Mad Men: Season 5 [Blu-ray]

While this wasn't my favorite season, it's still an easy five stars since it's in the top 3 of best shows currently on television. I know there have been a lot negative reactions towards this season, and I think maybe it's for a few reasons. Lots of people despise Megan. And others say that "nothing really happened". I don't really like Megan either, but I've come to accept her character. She is SUPPOSED to be annoying (or at least can easily be interpreted as so). We don't have to like her. As far as nothing happening, plenty of things happened, although I admit it was a little slow-paced, but I think it's building up for better seasons to come.This season takes place between Memorial Day 1966 and Spring 1967. The season focuses on Don Draper and Megan's relationship and how distracting it is from his job, and most of the main characters are facing painful new beginnings and realize it's a "dog-eat-dog" world. The season starts out light (probably because of how dark season 4 was), but by the end of the season things are gloomier than ever. So never fear, Mad Men isn't going soft.Don - one reason I enjoyed season 4 so much is that we had a break from Don being in a dramatic, serious relationship. He was just casually dating and we were able to see more of SCDP. Now he's married to Megan, and that opens up a lot more storylines. You'll either love or hate Megan. She shows signs of being very independent and mature, but then will surprise you by suddenly doing something very stupid and childish. The big question is: how long is it until Don cheats on her? I don't believe that Don will be in a monogamous relationship for the rest of his life. It's also interesting how it's reminiscent of the beginning of his relationship with Betty. Betty was a beautiful young model and Don swept her up. When Betty got older and he got bored, he lost interest. Megan is also a very young girl, an actress, and pretty (in Don's eyes). What's going to happen to his fidelity to Megan in a couple years? Or 10? Or even by the end of the season? When Don loses respect for someone, a lot of feelings for them deteriorate quickly.Don also has to deal with Megan's Canadian parents, who have a very bizarre marriage and her father is not a total believer in Don. He thinks Megan took the easy way out by marrying a rich guy. Megan's mother is also incredibly insecure, which is a recurring theme throughout the season.Betty - since January Jones is pregnant, they decided to put her in a fat suit to hide it, and turn that into a storyline. Perfect Betty has to deal with being overweight, which makes for some interesting television. Her appearances are very sparse, however, and you can go episodes without seeing her at all. There is a lot of pressure on Betty to compete with Megan, especially when her children are involved. As far as Sally goes, she goes through a lot of childhood development this season. Glen the creepy kid also makes a couple appearances, and their relationship is really open for interpretation. Kiernan Shipka is also a great young actress. We also get to see Henry Francis' mother a little bit, especially when she babysits Sally.Pete - Pete is...well, Pete. But cockier than ever. He feels that all is owed to him, even as only a junior partner. He gets incredibly demanding this season and enters into some interesting affairs. Pete is honestly one of the most difficult characters for me to empathize with, especially this season. Almost every thing he does is just obnoxious, not to mention he is a total hypocrite. Vincent Kartheiser is great, however.Peggy - as my favorite character, I liked what they did with her this season. She has to balance romance and work in a very sexist society, and makes some life changing decisions several times throughout the season. I love how strong Peggy is, and in these days she would easily be a partner already. Peggy also is Megan's boss...which is really quite inappropriate and causes a lot of awkwardness in the office.Joan - remember that jerk she's married to? Yeah. They're still married when the season starts, unfortunately. Joan is strong though, and without spoiling anything, she makes some very questionable and life altering decisions this season regarding her romantic and work life. I think her and Peggy learn the most this season about how when it boils down to it, it's every wo/man for themselves.Lane - bitter about not getting the greatest deal out of this partnership, Lane makes some...questionable business decisions this season. He becomes much more prevalent later in the season, and without spoiling much, he gets into a very....entertaining "discussion" with Pete. I think Jared Harris is amazing for this role.Roger - talked into taking LSD with Jane, Roger has a very memorable and insightful trip. Although the acid trip was a little stereotypical, there's nothing funnier than watching Roger doing acid. The trip also has longer implications for him in the season. Additionally, Roger enters into a very odd romantic relationship with an unexpected character.And it's not just the characters that will suck you in and keep you watching. The context of show is amazingly interesting. We get to see references to the Richard Speck murders, Charles Witman's shooting rampage, toxic clouds of smog over NYC, the Hare Krishnas, and the Rolling Stones. Also some interesting clients this season: Heinz, Jaguar, Mohawk Airlines, American Cancer Society, Manischewitz, Dow Chemical, and Virginia Slims.You could watch this show for the amazingly intricate characters, the interesting portrayal of life in the 60s, or both. This show is highly entertaining, addictive, and one of the best on television today.

The last two episodes, watched them back-to-back . . . just a world spinning out of control. A feeling of chaos and disappointment in these people. But it's a door, right? A door into, oh my God, almost the '70s. Those poor people! I'm old enough to remember the tone of the late '60s, though I was under 7 years. It doesn't really matter what the plot does, or if it's even realistic -- Pete and Beth in the hospital scene is about as far-out as it's gotten -- just as long as it gets the tone right, and it sure did get the tone right.Nobody seems to mention this, but the character who still has a "long way to go, baby" is Sally. I'm very relieved that there is another season to come, because Sally is about to take center stage, and it's about time she did. I thought I saw shades of "American Pastoral," with the kid who blows up the local post office, but she's softening a bit. This little actress, Kiernan Shipka, is going places if she masters the complexities of Sally. I sort of envision a series finale where she buries her dad in about 1985 and tries to make sense of her life as an independent and insightful woman while finding out just who this man was. (And as for that simple kid Glenn, he provided the one bright moment when he merely asked for what he wanted and, against all odds, got it. I felt as if I were in that car with him, smiling inside.)If anyone misses the Don Draper Depression-era flashbacks, we have the return of Adam here. . . . We can only hope the flashbacks intensify, to tie up that loose end somehow.I confess to have fallen a little in love with Lane, poor guy. He was so honestly in pain amid all the fakery, and even sexy in that moment where he kissed Joan. He felt he had failed somehow to "be a man," I suppose, but in truth he was a knight. I'm going to miss him. That picture of "Dolores" still in his wallet! In his wife's ironic fantasy, he gets to be with Dolores. At least there's that.Is Megan's cynical, so-very-French mother really played by Julia Ormond? Did anyone else catch that? Or Embeth Davidtz as such an excellent and lonely and completely subtext-less/literal Rebecca? Give her an umbrella and call her Mary Poppins. She hates advertising but is an empty shell with a brand name of "propriety" on it. A brilliant performance."Are you alone?" The point here isn't whether Don will cheat again but that he is always alone anyway. Aren't we all? The whole point of this artful series is Alienation. They're all going to end this thing ridiculously rich and successful . . . yet still alone. Just another "broken hallelujah," I suppose.

Season 5 is another stellar performance from the Mad Men franchise, with excellent acting from a strong cast, and fantastic writing, capturing everything down to the smallest detail. The show still does a splendid job of portraying the world of a 1960s Madison Avenue ad agency and the 60s American life more broadly, this time with LSD, Hare Krishna and the other novelties of the second half of the 60s.It continues to be incredibly well researched, with faultless attention to detail and is great at capturing the subtleties of life and work almost 50 years ago.Don Draper's character again gets more attention, with the new family life and the new marriage changing both his attitude to life and work in many ways, down to the fear of whether he still has what it's got.Pete on the other hand is trying as hard as possible to emulate the Don of earlier seasons, managing not wholly convincingly. The new characters introduced, namely Megan's parents, are an excellent addition, and her father is the source of one of the most memorable quotes of the season. Fans of Peggy may feel she has been somewhat short changed this season, as there is less attention lavished on her.The ratio between life in the office, at home and in 'extra-curricular activities' is still aptly chosen and issues are given adequate time and attention, so as not to fall flat but to be sufficiently multidimensional to actually contribute to the story.The professional aspect of work in an ad agency is interesting for two reasons - for how the realtionships have changed seismically in some aspects and how in others, shockingly litte progress has been made in the advertising field for over 4 decades. Sure enough, new media has entered the scene since but having worked in the field, many of the same approaches and methods are being 're-invented' year in, year out, with the industry on the whole largely standing still.On the other hand both the gender and race issues, that are showing the first harbingers of change in the series, are shocking to observe for someone growing generations later. I'd also applaud the show for not coming across as judgemental but showing a portrayal of the world and allowing the audience to draw their own conclusions.The DVD comes with a fairly eclectic selection of extras, from the famous quotes, to one on the music, and perhaps somewhat surprisingly, on the establishment of Summer Time.Even though habituation to the high quality of the series may make the latest season feel a bit less bombastically good, I still believe that this is the best TV show I have seen so far and can warmly recommend it!

Don't have Sky so have to wait for box sets (No adverts at least) The latter series seems to have lost the psychological drive to their scripts.The credit for the script psychologist is now absent from the series. It's a shame as it gave a lot of unsaid implications to the dialogue. Not that i'm disappointed. oh no. This series delivers its crackling dialogue as usual and the acting is faultless. I only have to wait for the next box set of series 6.

In this series the standard of writing remains excellent with a great sense of time, place, costume etc. All the characters are clearly drawn and I liked the way that each episode focused on a different one each week. I still care about them even with their faults and frailties. There are also some big developments with individual charcters - one shocking one that I did not see coming. So plenty to keep the viewer gripped. I tried to ration the number of episodes per week to make it last longer but it was just too googd to wait for. The acting remains top notch too and the final scene in the final episode opens up area for further development in the next series that I now have to wait for grrr!

We've missed Mad Men sorely since it was switched to Sky so couldn't wait to get our hands on the DVD of series 5 - and it lived up to all our considerable expectations. This series just gets better and better and its up there with the very best of TV dramas. The writing, the acting and, above all, the characters are simply magnificent in a series which gets better and better.

This was a gift for my daughter for Christmas, big MadMen fan. Started watching it on Boxing Day. Watched the first two episodes then it froze. The actual disc was badly marked, poor quality control. Phoned Amazon (26th Boxing day) and explained the problem I was offered a refund or a replacement. I asked for a replacement which arrived on Friday 28th. Excellent service.