No. 6: Mad Men: Deconstructing a Seminal Series
There’s nothing harder in the world of entertainment than trying to end a television series. For most shows, the conclusion isn’t even an issue; the greater challenge has always been to keep it going, and the end comes in a terse press release from the network.
For those few shows that earn the right to end on their own terms, finding a pitch-perfect coda is never easy. When a show goes too big on those final moments—like The Sopranos, or Lost--it risks undermining all that came before. Breaking Bad's somewhat conservative ending was criticized by some for not going far enough.
Mad Men creator Matt Weiner struck a note that was in keeping with the rest of the series. He just deconstructed the show one piece at a time. Sterling-Cooper –Draper-Whatever was absorbed in a merger, leaving nothing more than a pile of contracts and a bigger pile of money.
The partners we came to know and love just drifted away, richer in some ways, poorer in others. Showing a little bit of heart, Weiner gave the long-suffering January Jones a meaty exit, and Kiernan Shipka, a launching pad to a promising career as a serious actress.
Don, of course, doesn’t deal with change particularly well. So he does what he always done best and simply runs away. And then channels all this angst into 30 seconds of Madison Avenue gold. I'd like to buy the world a Coke, and keep it company, says the world's loneliest man.
