Not murder, silly! Instead, for Mad Men, which I've previously mentioned and am now throughly addicted to after only a few episodes. The thing that stands out to me most about the series, to continue with alliteration to make Beth Harding proud, is the masculinity. Weeds and True Blood both feature female protagonists and are in spite of all the goings-on with each, pretty feminine shows. Strong and feminine, but feminine nonetheless.
Mad Men on the other hand, is very dude-centric, and I love the way the male characters are portrayed as complicated, often very unlikable chauvinists. But it's authentic to the decade in which the series is set, the early 1960s, and the industry of advertising it follows. I'm glad it doesn't shy away from having every male character openly talk about conquering women, with a cigarette in one hand and a scotch in the other. From stories my grandmother has told me about being a housewives in the 1950s and 1960s, it seems to hit the mark.
But of course, what would the men be without the women behind them? We get all sorts of women of the era too: dissatisfied housewives, complacent housewives, the rogue single mother, high society newlyweds, mistresses, secretaries who rule the office roost. And because of these characters - January Jones as Betty Draper and Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson really stand out - the show's primary focus of the Sterling/Cooper ad agency becomes much more interesting when you learn what, or rather who, makes its employees tick.
Compared to my two other summer loves, Weeds and True Blood, Mad Men is pretty low key and sometimes a tad slow in pacing. But so far, it has been worth it for the character development and atmosphere. And Jon Hamm and Christina Hendricks are just as gorgeous as I hoped they'd be. Worth a watch while you wait for Sundays to come around...
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