CLEAN THESE DVDs BEFORE USE. 1st DVD IS BADLY SCRATCHED. The saga of the Madison Avenue ad men continues and I gotta say, though I'm only slightly half done, this is the most enjoyable as a whole out of all of the seasons. Yes, it's moody, depressing at times, dark, but the cast is excellent, as well as the writing, and the production design is fabulous. I do love the costumes as well but at times it's almost over the top, especially if it's a character that's not meant to be fashionable, they go out of their way to make them unattractive and it borders on buffonery.

Mad Men is the best drama series on TV and this is a time when there are many excellent ones. The complexity of the story lines, the character development of the characters and the right on business scenes. Season 4 had an episode about luggage but really about life that was the best of tv/ Characters marry beneath themselves, Joan, Don tries to find who he is and the firm faces collapse. Start at season one and enjoy. I watched season 5 , 3 times to figure out why it was so good. Everyone has their reasons

The series does improve in the fourth season with some interesting and unexpected twists and turns. Unfortunately, it fell into the same trap that so many other drama series do; that not one character ever has a single moment of true happiness without some contradicting or ominous subtext making the show feel rather dreary after a while. Even the lighting seems to be getting increasingly somber and dim. Deadwood is another example where there is not a single moment of happiness in the entire series making it an incredible downer to watch.

if yor trying to quit smoking do not watch this show

The novelty is certainly wearing off and this series started to go off on tangents that just aren’t that interesting and starts to loose momentum and focus at the end of season 2 and often drags in season 3. I was glad when Betty’s father finally died because there was too much attention given to this annoying character. All of the most interesting characters like Joan, Peggy and Salvatore get pushed into the background and aren’t even in some episodes and the focus gets put on some of the less interesting and most predictable and/or 1 dimensional characters; Roger Sterling and Bertram Cooper’s characters have limited dimension and interest. A very surprising development is that the entire show could easily revolve around Pete's character. While watching season 3 I started thinking; Don is having another affair? How surprising. Gee Betty, you still aren’t sure Don sleeps around? Really? What happened to your therapy sessions? The series is growing tiresome. I hope season 4 picks up--the last episode shows promise.

Loved this season. The finale showed a new tone, a new hope, the rebuilding after the storm has passed through, and I vastly prefer the new improved Draper to the old one. I love this season and I love the change. It's pretty sad at certain points, but I felt refreshed by the end and cannot wait for the fifth season. Highly recommended, of course, to fans of the show. It's a given that you MUST watch from the beginning of the series. The charm is in the character development. Again, fantastic and can't wait for the next season.

Superbly crafted sample of an era when chain-smoking, hard-drinking, chauvinism, infidelity, work-place affairs, were acceptable social norms. Subtle enough to demand your attention, written and acted well to reward it. A must-watch show.

I spent some of the sixties in broadcasting, closely associated with advertising, and I find this series absolutely note perfect. Someone in a previous comment suggested a lack of authenticity because of the omission of the F word, but indeed that word was almost never used then among educated, professional people. What's interesting is just how much cruder some men were then, even without the expletives that fall off the lips of men and women today. I preferred the second season to the first--the characters were better established--and in this first season, it seemed to me that the episodes on the first and second disc were better than on the third and fourth.

Mad Men is a show that does nearly flawless re-creations of a period (the '60s). Because this season has such an obviously not-fat January Jones in her character Betty Draper's fat prosthetic, it was jarring to see it juxtaposed with all the near visual perfection. Once I reconciled this glaring misstep, everything went super smoothly and entertainingly. I even laughed out loud four or five times this season. The episode where Peggy avoids Don on the phone is hilarious; I had to reverse the dvd a couple times and watch it over. Mad Men is unlike anything before or since.

Loved this Series, Hope there is a Season 5