January Jones (bottom) and Christina Hendricks (top)at the L.A Premiere of Mad Men's Season 3. The Season 3 Premiere of U.S hit series Mad Men took place on Monday in West Hollywood and the stars were out in full force to promote the release. Mad Men is, in my opinion, one of the best shows around. Not only does it have a fascinating storyline, it's also a gripping account of the emerging advertising phenomenon in the 1960's. It's full of compelling intertextual anecdotes which help strengthen the plot and make the series different from say, the unrealistic Desperate Housewives (which I love, I won't lie) and the light-hearted Entourage (which I also love). It's already won numerous awards including best Television Series at the Emmys last year, for which it was nominated for a stupendous 16 awards last week! It was also recognized for outstanding achievement in drama by the Television Critics Association just this Saturday and let’s not forget, it won Golden Globe for Best Drama and Best Actor in 2008.
Set in New York, it tells the story of ruthlessly competitive men working for the advertising company Sterling Cooper, in an ego driven world where key players make an art of the sell. The series revolves around the hectic quotidian of Don Draper (Jon Hamm), one of the most successful men in the ad business. Don is married to Betty Draper (January Jones) and the series shows us his life both at home and at work and how the two inevitably collide with each other. The show includes a host of psychologically captivating characters such as the vampy sex magnet Joan Halliway (Christina Hendricks) and the awkward secretary Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss). Vincent Kartheiser also does a marvellous job out of playing the cocky and arrogant Pete Campbell, who tries so hard to be on top yet has many hidden insecurities and frustrations, most of which reveal to be sexual. The relationships that arise from the interactions between these complex individuals along with their historical significance are more absorbing than any of Mad Men’s rival shows.
The season 3 Poster (very 1st picture) is stunning and shows the marketing team behind the show are just as clued up as the characters in it. Actor Jon Hamm is shown smoking a cigarette in his office, which he does incessantly during the show, with half his body submerged in water. This is supposed to be a visual metaphor for the show, where things are not as they seem. Slowly, the water will rise supposedly as a parallel to the rising tide of life, and the changes we need to make in order to adapt as we go underwater. This season promises to be more exciting and daring than ever, full of scandalous stories. As bad as it is that the actors are shown smoking so much, there really is nothing sexier than Mr Hamm concentrating as he takes a drag from his cigarette, I know for fact I'm not the only that who gets a naughty thrill out of it.
In the same way that the recent Revolutionary Road starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio showed how couples in the late 50's encountered strains that could not be eliminated by divorce, Mad Men goes a step further. It shows us how women had only just been introduced to the working world and the discriminations they had to endure. Some were still left at home, looking after their children, with hopes of a job or a career thrown out the window. The show effectively shows the emergence of the pill onto the market and how women were frowned upon if they used it, as it was seen as a promiscuous method. It opens our eyes to a time when women were much more restricted in their place in society and shows us the developments we have made. For many women, it was a very sad time as portrayed by Mrs Draper who dreamt of being a model, but her husband would rather she stayed at home where she should belong. As to the women who work, they are still seen as inferior and sexual objects with which men with families can project their frustrations and lead illicit affairs. Spellbinding stuff.
The costumes are brilliantly faithful to the Madison Avenue early 60's style. The costume designer, Janie Bryant, has a fantastic time picking and choosing outfits for each episode emphasizing that the 60's were a time when people "really had a good time dressing". By night, the peignoirs, the slips, robes and gowns worn by the ladies are simply divine and so feminine. By day, we see such exquisite colours on beautiful printed chiffon, a popular fabric for the period. The men are all in sharp suits with sumptuous tweeds and the finest materials. What can we expect for the Season 3 wardrobe? "More dramatic shapes, colours, textures and patterns!" says Bryant with a huge smile on her face. "I've had such a blast re-creating the costumes".
So why should you watch Season 3 of the show, if you're not already hooked? The cast promise it will be an action packed season and writer Matthew Weiner says the pace will be as fast as ever as we delve into the people's histories deeper than in the previous two seasons. The main characters’ lives become more intricate and intrigue reigns supreme. He says we will all be able to relate to the 'basic human emotion felt when things change, and you lose what's familiar, that's very unsettling'. Indeed as writer, creator and executive producer, he felt the need to make things change and allow the characters to develop in unexpected ways as they deal with the pressures of their society. Actress January Jones agrees this season has a definitive edge to it and a lot happens, "it's dirtier and grittier". As a final point, I’d like to add that the show also has great humour in it, not of your laugh out loud goofy kind, but sly and sharp humour. So...if you want laughs and tears, trials and tribulations, unsettling truths and bewildering lies all tied up in an intelligent script with brilliant actors, there’s no doubt that Mad Men is the show for you.
Mad Men premieres on August 16th in America on ABC at 10pm (Side reel for the rest of us) Check out the main site : http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/
