We're Wild for "Mad Men." But Are You?

LOS ANGELES --There are worse fates than spending a decade with "Mad Men," even if it only adds up to five years in real time. AMC's series stands as an example of TV at its most creative and challenging, and it enters its second season by setting us down in 1962. That's two years after we first met the men and women of the Sterling Cooper advertising agency, and their storylines only stand to get richer and more complex.

Season two premieres on July 27; expect an avalanche of reviews closer to that date. But on Wednesday morning, the cast and "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner were content to bask in critical love, a rare perfume in these parts due to dissipate sharply over the next two weeks.

And if we're being completely honest, that sweet scent of popularity could die out completely if the series takes a wrong turn in its sophomore season. Critics tend to be hardest on the work they love best, and if anyone knows that, it's Weiner, who was a writer on "The Sopranos" before launching"Mad Men."

Thus when someone asked Weiner what he would tell any curious fans wanting to know what happened to Peggy, Don's eager secretary, in those missing months between finale and now, there was nothing but belief in our hearts when he answered, "I'd say trust me, I will give you the information as you need it in the most entertaining fashion."

We laughed knowingly while the actors spoke about the fact that Weiner keeps the most significant plot developments a surprise, even from the cast. "I'm afraid to ask half the time because it's like planning your own death -- I mean, especially for me. I'm hanging on by a thread," said John Slattery, who plays Sterling Cooper head honcho Roger Sterling. He continued, "I look at the cast list. If I'm in it, I'm happy."

And the room put up with a softball someone tossed slow and down the center to the actresses, about how "Mad Men's" costumes have influenced their day-to-day fashion choices.

"I'm not wandering around in my vintage sixties dresses anymore," replied January Jones.

"It's true," Elisabeth Moss piped in. "I don't really want to go vintage shopping, ever."

"We like to dress vintage anyway," Christina Hendricks finished, "and now we feel like, 'oh, people are going to think I'm in costume. I can't wear that thing that I love.'"

All of this casual conversation assumes that the average person would know that, say, Moss' character Peggy became unexpectedly pregnant, jeopardizing her career, and that Roger Sterling suffered a heart attack in the season finale. The luxury of diving into a fish tank filled with people who watch television for a living is that you're a known (and in "Mad Men's" case, highly respected) entity. Most of the outside world has yet to make its acquaintance, and even if viewers do give it a chance, they might not have the patience to endure its slow dance of plot development or be willing to steep themselves in all of the show's subtle nuances.

So while it's simple for us to accept that "Mad Men" will be able to see its five-year arc to its finish, if the ratings for the second season don't justify the widely reported $25 million spent on promoting it, Weiner and this ad-supported network might be forced to make a few adjustments.

Even so, optimistic highbrow viewers who are going hoarse singing "Mad Men's" praises shouldn't worry too much.

AMC is just starting to build its stable of scripted programming, and scoring an artistic goldmine "Mad Men" on its second time out (nobody remembers "Remember WENN," but that was its first try) can only be encouraging. It's already moving forward with "Breaking Bad," another critical darling viewers have yet to discover, and picked up Patrick Swayze's drama "The Beast."

FX, USA, Sci Fi and TNT went through the same growing pains that AMC is navigating now; the only difference is that those networks paved the way. AMC's main concern is making sure its vehicles will be able to keep it in the race.

At any rate, Weiner isn't losing sleep over any perceived pressure to grow "Mad Men's" audience. "I look at what happened in the last year, and I think about how people may feel about our competition about this show, and I don't think anyone is looking at this and saying it's not a commercial success," Weiner told critics. "...I don't hear A&E anymore. I hear AMC. "

Well, here's hoping what he's hearing means millions of new converts.