Still Mad About Mad Men — and SoHo
March 21, 2012 
2 Comments
Early reviews for Mad Men, which resumes next month on SoHo (along with Game of Thrones and The Killing), suggest season five is as sharp as dapper Don Draper’s wardrobe.
Entertainment Weekly said the two-hour premiere — the first new Mad Man episode in 17 months and the first to be directed by star Jon Hamm — “commences with a muted tone, and then explodes in different directions.
“The episode, written by creator Matthew Weiner, begins and ends with faces not frequently seen on this show: black ones.
“The Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce ad-agency folks are drawn into the civil rights movement’s fight for equal opportunity in surprising ways.”
The Hollywood Reporter said it was “full of fascinating moments and character nuance …
“Mad Men stays relevant and exciting by moving forward …
“Since critics only saw the first episode, it would be foolish to speculate too much on what will transpire this season.
“But you can’t ever go wrong betting on change (for everybody) and Don’s albatross from all of these years: lack of identity and the search for self.”
Variety said series creator Matthew Weiner “resists rushing into anything, easing into a reset of where players currently stand in a manner — especially given the protracted absence — that should leave all but the most ardent fans trying to putty-in the gaps.
“Each time-lapse introduces more wrinkles in the show’s world, but the premiere offers a sketchy road map of what’s to come, and won’t expand Men’s footprint beyond its solid arthouse niche.”
SoHo will launch season five as a two-hour special on April 14, following encore screenings of the season-four finale on April 11 and 14; new episodes will air 8.30pm Saturdays, three weeks after their US broadcast.
Both Game of Thrones (8.30pm Mondays from April 16, following an advance online screening of the premiere on iSky from April 4) and The Killing (8.30pm Wednesdays from April 25) will have double-episode premieres, too; the latter, which has had its season-one Blu-ray release postponed, will air three weeks later than in the US and the former just seven days.
Also new on SoHo in April will be season two of Bored to Death (8pm Thursdays from April 19).
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March 21, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Small correction: Jon Hamm did not direct the season premiere. The double episode was directed by Jennifer Getzinger, who directed the great episode The Suitcase last year. Jon Hamm did direct the first episode to go into production (as tends to happen when the star directs; it’s the only way they have time to do the preproduction work), but the episode he directed is episode three (ie. the following week’s episode).
Not so much a small correction as a huge goof! Thanks for pointing it out.