Mad Men: Season 6

There weren't a ton of "big moments" in the sixth season of Mad Men, and the show spent what felt like a lot of time revisiting old grounds. There's a surprise company merge reminiscent of Season 3's finale's twist, Don's having a fairly standard affair with another married woman, and the characters continue to react to tragic news in the form of dead soldiers, violent riots, and the murders of public figures (though we only have history to blame for the tragic 1963/1968 parallel Kennedy assassinations, I guess). I'm sure there was an intention behind all of this - that the show wanted to show how even though the times may change, individuals don't. That's a great and powerful stance to take, but it just didn't make for as memorable a season of television as the previous two (and possibly three; I need to rewatch Seasons 2 and 3 to get a feel for those again, someday).

Of course, none of this means Mad Men was bad or boring TV in Season 6. It remained one of my favorite shows ever, full of sharp writing, stunning visuals, and impeccable acting. It just didn't feel as monumental this time around. Season 7 has been confirmed to be the show's last, albeit split into two parts, and maybe this sixth season will wind up being an essential bridge season between where we were in 4 and 5 and where we're going in 7. Time will tell.

Here are a few quick parting thoughts.

• Mad Men gets plenty of recognition for its era-appropriate costuming, but after reading a few of these posts I appreciate the importance of costuming on a whole new level. It's something I've never paid much attention to, but I find myself fascinated by the wardrobe theorizing going on out there on the Internet. Seriously, check it out. An excerpt: "Also worth noting is that in the Chevy scenes, Bob is wearing Pete's old power color blue suit. It's a nice visual cue that Bob is going to take Pete's spot on the account." Another excerpt: "We predicted right from the beginning of this season that not only would Peggy and Abe break up, but that they would break up over philosophical differences. And we did that solely by looking at the clothes they were wearing in their scenes together." Great stuff.
• Couple of F-bombs this season! I can't remember if they bleeped those out in the AMC broadcasts, but I feel like I'd have remembered them either way.
• I don't know how many of you guys have seen Freaks and Geeks, but I have, and it never once occurred to me that the elegant, stuffy housewife Don has an affair with this season was played by the same actress as the spunky high school girl who befriends a bunch of burnouts, but, well, wow: