Mad Men -The end of an era

A man enters his cabin, puts down his suitcase & everything goes downhill from there. The room collapses, and he goes tumbling from the window of his office. We see him take a fall through a chasm of diamond rings, Happy American families in American ad hoardings, martini and women in stockings…

We have seen this for a few years now, but do not know (for a fact) who this man is? Is he one person? Is he the man living inside all of us?

 Is he DON DRAPER? Well, we shall get an answer to this question on Sunday (Monday 11 am, IST)

Anyone who has followed Mad Men knows that Don Draper is like none other. He is one of a kind. A man who has it all : Fame, status, money, career, women, admirers / followers / worshippers. He is everything a man tries (and fail) to be. Every man wants to be him, every woman wants to be with him! He is tall and handsome, dresses impeccably and always in control, rules  people & commands respect.  

So what is wrong with him? When everyone wants to be him, why does he want to escape from himself?

As if this was not the single most important question for Matthew Weiner (The show’s writer) to answer, he needs to bring the characters / stories to a justifiable end in the last episode. Huge task, indeed. After all, we want to see Roger & Peggy (if not everyone else) get a fitting goodbye.

It has been a fine ride. Mad Men entertained & shocked me equally. The ideas & themes it explored in each of its episodes were fascinating. Sometimes too much for a fiction TV show, but all of it was packaged in a beautiful & entertaining way.

The acting is routinely excellent, the dialogue sparkling & the stories amazing. The attention to period detail is astonishing, and the art direction alone makes the show worth watching even with the sound off.

I might not break into tears or miss Mad Men the way I did after Breaking Bad got over, but what I am weary of is the absence of  another crazy yet creative package te Mad Men was. It was a mix of some sharp writing, it embraced some bold themes and never confined itself to any particular genre.

Here are some key numbers that make Mad Men special:

#  Don Draper (Jon Hamm) has been to bed with 18 women through the series

# 942 cigarettes were smoked on screen

# 369 alcoholic beverages were poured in the office. (Yes, in office!)

And it all comes to an end Sunday night, as the 92nd and final installment shall be aired. No more Don Draper or Peggy Olsen. No Roger, Joan, Betty, Megan, Pete, Ken.

All eyes will be on AMC Sunday night as the network airs Mad Men's series finale. To make sure of it, AMC’s sister networks (BBC America, IFC, Sundance and WE) will suspend regular programming for an hour beginning at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday.