Mad Men has had an astounding effect on television programming over the last couple of years, having won the Emmy for Best Drama three years in a row, an amazing feat that can only be rivaled by HBO’s Sopranos, that set a new standard for TV series quality. The show features some of the most amazing production values on the small screen, recreating the world of 1960‘s advertising with expertise and close attention to historical detail. Mad Men was a runaway hit throughout its first three seasons pushing AMC to become one of the most successful companies in standard cable. Only now after its fourth season has the viewer count begun to drop and I can’t fathom why. Season four is fantastic and maintains the level of quality that has launched the show to its heights of fame. Season four on dvd and Blu ray will have to tide fans over for now as the series has been delayed into 2012.

Mad Men is about everything really. Its not the kind of story that targets a single theme or motif such as Showtime’s Dexter, that show follows the internal search for identity of one conflicted serial killer. Mad Men follows many characters throughout the tumultuous revolutionary period that was 1960‘s America. Mad Men is about identity as well, though it is the discovery of identity for many characters all faced with the massive potential and opportunity that the 1960‘s came to present. Jon Hamm is the central anti-hero, a stoic and principled sinner coming to define his own personal philosophy that has made him infinitely successful and unhappy. Elisabeth Moss is a new voice in the world of high business and want, driven by Don’s philosophy of self-reinvention. John Slattery is the fading icon of a past generation faced with the end of his youth and his own developing conscience. These cast members have broken out in past seasons and continue to do so here, proving they can keep their arc long, hardening and infinitely entertaining.

Mad Men Season four is set against the mid 1960‘s and all the turmoil that came with it; political unrest, an ever developing cold war and the rise of women’s rights all come center stage and do as well to inform as they do to propel the drama. The performances are as skillfully portrayed as they have ever been and the script is top notch, surpassing the trip of Season 3 and becoming a story that begins like a roller coaster and ends like the subtle calm before a hurricane. Season four sees nearly every character faced with a problem resultant of past behavior, a problem nearly all will challenge with a solution that will prove to be a step towards something even more difficult. In many ways the beginning of season four is the conclusion to many plot lines that have followed characters since the shows debut, just when they begin to be resolved we are launched into new plot lines that we will not see climax until season five. This structure will frustrate some but satisfy and titillate most.