Mad Men’s Smoke and Mirrors Have Aged Like a Fine Whiskey

I celebrated the 15th anniversary of Mad Men last week by rewatching its pilot. I had forgotten how perfect that episode was—magnetic and cinematic and cryptic. When I first watched it back in 2007, there was no way I could have grasped how elegantly it introduced Mad Men’s central characters and laid out the ambitious themes that would underpin the narrative over seven seasons. A romantic fog engulfed Mad Men in the show’s early years. Style magazines dedicated endless pages to the bygone chic of bullet bras, fedoras, and the three-martini lunch. Thrilled to have its first genuine culture-shifting hit,… Read Full Article