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AMC's Mad Men: It's Television Worth Living For

With the season two unveiling of Mad Men on Sunday, July 27, Executive producer/creator Matt Weiner cements his reputation as one of the smartest, most imaginative creatives working in television.

There is no Sophomore slump for this show set in a Madison Avenue ad agency - a stylish and multi-layered immersion in the early 1960's, just when the culture teeters on the cusp of upheaval.

Mad Men topped my 2007 list of television's best, followed by Dexter (a close second). In 2008, Mad Men still holds fast to the top spot so far.

Season two of Mad Men opens on perfect moment, perhaps the peak of the Camelot fantasy, pre-dating the Cuban Missile Crisis - Valentine's Day, 1962. It just happens to be the day when "three out of four television viewers tuned to CBS or NBC to watch a "A Tour of the White House" with Mrs. John F. Kennedy...."

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF MY REVIEW

2007's BEST TELEVISION SERIES: AMC's MAD MEN Tops The List; Runners-Up: Dexter, Ugly Betty, Californication, Pushing Daisies, Brotherhood

Two shows this year stand out as pure appointment tv. These series required no DVR’ing; the air time was burned in my brain - Showtime’s Dexter and AMC’s Mad Men.

Because of the rich setting, superb ensemble cast, and feature film production values, Mad Men edged out Dexter as my pick for the best scripted series of 2007. 42 year-old creator Matt Weiner (the Emmy-winning executive producer of The Sopranos) is channeling an intimate period piece, set circa 1960 in a Manhattan ad agency.

The Mad Men season finale contains one of the most memorable scenes in the history of television. Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the maestro of the Sterling Cooper agency, pitches Kodak on an ad campaign, using photos of his own beautiful wife and children as models.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE on Mad Men, Dexter, Californication, Pushing Daisies, Brotherhood, and Ugly Betty. with clips!

The Best & Worst of '07:Cheesy Gambits, Clunky Product Placement, Christmas Blood Bling Plus The Best Network Promo

Tornadoes, ferry explosions, weddings, fire, death - these are moth eaten plot devices time-honored television “events." Companion pieces to the "events" are the clamorous broadcast net promos that promise much but deliver little.

This year's dramatic series nadir was February's (sweeps, of course) Grey's Anatomy ferry crash arc aka creator Shonda Rhimes' swan dive into the shark tank. Meredith drowns, Izzie drills through the skull of a trapped victim, and, while patients croak, the staff mopes - about their hair dye jobs and weddings, etc.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE on NBC's Life, CSI NY, Second Life, Cane, Heroes and more.

'Mad Men' Creator Matt Weiner on Love, Sartre and Why Men Behave Badly

The season one finale of Mad Men, one of the most compelling shows to hit the small screen in years, airs this Thursday at 10p.m. Several weeks ago, AMC re-upped the critically acclaimed drama.

(photo: copyright/Mary McNamara & Multichannel News)

The series, set circa 1960 in a Manhattan ad agency, teeters on the cusp of a cultural shift. The tension is palpable. Controlled, perfect lives feel held together by chicken wire, ready to fly apart.

Leading up to the series premiere last July at the TCA press tour, Mad Men's Emmy-winning [for The Sopranos] creator Matt Weiner sat down for an extended stream of consciousness chat about love vs. desire, Sartre, tacky period movies, why men behave badly, and how such a nice mensch like himself makes a living by fearlessly divulging his forbidden thoughts.

CLICK HERE FOR THE EIGHT PART INTERVIEW AND FOR A PIC OF MATT'S RAINBOW SOCKS.

WOO-HOO! MAD MEN RENEWED! Kudos to AMC

Mad Men has been renewed for a second season, according to our very own Linda Moss.

It's morning here on the West Coast but I'm pouring the bubbly - maybe an organic Mimosa. Can I just say- woo! hoo! And kudos to AMC for their commitment to this series. The ratings have not been spectacular but AMC says (per Linda's report) the numbers are on the rise - with 31% growth in household ratings.

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY ON MY MULTICHANNEL BLOG

AMC's Mad Men Debuts to Critical Kudos

AMC's Mad Men -- a series set in a Manhattan ad agency circa 1960 -- launches tonight at 10 p.m. The critical buzz appears to be almost entirely positive.

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CLICK TO HEAR JEFF GOLDBLUM'S BAND PLAY A JAZZY VERSION OF THE BONANZA THEME (from the AMC/Television Critics Assocation launch party for Mad Men, held at the Friar's Club).

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