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Ad-Man Series Holds The Ads On Finale

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By WALT BELCHER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 18, 2007

TAMPA - Those smoke-filled rooms where alcohol flows freely and men in gray suits talk about their sexual and business conquests are going silent for a while.

'Mad Men,' the stylish drama series about the men and women of Madison Avenue in the 1960s, will wrap its first brilliantly entertaining season at 10 tonight on AMC.

Created and crafted by former 'Sopranos' writer Marc Weiner, 'Mad Men' is one of the best dramas on television. It's just mesmerizing in its storytelling.

The ratings have not been as stellar as they should be. But tons of praise has been heaped on the series, so AMC has renewed it for a second season.

On one level, 'Mad Men' is a character study of various types of men. On another, it is an exploration of 1960s culture and social relationships.

It is a pre-sexual revolution, pre-women's lib world where men rule the workplace, just about everyone smokes cigarettes and the cynicism is waist-deep.

A Morally Ambiguous World

The man at the center of all this is the handsome and dapper ad executive Don Draper (played by the charismatic Jon Hamm).

A master at selling by telling people what they want to hear, Draper is the star at the Sterling Cooper advertising agency. He's also a cad who cheats on his wife. Yet in the morally ambiguous world of 'Mad Men,' he's the hero.

And, as we have learned this season, he is a fabrication of a man seeking to escape his past. He is not what he appears to be, and there are more surprises in store.

In the season finale, which will air commercial-free, the Thanksgiving holiday is approaching and Draper's work is interfering with his domestic life.

Assigned to come up with a sales pitch for a Kodak slide projector, Draper reaches back to his horrific childhood memories. He creates a moving testament to recording family memories.

Meanwhile, Draper's secretary Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) may be facing a career change that will not sit well with Pete (Vincent Kartheiser), the somewhat creepy and always ambitious account executive who plays dirty.

Peeling The Onion

In a recent telephone interview, Kartheiser said Pete represents the kind of young man in the 1950s and '60s who was ambitious and wanted to get ahead at all costs.

'I like the way that the layers have been peeled away on Pete and he's become a different character from where we started,' he said. 'All of the characters have been that way. Each one has flaws and redeeming qualities. It's great to get the scripts and see where he is going.'

Kartheiser, 28, is from Minnesota. He has been working in films and television for more than 10 years. Fans of the fantasy-horror drama 'Angel' remember him as the recurring character Connor, the human offspring of two vampires, Angel and Darla.

He looks completely different in his role on 'Mad Men,' on which he has slicked back hair. He says the series has introduced him to 1960s culture. 'It's been a bit of a history lesson,' he says. 'I've learned a few things I didn't know.'

His character is one of the few who doesn't smoke. 'It's funny, because I used to smoke myself, and I quit,' he said. 'Of course, everyone is smoking herbal cigarettes, which do not contain nicotine and are not habit forming. But they smell terrible, and I hear they taste awful. I can tell because there is always a lot of smoke in the room.'

Kartheiser's character is a newlywed who has gone from blissful love to feeling trapped and suffocated. He's also struggling to keep up with the older, more successful men in the office such as Draper. And he has taken advantage of Peggy.

'He is attracted to her and then he feels guilty and ashamed,' Kartheiser said. 'I think he is insecure and feels emasculated. He wishes he could be like Draper, who appears to be always in control and dominant in his relationships with women.'

'It will be interesting to see where these characters go next season,' he said.

ON TELEVISION
Mad Men
WHAT: Season finale

WHEN: 10 tonight

WHERE: AMC

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