Mad Men - Complete Season 2 [Blu-ray]

I can't think of much to say about this that I didn't say in my review of Season 1. If there's a difference, it's that the behavioural period details (misogyny, casual violence to children, ubiquitous cigarette smoke etc.) aren't rammed down our throats as much - a good thing.As in Season 1, the acting is a joy to watch. There is not a weak link. I particularly liked Mark Moses as Duck Phillips, a character who'll be familiar to many who've worked in the private sector: the ambitious loser who won't settle for anything less than senior management, his career portfolio a catalogue of misjudgments.I didn't give this 5 stars because beneath the style, there is some variability in the quality of the writing; while in most episodes it is excellent, in a couple of them the dialogue is a little predictable and the plotting contrived. I also observed numerous verbal anachronisms (e.g. "Your job is to manage people's expectations" - sorry, but no way did people talk like that in the 60s!). You may say this doesn't matter, but given the obsessive attention to period detail in the sets, I feel it's a valid criticism.There is always a danger with long serials that they end up somewhat "soapy", with characters changing to fit plots and provisional climaxes gradually undermining the dramatic tension. I'm not saying this has happened with Mad Men, but I'm starting to wonder if there's any real answer to the question, "What is Don Draper like"? The promise of a resolution to his identity crisis still hangs in the air, and I don't feel it can be put off indefinitely.Don't get me wrong, this is an excellent drama, with substance behind the style. As I said above, the acting is wonderfully subtle, and the writing often is too; where it's not, the acting and the direction still carry it.

As everyone knows by now, this is classic TV drama, and Season 2 is even better than Season 1 - the series really hits its stride here.The point I'm going to make may seem minor and petty, but it's really not. If you're watching an entire season over several evenings, you don't want to keep watching the title sequence time after time, right? So you skip the first chapter and go straight to the start of the episode. Except on this set, chapter 2 of each episode starts about 10 minutes in. So you have to fast forward over the titles instead of simply skipping to the start of the episode, which is unnecessarily irritating. My boxed set of The Sopranos formats the title sequence as a separate chapter, as does my set of Season 1 of Mad Men. So why on earth didn't they do this with Season 2? Titles need to be formatted as a separate chapter!

This is a review of the Blu-Ray discs, rather than the content (I love Mad Men!).The first season Blu-Ray disc menus were well laid out, simple to use and the discs worked flawlessly. The discs even indicated which episoded you'd already watched. The disc worked flawessly.With Season 2, the menus aren't as good or as easy to use. The discs take twice as long to load than season 1 (or indeed any other blu-ray disc I own). On a few occasions, the discs have failed to load at all, requiring a complete reboot of the Blu-Ray player. Every other blu-ray I've ever used has no such problems.I have Season 3 (blu-ray) on order, and am hoping not to have these issues again.In summary, a fantastic series, but let down by technical issues with the blu-ray discs.

This is a 3 disc boxed set of about ten 45 minute episodes. I think they are best viewed one episode per sitting. The story lines don't seem to be as strong as in the first series. Some of the episodes seemed to me to be too subliminal, like fairy tales.Don Draper's character has become too transparent and obvious. I preferred him as the more menacing, secretive, manipulative personna of the first series. The best character is his disturbed wife Betty who remains beautiful, troubled and on edge.The series is facinating as a study of the clothes, life styles and social mores of early 1960s corporate America.I look forward to buying the next series.

After my enjoyment of the first series I was tempted to sit and watch this series straight through. However I resisted that temptation and was rewarded with yet another superb piece of period TV. As before this series was superbly acted and the feeling for the period was just about as accurate as one could get. I would not want to criticise any of the characters and their lifestyle especially when one looks at the behaviour of people today. Those times were reasonably safe even in New York. The producers are to be congratulated for creating fine television. I can't wait for series 3!

Not quite as good as Series 1 but still better than most things on TV. Mad Men is a superb series.

If you have already seen volume one of this series about the advertising executives of Madison Avenue in the early 1960's you will probably need no encouragement to get season 2. Suffice to say that if anything it's even better. The acting by all is superb and not just the leads. The female characters are given greater prominence in season 2 to great effect and we learn more of Don Drapers past. The sets are superb, the music beautifully chosen but above all the writing and acting are just so good. TV drama rarely gets this good.

Awesome series, loved season 1 and season 2 just carries on from the first. Difficult to explain why, nothing particularly happens really but the writing is extraordinary. The attention to detail is amazing - you are transported back to and immersed in 60's America totally. The character and plot line development keep you riveted - it's like a book you cannot put down. John Hamm is Don Draper (Richard Whitman) and oozes style. The wardrobe department on this series deserve an award themselves. I am a latecomer to this programme but am addicted now and eagerly looking forward to the arrival of season 3. Great.