MY LATEST OBSESSION - AMC'S "MAD MEN"

For some time now my friend from Rockford has been praising the show "Mad Men" - an original series created and shown on the AMC Channel that had it's first season last year. "This show is pretty good," he remarked one night. "It's based around the lives of advertising executives who worked on Madison Avenue in 1960s - and they try their best to be as authentic to the period as they can. You know, it's interesting to see how much people smoked back then," he mused thoughtfully.

I tried watching the series a few months back but kept catching the same episode repeatedly. However, I noted his observation that the show captured the feel of the era. Then events in my life happened that pulled my attention elsewhere and i forgot about the series.

Recently, the show made the news by making Emmy history as the first basic-cable original series to be nominated - 16 nominations in total - and is a leading contender in the drama category. This peaked my interest and i thought to myself, "I'd really like to see a few of those episodes to see what the fuss is all about..."

Today I got my chance. AMC decided to run a "Mad Men" marathon showing all 13 episodes from the first season.

Late this morning my friend, who was visiting based on an invitation to Jamaican-style oxtail, brown stewed chicken, and rice-and-peas, pointed this out as he changed the channel. "Hey, here's that show I was talking about!" I grabbed the remote from him and checked the on-screen guide. "Well, it seems they're having a marathon...wait...wait....let me see....hmmmmm...yup! Episodes are on until midnight." I checked my watch and decided, "well, I'm not ready to fire up the pots as yet so I'll watch this episode...seems like it's the first episode of the series..."

Two hours later I was hooked like a junkie to heroin. THIS SERIES IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. By then I had my DVR working overtime to record every episode so I can catch up in time for the start of Season Two next week.

I encourage all to try to watch this series - it's portrayal of the look and feel of the '60s is so dead-on it's as if you're looking though time. Not only did everyone smoke back then - even pregnant women and doctors- they also did a lot of things that we have been conditioned NOT to do today such as grabbing a secretary's ass or make suggestive comments or jokes, smoking all over the office, treating minorities as if they were invisible - just to name a few.

It also showed how women of that era were taught to grow-up and find a husband, get a house and have kids - all by the age of 28 - and how most women, by that time in their life, were alienated from their spouses; wives were too caught up in their domestic webs to be in touch with the reality of life outside suburbia, taking their husbands for granted and throwing tantrums for inane reasons.

There isn't a hurried feeling about the show, no outlandish plot lines, no shootings or dramatic skeletons in the closet - just plot lines around ambitious men, their work-life, their women, their private lives.

Well acted, well executed, well paced, the sets and fashions visually appealing - this show is five stars out of five! I totally agree - this show was the deserving 2007 Golden Globe winner for Best TV Drama!

For more information on AMC's "Mad Men" click here.