One of the best series’ on television, at least according to the American Film Institute, is AMC’s Mad Men, now in its fifth season. In fact, back in 2007, the Television Critics Association also named the production “best television show.” At the same time, aggregating the review “scores” of 31 professional television critics, Metacritic.com gave Mad Men an overall score of 77 out of 100 as a measure of the show’s quality. Even San Diego LGBT Weekly’s own film and TV reviewer, Ted Gideonse, calls Mad Men“The best show on television, and one of the best ever …” (“Movies,” page 19).
The show’s been a popular hit as well as a critical success. According to Nielsen its popularity has grown steadily during the course of its run so far. Mad Men’s second season premier saw 2.1 million viewers land in front of video screens across America, according to TVbythenumbers.com; 2.8 million, according to Yahoo, tuned in to watch Sunday, Aug. 16, 2009 to see the show’s third season premier, while last year’s premier garnered a record 2.92 million watchers, according to Adweek.
Add to those fashionably high Nielsen numbers the high-fashion numbers sold under Mad Men branding at clothing stores ranging from Brooks Brothers to Banana Republic and it’s not hard to see how Jon Hamm, as adman Don Draper, has become king of the “style drama,” as we like to call Mad Men’s slot on the menu of television’s fictional fare.
But what if you’re new to the scene? How can you look deep into Draper’s heavy-on-the-tweed wardrobe and catch up on what you’ve missed so far? We won’t go back to the very beginning – you can get a complete Mad Men primer at AMC’s Web site, or at a site such as EPGguides.com, which helped us compile the following timeline:
‘Mad Men’
Season 4
Episode 1 Public Relations
July 25, 2010
SCDP, the “scrappy upstarts”, with a new logo and a new office compete for business in their new environment. New/old staff personalities clash, but come up with an innovative campaign to sell an old product. The divorce impacts Don, Betty, and Henry from different directions. A trade-industry interview goes poorly, causing clients to retract work, and Don to re-evaluate himself as the ad man he wants to be.
Episode 2 Christmas Comes but Once a Year
Aug. 1, 2010
A last minute visitor threatens to spoil the agency’s Christmas party.
Episode 3 The Good News
Aug. 8, 2010
Don takes a trip. Joan has scheduling problems. Don and Lane get to know each other a little better.
Episode 4 The Rejected
Aug. 15, 2010
Peter finds out that he will become a father and has to break some bad business news to his father-in-law. Meanwhile an office focus group study for a client has some unintended personal consequences for Don.
Episode 5 The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
Aug. 22, 2010
Don is forced to compete with a cocky upstart rival for a potential account with Honda motorcycles, but Roger’s prejudice causes unexpected problems. Meanwhile Betty considers a psychiatrist for Sally because of her behavior.
Episode 6 Waldorf Stories
Aug. 29, 2010
Don has a wild lost weekend after winning a CLIO award, while Peggy is forced to work all weekend in a hotel room with an “uninspired” co-worker. Meanwhile, Peter is livid after he learns that the other partners hired Ken Cosgrove.
Episode 7 The Suitcase
Sept. 5, 2010
The boys at the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce office place their bets.
Episode 8 The Summer Man
Sept. 12, 2010
Don halts the changes in his drinking and womanizing, and makes some lifestyle changes for the better. Meanwhile Peggy asserts her authority in the office.
Episode 9 The Beautiful Girls
Sept. 19, 2010
A surprise visitor turns up at the office to see Don, and Peggy is also the target of attention from an unexpected quarter. Roger and Joan find that shared experiences bring people closer.
Episode 10 Hands and Knees
Sept. 26, 2010
Don’s past threatens to return when government agents doing routine checks talk to Betty. Lane’s father comes to take Lane home, and won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Joan and Roger have some difficult decisions to make.
Episode 11 Chinese Wall
Oct. 3, 2010
The partners try to keep their cool after they discover that Roger has lost their biggest account. Peter’s wife goes into labor, and Don tries to convince Faye to compromise her ethics to drum up new business.
Episode 12 Blowing Smoke
Oct. 10, 2010
Don is in talks with Heinz. They are having a hard time with their finances and cutting their deal. Someone is going to get fired.
Episode 13 Tomorrow Land
Oct. 17, 2010
Don marries his secretary. Someone is going to Disneyland!
Season five premiers Sunday at 9 p.m. on AMC.
