Just how historically accurate was Mad Men?

Just how historically accurate was Mad Men?

Posted inTelevision
The following piece is an excerpt from Celebrating Mad Men, available in paperback and for Kindle. "I talk to them about relationships, how people might interact with a certain company at a client meeting. I also ask really simple questions, like 'Where did you eat lunch?'" –Mad Men researcher Kathryn Allison Mann on interviewing industry veterans (source) When Mad Men first hit the air, few things garnered as much attention as the show's slavish devotion to capturing period-accurate detail. The show developed such a reputation for being correct in its period details that sticklers for historical accuracy have kept a…
MAD MEN: Seeing the show as a Period Piece

MAD MEN: Seeing the show as a Period Piece

Posted inTelevision, Works by Eric
The following is taken from Celebrating Mad Men, available in paperback and for Kindle. MAD MEN AS A PERIOD PIECE “I’m interested in how people respond to change. Are they excited by the change, or are they terrified that they’ll lose everything that they know? Do people recognize that change is going on? That’s what the show’s about." – Matthew Weiner  . One of the great joys of Mad Men comes from being immersed in a time and place that is not our own. We delight not only in the look and feel of the show, but also in the way in which it’s instructive when it…
Mad Men’s Jon Hamm may finally get his due

Mad Men’s Jon Hamm may finally get his due

Posted inTelevision
Since 2007, Jon Hamm had been putting on an acting clinic with his subdued, measured performance as Don Draper, the dashing ad man with a past he can't run away from. The Mad Men actor drew raves and a slew of award nominations, including eight straight nominations for the Best Actor in a Drama Series Emmy (including this year's nod). Unfortunately for Hamm, he ran into a wall called Bryan Cranston. See, while Hamm was busy being awesome, Cranston was out there being just as awesome. Cranston won Best Actor four out of the first seven years Hamm was nominated,…