Mad Men is a show that naturally begets repeated viewings and intense analysis of plot points, motivations and character. One place to engage in those discussions is the "Mad 4 Mad Men" group at CafeMom, a social-networking and community site for mothers (no men allowed!). The two-year-old site boasts more than 35,000 groups on topics including pregnancy, bringing up boys, and television shows like Mad Men.

The "Mad 4 Mad Men" group was started two days after the Season 2 premiere in July by Cat Brown, a stay-at-home mom with three children. The group, which has 53 members, started with one new post a week but now has more, depending on the episode. Like many viewers, the moms are intrigued by the denizens of Sterling Cooper and Ossining. "The characters in this show are complex and sometimes it's hard to understand what is going on with them," Cheryl Clark declares. "Every week a new layer is revealed and it's fun to talk about the reasons they behave the way they do."

The show also has a special appeal because its women are so complex. "There is a female character for every women to relate to and/or hope to aspire to," Brown explains. There's Betty -- "She's conflicted in a time of great change in America. She wants to be the perfect wife that dotes on her family. All the while it seems to secretly suck the life right out of her," says Andrea Lord. There's Joan -- "She seems like she has everything together but deep down inside you know she is just as caring as the next person and equally vulnerable," says Becky Brinkerhoff. There's Peggy -- "She is such a go-getter and gives no excuses or reasons why... It's great to know that women like her paved the way for all of us to do what we do today," says Kandi Barnes.

And of course, as mothers, the women are especially qualified to examine parenting on the show. A post from mid-August asked whether Betty or Don was a better parent. "I am surprised sometimes by how Betty doesn't seem very emotionally involved with her children. Don, for all of his faults, seems more emotionally invested," Carolyn Balzer conjectures. Discipline has certainly changed throughout the years, as have priorities. "It seems today that children are the focus of the family, and back in the time of Mad Men it seems the parents were more into themselves," Lisa Murray explains.

But in the end, Mad Men has the same appeal for these women that it has for lots of others: "It's actually quite cool that I can watch this show and perhaps get a better idea of the issues women before me encountered or endured or enjoyed," sums up Jill Haynes.