TV on Disc: 'Mad Men: Season Five'

In "Mad Men: Season Five" (Lionsgate), the stress of keeping the prestigious but struggling new advertising firm on Madison Avenue afloat takes its toll on the partners.

The honeymoon is over for Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and his beautiful young wife Megan (Jessica Pare), the power struggle between silver fox and team schmoozer Roger Sterling (John Slattery) and ambitious barracuda Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) ramps up, the financial problems of Bryce (Jared Harris) become suffocating, and office manager Joan (Christina Hendricks) makes some major life decisions.

You could say that the season is built around the defining episode "The Other Woman," where the partners (over the objection of Don) make Joan an offer that today would invite a lawsuit. It became the water-cooler TV moment of the year, and not just for the salacious drama at the center of the episode. It's one thing to think of Pete as a pimp, another to see him literally become one, from the smug way he makes Joan a modest proposal in her own office (oblivious of how utterly monstrous his behavior is) to the sales pitch makes the (all too willing) partners to make Joan a cash offer to sleep with a big client. Don's disgust does nothing to shut the conversation down.

It started a lively dialogue about the reality of sexual politics in American business life of the era and a lot of women who faced discrimination, condescension, and sexual advances while starting careers in the fifties and sixties were inspired to share their experiences. But there's so much more to this episode, from how badly Don has misjudged his power in the partnership to Peggy's decision to leave the agency and Don's amazing farewell scene, where he goes through all the stages of grief in seconds and ends with a sincerely chivalrous gesture of respect and admiration. Everything changes here, not necessarily better or worse but with decisions that change the course of their lives, and that's part of why the show is so good.

Though nominated for 17 Emmy Awards, this was the first season in the show's history where it came away empty-handed. I think Christina Hendricks was robbed in the Supporting Actress category and I maintain that this is the best season of the show yet. The show has always been about identities and expectations, both inside the corporate bubble and out in the world at large, and this season takes that exploration to a new level. Don comes face-to-face with the contradictions between the lip service of his ideals and the reality of his expectations, Roger confronts his increasing insignificance in the firm, and Peggy stands up for herself in ways she would never have imagined in earlier seasons.

13 episodes on three discs on Blu-ray and four discs on DVD, each with commentary by Matthew Weiner and/or members of the cast and crew and a collection of featurettes and other supplements. "Scoring Mad Men: Inside a Session," with composer David Carbonarra, orchestrator Geoff Stradling, and sound engineer Jim Hill, is the only production piece this time around. The rest of the featurettes mine aspects of cultural history featured this season: "The Uniform Time Act of 1966" (a timeline history of Daylight Savings Time), "What Shall I Love If Not the Enigma?" (on metaphysical artist Giorgio de Chirico), "The Party of the Century" (Truman Capote's Black & White Masquerade Ball), and a selection of Newsweek Magazine covers featuring the top news stories of 1966. Also features a compilation of the best one-liners from the series.

Season Six begins in 2013.

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