Still going crazy for those Mad Men

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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The premiere of the opening episode of the fourth series of Mad Men attracted 10,000 fans to New York's Times Square.


Advertiser’s dream: women participating in a costume competition in Times Square as the fourth series of Mad Men was unveiled. President Obama is a fan

They paid homage to the Sixties-set cult drama by wearing period outfits.Followers of the series in Britain will have to wait until next year when it will be shown on BBC4. But early reviews from the US indicate they will not be disappointed.

The show centres on Madison Avenue advertising executive Don Draper and has earned a niche following thanks to its faithful recreation of the social mores of Sixties America.

Of last night's episode, Ryan McGee of the Chicago Tribune, said: "Four seasons in, we can see how many layers there are to these people, and as they try to resolve their predicaments they only get more complex. That's why I'm stupendously glad that Mad Men is back."

Cheryl Berman wrote in the Wall Street Journal: "We've all been waiting for it. The smoking, the drinking, the sex, the shenanigans, and even the ads. They're all back, one of the best casts ever put together, in one of the best shows ever written for television."

Vanity Fair's James Wolcott wrote: "How satisfyingly smooth is Mad Men able to slip into its groove now, no longer obliged to tick off the mores and reference points of the Sixties as if checking off items from a sociology survey course for time-travelling tourists."

Early estimates indicate the opening episode attracted the show's highest number of viewers — around three million — a figure that does not befit its glowing reviews.

Known for its sharp suits and sharper dialogue, what is more important for the show is just who is among its small number of fans.

President Obama wrote a letter to creator Matt Weiner saying how much he liked the series, which has been parodied on The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live and even Sesame Street. Despite being on lesser cable TV channel AMC, the series has won two Emmys for outstanding drama series and three consecutive Golden Globes.

But it still averages far fewer viewers than other summer cable dramas such as USA Network's Burn Notice, which pulls in up to eight million viewers. An average 30-second advert on episodes of Mad Men on AMC only costs between £13,000 and £16,000.

Advertising slogans: sneak preview of the new series
Mad Men's fourth series takes place a year after the third, with Don Draper having just set up his own advertising agency.

Draper is trying to cope with the fallout of his failed marriage to Betty, while struggling to drum up business for his new agency, Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce.

"We're the scrappy upstart" — Pete Campbell reflects on the new agency.

"Believe me, Henry. Everybody thinks this is temporary" — Draper to his ex-wife Betty's new boyfriend Henry Francis.

"We are all here because of you. All we want to do is please you" —copywriter Peggy Olsen to Draper about the new agency.

"They're so cheap they can't even afford a whole reporter"— advertising executive Roger Sterling when one-legged reporter interviews Draper.

"Who cares what I say anyway? My work speaks for itself" — Draper, frustrated at the agency's dissatisfaction with his newspaper interview.

"You hit it off — come turkey day, maybe you can stuff her" — Sterling about Draper's blind date.

"I really wish we had a second floor so I could jump off it" — Harry Crane after hearing he lost an account.

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