"Mad Men Season Six" (HBO, 2013) . . . NOTE: mild spoilers below. don't freak out. . . . The year is now 1968, and as with previous seasons, viewers will have to play a little catch-up to get settled into this season. The new ad agency is booming, and business is almost too good. Meanwhile, the Vietnam War has heated past the boiling point, the counterculture has hit the mainstream, and everyone is turning on, if not actually dropping out, while "women's lib"-style feminism is still bubbling up, just barely off the radar. Meanwhile, Don Draper seems to be still stuck in the hard-drinking swinger mentality of the previous decade: will he be able to make the scene in the psychedelic Sixties? The answer may surprise you. Several episodes are historical set pieces: the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy loom as large on the show as they did in real life (although if I'm being totally honest, these episodes seems a bit forced: their earlier evocations of JFK's assassination and the Cuban Missile Crisis had a richer, more convincing texture...) Perhaps the most evocative historical references here are the fab, eye-popping fashion, with bold, brightly colored pop-art prints and dynamic cuts typical of the late '60s -- not the shabby tie-dye stereotypes that became Hollywood's "Sixties" shorthand in the '80s and '90s. The "Mad Men" costume department really went to town on this season and, even though I'm hardly a fashion follower myself, I found a lot of the women's fashion that came up in this season to be consistently fresh and exciting. The visual look of this season's clothing was truly stunning: take that, "Project Runway"!! The narrative arc has its ups and downs, a couple of plot points I didn't totally buy, but overall it's another strong season with slow, deliberate pacing, admirable period detail, complex and often troubling character growth, and a cliffhanger ending that sets Season Seven up to be another doozy. What's next? A man on the Moon?? (DJ Joe Sixpack, Slipcue film reviews) Read more
I love the series and watching it on DVD only adds to the nostalgia. Read more
Mad Men was a show I started watching because it was on when I had time to watch and there wasn't anything I found more interesting. Initially I found it slow, but interesting as it took me back to my youth and the lens through which the TV presented the world. As the characters developed I became hooked and liked the show more as I started getting vested in the characters and impressed with the portrayal of the era's the show took the viewer through as it went from years of unprecedented economic stability and a society quite different from today and seeing the development of the characters and the period of change that forever changed our society. The whole time as seen through an industry that is paid to portray life as being better because of things the sponsors sell. An interesting perspective to begin with, but one used as the basis for the writing of the show. Mad Men is a show that takes time to enjoy and really requires watching the entire series since the things happening in season 6 are powerful because of how they relate to the many things that proceeded them in prior episodes and seasons. I purchased season 6 to watch through Amazon's Instant Video so as for the missing extra's from the DVD's I was unaffected. As for the season itself I found it the best to date as the events continue to get larger since they occur in the context of a group of fully developed characters. So I thought more happened in the Season than several of the earlier ones combined. Such is the nature of a story with a lot of character depth. It never seems to leave me lacking for surprise either as both my wife and I have actually yelled at the characters on screen for being so ____________!!! I like that it inspires that sort of emotion as I normally only get that from a good book. While it could be said the story is a soap opera the ties to history and the whole industry used as the backdrop and the impact it has on our society makes it far deeper and interesting. 5 years ago I would have thought Don would have crashed and burned by now and I wouldn't care, but I'm hooked and will watch and see how things turn out hoping that the destination is as good as the ride. Read more
Great series hated seeing it end but would definitely buy again. Read more
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The best thing about the Mad Men box sets for me has been the commentaries. They're thoughtful, informative, entertaining, and insightful, and always a great mix of perspectives from different departments that go into making the show so exceptional. But for some reason, on the season 6 discs, they've left the commentaries off. So if you're choosing discs over streaming options in order to get the commentaries, know that they aren't here this time. I'm pretty disappointed to be missing the Cliff's notes experience I've dug so much on previous seasons. But this season was so good I'm still giving it 5 stars. The cover is really cool. The texture makes it feel almost like an original pencil drawing. Makes me wonder where Sal is now... Read more
As far as Amazon goes - they delivered it fine. They didn’t go out of their way to add padding or protection, but it arrived safe. As for Season 6 of Mad Men - it was another good season, but not as strong as the first 3 seasons of the show. It’s still phenomenally better than 99% of tv shows out there that have been made, but there was a small drop off on storytelling. Picture quality was good, but not amazing. 3.75/5.00 for what the Blu-Ray format is capable of. Audio quality was good. I don’t regret buying it and overall enjoyed it. Read more
