I love it. There really was no hype when it first aired. I was on vacation and was channel surfing when I stumbled across it. It has a great vibe - melancholy, deliberate, and funny in a really off kinda way.

I really got hooked when they rebroadcast the 1st season a few months back. The 2nd season is starting off really good so far. The kid who played Angel's son is really oily and creepy.

Connor?!? He should not be allowed to be in anything that requires him to wear a suit.

You know, I actually thought they got a little too "cutesy" with this in some of the earlier episodes-- "ooh, look how dumb people used to be!" (esp. with the scene where Don & Betty's daughter is playing in a dry cleaning bag), but they sort of toned it down in later episodes. That said, it made me feel nostalgic for my 1970s childhood, where kids didn't have to be strapped in car seats or watched every second of the day. Sure, we lost a few, but it was worth it

Still, as for whether this is an "accurate historical document" or not, I'm not knowledgeable enough to know... it seems hard to believe that people were really so misogynistic as they are presented here, but I suppose the point is to make it FEEL authentic to modern audiences... not to actually BE 100% authentic.

In any case, this is another show where there isn't really anyone who isn't morally corrupt in some way... it's hard to find a hero to "root" for, although I suppose we naturally take Don's side since he's the protagonist. I guess Peggy is the closest thing to a "good" character, although they even clouded that up with the finale last season.

Many of Betty's scenes are really surreal to me... the weird kid next door, the gun & pigeons, etc. I keep waiting for her to self destruct one of these weeks.

And Pete... that guy needs a spike in the head.

I haven't watched the show, but I find it ironic based on your description here that every TV advertisement I've seen for the show includes a heavy dose of hot women in underwear and sex in the workplace. I'm assuming there's a lot more to the show than the ads portray, but it's funny they decided to play up that angle so strongly in the ad campaign.

Well, that's the angle the show takes-- that in this world of the 1960s, most women were objects. Housewives are "like children" and full of petty concerns, women in the office are playthings for the executives, etc. To be fair, one of the best/nicest/most moral characters on the show is a woman who starts as a secretary and begins to climb the ladder at the ad agency... and the main character's wife is obviously being smothered under the "housewife" expectations.

It makes for kind of a tightrope walk, since one could argue that the show is misogynistic but hides behind the setting in order to have an excuse for said misogyny. I can imagine that a lot of women might be turned off by this show, but I suppose I'll leave that for an actual woman to confirm or deny.

I got caught up on the end of Season 2 so I could get psyched about Season 3, but then I quickly forgot to keep up with Season 3. I think this show is better for a DVD bender than regular weekly watching. I really have to be in the right mood for the wave of depression this show generates. But when I am in that mood, it's awesome.

Slate does a great write up on this show every week.

http://www.slate.com/id/2225274/entry/2233022/

It's a discussion between three writers on the show, pointing out interesting bits/parrallels from the episodes. Good stuff.

Funny thing is, I've actually completely cooled on this show since posting the original article.

Season one was great, season two was... random as hell. And season three didn't do much for me to the point where I haven't seen the last 3-4 eps. Sigh. I wish I wasn't such a hard critic on nearly everything I consume for entertainment.

Is is sad that I'm living out my sleeping with a teacher fantasy through Don Draper?

That's what Don Draper is for. He is the Chuck Norris of having an affair.

No. No one is watching this show.

I quite like it, although the latest season's frequent Betty-breaks wore on me. Although Don is perhaps the worst person on the show, he occasionally spends time being smart/interesting in between doing terrible things to the entire female cast. Betty, on the other hand, basically only has "I'm a bad person" scenes. And since she is now so far removed from the central plot threads, it feels like her presence has become rather superfluous; although it is sometimes good to have characters you love to hate, you should generally make them integral to the plot.

I've been tempted to take vacation days for when it goes live on Netflix. So, no, I'm not watching now, but I will be watching. Oh yes, I will!

Just started this one on Netflix myself. Second episode was slow. Does it get better again?

Whooozawutnow?