THE RETURN OF THE MAD MEN

One of the best TV shows of 2008; Mad Men returns for its second series on BBC4. Set in the cut-throat world of advertising, the series pulls no punches as each character vies to climb to the top of the greasy pole that is the American Dream.

The series begins in the late 1950s at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on New York City's Madison Avenue. The show centers on Don Draper, a high-level advertising executive, (a man not without skeletons in his well-appointed closet) and the people in his life in and out of the office. It also depicts the accepted attitudes of 1960s America.

In a similar vein to Life on Mars, viewing this series through the eyes of the 21st Century, the work and home place of the characters seem like another planet. Political correctness does not exist. All the top jobs are held by men. The outlet for women's intelligence, in order to compensate for the power-imbalance lies through manipulation: a combination of seething sexuality and bitchiness.

The executives begin their working day with a stiff scotch and continue as they started. The air is full of cigarette smoke and four hour lunch breaks are not uncommon. Women are there to serve and service the men. They not only prettify the office but are the butt of crude innuendo and the overbearing attention of their male colleagues. The frustration and fear is tangible even beneath the heavy make-up but sexism has not been given a name yet and feminism is a belief held by only a minority of cranks. Similarity homosexuality does not exist - period. The gay male and female characters succumb to a life of conformity: "straight acting" and leading lonely, miserable lives.

The series is well-realised with fantastic attention given to characterisation and the nuances of the age. A memorable scene for me was when an adult slaps his neighbour's son (in front of the neighbour), without any remorse or fear of recrimination because the boy was playing up and misbehaving.

The second series begins Valentine's Day 1962: guaranteed there will be little love in the air...

If you haven't seen the first series, I would strongly recommend you rent it or borrow it from somebody who owns the box-set. Alternatively, if you're flush you could buy series one. You will be watching it several times over so it does have re-usability!