Mad Men Makes Sterling Return

Dapper Don Draper starts his last season as Madison Ave’s must-have ad man in Tuesday’s premiere of Mad Men (SoHo, 7.40). Entertainment Weekly said it “powerfully launches Mad Men toward a final statement” while Indiewire dubbed it “a tremendous start — as though anything less was an option”. According to Variety, “The first of the four-time Emmy winner’s seven final hours contains intriguing developments, without offering many clues about where this last campaign will lead.” The Hollywood Reporter argued where creator Matthew Weiner “takes the remainder of the series is, obviously, the great unknown. How this final season wraps up will go a long way toward determining Mad Men‘s position in the pantheon of great television shows, but it should be noted up front that getting closure on all of the Mad Men characters and themes may not be the single most important objective for Weiner. He may tidy everything up and shut the door with an audible click of the lock, or he might not — choosing instead to be more nebulous and vague (which would be in keeping with the show’s tone). He need not go out with a bang of fireworks or some finale that makes everybody happy. He just needs to maintain the high standards that have secured Mad Men its place in the pantheon.” But among the show’s few skeptics is the Boston Herald, which warns: “However Mad Men closes, remember this: It’s not the end of an era. It’s the end of a good, occasionally great show that overstayed its welcome.”