Mad Men Season 6

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

The show is amazing, but the disc quality for seasons 5 and 6 has been unacceptable. In both of the last two seasons, I’ve had trouble with the show freezing at numerous times in numerous episodes. I’ve missed some important scenes due to this. I don’t see anyone else commenting on this aspect, so maybe it’s my equipment that’s malfunctioning, but I haven’t had problems with my other DVDs.- Daniel Rosenberg

Once more Matt Weiner & Co take us back in time to the heyday of Madison Avenue advertising in the 1960’s and the world of serial philanderer Don Draper (Jon Hamm). As this series is coming close to it’s conclusion things continue to evolve with all of the central characters. Don is richer than ever living the high life in a Central Park high rise suite with his much younger actress wife Meagan (Jessica Pare). Naturally Don’s not satisfied, continues to have liasons with other women and his drinking is becoming problematic even by the booze soaked standards of the time. He is slowly self-destructing and it’s painful to watch. The agency of Sterling, Cooper, Draper & Pryce in a surprising business move to woo Chevrolet merges with competitors Cutler, Gleeson, & Chaough (where Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) defected to at the conclusion of Season 5). Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) is still a self absorbed jerk and is separated from his wife, moves into his little NY bachelor pad and deals with his mother’s worsening dementia. Joan (Christina Hendricks) despite being a partner still struggles for respect from her colleagues and co-workers. Roger Sterling (John Slattery) copes with the death of his mother and being a single guy again and trying to maintain relevance in his own company. Oh, and little Sally Draper’s (Kiernan Shipka) is growing up fast challenging both of her parents. She learns some unsavory truths about her father and now seems to loathe him as much as she does her mother Betty.

If 1967 was the so-called “Summer of Love” than 1968 should be labeled the “Year of Hate” as this season repeatedly reminds us. Though just a grade schooler back then I vividly remember the assasinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King as well as the Chicago riots during the Democratic National Convention; events which serve as a backdrop for season 6. The special features include an interesting interview with the set designers and prop managers who must be applauded for their ability to take viewers back to this era so authentically. In one scene Betty is sitting on a step stool in her kitchen while talking on the phone; we had the same stool in our kitchen and seeing something so mundane brought back many childhood memories. The wardrobe department also deserves kudos for capturing the period so accurately reminding those of us who remember of some of the truly horrible clothes we wore back then.

“Mad Men” isn’t a cheerful or uplifting show but is an interesting study of a very specific time and place. As a drama it can be a bit “soapy” sometimes but like a bad auto accident it’s hard to turn away from watching this group of people as they live their lives during this turbulent period. Probably not for everyone but first rate performances and solid writing make this series and engaging program to watch for history buffs and ‘Baby Boomers’.

– Colonel D

Excellent quality Blu-Ray images and sound. However, MM special features are always pretty lackluster, and feel like filler. Except for the commentaries, which I love and are the only reason I purchase physical copies… Except Seson 6 doesn’t have any! At all! They are included in the entire series box set (but inside the horribly designed disc book, it isn’t indicated). The commentaries are there, though.

If you want the S6 commentaries, don’t bother with this. I’m not going to buy the box set for that. I don’t understand why they were recorded and not released before. I’ve listened to the ones in the box set which I borrowed from a friend, and I think Matthew Wiener would have mentioned they were recording years later, and he doesn’t.

– Amazing Customer

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks
Directors: Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Chris Manley, Jennifer Getzinger, Matthew Weiner
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number of discs: 4
Studio: Lions Gate
DVD Release Date: November 5, 2013
Run Time: 611 minutes