Completing a television season is always much more time-consuming, and thus much more rewarding, than completing just any old DVD. But this particular TV-on-DVD set was especially rewarding. I think we're in a golden age of TV dramas. While the reality TV fever that rose to prominence earlier this decade is by no means gone, I think it has largely moved away from the networks and into the dregs of cable television: MTV and VH1. We've now got multiple quality dramas on multiple channels of all three types - network, premium, and now, led by AMC's Breaking Bad and Mad Men, even basic cable. And when I say "quality" dramas, I mean unique and original ones that aren't just spin-offs or shows about cops, lawyers, or doctors. (To be fair, we still have plenty of those, too.) Take Mad Men, for example. Mad Men is ostensibly a period piece about an advertising company. But there's so much more to it than a bunch of suits sitting around and coming up with slogans, jingles, and product pitches. It explores the norms and taboos of the 1960s, as well as the changing social landscape and how it affects these influential white men and their families. It offers an array of rich and multi-layered characters. Perhaps most importantly, it pays impeccable attention to detail, totally immersing the viewer in the time period. If the second season of Mad Men lives up to the first one, then I am in for another ten hours of excellent television. (Yes, the "mystery" DVD set I purchased the other day was Mad Men: Season 2. It was bound to happen.) There's plenty in Mad Men for anyone who appreciates a well done drama series.
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