What you should be watching: Mad Men

So many people in my life are missing the greatness that is Mad Men. My first question is always, "Have you seen Jon Hamm?"

I get the drawbacks. It looks dark and potentially boring. It's based in the 1960's. AMC makes their episodes so long. There have been so many episodes already. All completely understandable. But there are so many reasons for anyone to watch this show! So I've made a list of some of my favorite reasons to keep watching:

Cultural references. Who doesn't love a history lesson while they're watching television? I can honestly say I've learned more from Mad Men than I have from a history book about the 1960s. If I had been alive during this time period, I would watch it religiously for nostalgic purposes. You get so much insight into race and gender relations, economic classes, and the apparent sex lives of my grandparents which I like to assume they had no part of.

Betty Draper. I really don't want to spoil this character for you. She fleshes out The Feminine Mystique and it's so entertaining to watch. I have had such a love-hate relationship with her since the beginning because I seriously don't know what I want from her. I want her to fight against all the housewife stereotypes and have her own ideas and be her own person, because you know I'm all about girl power. But when she steps out of those roles I usually get super pissed and tweet mean things about her. Besides my own issues, she wears the best clothes and goes into the best rages on the show.

Kiernan Shipka. This child can act. Sally is growing up in such a weird time period, and Kiernan knocks it out of the park every week, in my opinion. Her facial expressions alone are a gold mine.

"The Suitcase". One of the best television episodes I've ever seen. I was so absorbed in the episode that I didn't realize I was crying until it was over. Don and Peggy's relationship is so complicated, yet easy, and it was executed perfectly. I think one reason it's so great is that the elements for its success aren't on paper. Don't get me wrong, the writing and dialogue are outstanding, but a lot of the beauty in this episode comes from the acting and directing. Somehow the characters say so much by saying so little, and it was a refreshing change from other shows that pack their punch with wordy dialogue. Some people may not agree, but I loved it.

Roger Sterling. "You don't know how to drink. Your whole generation, you drink for the wrong reasons. My generation, we drink because it's good, because it feels better than unbuttoning your collar, because we deserve it. We drink because it's what men do." This pretty much sums him up. Roger exudes pure masculinity and does whatever he wants whenever he wants. He has no filter. I see how he gets all the women.

Dialogue. Mad Men has some of the best writing on television. The plot turns are often genius and surprising, but the attention paid to word choice and musicality cannot go unnoticed. To me, the beauty is in the directness. I've always thought of the 60s as a sort of awakening from repression, but my parents were born in this decade so what do I know really? But the dialogue cements my connections to the characters and the world of SCDP. Some examples of my favorites:

Don: "What you call 'love' was invented by guys like me. To sell Nylons."

Peggy: "You need three ingredients for a cocktail. Vodka and Mountain Dew is an emergency."

Peggy: "I have a boyfriend."
Joyce: "He doesn’t own your vagina."
Peggy: "No, but he’s renting it."


Pete Campbell. To sum up Pete Campbell in one word, he is the worst. He's that guy at your office or in your class that sucks up to get ahead and thinks he has everyone fooled. I never want him to leave SCDP, though, because I love to hate him. He's just a sad individual and a joy to watch every week.

Intense Smoking and Drinking. It's like watching a trainwreck. Not only do they drink with their clients, but they drink alone in their offices in the middle of the day. Can't figure out a pitch? Just get blackout and take a nap on the couch. Quick fix! Watching this go down and knowing that Americans base their purchases on the campaigns these frat boys come up with is entertainment at its finest.

"The Other Woman". Another episode with Don and Peggy that made me cry. I'm sensing a pattern. This episode really made me question the direction of the show and long to see the next episode. And Joan? Oh I can't even deal. I liked her fine, but she really grew on me in season 5. This episode just broke my heart for completely necesssary reasons. Understanding the characters' decisions makes it worse for me.

Jon Hamm/ Don Draper. I could have made a list with just this entry on it and it would be reason enough to watch the show. Don Draper is a clear cut example of an antihero. He makes the worst life decisions, but I still love him. When he does something terrible to other characters on the show, somehow I wind up mad at the victims instead of Don. How does that happen? Jon Hamm. Besides the fact that he's a human Ken doll, the man can act. I loved him on 30 Rock, I wish he would be on SNL every week, and yet he still makes me cry on this show. I've seen him in blackface for crying out loud, but when he makes that tortured face, it's over and he knows it. I can't help but love him. The last episode in season 5 left a cliffhanger that really questions the essence of his character, so I'm dying for April to get here. Plus I need to see his face again.

Vulture provided a schedule to get through all the episodes before the premiere on April 7. By all means go at your own pace, but this could be helpful.

Fair warning: It's starts out slowly. I've never heard anyone say any different. Stick with it! It wins awards for a reason. Plus, Jon Hamm is smokin if I haven't mentioned it.