Started slow in first couple of seasons, but by the end I loved it! Not quite on same level as some of my favourite series however a solid 8/10

After watching this show i questioned the existence of human life. Never ever have i seen anything this uninteresting in my intire life. I want to wish the producers of this series to change carrier and start working at McDonalds. Further more, i hope the actors are beeing payed a lot for doing such a boring series. Wow, they must be really needing a jobb to do this show.

At one point, I was fully ready to leave this show behind between the seasons 4 and 5 just for the fulfilling frustration poisoning my mind. But then realized, that's the brilliance in it. The show is written and successfully carried through by the consistency of silent, slow life, actually screaming with its whole lung capacity about the desperate change of the world. The hard work for the women to get their voice out, having the same kind of rights as men or at least close to it, is represented very gracefully. War and changing societies keep everyone at their toes, seems like no one can't really keep up - hence the constant drinking and wild sex, changing partners and most importantly: not giving a s*hit about exactly, anything. It never turns out the way it should, there is barely no consequences at all for the ones repeating their horrible deeds. This is the show that really makes you hate the main character and his face sickens you to the absolute point, and every time he gets a slap in the face with someones' rage, I feel deep joy. I will argue someone till to the end about the 'childhood dramas' that just naturally lead the main character on the way spreading misery all around him. I guess this is also where the point about the show comes to the surface. Main character's (Donald Draper) so called childhood dramas are NOT THAT bad even, so that it would justify him to repeat the asshole behavior. It's sheer exaggeration, all of it, all of him. Other characters bring their more positive pictures into the show, even though they are a bit gloomy as well. Search for the possible real love seems to be impossible, because there's always someone new and better. It's the fascination of something better, just like the show itself: advertising. You're greedy after all, we all are. We have something wonderful just in our hands, but not being able to see it. Something new always changes the course of our interest. Nothing is enough. We want more and we want it now. No matter the consequences. And then we'll wonder and cry why the life is so cruel to us, we are we treated this way, I don't deserve this. We'll grieve for what is gone and ponder, why we just can't find someone who's truly ready to love us. That's us. That's our own reality right now as well. That's consumption, capitalism and the weak nature of us, blind belief to anything beautiful. That's Mad Men, and you just cannot stop looking at it. The truth.

*This review also contains mild spoilers for an episode of the X- files*I wonder how this show is so popular and has such rave reviews. I watched all 7 seasons of the show to see what the hype was all about and, I must say that the Pilot remains the best episode of the entire series. The Pilot had the right amount of drama, characterization and mystery. The show never got any better from there on.Character development - Where exactly is the character development that everyone talks of? Do any of the characters have any progression at all? In fact, this show should have gone with the adage "People don't change". That works far better as a theme for this show. Let's begin with the main character - Don Draper has the same severely constipated look starting from Season 1 to Season 7 and he remains the same emotionless philandering man he was in the Pilot throughout the series. Also, when a man cheats on his wife with almost every woman he lays his eyes on, it is impossible to care about that man or anyone involved with such a man. Is one supposed to feel disgust for him and sympathy for those around him? Or is it the other way round? Also, there can really be no progression for a character like this because such compulsive need/behavior seems to really have no cure(?) and it stems from deeper issues of abuse faced by him as a child and young adult(?) or lack of resolution for past issues(?). On a superficial level, Draper is a "family man" (as in has a beautiful wife and 2 kids and provides for them - here, I am not discussing his virtue or lack thereof), he is also a very successful and powerful adman (so powerful within the organization that he can go AWOL for weeks and no one cares). But Draper shut himself off emotionally a long time ago. He never heals or tries to heal - maybe because the impressionable age is long gone or maybe because he never wants to open those gates to the world or maybe he is OK with how things are right now. Maybe this show should have explored more themes like this on a meta level. Side note : Draper's compulsive need for sleeping around reminds me of the "The X files" episode "Hungry" where the antagonist has a compulsive need to eat and sucks peoples' brains out to quell his insatiable hunger. Not the same compulsion but then, I did feel like my brains were being sucked out while watching this drab show...Before I go off on another tangent, his wife Betty remains as miserable and childish as ever (this even after she remarries a fairly stable man very different from Don). Her 8-9 year old daughter (Sally) is far more mature when compared to her. In fact, Sally is my favorite character in the entire series, also the only character to have had any progression or development in the entire series. I am sure it felt that way as she was the only one at an impressionable age on the show. However it was awesome seeing her develop from a child to a wonderful, level-headed young woman. Kiernan Shipka was amazing in this role.Peggy is interesting to some extent but ultimately, there is nothing much for her to do. Same with Joan and Pete. Megan had a good arc for a bit. Way too much time is spent on Roger Sterling. Plot development - Ever changing management, office politics, ad campaigns for major players along with important events from the era peppered in - Boring with a capital "B". The show tried to do some socially relevant plots (that are timeless) - feminism, challenges of a working woman, ever-evolving interpretations of love and marriage, pursuit of happiness, loneliness etc. but they were all half-baked plots that never went anywhere. Believe me, I did try and root for Peggy and Joan and even Trudy throughout the series, but their plots never went anywhere beyond the basic. The biggest problem with this show is it tries to juggle with too much - it has a million characters, a million plot points, a million issues, thereby not doing justice to any character or plot or issue. It superficially glosses over everything and therefore, fails to connect.People applaud the costumes, sets etc. and I have no complaints about that. Performances from most of the supporting cast was fine, although I cannot say the same about the lead. How Jon Hamm won an Emmy for this role, I will never understand.