{"id":8314,"date":"2010-04-23T02:21:14","date_gmt":"2010-04-23T01:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=8314"},"modified":"2011-03-08T14:46:44","modified_gmt":"2011-03-08T14:46:44","slug":"blu-ray-mad-men-season-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2010\/04\/23\/blu-ray-mad-men-season-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray: Mad Men Season 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The latest season of Mad Men<\/a><\/strong> is another reminder of why it is one of the outstanding TV shows of the past decade.<\/p>\n

Depicting the fictional New York advertising agency Sterling Cooper<\/a> during the early 1960s, it explores lives of those that work there and the quality of the writing puts it on par with landmark shows such as The Wire<\/a> and The Sopranos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Created by Matthew Weiner<\/a>,\u00a0it centres\u00a0around creative director Don Draper (Jon Hamm), his wife Betty (January Jones) and and various characters at the agency such as Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss),\u00a0Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), Roger Sterling (John Slattery),\u00a0Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) and\u00a0Bert Cooper (Robert Morse).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It has deservedly won huge critical acclaim along with consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Drama since it first premiered on US cable channel AMC<\/a> in 2007.<\/p>\n

Season One introduced us to the world of Madison Avenue<\/a> in 1960, a place filled with surface glamour and backward social attitudes where many of the characters struggle to deal with their professional and personal lives.<\/p>\n

Season Two explored the enigma of protagonist Don Draper<\/a>, his mysterious past and professional ambitions, as well as examining the changes during 1962 for various female characters in the office.<\/p>\n

Season Three is set during 1963 and explores tensions at the agency with the new British owners, the ongoing personal conflicts (and infidelities) in the office and the gradual changes in US society as it entered a tumultuous decade.<\/p>\n

One thing that distinguishes Mad Men from the mediocrity of contemporary televison is just the intelligence of the writing but the fact that it somehow manages to highlight contemporary uncertainties through the prism of history.<\/p>\n

Much of the early appeal of the show was the excellent period detail, but the show’s astute probing into emotional issues (divorce, social attitudes) against the backdrop of famous events has proved to be a killer combination.<\/p>\n

The first two seasons touched on events such as the 1960 US election<\/a> and the death of Marilyn Monroe<\/a>, but this series manages to gradually combine the serious social changes of the era with the complex emotional situations facing the characters, culminating in brilliantly orchestrated season climax.<\/p>\n

Although the period details are excellent, the show mines a lot of dramatic irony out the way in which characters often seem initially oblivious to seismic events: characters flirt whilst the March on Washington<\/a> can be heard on the radio; a man turns off the TV just before Walter Cronkite<\/a> is about to make an important announcement.<\/p>\n

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This series picks up soon after the events of Season Two and Don is still having fidelity issues (taking a special interest in a local teacher) whilst Betty has her own dalliances, despite recently giving birth to a son.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, at the ad agency, tensions continue with the new British bosses and many of the staff have to face big changes in their working and personal lives.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest development this season is the way in which the changes in American society closely mirror those of the main characters. In the hands of less skilled writers this could have been clunky but Weiner and his team pull it off with taste, skill and intelligence.<\/p>\n

With its detailed period look, costumes and production design it is perfectly suited to the high definition Blu-ray format.\u00a0On a purely technical level, it is one of the best looking shows I have ever seen on an HD television.<\/p>\n

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The 13 episode box set has is supplemented by various featurettes and audio commentaries on key episodes, with insights from the show’s creator Matthew Wiener, cast members and directors.<\/p>\n

Over the three discs the extras include the following:<\/p>\n