Mad Men: Season 5

And trust me…it’s not easy to pick a favorite because this show is so so so GOOD from start to finish. But I had to own this season because when I want to rewatch MM episodes, the ones that I can never get enough of are in this season: A Little Kiss (esp the part with Megan’s zoubi zoubi zoo), Signal 30, Mystery Date, The Other Woman, and Commission and Fees (so sad but…excellent). I know Season 7 got all the awards and that’s well deserved but, for me this, show really hit its stride during this season. You won’t be disappointed.

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.

Cette serie en vaut le coût. Et y reste saison 6 et 7 - partie 1 et 2- y vont finir par les mettresensembles. Comme beaucoup de série, ça fini par être regroupés.

Super série, on s'est régalés!

serie tv caldamente consigliata come ottimo esempio di cinematografia e recitazione per i "tecnici" e come puro divertimento per ... tutti gli altri ..

Presentación inteligente y sutil de las relaciones interpersonales de los miembros de una empresa entre si y con sus familiares. No hay ningún héroe con el que identificarse. Todos los personajes son capaces de las mayores bajezas, al tiempo que son terriblemente "buenos " en otras situaciones. Serie de gran calidad tecnica. Engancha por la incertidumbre de saber lo que pasará sin necesidad de disparos, carreras de coches y asesinatos sin fin, lo que es de agradecer en una serie americana.

Etwas schwächer als die vierte Staffel präsentiert sich die fünfte, die aber dennoch eine gute ist. In dieser Staffel rückt wie in der dritten wieder der private Teil in den Mittelpunkt, wobei auf mehr Charaktere eingegangen wird. Anfänglich etwas schleppend bilden sich insgesamt 13 Episoden von guter Qualität heraus, deren Stil sich von seinen Vorgängern unterscheidet. Mit einer guten Geschichte und einer prise Humor wird man bestens durch die Staffel geleitet.Die DVD-Hülle ist jene Art, die schon seit der dritten Staffel verwendet wird. Neu ist, dass das FSK-Logo wie in Staffel 2 nur auf dem Schuber aufgeklebt ist. Die Hülle selbst besitzt ein Wendecover. Schade finde ich, dass das Cover eins-zu-eins von der US-Auflage übernommen und kein spezielles erstellt wurde. Äußerlich hebt es sich so deutlich von den anderen Staffeln ab. In Sachen Sound ist hier eine deutsche und englisch 5.1-Tonspur vorhanden. Die Extras umfassen "Mad Men & Musik - Der Sound der Sechziger", "Mad Men & Musik - Die Themen der 5. Staffel", "Die Wahrheit ist cool", "Truman Capote und die Party des Jahrhunderts", sowie diverse Interviews.Für Mad Men-Fans ist diese Staffel natürlich ein Muss um am Ball zu bleiben, denn es gibt viele Momente, die man nur wirklich versteht, wenn man die Vorgeschichte kennt. Neulinge sollten deshalb am Anfang beginnen um in den vollen Genuss zu kommen.