MAD MEN, 7.14 – 'Person to Person'

★★★☆

Series finales are hard to do; especially for successful shows like Mad Men, which have become emblems of a cultural sea change in television drama. You can't and won't satisfy everyone. "Person to Person" was an efficient episode with a few nice highlights, but it didn't impress me. Or dazzle me. Or leave me thinking about the show hours later. I was disappointed because I expected to be bedazzled, but I'm aware much of that is down to outsized expectations. This was never going to knock your socks off, a la Breaking Bad, now was it?

MAD MEN, 7.13 – 'The Milk & Honey Route'

★★★★

The penultimate episode of the series was as great as one could hope, and in some ways felt like a suitable finale. Three of the main characters—Don (Jon Hamm), Peter (Vincent Kartheiser), Peggy (January Jones)—got final scenes that worked as farewells, but what struck me most about "The Milk & Honey Route" is how well the writers wrong-footed fans convinced the show's near-obsession with mortality was a portent of Don Draper's demise... when it was actually his ex-wife Betty's life that's drawing to a premature end.

MAD MEN, 7.12 – 'Lost Horizon'

★★★☆

It's now strange to think Mad Men's just a few hours away from ending, conclusively, because everyone's move from SC&P to the dizzy highs of the McCann-Erickson building could probably fuel another half-season. Still, the fact everything has to be condensed at least means "Lost Horizon" was appreciably stuffed with incidents and fun moments, as most of the key players realised their career ascension come with some unfortunate caveats.

MAD MEN, 7.11 – 'Time & Life'

★★★☆

Things finally begin taking big strides towards the finish-line with "Time & Life", although I found faintly amusing the drama once again revolved around a company shakeup for SC&P. How many is that now? Is anyone keeping count? Fortunately, the show's writers do an excellent job making corporate takeovers and dissolution into very interesting television, and there was a nice curveball thrown at the end...

MAD MEN , 7.10 – 'The Forecast'

★★★☆

The best episode of season 7.1 thus far (certainly a huge improvement on "New Business from last week), and mainly because it suggests the ultimate direction Don Draper's (Jon Hamm) headed come the finale, as his world changes around him. And it also featured the welcome return of some favourite young characters...

MAD MEN, 7.9 – 'New Business'

★★☆☆

An episode where lots of women moved on to with their lives, either by making new connections or severing ties with their past. Betty's (January Jones) off to study for a master's degree in psychology (rationalising she's suitable because "people love to talk to me"); Megan (Jessica Paré) moved her clothes out of Don's (Jon Hamm) apartment as their defunct marriage finally reached an amicable end, sweetened by Don giving her a cheque for $1,000,0000; Don slept with quiet waitress Diana (Elizabeth Reaser), only for her to later decide she can't start a relationship because it makes her forget her two daughters (one who died, the other living with her father); and Megan's mother, Marie (Julia Ormond), had an unexpected sexual liaison with Roger (John Slattery), which inspired her to end her own unhappy marriage—to the chagrin of Megan's righteous sister Marie-France (Kim Bubbs)...

MAD MEN, 7.8 – 'Severance'

★★☆☆

I'm not a fan of AMC's misguided attempts to make their best dramas last longer, by stretching final seasons across two years. Mad Men's final season went into hiatus after seven episodes last May, which makes the eighth episode, "Severance", sit awkwardly. While it was clearly designed as a premiere episode of an unofficial and likewise condensed ninth season, for some reason it felt like a struggle to get into this hour. I perhaps should have prepared myself with a catchup of the prior episode, or re-read some of my own reviews back. Then again, Mad Men's always been a show that needs to build some momentum before you start to really appreciate the journey.

Dan's 10 Favourite TV Shows of 2014

It's that time of the year again. I know the internet's full of top 10 lists, but mine's less about what was "the best" and more what became "a favourite". Sometimes, show X is objectively better than show Y, but X has something about it that just makes it more entertaining—for me. Basically, here are the TV shows that most captivated me during their runs, and I looked forward to sitting down to watch every week.

Isn't that all that matters, really?

Digital Spy: 12 Fantasy Television Crossovers

Over at Digital Spy today, it's my latest article. This one fantasises about 12 "crossover" episodes of past and present TV shows, that would be extremely unlikely but incredibly fun to watch. Dexter meets Hannibal? Sherlock travels to Fargo? Justified visits True Blood? Click through to read more, and remember to share if you enjoy it!

MAD MEN, 7.7 – 'Waterloo'

Cutler tries to impeach Don, Peggy prepares for the long-awaited Burger Chef pitch, and the world settles down to watch men land on the moon...

MAD MEN, 7.6 – 'The Strategy'

Peggy wrestles with a Burger Chef pitch she's convinced needs improving, Bob Benson has a question for Joan, and Pete returns to New York with Bonnie...

MAD MEN, 7.5 – 'The Runaways'

Don's pregnant niece calls him for financial support, Ginsberg grows paranoid about the firm's new computer, and Betty fights with her husband over a public disagreement at a dinner party.

MAD MEN, 7.4 – 'The Monolith'

Don struggles to adapt to his new working situation during the arrival of a new computer, Peggy's given the lead with an exciting new client, and Roger deals with family problems involving his daughter...

MAD MEN, 7.3 – 'Field Trip'

Don pays his wife a surprise visit after hearing about a professional meltdown from her agent, Betty accompanies her son Bobby on a school field trip to a farm, and the SC&P partners consider Don's return to the agency at Roger's behest...

MAD MEN, 7.2 – 'A Day's Work'

Valentine's Day, 1969. Peggy receives an unexpected bouquet of flowers, Pete grapples with new office politics, Joan handles a difficult decision at work, and Sally Draper realises the truth of her proud father's situation...

MSN TV: Sky Atlantic's MAD MEN, 7.1 - 'Time Zones'

Over at MSN TV today: I've reviewed the seventh and final season premiere of AMC's 1960s drama MAD MEN, which made its UK bow on Sky Atlantic last night...

I sometimes hear complaints that not much changes in Mad Men, but I think that's very unfair. I think the show's deliberate pacing, relatively few regular locations, and characters who are largely defined by an inability to break out of old habits, simply gives that impression to the casual viewer. In fact, every season has given us changes—although, admittedly, some were far bigger than others. But for its final season (picking up the story only a few months later, in January 1969), creator Matthew Weiner gives fans the biggest shake-up of Mad Men in quite some time...

Continue reading at MSN TV...

MAD MEN, Season 1-6 - the customer is always spite

Following on from Game of Thrones and Hannibal, what did the 'customer reviewing public' make of Emmy-winning critical darling MAD MEN..?

[All quotes are genuine, sources from various online customer feedback sections.]

My Favourite Television Shows of 2013

These days I can't write Best Of lists because it's become impossible to rank shows that have such opposing ambitions and purposes, across different genre. I also think that straightforward Top 10's can be tedious to read at this time of year, as most critics pick largely the same dozen things and only disagree over the exact ordering.

So many of the best or most popular television shows are dead, or dying...

In the wake of True Blood announcing its final season next summer, have you noticed how many TV shows have recently finished, or are also approaching their ends? Being Human, The Borgias, Breaking Bad, Dexter, Fringe, Luther, Mad Men, Merlin, Misfits, Spartacus... I'm sure there are others, but those are the ones that spring to mind. By this time next year, none of those will be broadcasting new episodes. Quite a few will be all tapped out by October. Some are already dead.

MAD MEN, 6.13 – 'In Care of'

written by Carly Wray & Matthew Weiner | directed by Matthew Weiner

The brilliant finale of Mad Men's sixth season offered the possibility of a fresh start in sunny Los Angeles for both Don (Jon Hamm) and Ted (Kevin Rahm), who want it for very different reasons. Don's running away from his mounting problems again, dragging Megan (Jennifer Paré) back to a place he remembers them being happy (and where he's always felt a sense of freedom), while simultaneously avoiding daughter Sally's (Kiernan Shipka) cold shoulder between summer visits. It won't solve any of the issues he has, but escaping is what he's always done, because avoidance is easier than decisive action.

Interestingly, Ted wants to escape for a very different and noble reason: he senses the approaching end of his marriage and family life, thanks to his love for Peggy (Elisabeth Moss), and would rather make a swift exit than allow a new relationship to blossom. Understandably, Peggy was incensed that Ted's made this decision on both their behalves (the day after they slept together), but I have a feeling she'll come to realise he was right to end their romance relatively early. It's very hard to imagine Don taking Ted's steps in the same situation, because he thinks more from his heart than his head.