Mad Men Tonight! I'll Bring the Gin, You Bring the Inappropriate Office Conduct

Gary, the way in which you were over-the-moon giddy for The Dark Knight is the way in which I'm over-the-moon giddy for tonight's season premiere of Mad Men. I re-watched the first season on DVD as well as the bonus features and have mentally immersed myself in the world of 1960 advertising agency Sterling Cooper where gin flows like water, women are second-class citizens, and everyone has a secret. (This doesn't mean that I've been secretly swilling gin while sexually harrassing females, although my roommate and I did look up how to make Tom Collinses and we each drank one during the sixth episode.)

When The Sopranos ended, I was heartbroken. Would another show ever probe the American psyche as well? Would another show ever shed television--and storytelling--conventions in order to capture the unplotted reality of life? Well, Mad Men premiered less than a few months after that silent black coda and my questions got answered with a "Yes" much sooner than I was expecting.

Exactly like the advertisements they create, the character's in Mad Men are all trying to sell themselves with a bold, recognizable image, but they're actually saying more in the subtext. It's brilliant writing, all around, and while watching a Behind the Scenes in the Writers' Room feature on the DVDs, I developed a fire in my stomach that won't be quenched until I, too, am working in a such an intelligent, creative environment. Mad Men takes you deep into the minds of (almost) modern men and how women are more often than not, the victims of the sacrifices men make.