Mad Men Series 1-3 DVD

Mad Men airs around midnight on a school night on this side of the world and as I’m usually tucked up in bed way before that it’s only in the last couple of weeks that I have finally discovered what all the fuss is about.

Set in New York (Madison Avenue) in the 1960s, it’s quite beautiful to watch not least for the attention to detail. The women’s clothing and hair styles are amazing and the show is rich in atmosphere conveying the social values of the period. It’s particularly interesting to see  how it portrays sexism in the workplace – particularly in how it affects Peggy and Red in the Sterling Cooper office.

The storyline is quite carefully developed with incidents from the first series leading to developments in later episodes – particularly in relation to the main character, Don Draper who has some secrets in  his past.

Series 3 – particularly the last couple of episodes – is simply superb. Series 4 aired in the US and UK last year and at the time of writing is about to air in Ireland.