Bcolon

I had heard good things about this showm, so at 8 bucks a pop for the Blu Rays I decided to give them a chance. My wife and I watched the first episode and were bored silly. When does it pick up steam? At what point should we just say, "eh, not my cup of tea"?

My wife and I love trying new series and zipping through them at home. Nip Tuck, Rescue Me, and Weeds are all series we have loved in the past.

I also picked of the first seasons of Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy based on all the positive things I have heard.

Dragon Tattoo

Based on your response and the shows you claim to enjoy I doubt you'd like Mad Men or Breaking Bad.

Sons of Anarchy seems more like your cup of tea.

Gunde

Not necessarily.
I LOVE Breaking Bad but was also bored silly by Mad Men and dropped it half way through season 1.

Just because he likes some less than brilliant stuff, doesn't mean he can't also love brilliant stuff. Mad Men is unlike any other show and it's just not for everyone.

Matto1020

The first season is extremely slow paced. It stays this way pretty much through the first two seasons. The third season picks up a little steam, but it's the fourth season that really gets going.

You could, if you wanted, start watching the fourth season right away, as there are so many big changes at the end of Season 3 that Season 4 is like a fresh new start. Plus, after you've watched it, you might be a little more familiar with the characters and the first few seasons may be a little easier for you to tolerate.

Granted, I've loved every season of the show so far... so I am a little biased.

Timber

For me I found the first episode pretty boring right up until the last scene which made me want to watch the next episode. After that I was hooked.

Rizor

This isn't exactly a riveting show to watch but is very well done and has some great payoff. Eventually you may start to warm up to the characters or enjoy seeing how the plotlines play out. But until then, it may seem like a very cold show, especially when you know nothing about its lead character. I'd suggest at least giving it to episode 5 when you'll learn a bit more about Don. Otherwise, it's really a slow burn of a show.

Palaver

It is definitely a much slower paced show than most. When I first started it, I was expecting something along the lines of Breaking Bad. It took me a few episodes to get used to the pace. Once I did, it became pretty much my favorite show on tv right now.

Mike86

Breaking Bad is excellent. Mad Men is good but I don't see why everyone thinks it's so great to be honest. It's a very good show but it is damn slow and can be a bit hard to watch. I really have to put myself in the mindset that I feel like watching it before I sit down and watch any. I can breeze through a season of Breaking Bad in like two days where as Mad Men probably takes me a couple weeks for one season.

Bcolon

Thanks for the input! We made it through the first disc. I'm still kinda "eh". I think I will give Breaking Bad a try now.

Jack Straw

I like to refer to it as a "slow-burn" as opposed to slow paced.

There is so much to like about M/M. It's visual eye-candy with the sets, wardrobe, and hair styles from the early 60's. There's lots of smoking, booze, and cooze hounds. Office secretaries who spread their legs like it's part of their job description. What's not to love?

DJariya

So I assume it's pretty safe to say that BColon will not finish all 4 seasons in the next 4 months to get caught up in time for season 5.

Mad Men was never on my radar when it initially premiered in the summer of 2007. But after seeing the sort of cult following it was gaining here, I blind bought season 1, but didn't get around to it until about a year later before season 2 was about to premiere. I went through the entire season in about 2 weeks and got caught up in time to watch season 2 live. Been a fan ever since.

Jon Hamm IMO is just brilliant as Don Draper and the supporting cast is solid too. I disagree with the suggestion to jump right in with season 4. Your going to miss so much character and plot development and alot of it deals with Draper and his past.

PopcornTreeCt

I thought the first season was great. We had the storyline about Draper's brother, his mysterious past, Pete trying to uncover it and Draper banging the beatnik. The latter seasons get away from Draper's past but he still has interesting affairs.

northmoor

I had to make 3 or 4 attempts to work my way through season 1 of Mad Men. It was a little of a chore. It was not horrible, but I just found myself not jumping at the chance to go to the next episode. Season 2 was a little better, and Season 3 and 4 were excellent. Seems like it improved each season for me. And, now I'm really looking forward to Season 5.

Breaking Bad had me hooked, even in the writers' strike shortened season 1. And, it too just gets better.

SOA was really good in season 1 and Season 2. Season 3 was one of the worst seasons of tv that I can remember from a show that had already established itself as quality entertainment. It was very disappointing.

Abob Teff

Big thumbs up for Mad Men ... I blind bought the first three seasons last year. It took awhile to get around to watching them, but I burnt through all three seasons in just a few weeks.

I don't get the "slow pacing" comments. I think a better comparison would be the early seasons of the Sopranos. The "slow" bogged down parts are usually imperative character development. Not necessarily sexy, but important. Even in those moments something is happening ... it just may take a while before you know what it is.

starseed1981

Its painfully slow IMHO. I'm talking Sopranos level slow.

Dragon Tattoo

Considering those are two of the best shows of all time, I'm guessing you're a Two and a half Men fan.

Double_Oh_7

Breaking Bad is THE best show on TV right now, better than Mad Men. You won't regret it.

cleaver

Mad Men picks up around ep 5 or 6, most Mad Men seasons start slow

starseed1981

Nope. Mad Men is slow. The first season painfully so. Same thing with Sopranos in the middle of its run. I like both shows when they pick up steam but I'm not gonna jump all over them and claim their flawless.

Shady12

I just started watching it on Netflix recently and the last episode I watched was episode 12. It's gotten a little more interesting but it's slow and I'm not sure of the point really, yet I like it just enough to keep watching. The Draper past stuff is kind of interesting but it doesn't seem like much happens in terms of any kind of interesting storyline. Probably the reason I am interested still is that I just find it interesting to watch how things were in the past as someone that's fascinated by history.

Last year I watched BB on DVD and caught up and watched this past season. It is orders of magnitude better than MM.

Dragon Tattoo

Yup, lots more guns and shooting and drugs in BB to wake you up when that talking starts to bore.

bunkaroo

IMO there's nothing wrong with the pacing of Mad Men.

I think I caught the first season on disc but after than it was all broadcast, and I don't recall ever watching an episode and thinking "get on with it". The performances kept me engrossed.

I do think show has gotten even better as it goes, and Season 4 was probably the best yet. Give MM its fair shake and don't just power through it to get through.

bluetoast

I love Mad Men. I love Breaking Bad. It doesn't have to be one or the other. I'm also a fan of both The Shield and The Wire, another subject that somehow ends up dividing people.

clckworang

I appreciate Mad Men more than I enjoy it, if that makes any sense. That's not to say I don't like it. I think it's a great show, but it sometimes feels like homework. Once I push myself to watch an episode, though, I'm very rarely disappointed; it's just that I have to make myself do it. I've only watched it on Blu-ray thus far, but I'm hoping to get caught up in time for the new season.

Shady12

The other thing is it depresses me. Were there happy people in 1960? Come to think of it nobody seems too happy in Breaking Bad, but that doesn't depress me at all. In MM, the acting is great, but a lot of the time I don't understand why most of them do what they do, why they make the decisions they do and people seem unhappy for no apparent reason other than the show wants them to be..isn't making a lot of sense to me. Maybe due to everything being so different then or something. But I watch Boardwalk Empire, set 40 years prior, and I think they'd fit in better now than people in MM would now.