Just about everything on television is upbeat. Whether people are lawyers or doctors of truck drivers, on most shows they end the episode with a hug and reflection of how lucky they are--Don's revulsion over his life has been a pleasure because it rings so true for so many people who see little of that reality people live with reflected on television.

THE FINAL EPISODE REDEEMED MAD MEN...I thought in season 2, the writing got more complex and interesting but during season 3, I drifted as I felt the writers didn't know where they were going-like the agency...the concentration on betty bored me while Peggy's story fell by the wayside, as did Joan's and even Pete's...also, the focus on the personal/family lives instead of the ad agency nitty gritty left me wondering about the title?-where's the "ad" in "mad"?...I see they picked up on this finally in the last episode-bringing the most interesting characters together ( i imagine they will hire Sal back episode 1, season 4), as well as melding the real events of the states with the events of the company and staff-and then also interweaving the past with Don Draper's story...this takes great finessing and it was Mad Men writing at its finest-gives me hope for the future-that they will rediscover the intelligence of season 2...the new direction of the company also makes the most prominent theme of the show-for me-jump out: advertising in this era started to be about selling lifestyles-desires for a new you, which Don Draper symbolizes literally: the man he wanted to be-not the man he was-and each character reflects this process of becoming-the women, especially-(and why Sal must come back) in a time when anything was becoming possible...you were losing me, Mad Men, but you've come a long way baby-and i'm back ...L