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One more little entry on Mad Men.

As I wrap up the first season on DVD – I know, I’m behind the times – I think it’s imperative that my feelings are known. The main character, Donald Draper, is very good. I wasn’t around in 1960, but I’ll guess a bit, and say there were a lot of Drapers around (“I think he’s a bit too dashing”). Sorting out the rest of the excellent cast is more difficult…yet, I can’t help but believe there are two that stand out above the rest. The first is Joan Halloway, (Christina Hendricks) who is not only perfectly cast as the siren of the early ‘60s but fully lives up to the role. I wonder how long they had to look to find the perfect Playboy-like actress to step in and take the role of the leader of the visiting team: in turf wars, you may or may not like her but she’s solid. The second is Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) who inhabits the role of the worst kind of co-worker. You’d have to go a long way down a dreary road to find anyone as good a Kartheiser. I would punch Pete Campbell in the face if I saw him…seriously. I want to compare the character to Al Swearengen in Deadwood but I’d at least want to have a drink with Al before the knife fight; Campbell is an absolute loser. At the beginning of the show I wondered if I was to feel sympathy or hatred for him – some kind of flawed character? He’s not flawed, he’s a jackass. If Kartheiser gets through a second season without winning an Emmy, I’d be horribly surprised.

Now you know.

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