Don't hate me, but I'm gonna talk about another t.v. show...

Yes it's true, this is by and large a film site, but I can't watch all the television I do and never talk about it.

Tonight I watched the Paley Center for Media's panel with the cast and creator of Mad Men. I'm not sure who among you know, but my obsession with this show has been of the highest intensity since beginning three years ago. Like many others, I often grow weary of living in a time that has no "ies" at the end of it. Despite the terrible lack of Surgeon General warnings, women's rights and segregation, the sixties appeals to me on all levels. The fashion, the politics, the seemingly endless source of drive... It's all so horribly romantic. Packaged together with a high sheen veneer, it brings out the girly part in me, but Mad Men doesn't sugarcoat. It tells the truth, which notably applies both then and now. Of all the shows I talk about, this is the one to watch. This is the one that transcends the barrier between movies and television. 

Every detail is so thoroughly and thoughtfully presented, and you couldn't expect anything less from the slightly OCD mind of Matthew Weiner. This show made me question if I had ever really seen three dimensional characters before. I can only describe my experience of watching the pilot as a wake-up call. All other television (no matter how good) truly does pale in comparison. Every character is crafted and written with the same care, making the secondary leads just as important and compelling as the first leads. Be it Joan addressing Peggy's wardrobe choices, or Pete discussing his dreams involving hunting knives, the characters have real believable strengths and weaknesses. Sure, every now and again Don Draper can come off as a little too smooth, but they are each given the opportunity to grow and shrink.

They sleep outside their marriages, they repress their sexual orientation, they trade in the chip n' dip for a shotgun, hell, they even litter. The ones who watch Marilyn and listen to Dylan and contemplate how they're affected by it all are more relatable than the guys on Entourage of the teens of Gossip Girl. Basically, they're just like us, only dressed better. It's rare that a show makes me think about "real things," in fact I usually use t.v. as an escape from "real things." But Mad Men is in a class all it own, and with the close of every episode I'm left somewhere between content and motivated.

Beautiful, classic, artful, liquor drenched poolside goodness. It makes me go mad. Seriously, there is nothing not to like about this show.

Mad Men Season 3 heads to AMC Sunday nights sometime this August. I'd wish for it to come sooner, but I don't want the summer to be over that quick. And be sure to check out Dynamoe's website, a fellow Mad addict, and the lady responsible for these incredible illustrations.

(I'm guessing none of this made any sense, but it comes from the heart, which sometimes has difficultly communicating to the brain)