the men of madison ave.

let me preface that only during a small fraction of my post living-with-mom-and-dad life have i subscribed to cable tv. i have always relied on the internet for my garbage consumption, vs. the tube. i'm a site surfer not a channel surfer.

the first time i watched every episode of a television show from the beginning of the season till the end of the season was ally mcbeal season 1. after a few episodes i was hooked. we (i had a female roommate, who was responsible for hooking me on ally mcbeal) would make sure to schedule our week in order to watch this show as it aired [before dvr and internet on demand services like hulu].

somehow having a season of ms. mcbeal under my belt felt like an accomplishment. i finally achieved what most people had first achieved in middle school, devoted time and energy to a single program for an entire season. i lay you ten to one most of my friends saw every episode of beverly hills 90210 seasons 1 through 3 as they rolled out.

the second occurrence happened with the office [american version], where i saw every single episode (but had to backtrack using the aid of to torrents and hulu). to date i've seen every episode of every season. and i know it's much cooler and more credible to say that the brittish office is better than the american one, but really guys? that's far from true for me. steve carell is amazingly funny, dwight, jim & pam, the whole gang make me laugh audibly time and time again. the american office is on season 7, the brittish one only had two seasons.

as i write this, i'm on my third.

mad men.

donald draper. never has the name donald registered as 'cool' in my mind, until this show came along and dramatically changed my perspective. i've always pictured the disney duck. in fact donald draper's character is loosely based on a man named draper daniels of chicago, a famous advertising man of the 60's.

but mad men isn't a wacky office-based comedy, it's an amc drama. i now watch amc dramas, oh boy i must be maturing. though, at this rate, what's next, lifetime?! okay, now i'm just being dramatic.

let me rewind and recap.

mad men stands for madison [avenue] men aka the advertising central in 1960's new york city. and my opinion is that not only are the men mad, but so are the women, and children.

the "most screen time" award is a tie between cigarettes and scotch. the second most screen time award goes to awesome set design, and wardrobe. after an episode of mad men i'm ready to spend whatever i need in order to find myself in a sleek 1960's suit, skinny tie, tons of hair grease, and a freshly pressed shirt with cufflinks while i'm en route to a smoky bar/restaurant where women are beautifully dressed pieces of meat and men are aggressive carnivores. however, knowing myself, if i were to somehow appear in this fantasy land of mine, i'd most likely geek out on the amazing scotch selections and art deco glassware.

the show feels like a super cool history lesson, an american history lesson. the president's assassination, gender roles, the value of a dollar, the technology that exists in the office and home, completely fascinate me.

the characters are compelling. i can't say i love any one character or hate any either. joan sure is fun to look at, and while i'll admit that she is deservedly famous for her curves, her facial features and colors are just as standout-ish. she's got amazingly fair skin, bright and bold red hair, and stunning blue eyes. then of course we have don, who is the definition of masculine. women want him and men want to be him (so i ripped that quote off of austin powers, but hey, it's more true in this context isn't it?).

peggy seems to be everyone's favorite. i like her struggle, and how she attacks it, but i just don't find myself rooting for her all the time. i wish she grew some balls once in a while, but again, she's a woman in the 60's -women having balls back then was basically illegal.

we're now on season 4, and i'm caught up to the most recent episode. that in itself has only ever happened three times in my life. i foresee myself watching every episode until they stop making episodes. the story is engaging, the characters are interesting, and the visual stimulation is stunning. i want to be a mad man!