The Audacity of Smoke: Mad Men’s Daring Fifth Season

* I think this may be my worst post title ever. I’m pretty confident. If you have any alternate suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

David Simon Cowell has written about the Curse of Season Four, which Mad Men survived with aplomb last year (or whenever the hell season four actually aired). However, what Mad Men is achieving this season is essentially unprecedented in television history. For those great dramas that have survived the fourth-year curse, season five has proven to be even more problematic.

Counterpoint! Mad Men Season 4

I wanted to wait until after the Mad Men season finale to respond to David Simon Cowell’s post about the Curse of Season Four, and particularly his criticism of this season of Mad Men.

I disagree with DSC’s basic assertion that Mad Men season four is fundamentally inferior to the previous three seasons. If a Curse of Season Four does exist, it certainly didn’t infect Matthew Weiner.

The Eight Best TV Opening Credit Sequences (And the Worst)

This has been done before, but it’s never been done correctly.

Mad Men is in the midst of a very fine fourth season, and each Sunday night we’re treated to one of the best opening credits sequences/theme songs in TV history. But where does Mad Men rate among the all-time greats?