if yor trying to quit smoking do not watch this show

I spent some of the sixties in broadcasting, closely associated with advertising, and I find this series absolutely note perfect. Someone in a previous comment suggested a lack of authenticity because of the omission of the F word, but indeed that word was almost never used then among educated, professional people. What's interesting is just how much cruder some men were then, even without the expletives that fall off the lips of men and women today. I preferred the second season to the first--the characters were better established--and in this first season, it seemed to me that the episodes on the first and second disc were better than on the third and fourth.

A pretty good TV series, though a bit stiff at times. Cast members vary greatly in acting ability. Can be a touch patronizing to people who actually lived during the fifties and sixties as the series tends to make characters two-dimensional and overly naive. In some ways I would compare Mad Men to the Brady Bunch spoof movies that were made decades after the original.

Excellent performance by Jon Hamm, John Slattery, January Jones. The concept of following the life of Madison Avenue ad firm in the 1960's is original. However, the execution is lame. Each episode seems an endless series of college fraternity antics and attitudes. The only real adults in this ad firm are Don Draper (Hamm) and Roger (Slattery). Of course, 1960's attitudes may have been chauvinistic by current standards but the writing seems uni-dimensional. Even movies about Wall Street, which still remains primarily a "boys club" have more substance. Hopefully, writers get out their real creative hats in the following seasons.

This is a terrific series. It is funny to see all the smoking and drinking that went on at work in the 1960's. Love all the characters and can't wait to see Season 2

This series really nails the 50's & 60's. Yes, people really did smoke almost constantly and people really did reach for a drink (or tranquilizer pill) at the slightest emotional disturbance. I clearly remember it on TV and in the movies. The casual sexism and racism is also accurate. I absolutely hated the 50's and now I can clearly see why. Lies, booze, nationalism, sexism, racism, greed --- what's not to like? A wonderful & accurate portrayal of a time I'm very glad is past.

On the whole, the acting, writing, production design and costumes are all excellent. My quibbles? The smoking is forced. Smoking in classic Hollywood movies seem very natural, as it were. The majority of these actors look uncomfortable and some are clearly not inhaling. 1960 is before my time but I do remember when smoking was permissible, but even still, not EVERYONE smoked. Also, this show begs for profanity. These characters in the line of business they're in would've dropped the f, s, c, etc, words constantly, I feel the omission is jarring. It's interesting how they're allowed to show someone's face blown off and their guts hanging out, but they can't show explicit sex, nudity or speak profanity. Oh well.

Outstanding series. They've done a great job of presenting the '60's down to the finest of details. Great acting as well.

I was born in 1947 and lived through the sixties. It really does an excellent job of recreating the look and feel of the 1960s. Great Series!!!

Everything comes together in this series. The writing, the design, the cinematography, the direction and acting. I have this in my home collection and watch it over and over. My teenage son also watched some of it with me and we had a lot of interesting conversations. I was born in 1964 and grew up looking at my Dad's photos from this era. It rings true. I also enjoy the commentaries, especially the ones with Matthew Weiner.