If the ad men in TV’s hit “Mad Men” were going to pick a slogan to describe their season four DVD collection, their best choice would be, “But wait, there’s more!”
The DVDs include all 13 episodes of the seductive period drama, so viewers can watch the crew at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce as they form their new ad agency, work out all of the power relations and try to save their own personal lives from crumbling outside of the office. The collection also includes loads of extras.
Where most television DVD sets include maybe one or two commentaries from directors and producers, “Mad Men: Season Four” includes one or two for each episode from creator Matthew Weiner and most of the cast members. The commentaries not only add funny moments — one memorable commentary features Jared Harris and Melinda Page Hamilton, who play Lane Pryce and Anna Draper respectively, discussing the rules for smoking on prime-time TV — but also insight into the history behind the show and all of the research that goes into making it.
Other interesting DVD extras include information on Chevrolet’s ad campaign in the 1960s, a three-part feature on the history of divorce and an inside look at the psychology of succeeding in big business like lead character Don Draper (Jon Hamm). All are painstakingly researched for accuracy and fascinating to watch. For the “Maddicts” out there, this DVD box set is 100 percent satisfaction guaranteed.
4 out of 4 stars