Mad Men – Season Three (2009/Lionsgate Blu-ray + DVD)

 

Picture: B+/B-     Sound: B+/B-     Extras: A-     Episodes: B+

 

 

Brilliant.  Charismatic.  Simply amazing.  I have sung the praises of Mad Men many times before, but it seems that the series has just gotten better with time.  Looking back I must admit that the series has had it dry moments, but as a developing story the series is brilliantly done.  Mad Men is composed of a great and gifted cast that propels each entry in the world of the unapologetically self absorbed with enchanting ease.  The series continues to use the 1960’s New York City advertising world as its backdrop, but that once again is only a well crafted façade for the twisted people who live within.

 

Season 3 kicks off exactly where Season 2 left off (not making any jumps in time, like between Season 1 & 2), with Don Draper (Jon Hamm) continuing slither his way in and out of trouble; all while playing by his own rules.  The emotionally abused and pseudo-simpleton Betty Draper remains pregnant and unforgiving of her husbands misdeeds.  This season we find Betty not holding back as she comes into her own, calling out Don on his transgressions and revealing his hidden past.  Sterling Cooper has been taken over by the Brits and many changes are afoot (pun intended).  The political hierarchy the Sterling and Cooper had imposed for so long is slowly whittled away until the company is only a shell of what it once was; in turn causing turmoil within and inevitable changes to come.  Sexism and themes of self discovery still run amuck, but it seems that turbulence and change are front and center in Season 3.

 

As change is occurring within individuals’ lives and the company as a whole, America is shaken to its core by the death of JFK and the age of innocence and dreamlike world of Camelot comes crashing down.  The death of JFK is brilliantly mixed into the series, almost mirroring the events of the episodes as the mask of perfection that was Season 1 and 2 is ripped off to reveal all the ugly truths.  Season 3 of Mad Men spells change and who knows what the future holds.

 

The technical features on Mad Men: Season Three are much like that of Season Two as every aspect is radiantly displayed and truly capturing the vivid 1960’s backdrop.  The video on the Blu-ray release of Mad Men: Season Three is presented in engaging MPEG-4 AVC-encoded 1080p High Definition that in its 1.78 X 1 format again has vividly bright colors, dark inky blacks, and textures that capture every wrinkle and hair on in the scene.  Again the video has a very cinematic feel and is pleasing to the eye, with fewer issues than last season, but not exactly perfect.  Mad Men keeps making steps in the right direction in terms of content and quality.  The sound is DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround track that has great depth and projects wonderfully even as most of the dialogue driven series again comes from the front.

 

Each word and whisper is crisp, clean, and clear from the front as the entirety of the sound spectrum is utilized for the series’ musical scores.  As pointed out last season there are many layers to the audio experience as ambient noises come at you from every direction; behind you there is music, others chattering, phones ringing, and traffic whizzing by to create a solid viewing/listening experience.  Great quality for sure.

 

The DVD does not project the same quality (obviously) as the Blu-ray, but it is still nice.  The Widescreen image is crisp and clean, with colors/blacks that don’t compare to the Blu-ray as it has a fair bit less depth.  The sound is a simple Dolby Digital Surround Track that does not offer the range of the DTS-HD 5.1 mix as ambient noises are lost and the music is a tad flatter.

 

The extras on the Third Season DVD and Blu-ray offers fans TONS (2 for each episode) of Audio Commentaries that are well done and informative.  Also incorporated are a few substantially lengthy documentaries including Mad Men Illustrated; Clearing the Air (about a 45-minute documentary on the tobacco industry that is insanely interesting); Flashback 1963 (a general 1963 documentary); Medger Evers: Unsung Hero (over an hour long on a historical figure); We Shall Overcome: March on Washington (about Martin Luther King Jr’s historical impact).  Mad Men always has an interesting array of extras to choose from and Season 3 is no different.

 

I highly recommend this series.

 

 

-   Michael P. Dougherty II