Mad Men Season 5

I don’t know about you, but it’s been so long since Season 4 of Mad Men ended that by the time Season 5 rolled around I couldn’t actually remember too much of the preceding storyline.   

For those who need a quick refresher, much of the previous season took place at Sterling Cooper Draper Price, the new advertising agency started by Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and three of his former Sterling Cooper cohorts.  The season saw Draper estranged from his wife Betty (January Jones) and his children, descending into alcoholism and all-around douchebaggery.  He also engaged in a lot of meaningless, emotionless sex, even by his own staggering standards. 

Season 5 opens with things seemingly going swimmingly with Draper’s career and his new marriage to his former secretary Megan.  Megan is evidently aware of Don’s past and his true identity, and the resolution of the four season ‘identity crisis/switched placed with a dead man’ arc means the season can focus more on a handful of intriguing new characters and also takes the series in a couple of surprising directions (the current season is the freshest of the past three, at least).  Roger Sterling (John Slattery) is the same irascible old coot, and as ever provides much of the comedic impetus in calling Draper on his numerous personal issues, and Vincent Kartheiser is typically excellent as the ambitious upstart Pete Campbell.  Community’s excellent Alison Brie is once again wasted in her nothing bit part as Campbell’s wife, though she does her best to wring some levity out of her scenes, and the increased prominence of the complex young Sally Draper character adds another interesting dimension to the Draper family dynamic. 

Snappy writing, the usual slew of impeccable performances, a handful of truly inventive story arcs and the addition of some well-chosen and worthwhile bonus material make Season 5 of Mad Men an impressive release indeed. 

Bonus Features

Commentary with writers, directors and actors on selected episodes, and a variety of in-depth Making Of and Behind the Scenes Featurettes (including a fascinating analysis of the work of Giorgio de Chirico, whose art provided the inspiration for Season Five’s promotional imagery).