“Mad Men” (Season 1, Episode 3: “Marriage of Figaro” AMC)

It is the early 1960’s, and despite all that has happened since WWII, the rapid cultural changes of the decade have yet to occur. Pregnant woman drink and bad little boys get a firm slap. It is still a time of innocence in many regards; TV is a novelty, electric typewriters are the latest technology, and cigarettes continue to be consumed at an alarming rate. In AMC’s meticulous period piece, “Mad Men,” Matthew Weiner creates a world that is sexy, intriguing and at times disturbing.

This is the world of the Ad men of New York’s famed Madison Ave., and they have it all… or so it seems. Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is a chief executive at Sterling Cooper, the WASPiest Agency in town, and by all outward appearances, he is a prince. Don is rich, handsome, and intelligent with a blonde bombshell of a wife, Betty, played by January Jones. She adores and obeys him, but still he is unhappy. Despite his nice house in the suburbs, his big car, his beautiful wife and kids, Don is seeking something, and hiding something.

In the very first scene of the episode, Don is riding the train to work, examining a famous VW Beetle advertisement, when an “old friend” confronts him. It’s a familiar scene, you bump into an old acquaintance, perhaps you can’t remember their name, and it’s a bit awkward. But Don, though he plays it pretty cool as per usual, is positively mortified. Here we are given our first glimpse into the history of our mysterious main character. Although the man obviously recognizes Don, he refers to him as “Dick Whitman.”

Not even his wife knows who he really is. Nor does she know about his frequent trysts; represented in this episode through an encounter with a beautiful client, a Jewish heiress running a large department store. Although the affair is nothing out of the ordinary for the show (all the men have them), Draper’s extramarital interactions are passionate and romantic. The romance is punctuated with great dialog, deep stares and knowing looks.

“Mad Men” does the early 60’s to a tee. The sex scenes usually fade out with a kiss, and fade back in to the lovers in bed, smoking away. The sets, costumes, and props are meticulously researched and reproduced, right down to the drinks and cigarettes that play such a large role in the characters lives. In one of the worst prop mistakes in the show’s history, Don is seen in this episode guzzling “Fielding” Beer while building his daughter’s playhouse, even though it had not been introduced to the US at the time.

Although it can be overly dramatic at times, “Mad Men” is great show. Looking past the overt themes of money, sex, and power, it explores a myriad of social issues without shoving them down your throat. It doesn’t rely on too much violence or action like so many other shows these days. Instead we are seduced by the scene, the sets, the feel, and the dialog.