THE WORLD of “Mad Men.” Pictured (from left) are characters Lane Pryce (Jared Harris), Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse), Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), Roger Sterling (John Slattery) and Don Draper (Jon Hamm). – Photo by Frank Ockenfels 3
Whenever I watch a single frame of AMC’s “Mad Men,” I am immediately reminded of jazz orchestration. You know, the kind that Ellington built his reputation on. Sure, there’s plenty of improvisation in works like “Ko-Ko,” “Caravan,” and others, but by and large, the core of Ellington’s music is in what he wrote (as in music notation) and how he used the subtlties of each instrument to convey larger, moving ideas.
“Mad Men” has that same rhythmic drive to me. It’s clearly written dialogue, but what makes it so good is that it hardly comes off as false. Like really good orchestration, it’s the color palette choices, how the voices interact, and the overall balancing of the arrangement that gives it a nice organic quality. And of course, the cast and set design look great.
The season four premier of “Mad Men” airs Sunday, July 25, at 10 p.m.
For those uninitiated, “Mad Men” follows the lives of ad men (and women) in 1960s New York, specifically Madison Avenue. Don Draper (Golden Globe-winner Jon Hamm) is at the center of the drama. He is perhaps the best in the business and has recently started his own firm, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. As of last season his life was completely usurped. His wife discovered his secret identity (his name isn’t Don Draper, rather, it is Dick Whitman), which leads to a divorce and the rebuilding of his life, literally from the ground up.
The premier episode picks up some time after the events of the third season finale and we get to see how things are going at the new firm. That 45-minute ride (sans the commercials) is some of the best writing, acting and directing I have seen on TV in a long while (well, since the third season of the series).
“Mad Men” is in a class by itself. It has (in no particular order) drama, sex, historical context, humor and so much more.
It’s no surprise that this show has garnered so many awards and a huge following.
As Ellington the composer was to jazz, so “Mad Men” is to American television: richly complex, surprisingly innovative, sometimes sexy, often playful and informative.
“Mad Men” is a complete original.
