As Mad Men finally returns to our screens after a 18-month hiatus, we guide you through the major events of last season and offer up some of our expectations for season five.
After an agonising 18-month wait filled with controversies and disputes, Mad Men finally returns to our screens tonight on Sky Atlantic for its long awaited fifth season. For fans of the show, the wait has been anything but easy - especially amongst ugly rumours of the escalating budgetary requests causing shock-waves to AMCs other shows - but finally the dust can be settled with a two-part premier which confidently settles us back in with Sterling Cooper. If youve followed the show from the beginning, youll know that its a stylish and often hypnotic look into the lives of the advertising executives of Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Price, during the ever evolving culture of 1960s America. Despite being one of TVs most critically acclaimed and award winning dramas, youll also know that even within all of the building complex drama, the next 12 weeks will be driven by endless talk of Don Drapers (Jon Hamm) mysterious past and Joans (Christina Hendricks) figure hugging dresses. The excellent fourth season ended with the surprise engagement between Draper and his new secretary Megan (Jessica Pare), following on from a heap of meaningless relationships with non-descript women after his break-up from wife Betty (January Jones) - who herself is suffering from a crumbling marriage to Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley). As well as Dons record breaking attempts at speed-dating, Roger (John Slattery) and Joan continue to indulge in a promiscuous affair, resulting in Joans surprise pregnancy towards the end of the season. In the season four finale, we watched as Joan told her Vietnam drafted husband Greg that he was soon to be a father. But cringed as she withheld the crucial information that its to the child of a silver haired bigamist with a dodgy ticker. More respectably, Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) continues to push herself forward as an ambitious, evolving woman of the 1960s, as well as quickly becoming the driving force behind the major contracts at Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Price. Speaking of SCDP, the end of an advertising relationship with Lucky Strike cigarettes led to catastrophe within the agency, which resulted in Don bravely running a full-page New York Times ad damning the entire tobacco industry. Then theres Betty, who continued her decent from a genuinely sympathetic victim of Dons shambolic lifestyle, to a pantomime ice queen who needlessly fires maids and hits children. As well as all of these big ongoing plot lines, Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) is still a slimeball, Salvatore Romano continues to be dearly missed and everyone still drinks like a fish and smokes like a fire at a cuddly toy factory. With all of the major threads weaving their way towards the climax of season four, its likely that many of them will also be the focus of the upcoming fifth season. Has Draper actually found love, or will his relationship crumble once again under the burden of his mysterious past ? How will Joan manage to raise Rogers baby and keep it a secret from her husband ? Can SCDP truly establish itself as a major player in the advertising industry ? Taking a step back from the storyline, season five also promises some other surprises and developments for fans, such as Jon Hamms directorial debut with the seasons third episode Tea Leaves. Those holding out on ridiculous rumours of Paul McCartney appearing as a guest star should probably lower their expectations however. Of course, Mad Men wouldnt be Mad Men if the upcoming season didnt once again delve into the enigma which is Dons illusive past, and season five promises to dig deeper than any season before it. Talking to Metro, Jon Hamm noted that There is a lot of his past still to be mined and theres a great deal we havent found out and a lot of that gets explored this season. If anything, you can be guaranteed that there will be a large number of shots of Don looking pensively into a mirror/out of a window/into a whiskey glass. Having already seen tonights two-part opening episode, fans can rest assured that its a confident and hugely enjoyable start to the season. Without going into too much detail, over the course of the lengthy premier you can expect an impressive dance sequence, a gratuitous shot of a babys behind and the usual zingy one-liners and historical commentary. As is often the case with Mad Men, youll also find yourself laughing out loud, as the two opening episodes contain a bevy of funny moments. Whatever secrets season five will hold, Mad Men continues to be an unmissable drama which will once again get people talking and critics salivating. Even if youve missed out on the series thus far, its still almost impossible to not be drawn in by Mad Mens lavish period details and unanimously strong performances. Welcome back Mad Men, weve missed you. __________________ Mad Men Season Five starts on Sky Atlantic tonight at 9PM. Click here for our full review of episodes 5.1 & 5.2