re: OK, so Im the most patient mofo on the planet...

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It's the restraint shown by the entire cast which makes Mad Men so gripping. Where other dramas, whether they're soap operas or genre shows, illustrate arguments by having their characters screaming and throwing vases at one another, Mad Men's confrontations are quiet and understated, and a display of anger can often be detected in nothing more remarkable than a passing glance or a brief, cutting remark.

Which brings me on to the biggest star of Mad Men, which is unarguably the writing itself. No matter how apparently inconsequential and mundane the events (though, in the greater scheme of things, every scene has its own vital part to play in the overarching narrative) Mad Men's dialogue sparkles throughout.

In an era where television series are increasingly sold on their concepts, Mad Men is a rare example of a show which can't be easily summed up with two words, or even a sentence. Its premise and largely dialogue-driven plot may make it sound like something far too dry and flat for a geek audience, but the quality of Mad Men's writing, production and acting makes it an irresistible draw, despite the absence of the action, explosions or fantasy we've perhaps come to expect from American TV.

Mad Men is a series that, most obviously, uses advertising as a metaphor to explore the superficiality of the American dream, an obvious notion, perhaps, but it delves far deeper than that, and reveals something more profound about social expectations, greed and excess.

It also holds up a mirror to the way society is now, and how the relentless pursuit of wealth and materialism only lead to dissatisfaction and emptiness. Most importantly of all, it touches on all these topics with intelligence and humour.

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