Customer Reviews

Mad Men: Season Three

5 star:		(136)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

From day one, this show has not disappointed. It has some of the best writing and acting that Hollywood has produced for a television show in a long time and it has the awards to prove it. It's a highly stylized look at a Madison Avenue advertising agency and the people who work there and has been extremely enjoyable. Season 3 has had the best writing and acting and the last 3 episodes have been the best out of all 39 episodes produced to date. You cannot truly appreciate season 3 without watching seasons 1 and 2 so if you are new to the series, please do yourself a favor and watch them before consuming season 3, you will not be disappointed.

Mad Men remains a show that rewards careful viewing. How much you'll like it depends on how important it is to you that there are explosions and car chases. Me, I zone out during action sequences in movies -- it's the weirdest thing. Sports too. What interests me and what Mad Men provides is good story-telling centered around characters. The more you pay attention, the more you'll be rewarded in a greater understanding that will make you confused when someone tells you that nothing happens. This is the type of show that rewards people who take a geeky pleasure in noticing themes and motifs. Matthew Weiner, the creator, allows some things to remain ambiguous as well.

There are so few shows that you can watch more than once and find something new and few shows you can analyze. It's just as fun to discuss it afterwards as it is to watch it. If this sounds too much like high school English -- and not in a good way -- then you'd be better off taking a pass. However, if this is the type of show you seek out, then enjoy. If you haven't seen the previous seasons, start there and enjoy it from the beginning. I'll envy you your opportunity to enjoy three seasons in a row!

In season three, we continue to deal with the Draper marriage -- a union strained to nearly the breaking point in season 2. There was some really beautiful writing and acting here. One of the beauties of this show is how in the course of a scene a viewer's sympathies can change or be torn between characters. The marriage between Pete and Trudy shows some terrific growth and depth that could not have been predicted in season 1. Don Draper also meets a mogul who is probably rolling in his grave over the second most famous thing the family name now evokes. Sal, played by Bryan Batt, has several wonderful scenes, starting with the first episode of the season. Kiernan Shipka, who plays Sally Draper, is turning out to be a talented young actress, as highlighted in an episode called The Arrangements, as well as in the season finale. Frankly, I could just continue mentioning members of this terrific cast, as they all are a pleasure.

The Kennedy assassination is featured and handled in a way never seen before, I think, and it's one character's reaction to it and events surrounding it that causes him/her/it to make a truly huge decision.

On to the Bluray: I had to return the first copy as defective -- no matter what I hit, it wanted to rewind. Fortunately, the next copy was perfect, and Amazon has always handled returns well. Because this is a show that caters to people who want to really enjoy the writing and acting and to even study it a little, this set carries on in the tradition of previous seasons in offering tons of commentary -- most episodes have two commentaries. As always, some people really do a better job that others. The creator, Matthew Weiner, always has good insights. Kiernan Shipka, I'm not kidding, seemed to really be in touch with her character in a way that many adults can only envy. Other extras are a mixed bag, although I enjoyed the 2 part doc on cigarette advertising.

Love this show!

*Spoilers ahead. Just warning you!*

For all the fans and true "Mad Men" addicts out there, Season 3 was much-anticipated. At the end of Season 2, we had reason to believe that Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the charismatic creative director of Sterling-Cooper, had come to his place of reckoning and was ready to turn a new leaf (sorry for all the cliches) in his marriage, if not his career. His gorgeous, emotionally stunted wife Betty (January Jones) just found out she was pregnant, and they apparently decide to mend their marriage and try to make a go of it. Presumably, women didn't have many choices back in the '60's. Also, Betty just might be that kind of woman - she needs a man to complete her.

But right from the beginning of Season 3, the viewer can see that not much has changed at all, and Don is off being the bad boy again. Betty seems in a world of her own with her pregnancy, and then her father's decline in health and the subsequent decisions that have to made give her all she can apparently cope with. I found myself growing angry at her numerous times because of her cold, unfeeling treatment of her adorable children. Even with all his immaturity, Don seems to be the far more caring parent, at least while face-to-face with his children. Sally Draper, their little girl, had some of the best acting of the season, and I think she will mature into a terrific actress.

So much happens on the career front, it would be a mistake to give it all away in a review. I heard complaints from various people that Season 3 was too slow -- but remember that this is a show about character development and nuance, above all. The last two episodes, about the Kennedy assassination and the Season finale, are as action-packed as any plot lover could want. They are magnificently written and acted, and left this viewer, at least, panting for Season 4. What more can a series offer?

You must watch from the beginning of the series, but Season 3 is amazing. You will not be disappointed. I've always been sad that there are only 13 episodes in a season, but the quality is so extraordinary, I cherish these 13 over lesser 22-episode seasons.

If you're not into Mad Men yet, start with Season 1. But don't stop until you get through Season 3 (at least).

An extremely creative and well-fleshed out portrayal of advertising executives, their co-workers and their families in the 1960's. Gives the same or better dramatic quality and acting as "The Sopranos" and "Deadwood". You may find some minor things to quibble about, but the overall product is pleasurable and enjoyable beyond expectations. In fact it surpasses Season 2 given the minimal use of surreal fantasy and flashback which can be irrelevant and distracting to viewers.

I cannot believe that amazon.com lowered the price of the wonderful "Mad Men" less than ONE WEEK after its release date. It's $17.99 today, 3/29/10. I preordered it in October 2009 and ended up paying a price of $28.99 when I received it just a few days ago. An $11 reduction immediately? What a slap in the face to loyal amazon.com customers and "Mad Men" fans. I thought amazon.com had more class and respect for their customers -- was I wrong? I understand that amazon.com does not making any pricing promises (see their pricing policies if you want) but this seems to be an especially callous way to treat loyal customers. Couldn't they at least have waited a while before lowering the price so drastically? DON'T BOTHER TO PRE-ORDER SEASON 4 OF "MAD MEN" FROM AMAZON.COM: the lesson seems to be that those who pre-order are taken advantage of, and those who wait will get the best price. (amazon.com played fair for the Season 2 preorder; why not now?) About "Mad Men: Season 3" the DVD itself? Of course it's wonderful, it's one of the best pieces of dramatic work ever, it's a must-have for any "Mad Men" fan. It's simply excellent. The old-fashioned glass of whiskey on the DVD box cover is a gorgeous hologram. But I can't watch Season 3 right now. I don't want to take out my anger at amazon.com on Don Draper!

I love "Mad Men", and have wanted to start collecting the dvd sets for awhile now, but they have generally been priced higher than I wanted to pay. Imagine my excitement, then, when I found Amazon selling a new copy of season 3 for only $17.99- I was thrilled, but also cautious. I researched to make sure the packaging pictured on Amazon was the actual packaging for the dvd set- it was, so I placed my order. It just arrived yesterday, but instead of a boxed set with an episode guide, it's a black dvd case with 2 plastic trays inside to hold all 4 dvds. No episode guide, just the season 3 slipcover. It looks like someone put this together out of their home. I recognize I got a great deal, but if Amazon is not actually selling me the boxed set, then that information should be specified somewhere- I would have paid a little more to get the actual product instead of a homemade knock-off.

Having stumbled upon this program in the first season, it made an instant impact on me, yet I find it hard to watch at times due to the dark nature of its underlying theme. Only nostalgia makes it bearable viewing for me.

Scenario: the cusp of the 1960s: "Madmen" chronologically traces what many believe to be the greatest era of promise for the American way: the era of the Kennedy Camelot and the best of everything in one nation. America: the light on the hill; the envy of the world, boasting full employment and increasing leisure time, social security, the promise of genuine egalitarianism and technical advancements destined to take us to the stars. It is within this environment that we are introduced to a successful advertising company, replete with poised, glamorous people who seem to encapsulate the essence of the great American idyll itself; faces from a Norman Rockwell painting... but something is wrong.

The principal is Don Draper (who bears a striking resemblence to '60s pop-crooner, Jack Jones), the all-American war hero: the archetypal good-looking, successful businessman; romeo by evening and family man extraordinaire as it suits; the ultimate renaissance man; cool and smooth; without a care in the world... surely this is a facade, though? The real man is not that bright; almost certainly a coward in war and most probably an incompetent manager, both at work and at home; destructive to all those around him. Perhaps this is why Draper is invariably depicted in a black suit: the personification of death. His adopting the persona of a dead man re-inforces the motif of death.

Draper's beautiful wife, Betty, could have stepped out of a portrait of "Stepford Brides" ...except that this Grace Kelly lookalike is flaky, to say the least. The question is, did Don push her over the edge, or did she inherit her madness from her senile father?

Welcome to Sterling Cooper, where the men and women play loose and dirty for gain. Chief paramour, Joan Holloway, covers up for the infidelities of the men and does a very good job of it. Even the naive young office girl, Peggy Olsen, is a single-mindedly ambitious young woman, willing to sleep with whomever and do whatever it takes to climb the ladder out of the secretarial pool. She has some talent, yes, but eschews scruples when an opportunity for advancement presents itself. Don Draper doesn't care when Sterling Cooper sells out to the limeys; he gets his half million and gets to start his own company - and he gets to keep wunderkind, Peggy. Peggy's madness seems to be her propensity to ruin relationships.

As within so outside of the office we see depictions of dysfunctional families and relationships, or plans that go awry: a tabloid world of childishness and absurdity. The entire scenario is certainly negative, but is it accurate? Life can't be all bad. True, but one must see this in the context of the developing "Madmen" theme: I don't think the writers' intention was to balance the good with the bad. Rather, I believe the exaggerated negativity is deliberate; symbolic of something.

I won't go through every character one-by-one because it really would be redundant. Suffice to say, nearly all of them are flawed in some manner. At Sterling Cooper, almost everyone drinks, smokes and lusts without restraint. It's a cesspool of junk people with nothing more than well-dressed, fashionable front to disguise their corruption; shallow people motivated only by their carnal desires. It's no surprise they root for Nixon over JFK on election night in the hope of lower taxes.

At first glance, it may be that Pete Campbell's in-laws are the sole exemplar of the "good" people. They alone support him and his new bride with their fledgling (and straining) marriage and provide the cash Campbell's rich dad refuses to donate. ...and yet they spoil their nagging daughter rotten and attempt to micro-manage her marriage. So, on second thoughts, they do seem to be as addled as most characters in the series.

One of the more complex characters is Anna Draper, the wife of the man whose identity Don stole. She is totally accepting of Don and his "deadly sinning" and even harbours an inexplicable confidence that he can change. Anna seems to represent the light that juxtaposes Don's darkness; a light that is destined to be extinguished, along with the American dream itself.

The assassination of JFK is the pivotal moment when the new dream is revealed as a nightmare in waiting - this killing, a deranged act of national suicide - or had the fatal shot already been fired five years earlier in Brooklyn?

"Madmen" is an epic of failure: its characters take their partners and step out as the symbolic "dancers of death".

Special Features and Specs For Season 3 Have Been Announced:

Mad Men is truly an excellently produced show on all levels, as should be evident from it's adament fans, critical praise and many awards. The first season established the world and introduced the characters, the second season expanded and elaborated on each and the third season finally presents a complete vision. The third season doesn't have quite the same punch of the first season, nor does it have the exploration of the second. What it does have is a nice combination of many elements. After all the anticipation and two seasons of building up this season things began to happen, it was also a season with more comedic elements tossed into the mix after the seriousness of season two. If you watch this show you'll want to buy this set to catch nuances you've missed in the first viewing and if you haven't seen this show catch it on AMC or buy the first season because now is the time to immerse yourself in the well crafted world of Mad Men.

This season contains the following 13 episodes:

Out of Town
Love Among the Ruins
My Old Kentucky Home
The Arrangements
The Fog
Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency
Seven Twenty Three
Souvenir
Wee Small Hours
The Color Blue
The Gypsy and the Hobo
The Grown Ups
Shut the Door, Have a Seat

This four disc DVD set will be released on March 23rd, I'm glad they're not making us wait until July like last year when they wanted the second season DVD release to coincide with the third season television premiere. The episodes will be presented in Anamorphic Widescreen video. English 5.1 Dolby Digital and English 2.0 Dolby Digital Audio options as well as English and Spanish subtitles. Closed Captioning will also be included. The set will also include the following special features:

Mad Men Commmentaries: As with previous seasons cast and crew will provide audio commentaries on the episodes, in the past commentaries have been included on each season episode with some episodes having more than one commentary option.

Medgar Evers: The Patriarch. The Activist. The Hero - A documentary that explores the life of the Civil Rights Pioneer who believed in a better way of life for all through equality and the end of segregation.

Up In Smoke: A visual depiction of the juxtaposition between the world of advertising and big tabaco in the 40's, 50's, 60's and today.

We Shall Overcome: The March on Washington - Dr. Martin Luther King's speech accompanied by images detailing the historic moment when over 250 000 people who marched on Washington.

Mad Men Illustrated - Dyna Moe gives commentary leading you through the "animated" photo gallery of Mad Men illustrations.

Flashback 1963: An interactive look back at the events and themes that defined that year.

All in all you're getting a lot of special features by the time you add up all the, always in the past, insightful commentaries with the amount of featurettes on the sixties. These features are great for those interested in the era of Mad Men and I've always been one who enjoys a good commentary but I must say I'm still upset at the lack of behind the scenes special features. No actual interviews with the cast, crew or writer's of this fine series. No 'on set' or 'behind the scenes' looks, no journey into the writing room to see how they designed this crucial season. I'm not saying the special features they are providing aren't great though, just that personally I'd love to learn more about how the show itself is made and that hopefully they will announce more features before this season is released.

Five Stars for the quality of these episodes after having seen them on television and for the quality I'm sure we can expect the DVD episodes to be in based on how great past seasons have looked on DVD. Also five stars for the amount of bonus features they continue to include, which are always interesting despite not being as much about the show production as I'd personally like (I still hope that will change). Ultimately Mad Men is a great show that most people can find something to enjoy about and this season is crucial as it's the one where things have started falling apart. It's like the season three ending song Shadaroba says, "the future will be better than the past", and while things may get worse for the characters of Mad Men, certainly before they get any better, we can bet that the future of this show will only get better. Fans know this show is amazing and those who haven't tried it yet should before the fourth season really shakes things up. Thanks for your time.

AMC's breakout smash "Mad Men" continues its winning ways in Season 3, even as all of its characters seem to be teetering on the brink of losing everything. Never maudlin, always surprising, "Mad Men" keeps its cast on its toes as characters both major and minor come up against some of the harshest shocks any person should have to face.

Jon Hamm once again reincarnates Cary Grant in his portrayal of Madison Avenue's shining light, Don Draper. This guy is one maddening dude, puzzling both the other characters as well as the audience. Many would ask why he is so carefree with his marriage to the seemingly perfect Betsy (January Jones), although the show does a great job showing why Don finds the facade of domestic bliss to be so unsatisfying without making Betsy into a total harridan. But every time Draper leans too far to the side of the unsympathetic womanizer, he does something that is as true and honorable as anything that can be found on the show. Betsy, for all her faults, also comes across as human, if flawed, in Season 3.

The British Invasion of Sterling Cooper does not go swimmingly in Season 3, and the cultural clashes are almost as powerful as the blades of a John Deere tractor (which make an unfortunate appearance in the S-C headquarters - this is why my firm has banned riding lawnmowers in the office). Draper and the crew try to keep things going despite the Brits' penny-pinching, dictatorial ways, but you can tell that Sterling-Cooper's days are numbered, at least in its current incarnation. Even Roger, the walking bon mot, begins to show the signs of strain despite professing to have found happiness with his second marriage.

Everywhere you look, characters are confronting internal crises. These problems mirror the growing strains on the America of the early 1960s, as the writers powerfully use the assassinations of Medger Evers and JFK to add fuel to what is already a combustible mix.

All in all, if you have a favorite character on this show you are going to be pleased because virtually every character gets a chance to shine. True, some parts are smaller than others, and the Don-and-Betsy show looms large over everything else, but this is a well-balanced show with a bevy of well-rounded, entertaining characters. When the season finale rolls arounds, you will be at first upset that such a good season had to end, but you'll be thankful that there is a Season 4 to look forward to.