the great work! Oh, one last thing for the people who are bothered with the smoking please...we have thousands of men dying for no reason people who choose to smoke know the consequences. Pick a good battle to fight over. Drinking kills you too...I wonder why they don't ban that too!

I love watching Mad Men. It makes you think about yourself in the office without electronic devices. The show is so introspective and hold some clear similarities to the beauty of how the old series Kung Fu did a similar thing to its audience in the 70s. These two shows are both so beautiful in how they convey their messages.

One (there are many) of the things I enjoy about Mad Men is the attention to detail concerning the period represented.

In one outdoor scene I noticed a red and white octagonal traffic STOP sign.

Weren't the STOP signs in those days yellow and black?

It's tough to see from the photographs, but it looks like those fine old Western Electric model 500 desk telephones shown in the outer office scenes are equipped with modular plugs on the cords. The cords used in 1960 would have been round, black (or match the color of the telephone's shell) and go directly inside the 'phone.

My other half, attuned to this sort of thing, noted that people stood around differently in the '60's, and that you've got that down perfectly.

Those posters here who are surprised by the smoking will be interested to note that student desks in college classrooms were often equipped with ashtrays.

Where was Mad Men filmed and when? Will there be a sceond season and how can I be an extra on the show?

I am really trying hard to like the show. There is obvious attention to detail (except that they didn't have Selectric typewriters in the 50s)and I love the opening graphics and the clothes. But are you forgetting the story? Sooooo heavy it's weighing me down. Must everyone be a jerk? The only likeable character in the show is the divorcee and Betty, although she is one-dimensional. If you don't have anyone likeable in the whole show, why would we care what a bunch of jerks are doing? Are there never any light-hearted moments where they're having fun or enjoying landing a new account or coming up with a great idea? You're missing an opportunity to show how they came up with some of the famous creative work. I'm getting so over Dan Draper. While he's a good-looking guy, I don't quite get his appeal with all the ladies and his sexual prowess, especially since his wife is gorgeous.(He has almost no personally or charm but he's great at brooding.) Maybe you should have had his wife looking like the adequate brown-haired homemaker. Anyway, I am going to keep watching and hoping ... for awhile.

Questions for Kartheiser:

You are such a well trained actor. Fell in love with characters in Another Day...

Is your character going to turn out to be a cad? Have you quit smoking? Haven't seen you light up once in this smoke filled series.

Sincerely,

A loyal fan

Barker

Another question for Kartheiser: Are you control person on the FOX NEWS skit last week wherein Rush Limbaugh is the president, and you are aiding and abetting him? It looks and sounds like you.

Tell me more about Jon Hamm!

For all you folks wanting to know about encore episodes.

On Septemer 2, the AMC schedule shows all the episodes being aired in the afternoon and then again in the evening.

I LOVE Mad Men! It reminds me so much of my favorite TV show "Bewitched". I've even noticed close similarities between the two:

1. Don and Betty Draper resemble Samantha and Durwood Stephens almost to a T!

2. The Drapers have two children just like Samantha and Durwood did.

3. Betty's dresses remarkably resemble Samantha's clothing from the first season.

4. Don's boss is white-haired just like Durwood's boss was.

I know "Mad Men" is taking place in 1960 but when the series hits 1964 and on, will you please throw in TONS of references to BW? I'm sure it would've been one of Betty's favorite shows too:)

Durwood was one of the names Andora would call him by. Elizabeth Montgomery was my favorite TV actress. Not to go off the topic of the new fabulous cable hit series but quite honestly, Don resembling Darren? No, Draper doesn't look like either one of the Dicks.

When will the dvd set be released? Would make a great holiday gift!!!

Tonight the script played on 'Medium is the Message.' The book by McLuhan was published in 1967. Was there an earlier use (c. 1960) of this phrase prior to the book?

I miss the 5 minute post-showing discussions with the creator and actors.

What did the picture of Claudia Cardinale represent on the cover of the magazine in the last week's episode (August 23, 2007)? The discussion was about Zionism, Israel, etc., and it seemed to suggest that she was Jewish because one of the characters said, "The people are beautiful," and then they cut to the magazine. Claudia Cardinale was an Italian actress. Was she an Israeli as well? Don't remember that, and with the brilliance of your writing, research, acting, direction and production values, I have become very protective of your show.

Doctors are just afraid of lawsuits now,so maybe there is still no "requirement" to have another person present during a gynecological exam. I remember quite well the doctor who hit on me during such an exam . Just because they could take advantage of young women with impunity. Good riddance to all that.

the Claudia Cardinale picture was perhaps revealing of how ignorant most Americans were about foreign media and foreign countries in general.

everyone is talking about how incredibly handsome jon hamm is, yes he IS extremely easy on the eyes; but i myself like men that look a bit older. i think john slattery is much more appealing, and i love that he is completely gray.

stay sexy john,

Madison

I Love the show!

I just started to watch it, on demand. Once I saw the fist episode I had to watch all five in a row.

All I can say about the man who plays Don is yumm! Who cares if the model of the typewriter is the wrong year, get over it.

In 1960 my father was publisher of McCall's magazine -- the flip side of the ad agency biz. This show is absolutely true to the period -- and terrific theater!

Are those selectric TYPEWRITERS really time period correct? When they were first shown in the first episode I couldn't believe it--not 1960 are they??? I worked in advertising and in an NBC newsroom in the early 70s, and I don't think we had them then! The typewriters look way out of context! Please....does anyone know for sure! The typewriters seem to be such a standout faux pas, the set designers should change them!!! How old are the set designers? In their 30s????

Just wanted to thank the creator, producers, actors, production design staff and especially the writers for putting something on TV that is really worth watching. This is one of the most well developed and creative shows I've encountered in a long time. The psycological depth of the characters is great, and for a younger person, like myself, it is amazing to see into a world so similar and yet so different from the world of today. The more things change...

Keep up the good work, and give those writers a raise! Thanks Again.

Does anyone remember episode 4 I believe where Don and his wife wake up coughing and hacking from having smoked all night and partying? Do you really consider that glamorous? I think Mad Men shows how these things are bad in the long run, it is simply what they did back then and no one knew better, like the little girl running into the kitchen with the plastic over her head and the Mother responding by only being concerned about putting that back on the dry cleaning, rather than knowing the child could sufficate! I like how the show portrays a host of "if we only knew back then what we know now" topics, its very cool and keeps you watching! I do not care for the love affair interest that Don has going on, he could have anyone and she is not all that, however I hope Rachel has the strength to keep him at bay, much more sexual with those two wanting what they can't or should not have. Don is HOT HOT HOT!

Is Mad Men a limited series or is it ongoing? I really enjoy the show.

In last night's episode (August 23), one of the characters used the phrase "the medium is the message". Your show is set in 1960, but Marshall McLuhan did not write this until 1964. I thought you might want to know this because what I appreciate most about your show is the great care given to period details.

The Columbia World of Quotations. 1996.

QUOTATION: The medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of any medium—that is, of any extension of ourselves—result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology.

ATTRIBUTION: Marshall McLuhan Understanding Media, ch. 1 (1964).

You have idiot marketers who are putting on these Macho robot-female-beer ads,and the Levitra;some bad marketer told you that only guys are watching this show;WRONG. FIRE the idiot advertising agency you have now,cause they are very much offending the fan-base you have for MadMen. The show is great,and the writing,but your advertising agency and marketers are about as stupid as the ones in the 50's.BAD.

The show is amazing...all my friends agree...I can attach a name to every character onthe show. I worked in Adverising 1959-1973 My first job and I was agog over all the beautiful people.

I have so many funny stories I'd love to share with your team.

Write me!

Peggy Byrne

No question, just a comment. We love your show, it really is the best series on television! Kudos to the entire ensemble for making a realistic show on primetime television.

Love the show, hate the closed captioning. Can't you give that poor soul a copy of the script to work with? This week was especially horrifying. What was said / what was typed:

ice floe / ice flow

caviar blinis / caviar Balinese

kibbutzes / kibitzes

tropical boudoir red / tropical bourdois red

Ethel Rosenberg pink / Ethel Rosenburg pink

ministry of propaganda / administrative propaganda

Stonington, Connecticut / Stoneyton, Connecticut

not the soulless bulls**t / not the soloist bulls**t

paint some flats / paint some flags

Nikita Khrushchev / Nikita Kruschev

and at one point, the captioner just gave up:

L'chaim / (speaking Jewish)

There was also a reference to what might have been Lower Marion which came out as Lower Mareine, but if I couldn't be sure, no blame to our friend. Also no demerit for "Uraum" as the name of the Israeli fellow, even though it was spelled Yoram in the end credits. And I don't know what "afraid you'll miss 531" might be, unless it's a reference to missing the 5:31 train to the suburbs.

By the way, very prescient of Joan to say "the medium is the message" four years before McLuhan published his book.

OK, I just had coffee with an old friend who told me about the show. I took a tour of the site and want to know if you will be doing a Madmen marathon any time soon. I would really like to catch up and I am painfully behind having not seen the first several episodes.

Thanks, Terrie

I loved the original 'WPA-style' Bethlehem Steel ads. What are the chances a used prop like this would be for sale?

Great show!

First of all, I'm really enjoying the show. The acting is great. I'm actually a big fan of Peggy Olsen; I think that actress has done an extraordinary job.

Nonetheless, I do have to add my voice to the complaints about the complete absence of New York accents. I have that accent myself (as do many millions), so I guess I'm sensitive to the idea that the creators of a series set in NYC find New York accents unsuitable for their purposes. What if the show were set in Atlanta -- would all the secretaries have vanilla accents then? For a show that so heavily explores cultural bias, it's ironic to see the creators exercising a cultural bias of their own.

CONGRATULATIONS on a first rate production!

Who is in charge of the fashion on the show, the clothes and accessories that the players wear?

What are your resources for the above?

Are they rentals, purchases, or made to order?

Thank you.

Ollie

Fantastic show. Refreshing characters, especially Jon Hamm's.

I was wondering about Don Draper's educational and military background. I know his Korean War experience has been referenced. How much deeper will that storyline be welled?

One other question I forgot in previous quote...is there a place to sample/download the theme song. Very cool

I really like Mad Men but just have a few questions. While the typewriters seem out of place, I find a more glaring (literally) error: The ceiling, which is in the "background" in every work scene. I don't know if suspended ceiling and lighting systems existed in 1960, maybe they came later in the 60's? Most buildings I know of from that time would have had sheetrock or plaster ceilings and surface mounted flourescent fixtures with round air conditioning vents. Furthermore, the ceiling panels and lighting are much too bright and clean. Today such a ceiling would have dust on it after six months, with all those people smoking it would probably be dingy in 6 weeks! I happen to work in building maintainence and air conditioning so maybe I would notice something like that. I would think that the "drinks" on the set have no alcohol (I don't think actors can follow direction or be "in character" very well when buzzed) but if there was really that much alcohol, how did any work actually get done?

I like the show it is so cool and hot .Will there be a season 2 or not

How do they do it? Smoking constantly. I am a former smoker - more than 40 years worth. Quit about 2 1/2 years ago and I wonder how all the actors and actresses do it?

Marilyn: Key word they are actors. All due respect; hopefully, they're not compulsive actors and that habit will not carry over.

I would just like to say that I am fascinated with the whole theme and concept of "Mad Men", i love history and the fact that i feel like i'm getting a first hand look at what life was in the 1960's is incredible to me. That might sound a bit much but i love the show i hop it continues on because i really am hooked.. Keep up the great work!!!!

More John Slattery Please :) He's awesome!

The show as a whole is excellent. Thank you to everyone connected with it for giving us viewers an intelligent and unique show to watch on television. There is nothing else out there like it.

Keep up the good work!

to A. David Rahimi - thank you for your comments (8/21/07) about MAD MEN, 'Miss' Lyman, etc.

I agree there is a certain educational aspect to this series in addition to it's very strong entertainment value.

So much nostalgia is attached to the 60's and Mad Men is like a two edged sword. It allows us to revisit those "good old days," and at the same time shines a spotlight on the things that were commonplace then but we find upsetting or even appalling today.

Funny isn't it, how selective memory can be?

AUTHOR: Iris Rutkoski
EMAIL: irismark@earthlink.net
IP: 68.167.65.188
URL:
DATE: 08/25/2007 09:40:59 AM

Working in NYC at a large architectural office on Park Avenue, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, a number of years after April 1960, I can tell you for sure that there would not have been Eames aluminum group seating in a conference room. It was just being designed. Also, the secretary's are sitting in 'management' chairs. This would not be. In 1960 they would definitely be sitting in secretarial chairs, from Knoll, GF, Steelcase or other. Definitely more 'upright' and less cush.

is there a ringtone of the theme song available somewhere on the internet?

I love the show -- best thing on TV. I love the way you use music. Is there any idea of putting together a CD of the music from the show?

I love the show -- best thing on TV. I love the way you use music. Is there any idea of putting together a CD of the music from the show?

I love the show -- best thing on TV. I love the way you use music. Is there any idea of putting together a CD of the music from the show?

Madly in love with this show. When I was a tech writer at Honeywell in the mid-sixties, the male engineers complained at one point that they didn't like my new clothes: they hadn't realized these were maternity clothes. They didn't like me correcting their math. One kind Norwegian gave me rides home because I didn't drive (in Seattle's driving rain): then the boss told him to stop because it "looked bad." The senior woman there had warmth and the good sense to tell me that my male gynecologist should not have put me on diet pills while I was pregnant. There's more but I'm just glad I got to meet all those workers. The jealousy over the Atlantic publication and Pete's sacrifice of his wife to an editor are dead on. I was also impressed by Don's facial expressions when pickled at the birthday party: so subtle and interior and accurate to the pain that opens up in alcoholism.

Mad Men arrived in my life just a my parents began to need caring for. This new relationship with them requires a great deal of patience and understanding. Seeing how life must have been for them as a young married couple in the 60's has been.. profound. Your show is... exquisite, touching and profoundly appreciated. Thank you to the entire crew for such a noble body of creative work that will stand the test of time and inspire many generations to come.

As far as future plot lines, I recall a few moments from my childhood that might add some interesting elements. One is a vivid recollection of monthly pesticide spraying on the entire back yard, and a level that killed a litter of kittens on month, and left the yard smelling for days. Common practice in my suburban neighborhood. Attitudes towards killing any and all insects was fairly pervasive back then. Also, I recall a few formal dinners at restaurants, where my sibs and I were required to be dressed in fancy clothes (starched petticoats, etc) and to sit quietly at the table while the waiter took orders to 2 rounds of cocktails and we were left sipping Shirley Temples and filling up on the cellophane wrapped Saltines. We'd take a pat of butter (sandwiched between wax coated paper) and make a type of oreo cookie, with two Saltines and the butter. Dessert at those places was invariably ice cream served in a stainless steel pedestal type bowl. Vanilla, Chocolate or Spumoni.

Take care and again, thank you for such creative excellence.

AUTHOR: Sarah
EMAIL: sws@wsdesign.com
IP: 71.141.254.67
URL:
DATE: 08/25/2007 04:29:16 PM

What was the significance of the Chinese Family in Peter's office when he returned from his honeymoon?

What is the name of the actor who portrays Fred Ramsen? This is driving me crazy, er, mad! I know I've seen him before. Thanks.

AMC posted the names of the cast for Babylon. It's Joel Murray as Fred Rumsen. TV fans will remember Joel as Pete Cavanaugh on "Dharma and Greg." He has a very long resume.

The folk song used at the very end of the episode, in the coffeehouse, played by the musicians onstage, was a beautiful choice and made the episode richer and more poignant than I expected, perhaps the best episode yet. I recognized the song "Babylon" from an old Don (American Pie) McLean album, and have been trying to determine if it's indeed a traditional Jewish folk song, or if its inspired by traditional music but is contemporary, and McLean is the song's original composer. If it's the latter, the song doesn't belong in the show, unfortunately, because it wouldn't be composed for another 11 years. Since "Madmen" prides itself on adhering to a strict interpretation of 1960, I'm curious when the song was composed, and how it was chosen. How was this song selected? Who is its composer, and how old is it?

Hi Michael, Actually the "song" is much older than 1960. I don't know about the melody, but the lyrics come from Psalm 137 in the Bible and refer to the Jews longing for Zion while being held captive in a Foreign Land

Psalm 137

1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.

2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it.

3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,

And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

I, too, found this moment very poignant.

Hi, MM guys!!

One strongly suspects you have been hanging out at this research site--"The Institute of Official Cheer," which features stuff about the past most of us would rather forget...

http://www.lileks.com/institute/index.html

If so...good on ya. :)

Great Show !

1. Last weeks show wasted too much time with people rolling on top of each other.

2. When will the producers and cast start answering our questions here ?

keep up the great work !!!

Steven M.

I'm so happy that Mad Men is back on Cox VOD. Not sure whether it was Cox or AMC that took it down for a while, but this is one show that people are going to watch more than once per episode.

My guess: Don Draper = long arc downward; Pete and Peggy = rising stars of the '60's ad revolution, wildly successful with their own agency before the end of the series.

Mad Men is my new TV obsession. Congratulations on a provocative and richly filmed period piece. I grew up in the 60s and have to laugh at all the anachronisms people are pointing out (BobConnor - totally agree on the suspended ceiling it's been bugging me). However, I think you should take this as a compliment as it means that viewers are eating up every moment, prop, and costume. All of this to say that it the show is thoroughly consuming.

I'm so glad this is on AMC and not on HBO. It is good to spread the wealth. Congratulations on a real gem. I can't wait for the rest of the episodes and really am hopeful for another season.

Finally, somebody noticed the ceilings! I just cannot believe that the producers had so much attention to detail with the watches, jewelry, slinky not being there yet, when biggest anachronism is right over their heads!

Hi Steve M. - Barbara Kerr Condon here and I am the actress who played Mrs. Lyman in episode four. I'll be happy to answer any questions I can.

1.) Why no New York accents? Bronx? Brooklyn? ALL those secretaries would have had them (and the execs would have had their own New York WASP tone as well). I can see a character like Joan hiding her accent, but when Peggy from Brooklyn speaks in that flat voice with no accent it confuses me.

2.) Why was the baby Adam in the flashback scene GREEN!!!?? Was that simply some HDTV snafu or a way of capturing the strangeness /surrealness of childhood memory? It was a great scene either way, and interesting seeing the contrast between his rough-hewn childhood and his "perfect" product-filled modern life. From bloodstained scream-filled farmhouse homebirths to fancy plastic toys, canned orange juice, and perky card- company-invented holidays like mother's day. Nice juxtaposition.

On a recent show you displayed a photo of a WWII Nazi camp with men on shelves and one standing by the doorway. I have that pic in an album my Father-in-law brought back from the war. We thought that it was an original. Could you tell us the history of that picture? Thank you, Frank

I'm MADLY in love with this mesmerizing show. It's Masterpiece Theatre quality. I previously posted a seeming complaint about the Selectric typewriters which, according to a Wikipedia article and other bloggers, did not come out until July 1961. So, it's not as much of a period boo-boo as I suspected. My apologies; I stand corrected.

Anyway, half the fun of watching this show is checking out the sets, props, clothing, and colloquialisms. (Are those slanty points in the lipstick tops really time period correct? (no..big deal) Did people really put it THAT way? Were women REALLY treated like that in the workplace?) Very fun to analyze. The lighting and colors on this show are sumputous and gorgeous--Oscar quality cinematography. The acting, for the most part, is SUPERB! The gals who play Peggy, Joan, and Rachel are absolutely top notch--AMAZING, totally believable, nuanced performances (facial expressions, etc.). Where in the world did the casting director find these people--they are ALL GREAT--especially for American television!! Cannot even remember a single false move--so rare for American TV!! Never in my adult life have I EVER gotten hooked on an American TV show--(I'm a tax law geek and read a lot)....but this one is different. Mesmerizing. I hope the plot does not get ridiculous and continues to play on serious social themes. Looking forward to the Nixon campaign. Hope this show has a very long run and that it turns out to be a promising in quality as it looks.

Hopefully this show will raise the bar on American TV Drama.

Any chance of getting the show on Canadian airwaves? I've heard great things about your show and would love the opportunity to see it.

Matt,

This is really a punt question for Scott Buckwald. Before I ask, he needs to know how absolutely impressed and fascinated I am with the level of accuracy and detail to the time period he had dedicated to the set design. I particularly note that he is acutely aware that in 1960, many things would still exist from the 1950's -- the scene would not be sterile from earlier years. But I found an obvious flaw. The IBM Selectric typewriter was not introduced until 1961. Note: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selectric

So, the scenes with Peggy and others with the typewriter couldn't have happened. (I know, I know, I can hear it already...Sterling Cooper had the IBM account! So they got some advance machines for demo! Go Mad Men!)

roger sterling's family is so repusive, i almost condone his affair with joan. in the office scene of the last show his wife showed absolutely no effection for him, and his daughter seemed like a ... well you know.

all in all it's still a great show, i can't wait to see more of john slattery.

I hope your show becomes more cult oriented than actually popular oriented. The need to be popular always ruins a show in my lowly opinion you end up playing to the masses and missing by a mile. Playing to the cult audience requires that you focus on a set group with a certain level IQ and certain standards with regards to plot which is crucial to a show like your. The amusing thing is the masses always bite for the cult’s taste.

I was wondering why there are only going to be 7 episodes? How is the show being viewed - Please tell me there will be more as I am hooked!

A great show. Never miss it.

Will Mad Men be back for a 2nd season? Hope so.

Jon, I've read that there are to be 13 episodes in this first season. Let's hope that there are more seasons to come, and also that we don't have too wait long between seasons.

I am part of a research team who's looking at the so-called Greatest Generation. In our case, we are speaking of people born between 1910 and 1929. As referenced by his Purple Heart and his likely age, Don Draper appears to be a Greatest Generation member, but not in an obvious or expected way. Has the modern concept of the "Greatest Generation" informed the producers, creative team, and/or the actors in creating the show?

Barbara Kerr Condon here (aka Mrs. Lyman).

To Frank Slinglend regarding your August 26 post:

"On a recent show you displayed a photo of a WWII Nazi camp with men on shelves and one standing by the doorway. I have that pic in an album my Father-in-law brought back from the war. We thought that it was an original. Could you tell us the history of that picture? Thank you, Frank"

The picture you mention is listed and shown online at one of the National Archives websites. It is under Research at the National Archives, World War II, Photos. the page is headed Pictures of World War II. There is a long list on this page with links to each picture.

The specific photo you noticed is shown under the heading "The Holocaust" as item #178, and reads as follows:

178. "These are slave laborers in the Buchenwald concentration camp near Jena; many had died from malnutrition when U.S. troops of the 80th Division entered the camp." Pvt. H. Miller, Germany, April 16, 1945.

Is Pvt. H. Miller your father in law?

Your website is difficult to navigate, when I click on "submit a question" all I get are ads. Perhaps that is intentional.

I only have one question, when do you start filming Season 2 or have you already?

Love you're show ... finally something worth watching ... I love your choise of music for the show and i noticed you posted a list of it, but will you be coming out with a compelation of it. Like a soundtrack album(s) ?

This is a "cross post" from another part of the MAD MEN site. So if anyone has already read it, please excuse this.

====================

Nothing reveals more of the cultural zeitgeist of an era than advertising. I'm hoping today's PC-washed generation will appreciate some of the naked truths of this era, "unplugged." Casting Robert Morse was genius, laying down the laws of "how to succeed in business." The social cast system was different than the one we have today, for better or worse. Pete's new neighbor Mrs. Lyman appears to have keen radar for it. Maybe she can teach Pete how to play once he discovers the real reason he wasn't fired.

Posted by: Van Heusen | August 27, 2007 at 04:39 PM

==========================

Hi Van Heusen, Barbara Kerr Condon here, a.k.a. Mrs. Lyman. Successful business has always acknowledged the value of social connections, don't you think?

Mrs. Lyman certainly is aware of the "plus" side of having Pete and Trudy as neighbors when it comes to her social stock. And talk about Pete discovering the real reason he wasn't fired - at the end of this episode, did you notice how Pete reacted to Mrs. Lyman's enthusiasm over his family connections? It was a subtle piece of work by Vincent Kartheiser.

Perhaps I should invite the newlyweds over for dinner?

Posted by: Barbara | August 27, 2007 at 05:04 PM

LOVE this show. In the first episode Don Draper says, "It's not like there's some magic machine that makes copies." I work for Xerox so this comment cracked me up!

I think we all agree the Selectrics were a bit premature for 1960.

Other than that, I watched each episode as many times as I can catch it, even Sunday A.M.s

Super! Love it! Totally addicted!

Is there going to be a second season?

So many women on these boards hope that Don will get together with Midge or with Rachel. I just want to ask: Why would you wish that on Midge or Rachel? A man with a womanizing character doesn't suddenly become faithful because he's switched one ball-and-chain (as that type would most certainly perceive any wife) for another. Time to lose the fairy tale fantasies!

I recently watched all 6 eps of Madmen on demand. I love this show (although please speed up the pace of the show just a bit) Anyway, i grew up in the 70s but a lot of this looks familar to me (im 37). One thing that i would like you to comment on is the absolute bordem that women, housewives in particular, had to endure. Through Betty's eyes it seems like she is isolated from the world. All that she has is her kinds, a distant husband and a nice house. What did women do back then that stayed home with the kinds, besides take care of them? I would like to see what makes betty happy in terms of hobbies and such. My view is that women back then didnt have options they were told just sit home all day and cook and clean and they were expected to love it.

A number of people posting here have been kvetching about all the smoking on the show. Surely, they must not have seen the episodes involving the Lucky Strike cigarette ad campaign. All the characters were very aware of the dangers of smoking, and the general public (thanks to Readers Digest) were getting a clue, themselves. Well, what's a totally amoral ad-man to do?

Put a spin on the situation -- suggest to consumers that the dangers of smoking are part of the allure, the glamour: "To smoke is to be a risk-taker..."

This show has NOT endorsed smoking; it has excoriatesd those who DO promote it.

Gigi, your poignant question about what isolated mothers did in the 60s and 70s and what Betty might hope for to free her from living a vicarious life through her husband's success means a lot to those of us now in our sixties. Before we had jobs outside the home, my friends and I wrote books, got NEA grants, even Guggenheims, taught brief workshops, and got together and laughed while our husbands were out with their mistresses. We became satirists, in our way. Betty has a huge canvas before her; after boredom and suffering, there is an awakening to unlimited possibilities, a breakthrough of powers she can find in herself and her friends. She has an education, she has children she can help educate. And some important books are about to be written: turn the pages, turn the direction of your life. I too am eager to see where all the women's lives go. Strangely, most of my women friends' children turned out to be autistic, bipolar, and schizophrenic: the mother HAS to act in new ways eventually. Helen and Betty might see things in their children that the absent fathers cannot.

First of all, I'm completely hooked on the show, and I have not watched any TV show for TWELVE YEARS, because they all bore me.

This show is like a fine meal: it gets better with each sample.

My QUESTION FOR THE MALE CAST IS THIS:

When you are acting out these parts, whereby your character has total control over his environment (you rule over women with ease, you never have to worry about an H.R. department because there is no H.R. department, you openly smoke and drink on the job, etc.....do you ever secretly envy those guys in 1960?. Because I sure do! I have to admit that they way your characters talk is the way that most men talk when no one is listening, or off the job. I don't mean this in a crude or demeaning way toward women, but just the......freedom.....of that era.

I'd love it if Jon Hamm could dare to be honest in a pre-politically correct way.

This message is for Matthew Weiner:

I heard a radio interview with you in which you indicated you were interested in getting feedback from real Mad Men.

Michael Robbins was a Young & Rubican in the '60's in NYC. He is a wealth of info. and seems to feel that you are missing a lot of "Social Detail" in portaying the scene back then. His # is (831)624-1153.

I know you will be glad you got in touch with him! Meanwhile, I'm loving this show!

Keep up the great work!!!!!!

HI Barbara,

Re: the Song "Babylon":

True, the source material is from ancient scripture, so the roots of the song precede 1960, certainly. But as best as I can tell, the song itself did not exist in 1960. I was concerned that the show's writers and creators---who take pride in the show's thoughtful adherance to period details and historical accuracy--cheated a little by having 1960 musician characters performing a song that didn't exist until 1971.

The song choice may have been debated and discussed, but used anyway, knowing there would be viewers who'd notice and perhaps object, but the decision was made to include it because the song sounds convincingly old, it doesn't harm the episode's credibility in any meaningful way, and the song's message serves an important narrative purpose in the final scene.

If so, it's a minor cheat, but it makes me wonder what other liberties are taken.

Either way, it's a thoughtful song choice, it enriches the conclusion of the scene, and gives weight to the whole episode. But oh, those period details.

Are any of these questions addressed or answered? Or is this just a discussion board? I hoped writers might respond.

Missed the whole Selectric typewriter thing, but did notice that "the medium is the message" was quoted in the last episode but was not actually published before 1964. Also, unless you have a lot in store with the development of the gorgeous Christina Hendricks character it is extremely unlikely that she would know this (now) famous quote or how to use it.

Hey Michael, I believe this is primarily a discussion board. But that doesn't mean the writers never check in on it to see what's happening. Of course, if you sincerely wish an answer to a specific pointed question, you can always send an email to AMC through the Contact AMC link.

I do know from the experience I had as Mrs. Lyman in episode four that they were very careful to chose clothing, etc. that was 1960 - NOT 1961 or 1962. It was all quite specific. And I heard discussions on set about these kinds of details.

So it was clear to me a great effort is being made to keep everything as authentic as they can.

Is it possible that the song from 1971 is based on something that was being sung in 1960? I know in country music there are about five basic melodies with variations on a musical theme for almost every song. Perhaps somethink like that came into play with this particular piece of music. Just a thought.

I love this show and it is the first TV series I have watched faithfully every week in years. The early 60s were a fascinating time in America. I love the clothes and the music and (most) everything is true to the period, or so I have read on the internet and by seeing the "Making of" episode.

Although I love the show, I have one question: Is there is anyone in this show that ISN'T having an affair or cheating on a spouse in this show? I realize people have cheated and have been having affairs no matter what time period it is, and it is an essential plot device in the show, but it is the only real irk I have about Mad Men. Other than that, it is great! :-)

Will there be reruns of Mad Men soon??? We have missed the first episodes, and really need to see them!! Thanks.

I think Mad Men is the best show out there. I love it! I am enjoying the trip back to that time. You do it very well. And I say "Bring on the smokers!" because that is how I remember that time - everyone smoked, everywhere. I also have become a big Christina Hendricks fan. Please keep up the great work!

Hi Anne, Barbara Kerr Condon here, a.k.a. Mrs. Lyman from episode four. You asked if there are going to be reruns of MAD MEN. I believe they are having a marathon rerun of all the episodes on Sept. 2. You can check your local listings. New Amsterdam, episode four is set to air at 1:00 PM on Sept. 2. I hope you get to catch up on all the episodes you missed.

Being a child of the 60's and growing up in suburban Philadelphia, I am fond of Betty's character. She reminds me of another 'Main Line Socialite' by the name of Grace Kelly. I'm anxious to know how she met the fictional Don Draper?b He looks like a real life Mystery Date!

Hi

How old is the creator of this series?

I am 62 years old and on Thursday nights, I am just out of high school working at a publishing company. The drinking, the cigarettes, the pointy bras, the clothes.

When they said that they came to the the bar and told you are a father and then they go off to college, I almost fell off the sofa. This show is brilliant and for

a woman like me, it is like going through a photo alblum. Young women today should be shown this series just to see how far society has come in their treatment of women.

Your attention to detail is wonderful.

Great job.

I adore the soundtracks from the show. Will there ever be a CD released with music from the show?

I love watching MADMEN It is my new favorite tv show. My question is for the actress that plays Mrs. Draper.

How do you feel about playing a traditional housewife? Don't you just what Mrs. Draper to raise her voice and tell her husband what a jerk he is? How are you like and un ike Mrs. Draper. I wish I could be more like her as a wife. She looks like she is a good cook.

Love the show, As soon as a new episode ends I cannot wait for the next. And my Husband likes it too.

Sincerely,

I just love the show. I want all professional women who say they are not feminists to see what it was like for women then, both houswives and "career girls".

A small quibble about one of the wardrobe items, Joan's red dress. I remember that at that time redheads were not supposed to wear the color red. It was felt that redheads should only wear colors like blue, green, white and black. This perception did not start to change until later in the 60's. The rules of fashion were still quite rigid in 1960.

Dear Mr. Weiner,

according to the AMC synopses, Adam is 25 when he shows up at Sterling Cooper. According to the AMC synopses, Dick was 10 when Adam was born.

Therefore Don/Dick is 35.

If he is 35 in 1960, he was born in 1925. If he was born in 1925, he should have been drafted in WWII. There is NO WAY he could have served "only" in Korea if he was 35 in 1960. The draft didn't end when the war ended, you know-- it went on until all the papers were signed.

This is a goof-- unless we're meant to think Don/Dick is lying about which war he was in. Even so, everybody at Sterling Cooper would know without having to do the math that a man in his mid thirties would be likely to be a WWII vet.

Did you make this mistake, because, born in 1965, your own father and your friends' parents served in Korea? If so you must have forgotten that Don isn't starting his family in the 60s; his family's in place. He started it in the mid-fifties.

Don HAS to be a WWII vet. It's one thing to mess around with props and lipsticks (they were bullet shaped in 1960), but when you mess around with the Good War, you're in trouble.

Gwen

ps. I'm your age. My dad served in WWII. Also his brother who is five years younger served in WWII.

So I went to the site for the first time and I see the title, "Episode 7: Red in the Face" and under it were the sentences, "Roger joins Don for an evening of dinner and drinking, during which Rogers behavior leads to a rift in their relationship. Pete faces trouble at home. Read Synopsis"

You'd think a show about advertising would be able to have its site checked for correct grammar; spot the typo? Maybe the "suits" can kick down some $$$ for an editor for the Web site of this great show!

Love the show! Consider creating ringtone download with theme song for cell phones

Love the show! Consider creating ringtone download with theme song for cell phones

Note to Scott Buckwald: I am not just a fan of the writing on "Mad Men," but appreciate your attention to period detail. I was only 7 in 1960, but recall the times vividly. I lived in a suburb of Boston and remember that we had milk delivered in glass bottles right at the doorstep. Cream always congealed at the top and had to be spooned off. The trucks weren't refrigerated but contained big blocks of ice instead. In winter, sometimes the milk froze. Some people in my neighborhood also had butter and eggs delivered. There was also a bread man who came around weekly. My mom subscribed to Life, Look and The Saturday Evening Post. I loved looking at the full-page ads, especially for the new cars. On television, it seemed every show was sponsored by Kraft, and there were always recipes for staples like grilled cheese sandwiches. Jack Benny pushed Jello and the tobacco companies hawked cigarettes all the time. One of the TV ads that I recall fondly was for Keds sneakers. It showed how a pair of Keds could make you leap fences in a single bound. Pipe-smoking seemed to be big with some of the men in my neighborhood. My dad had a humidor for that purpose. And tie clips were in every man's jewelry case. I still have several that belonged to my late father. Comic books were highly prized in my circle, as were Duncan yo-yo's. And Tonka made excellent and sturdy toy trucks, although they were a little pricey. Woolworth's was a big deal in my hometown, but stank always of stale popcorn. And they sold parakeets in the back, so you heard chirping whenever you walked in. It was the same at Kresge's (forerunner of KMart). **If you need hard-to-find items of the period, I suggest consulting The Vermont Country Store online. They specialize in consumer items of the post-war period, especially cosmetics and perfume. One more thing: table sugar sales, especially in that era, were dominated east of the Mississippi by the Domino Sugar Company. I recall an episode of the landmark TV series "St. Elsewhere," set in Boston. The main characters are sitting at a kitchen table where the sugar is in a pink C&H box. That could never happen because C&H was available only in the western US. Domino is in a bright yellow box and always has been. It was a glaring, but understandable, set-dressing error.

Rick Douglass...thanks for your wonderful post...it awakened long dormant memories of the period....and thanks for the reference to the Vermont Country Store on line...

I am lovin' this show more and more...Don Draper is the supreme cad...but none the less loveable in a very sardonic way....the whole interaction between Betty and Don re: Roger's flirtation is so typical of the time....a woman was always held responsible for men's bad behavior...

Not to say that I appreciated Don's behavior in the least...but it was so typical of mens' behavior in that era....

According to the social norms of the if some man behaved in a manner that was flirtatious (sp) towards you it was up to you to put him in his place; this was whether you were married or single...and of course there was no such thing as date rape

Boys will be boys...unless you draw the line and very firmly and with some degree of humility, grace, charm and humor.

....no wonder women felt and continue to feel so much guilt around sexual harrassment, sexual abuse (during childhood/adolecence) and rape(of course there was no "date rape" at the time because unwanted sexual advances were always the fault of the woman.

Even though I'm a smoker I'm completely turned off by the CONSTANT smoking. Don't you think you're over-doing it? After a while it overtakes the characters and the story so that all you're doing is watching the cigarettes.

Without a doubt this show was made for me. It is far and away my all time favorite, surpassing The Sopranos and Twin Peaks.

Will MAD MEN be available to own on DVD in a boxed set?

I love the show almost as much as the ad trivia used to highlight many of the commmercials, like Saturn being named for the moon rocket. Could you possibly post a list of these somewhere on the site?

Oh, and along with sending a big thanks for such great writing, I also want to mention that awhile back I sold an identical, authentic episode 7 Chip and Dip for slightly more than $22 on ebay!

My father worked for FCB in the 1960's as a producer director, yes they had in house directors. Your show is by far the greatest episodic tv on the air. What I miss is all the drama that could happen with the actual production of a commercial and the print shoots. There are a lot of creative pitches but that's just the begining, fly them to LA for the shoot. Just think what could happen. Again, the greatest show on TV!

I juist love the show. However, I started in the work force in about 1964 and I don't remember the whole steno/typing pool having the IBM selectric. I guess it had to do with working uptown (adverting) or downtown(financial). Does everyone on the show "really smoke" or do they smoke just for the show? Don looks like he is a "smoker" or a former smoker. Keep up the great work.

I was born in 1955 and started kindergarten in 1960. I now understand my parents better and the world I grew up in. I understand why the rebellion of the 60s was necessary. I have more sympathy for my poor mother -- very much a Betty type. And, I understand my father's impatience with her -- very much a Don type. I have to laugh when I see the children running around with plastic bags on their heads and the mother's only comment is to warn them that her dry cleaning better not be on the floor. And the scene when Betty, who has just had a car accident with the kids in the car [pre-seatbelts], is only concerned that Sally might have gotten a scar. They are so naive, so unaware of danger, so frighteningly misdirected. Insightful is an understatement. This show is brilliant.

YES. EVERYONE SMOKED ALL THE TIME.

I grew up in a fog of smoke. If my parents were awake, they were smoking. See how much we've changed? YES. Women drank and smoked when they were pregnant. YES. This show is sooo authentic it's scary.

A great show - I've watched each episode twice so not to miss any clues or nuances.

Only one issue - the collection of vintage cars doesn't strike me as correct. I believe that cars rarely lasted more than 3 years in the northeast due to salt on the roads, and it was a source of pride to have the latest model. So cars should mainly be 58's to 60's, with older ones perhaps in the city but less likely in the suburbs.

What please is the address (mail) of American Movie Classics or the seperate production house for Mad Men?

I keep trying the phone number in Woodbury, NY, but only get a busy signal. The number I keep trying is 516 364 1160.

Thanks for your attention.

Rick Douglas, I remember that Keds ad on TV. Keds were in steep competition with PF Flyers. Remember them?

I am thrilled that the actors do no use New York accents. Accents, if not natural, are very hard to sustain. If the actors had accents, everyone would be writing to complain that they weren't good, or characters kept slipping in and out of the accents.

Lighten up people. Get over the typewriters and the smoking and enjoy what is one of the few good shows for adults on television.

Well, I don't think folks were blissfully unaware of the relationship between smoking and cancer...I personally friends of my parents and relatives who smoked and developed cancer and enphysemia; as far the plastic bags there were reports of children and infants smothering to death on pillows covered by plastic bags...but all these things took place over time and the resulting cause and effect links became clear. People weren't stupid just uninformed...

Our major public health risks when I was a child in the 50s was polio and T.B. shoot, TB had the same stigma in the 50s that AIDS had in the 80s...folks lost their jobs and friends and were sent away to sanitarims to recover.

Pre-seat belt autos, drunk and reckless driving was another major cause of mortality.

And there was plenty of child sexual abuse but folks did not speak of it nor was it widely reported in the newspapers...it happened though...I know of an individual who opened a store across the street from my elementary school just so he could molest children...he was soon found out and arrested though...

Where does the guy who wears the round collar shirts get them from?

The show is interesting enough to keep me coming back each week.

#1: You introduced the three switchboard operators and made them interesting (esp Marge?) but we haven't see much of them. Are you going to work them into some kind of storyline?

#2: While smoking was deinitely IN in the 60's, please, please cut it down in the show. Thanks.

Seems like your "M...AD DEPARTMENT" dropped the ball and scheduled the Marathon for Saturday September ___"2nd"___ in your press releases! No biggie tho..... Love the show! Only quality show on TV that can fill the void left by the cancellation of the "SOPRANOS"!

when are you guys going to answer some of our questions?

Hi Chelle, How's things in Port St. Lucie?

First of all-great show. My husband and I love it. Here are some of our thoughts about Don's character. The beginning sequence has the cartoon man falling from the building which obviously signifies Don's out of control life. His life is in free-fall. He tries everyday to control it but he eventually won't be able to. He'll get caught. That's obviuos.

Next, we don't think Don is Jewish. But there is definately something about that. My husband's theory is that when Don went to war and we think it was WWII, that he assumed the identity of Don Draper who probably died in battle-switched the DOG tags. I researched the name Whitman and the orgins of the name was Dutch, which fit in with the memory Don had when he fell down the stair. The image of the family members made us think he is possibly Pennsylvania Dutch--some sort of Amish connection. Did anybody notice the style of dress and look of the his family members. It was bizare-it looked more like 1800s-which leads us to believe that Don didn't want to return to that life when he got back from war. Furthermore, I think that Don's real mom died and Don's dad must have remarried another women making Adam his half brother. However, his Dad must have died prior to Adams birth. I think he must have been desparate to leave the life he had and stole the identity of a dead solder. We also don't think that Don's Purple Heart medal is really his--it shoud go to the real Don Draper. I think Don has three parts--the man he was, the man he wants to be, and the man he is. I don't think he wants to be any of them --judging from the episode when he left for the birthday cake and almost didn't come back. When the show ends, he just might be the real man jumping from his corner office.

We think the show is great and look forward to Thursday nights. Our kids are in bed by 8 to ensure we can watch without interuptions!!Keep it going!!!

Don is really a cad! What I find interesting is that Helen Bishop told Betty she is divorced as her ex was having affairs. Now Don is doing the same thing to Betty, so if and when Betty finds out, will she confront Don or perhaps leave him or just suffer in silence? Will the neighborhood women stand by Betty, as they apparently want nothing to do with Helen. Will Don also begin an affair with Rachel while he is having an affair with Midge? Will he have to choose between the two and his wife? A lot of questions, I know, but very interesting scenarios. I can't tell what is going to happen but I can't wait to see it unravel.

What's with this necessity to have Don Draper asssume the idenitity of a dead soldier.....

This whole "assumed identity" line of reasoning escapes me and here's the reason...

What about the family of the person whose identity Don Draper assumed....you forget that person had a mother, father, sister, brother, etc. what happens to them when the identity is assumed... there's no body to identify ? For one to accept the concept of Draper assuming a dead army buddy's identity..you have to totally irridicate the family and friends of that person... or maybe I'm just dense and don't get it.

...as for the Amish angle...if you have the ability to pull this series down on the "on demand" channel...then review episode 6 again and the opening sequence...the only thing that remotely ties Draper to an Amish ancestory is that awful haircut...the dress of the other folks in that scene is not even remotely Amish...just 30s Americana...

...just my 2cents worth

Here's my take on Don's identity crisis...he's the product of a union between the two ethnicities that would be the most damaging background for an ad man in the 60s to possess: a Jewish father with ties to the Communist union movement of the 30s and a very fairskinned (most probably mulatto) black mother...this background would be the motivating factor behind him offering his half-brother $5000 to disappear...

I'm a big fan of the show. I wanted to know if everyone on the show smoked and if those were real cigarettes?

I know the smoking on the show has been an issue for many of the viewers. I think that it seems so inconceivable today, but those of us who lived during those times may have forgotten what it was like. I remember sitting on my father's knee while he smoked. People smoked everywhere and today it is hard to imagine it but that was the reality back then...in the elevators, in the stores, in hospital rooms, at work, everywhere.

Also, the kids riding in the car without seat belts...I remember sitting on my father's lap while he was driving when I was about four or five years old (which was in 1960). It was fun for me to put my hands on the steering wheel and pretend that I was driving. It was a different time and many loving parents did things back then that would horrify people today.

I was sorta glad when Betty slapped Helen in the supermarket. It seemed to me that Betty had prior to that tried to sort of bring Helen into the community circle of women. Helen, however, has been so busy spending her free time on the Kennedy campaign, that she doesn't see that her son has some serious emotional problems. However, then as today, a lot of parents want to blame the problems of their children on everyone else and not look at their own parenting skills first.

I think that Vincent Kartheiser does an excellent job in his portrayal of Pete Campbell. He can be revolting at one turn, then funny, then sad and pathetic at the next. I do not despise his character as some of the posters on here seem to. I think his character is as layered as anyone else's on the show. I think last week's episode was "the thickest" so far and I look forward to the next one.

Outstanding show! I am wondering if I can get input from the writers or ad men from the 60's regarding the drinking.

Roger thew up after drinking, there is drinking before meetings and I noticed an ad executive having a Vodka breakfast. etc AA was about 15 years old in 1960. It seems that drinking was ok but being a drunk was a huge stigma.

When and how did a company draw the line back then with someone overimbiding?

I'd never want to have anyone in a business meeting even slightly intoxicated but everyone at the agency seems to handle themselves ok. Unfortunately, alcohol catches up with everyone. I liked the "smoker's cough" scene with Betty and Don and I'd like to see more of the negative consequences of booze.

I hope that there is a next season of this great show. Hats off to the great writing!

"Cream always congealed at the top and had to be spooned off."

Oh my God, I remember this. My childhood literally spanned the '60s, and I remember milk deliveries up until around '69 or so.

"Woolworth's was a big deal in my hometown, but stank always of stale popcorn."

Heh--yours too? I thought it was just the one in our town...:)

"**If you need hard-to-find items of the period, I suggest consulting The Vermont Country Store online. They specialize in consumer items of the post-war period, especially cosmetics and perfume."

I'll second that recommendation. TVCS is also extremely good at finding companies that will produce discontinued goods from the past. Just reading their catalogue (wow, Wind Song and Love's Baby Soft perfume) is a nostalgia rush. :)

Mad Men is one of the most fascintating series that television has had in a very long time. The opening music and graphics clinched it for me the first time. Jon Hamm is fantastic! And the the fashions are gorgeous. Finally a well-written and beautifully executed drama. No murders, except for the office back-stabbing. No trick photography. No faux competition under the guise of "reality tv." The viewer who said it is pedestrian, just isn't accustomed to a detailed drama. Life in 1960 was slower. I was born in the 1950s, so I didn't experience the workplace first-hand, but have we really come that far? Many of the same prejudices are still around, only better concealed. Some of it makes me angry, especially the way women and Blacks were treated. This series deserves Emmy recognition and more. I have never watched a single Soprano episode because of the Italian angle and prejudice. I'm glad I gave the writer and producer a chance with this series.

What's with the tall office buildings? Vermont doesnt really have any.

The unbelievably bad Audio will doom the show. The volume is so low that the actors cannot be heard.

Having started working at 18 yrs old in NYC as a secretary around 1967, I am utterly fascinated by the period clothing, furniture and emotions displayed and felt during that time in the NYC ad world. I, myself, was annoyed at being "chased" by the men in my first office job since gaining respect while doing my job wss always a prime issue for me. I never thought of "getting ahead" that way and it may have cost me promotions, but I did evenutally become an Executive Secretary in the early 1970's in another company based solely on my work experience. It is amazing how close this show has come to exhibiting the stifled feelings and emotions of the wives of the admen of this period as well as the feelings of success along wih emotional torture to succeed for the men. The understanding of psychology of all these people is absolutely amazing. I finally left the corporate world in 2005 and have no desire to return to it. I now work in a completely different industry working closely with parents who have learning and developtmentally disabled children. It is more comfortable and rewarding than all the jobs I ever worked as a young woman. I find myself now looking foward to watching this show Thursday nights and then Sundays, if I have missed any episodes. The cast of actors are wonderful and it is very evident that the writer, directors along with the rest of the crew have worked so very hard to be as accurate in every way in presenting this program to the American viewers. Good luck and continued success to all involved.

Are these guys jerks in their real lives or are can we consider them amongst the finest actors of our time? 'Cause their scenes are very convincing - THESE GUYS ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST JERKS ON TV TODAY!!! MY GOD IF THERE WAS EVER WERE A CHOICE OF FACES TO PUT ON AN 'AD' FOR EUTHANASIA!!! THIS SHOW HAS THEM ALL!!!

Mad Men is one of the BEST shows to come along in a long time! Don Draper is, without a doubt, one of the sexiest men alive and I can't get enough of watching him. His dark side is so intriguing and the fact that he has secrets in his past that he's trying to keep his co-workers from finding out adds to his mystique. Keep Don just like he is, love that bad boy image and he certainly is pleasing to the eye!!!!!

I have enjoyed catching up with the marathon today. But ENOUGH with all the smoking. We GET IT ALREADY...people smoked back then. But it is so frequent that it interferes with what's going on ("well, he just lit up another cigarette"). Let the story and actors be the stars, not the props. And some of the secondary actors seem like they're "acting", not like they're the actual characters.

I think I got the Secret. Dick Whitman-AKA Don Draper's secret- He's Jewish. My fiancee, who is half Jewish/Anglo said she goes through it all the time. In the 1960's definitely. Everything points to it from the first episode when he was asked if the were any Jews in the office and he said "Not on my watch" to never eating shell fish before. Is this true? Do we win a prize for coming up with the secret?

This isn't really a question...I just have to say that I watched the Mad Men marathon...I have never seen the show before...and I love it! I only hope that it will get enough exposure on AMC to keep it around for a second season. It would be a shame to lose a show of this quality...(acting, writing, the sets).

I love everything about this show. God, what a dragon's den it would have been to work in that office! The actors are terrific and the writing is so real. The housewives...good grief! No wonder Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique came out in 1963. Their lives were so....well, VACANT of substance.

This show is so spot on that it has taken me right back to 1960-

the attitudes, the buzz words,the life.

The sets and costuming are right on target ( did someone walk into my 1960 closet?). One thing is driving me bananas though - the flouncy skirt on Betty's shirtwaist dress. Crinolines were long gone by 1960 so the skirt should be hanging straight. I can't believe I'm picking on that because I love the show - but it is driving me to distraction.

The show is exceptional, all the actors superb. (I do hope that you eventually show the real downside not only of smoking but of alcohol consumption.) Just a couple of possible anachronisms...given in the spirit of good will, as it is enjoyable to see how much you do get right each week.

I wonder: One of the first few episodes has an actress mentioning a regular, structured "play group" for the children. I know it's NYC, but it sounded a little more like the 1990's. And perhaps I didn't get the math right about the young exec. looking for an apt. saying he is making a salary of $75.00 a week...?I know we have inflation, but it seemed a bit low for the time period.

Now just some little but important etiquette details: Wife Betty, (played brilliantly by a fine actress:) in the last episode, serving the boss a homemade dinner, I have to say that a lady of Betty's station would never lick her fingers like that! Even when dealing with a tricky dessert, it simply is not done. The discreet use of table napkins, and an extra trip to the kitchen sink would be in order. And in the photo session scene, dear me, what were you all thinking? There is chocolate all over the children's faces before a photo session with dad! It would never happen that way! Mother would have either not allowed the messy candy in the first place, or would have asked the secretary for paper towels at the first appearance of the chocolate, not allowed them to sit there looking that way, most esp. before a photo session!

Again, the show is most intelligently done. It is enjoyable to look back and find things that may have happened just as you show it, and if not, thank you for the opportunity to make comments in the spirit of good will.

I think the developing storyline about Don's mysterious past is very intriguing and the husband/ wife relationship (along with the psychiatrist telling all the details to the husband) is very accurate for the times.

Best wishes to everyone on the show.

Adore the show! Really captures the attitudes of the era.

Born in '58 and as a child it did seem all fashionable young adults smoked constantly.

For years I thought the diet of adult women consisted of black coffee, cigarettes, scotch, and cottage cheese.

As a child my parents and Uncle and Aunt would go "Bar-Hopping" and if a sitter couldn't be located they took us with them.

Yes, they left an eight year old and two seven year olds unsupervised to play in the car in the parking lots of bars while they drank and then drove home.

Four adults with college educations.

Seat belts? I had my first driving lesson at eleven sitting on my Dad's lap.

Yes, hitting/slapping children, even other people's children as punishment was the norm. At my school teachers offered us a choice for punishment. A spanking or ruler across the palm at school or a phone call to the parents.

How about the loaded 38 in my Dad's sock drawer? We would sneak outside to the tree house to play with.

Too funny, you couldn't make this stuff up.

Was Betty & friend's conversation about wanting to be looked at lustfully while aging influenced by Randall Jarrell's poem "Next Day"? (The famous poem is easy to find online and was first published in The New Yorker before being reprinted in an early 1960s collection.)

Enjoy the show BUT way to much smoking.

It is unneccesary and NOT PC.

In this day and age and with friends dying of cancer I find it offensive.

It is a distraction and spols a great show.

LOVE the graphics, the music, terrific actors....Jon Hamm...mmmm...mmmm....mmmm...

The era is depicted to a tee! Been there, done that.

Great program. Great acting, superbly written and executed. For all the above, it'll fail.

Don and Betty are shown in their bedroom where Don is reading Exodus. He complains how hot it is. Betty says it would be nice to have an air conditioner. By 1960 someone as affluent as Don would definitely have had several window air conditioners.

Please dont tell us to ask questions if you arent going to reply. Its very frustrating. Having said that. I caught the program by accident today and was drawn by its "advertising" nature. After being in advertsing for 34 years its kinda nice to have a show I can relate to. BUT - It just seem too "dramatic" and not real. I realize you spent a great deal of time on realism when it concerned set design and costume - but what about 'people'. People didn't act that way - alway gloomy - melodramatic - staring into space. Loosen up a bit and let the actors portray "people" - not neccessarily "characters" in a screen play. I think the show has real potential and I hope it will continue - with imrovements along the way. And having said all that. I do respect your efforts in all areas of the show. It is very well produced and shows a lot of hard work put forth from everyone involved. It is fresh and innovative - oh, and very nostalgic. I'm quite certain nothing written on these pages will be seriously considered by the producers - probably never will even be read - we're really just talking to ourselves apparently. But here are my pointers: Im a smoker - and yes your use of smoking is somewhat overused. We get the point already. They smoked a lot back then. Make the characters more 'real'. Too much overacting. Little more humor would help also. Finally; Please don't disappoint all these fans. Talk to us about the show. We ultimately will decide your fate. We're on your side now. Ignore us and we may just 'fade to black'.

For all you morally outraged about all the smoking and drinking in this series...perhaps you should direct your energy at developing programs that address the high rate of binge drinking that occurs among teens and young adults in today's society...you might also want to have some conversations with young women who have oral sex as easily as they shake someone's hand...Yes hey you get that log out of your eye before you go picking around at the speck in the eye of fictional characters who lived 40 years ago....we don't seem to have done any better with conveying the dangers of unbridled sex and alochol use among today's youth and young adults....

Just discovered this show by accident one night last week while I was channel surfing - it is terrific! I was child at the time and I can't believe the authenticity you have re-created. I had planned to watch the marathon but the promo at the end of the show had the day/time wrong. When will the next marathon be to allow a new wave of fans an opportunity to catch up?

This is for Rich Sommer, perhaps one of the best gay actors in the industry... I served under Rich in the 4077th in 1996, and hadn't heard from him since. I'm curious as to what else he's been up to besides "honing his skills" in NYC. Regardless, it's good to see him on the TV, and I hope to see a lot more of him.

-The other Rich (not hooley) KC,MO

I have worked in the field of design and advertising for the past 10years and I am so enthusiastic about this show. I don`t really have much more to say except for the fact that I am a dedicated watcher, in fact it has become a bit of an addiction.

Thank you for the addiction and look forward to seeing where you guys take this show.

Love the show but wish I didn't have to see the silhouette of someone falling from a building at the beginning of each episode. It's a pretty abrupt shift, going from 9-11 to 1960.

My wife and I watch Mad Men faithfully, but are wondering if a cigarette company is somehow bankrolling the show, as we never was this much smoking when we lived back in those days.

Love Mad Men. I was begining a brief career as a secretary in those days and - though the offices I worked in were less glamorous - most of the details seem quite right. (Crinolins and selectric typewriters aside, of course).

Today, however, as I watched the last two episodes of the marathon, I was a little taken aback by the line: "The Medium is the Message." As far as I know, Marshall McLuhan didn't publish that idea until 1967 and - because of a printer's error - the title came out: "The Medium is the Massage." He decided to keep this error as it made his point. If anyone reading this has an earlier citation for the line, I'd love to hear about it.

Certainly, McLuhan was right - media changes have changed our lives and looking back at the pre" lovein" '60's makes it clear how different things really are. Thanks for a well written and interesting show!

AMD

Roger Sterling is soooo handsome.

ok had to say it.

I was in the ad business in late 50's to 80's. Much of this went on. And on. And on. This is a sexy, pip of a show!

Women were treated as shown. Anti semitism was usual. We all smoked, drank, and had lots of sex..much of it surreptiously.

There will be some surprises with the sub plot. I can't wait.

The Selectric II thing really bothered me in episode 1, but in the later episodes it looks as if you've found some Selectric Is. Inconsistant, but nice. Anyway, the Selectric I wasn't even introduced until 1961.

I worked in advertising in the mid 70's when the guys you are depicting were the old guys being fired because they were out of touch with what was happening in the world -- including women being major players in their workplace. Besides the offensive chain smoking in every scene this is the major problem I see with your show. Unlike the Sopranos which also was about a ruthless business -- your show has no heart.

Great show and great casting, great writing, acting, etc. I wasn't born until the mid 60's but it seems so accurate and right on with all the details and behaviors. I hope the show makes it and gets recognized for an Emmy, it deserves it!

I live in Minneapolis and my cable company (Comcast) has chosen to eliminate AMC from my analog programming. Is there ever going to be a time when you air full length episodes on your website so I can view Mad Men?

To Mr. Wiener: Is anything ever going to happen on this show to keep me interested? It seems like you've written a bunch of cliches with no story-line. Every guy is an egotistical jerk, every woman is a moron. Everyone smokes. Guys drink. Girls wear red lipstick. That's what I've learned from this show. Boring boring boring and disappointing considering all of the hype. Why don't you focus more on solid character development?! You can't just write lines that "sound" 60's and expect intelligent audiences to stay tuned. I guess you are really going for the dumbing down of America like many other over-employed writers of today. How incredibly sad that we're six episodes in and nothings developed. What the hell happened with Draper's brother? This is reminiscent of your writing on the Sopranos where you show us something that might be interesting and then give up on it. Yes, sometimes in life we are left hanging but that's the point of watching television. Please dive in with your writing. Right now you're wading in the kiddie pool and audiences are waiting for a decent cannonball.

Last Saturday there was a 5 hour re-run of Mad Men shows.

When will you have the 5-6 hour re-runs?

Many Thanks, Bill

Veronica:

This show is about layers, depth, and nuance. I personally don't want a cannonball, nor do most viewers, I expect. Notice how Don coughs at the top of the stairs, even though he is still young and fit. Notice how vulnerable male characters such as Roger really are. We're slowly being exposed to the cracks in the veneer, what was really behind all the cliches. I find this show very refreshing, but I think you may prefer more action-oriented television.

Veronica I understand what you're saying. To me, it seems to be mostly style and very little substance ("look, everyone drank and smoked back then!"; "look, everyone used to hit their children back then!"; "look, they used to use words like 'swell'"; etc. etc. etc.), as if we are too stupid to get that point if it isn't shoved down our throats. What little plot there is is basic soap opera plots - who's sleeping with whom; who's trying to get the big job; and so on. Some of the acting looks like it belongs on a daytime soap, too. I have to agree that I'm not that interested in what happens, and probably wouldn't miss it if it doesn't come back for a second season. Just my 2-cents.