Mad Men or Sad Men?

Cheryl and I have jumped back on the Netflix wagon now that Summer is here (and sadly the hockey season officially ended). One of our first TV shows we decided to try out was the first season of Mad Men.

Obviously there has been a lot of hype about this show and I'm only a few years late to the party, but I still thought I would throw my two cents in there anyway.

The show takes place on Madison Avenue in New York back when the advertising executives were wild and living life to the fullest (or lowest... you decide). The setting along with the clothes and overall design take you back to "the good ol' days," when everyone smoked and you could enjoy adult beverages at work.

I enjoyed so many aspects of the show; the characters were great, the story lines for the most part drew me in and as I mentioned the overall look of the show is great. Cheryl looked at me numerous times throughout the first three episodes when the men in the show basically sexually harassed the crap out of the secretaries at the office. Apparently, that was the way it was back then... there are plenty of other lines throughout the show to make you realize that women back then were not where they are now. You've come a long way baby.

Kids are generally treated as second class citizens on the show as well, especially daughters. Nothing like are current society of child worship... another Blog for another time.

Unfortunately with all the great character, story lines and overall look of the show, the underlying theme for me (after watching the first 3 episodes) is that no one is happy. The ad execs in the office are constantly in pursuit of sexual adventures with the secretaries or any other woman for that matter before they head home on a semi-daily basis to their family. Add to that the constant boozing in and out of the office and you really start to ask yourself, "is this what people are after? 'Cuz it don't look fun to me."

I am not saying that this show is not well done. It is. I am not calling for a ban due to the moral deficiencies on the show. There are many of them, but I am asking myself, "is this really entertaining?" The answer is somewhat, but being happily married and not in a continual state of womanizing makes me feel a bit detached from the characters.

I am not one who objects to many TV programs or movies based on the morals of the characters. I'm a big fan of the Shield, Rescue Me, Sons of Anarchy and even It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (thanks FX for all your trashy shows) and these shows cross the line all the time. In the case of Rescue Me and Always Sunny laughter is the elixir. The Shield and Sons of Anarchy make me love the bad guy much like some of my other favorites the Sopranos and Breaking Bad. Somehow, Don Draper has not done that for me.

If the only thing I have to look forward to on Mad Men is people smoking, drinking and screwing around on their spouses, I think I need another show for my Netflix Queue... any suggestions?