The Return of Mad Men

Mad Men is almost back.  That’s right boys and girls, less than three days until the (2 hour!) premiere of Season 6, and I’m growing more excited by the day.  Could this finally be the season that Mad Men fails to live up to expectations?  Let’s hope not.

Warning:  Some possible SPOILERS ahead!  Not about the new season of course, but if you aren’t caught up on Seasons 1-5, avert your eyes.

I’m going to go ahead and say it here at the top – Mad Men is the best show ever.  Not necessarily a revolutionary statement, but true nonetheless.  Now I haven’t seen all (or even many) of the shows that others consider great (The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, etc.), but I’m still confident in my assessment.  Mrs. and I finished The Wire at the end of last year and it was fantastic and definitely significant competition for the title.  And while The Wire is in many ways the most incredible show I've seen for it's uncompromising portrayal of society and a city as a whole, while being both heartbreaking and funny (a weird mix for a show with drug dealing as a main theme), I don't know that I could sit down and watch The Wire again (although . . . ).  On the other hand I could go right now and re-watch Mad Men from start to finish.  It’s just that good.

So yeah, I've missed Mad Men and even though it was a shorter hiatus this time (thank God), I'm now counting the minutes.  And it's coming at the perfect time.  Sure we still have Parks and Recreation and Community (yeah!) and I guess The Office until it's put out to pasture a couple of seasons too late.  But 30 Rock has ended forever (tear), Downton Abbey is over (until later in the year at least), and Mrs. and I have completed Season 1 of both Homeland and Girls on DVD.  And since we don't have Showtime or HBO we have to wait until the release of Season 2 for both.  And yes, the first season DVDs of both Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire are collecting dust in our TV stand, but they’ll have to wait patiently for a little longer because now it’s all about Mad Men.

So what are the questions I’m asking and what am I anticipating for Season 6?

How far ahead in time have the characters moved?  It can’t be too far since we still have one more season after this and I'm of the impression we'll stay in the 1960's the whole time, or at least until the end of next season.  So I’m guessing fall 1967 (Season 5 ended in April 1967 so not much of a guess).  We’re going to get plenty of Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement this year (I think – although I’m pretty sure I said the same thing before last season).  If it goes far enough into 1968 (or starts there I guess), we’ll get the assassination of MLK and Bobby Kennedy, which are huge events.  But I’m not positive what other significant cultural events occurred in this time frame.

Will there be any new characters?  Well of course there will, but who are they?  A new girlfriend for Don if he’s stepping out on Megan?  Someone to replace Peggy at SCDP?  An LSD dealer for Roger? 

Who has a mustache?  We're closing in on the 70’s after all.  Not Don, Roger, or Pete of course (because I’ve seen the photos from the premiere that AMC released - otherwise I might have bet on Pete), but surely Harry, right?  Yeah, it’s got to be Harry.  Or maybe Ginsberg, although he seems more clean cut, so probably not.  And possibly Glen.  You know, just to make him that much creepier. 

Is it still SCDP with the P out of the picture?  Will Pete finally become a name partner (SCDC anyone)?  Or Joan (SCDH)?

The Megan & Don relationship - so what's going on?  Has Don strayed?  Is Megan a successful actress?  Kids?  And why is there so much hate for Megan’s character?  I just don’t get it.  I think she was the perfect foil for Don last season.  Again, I just don’t get the hate. 

The Joan & Roger relationship - I mean come on already.  They’re going to get together, right?  They’re both single again.  They have a child together.  What am I missing?

Pete . . . oh Pete.  Does he have that apartment in the city?  Is he still married?  Will he ever be happy with what he has?  Will he ever see Beth again?  Who by the way Mrs. tells me he is either dating or engaged to in real life (I suppose you already know this if you read the pop culture gossip).

Is Sally into drugs yet?  Seriously, has anything been more obvious on the show than the inevitability of this?  I mean, besides Lane killing himself (see that would be a spoiler)? 

And by the way, is Lane’s ghost haunting the office?  How do you say “boo” in British?

How big is Betty?  Are we still talking Fat Betty, just Chubby Betty now, or are we back down to Normal Size Betty? 

And finally the most important question for the new season - Is Peggy going to figure prominently this season or not?  I sure hope so, because she's the best character on the show.  Yeah, I said it.  Yes, Don's irreplaceable, but Peggy has been the most fascinating character in terms of growth and it wouldn't be the same without her.  And she's figured in three of the five best Mad Men scenes in my opinion.  What are the top five scenes you ask?  Well, in chronological order:

Season 1 - Don's Carousel pitch

Season 2 - Peggy confesses to Pete about her baby

Season 3 - Betty confronts Don about Dick Whitman

Season 4 - Peggy comforts Don in his office after he learns of Anna's death

Season 5 - Peggy gives her notice and leaves SCDP

It just happened that there was a scene from each season, but I didn't do that on purpose.  For comedy's sake, the guy getting his foot run over by the lawnmower in the office from Season 3 probably deserves a mention as well. 

So assuming Peggy is still around (and again, they can’t get rid of her, right?) are we going to be getting a dose of Teddy Chaough's office as well (that being her new boss).  Shifting the focus a bit from SCDP?  And are we heading towards a Peggy-Don pitch showdown for the same client?  The student becomes the master?  How great would that be? 

Only a few days left and all will be answered.