Talk:Mad Men

	; Archives (Index) ;
	2011/11; 2012/01; 2012/03; 2012/04; 2012/05; 2012/07; 2012/10; 2012/12; 2013/01; 2013/03; 2013/04; 2013/08; 2014/02; 2014/03; 2014/10; 2014/12; 2015/01; 2015/02; 2015/07; 2016/03; 2016/06; 2017/04; 2017/11; 2017/12; 2018/08; 2018/09; 2019/07; 2020/03; 2020/06; 2020/10; 2021/08; 2021/12; 2022/09; 2023/11; 2024/01;
	This page is archived by ClueBot III.

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Mad Men article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

Article policies

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Television High‑importance

	Television portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Television, a collaborative effort to develop and improve Wikipedia articles about television programs. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page where you can join the discussion. To improve this article, please refer to the style guidelines for the type of work.TelevisionWikipedia:WikiProject TelevisionTemplate:WikiProject Televisiontelevision articles
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

United States: Television Low‑importance

	United States portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject United States, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of topics relating to the United States of America on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the ongoing discussions. Template Usage Articles Requested! Become a Member Project Talk Alerts United StatesWikipedia:WikiProject United StatesTemplate:WikiProject United StatesUnited States articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.
	Television portal This article is supported by American television task force (assessed as High-importance).

New York City Mid‑importance

	New York City portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject New York City, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of New York City-related articles on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.New York CityWikipedia:WikiProject New York CityTemplate:WikiProject New York CityNew York City articles
Mid	This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale.

Marketing & Advertising Mid‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Marketing & Advertising, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Marketing on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Marketing & AdvertisingWikipedia:WikiProject Marketing & AdvertisingTemplate:WikiProject Marketing & AdvertisingMarketing & Advertising articles
Mid	This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the importance scale.

"SCDP" listed at Redirects for discussion

A discussion is taking place to address the redirect SCDP. The discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2021 September 8#SCDP until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. ✗plicit 03:55, 8 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"Cast and Characters"? Not really

This section isn't at all about the cast (other than parenthetically stating their names). It's about the characters—and boy, is it ever. These character "bios" exceed anything I've seen in other series articles. (That said, more flamboyant examples may very well exist—by definition, there's no limit on overwriting [LOL].)
Can someone tell me what useful purpose these über-extended character "bios" is supposed to serve? They'd mean little to people who haven't seen the show; and to those who have, they'd be redundant. Frankly, they seem like something for a fan forum, where endless discussion is not only appropriate, but encouraged—not an encyclopedia.
I like MM as much as anyone, and can understand people's enthusiasm for it. But in this reference context, could enthusiasm have obscured the principles of functionality? Seems like. – AndyFielding (talk) 02:57, 10 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed, WP:MOSTV clearly states:"Try to avoid using the section as a repository for further "in-universe" information that belongs in the plot summary" for cast and characters sections. Those mini-bios have season-by-season details and even character arc conclusions, things which are much more fit to be included in List of Mad Men characters or the character-specific articles, which every major character has. They even link to specific major episodes to point out plot points. Two places to put the long-winded details, yet they make this article harder to navigate.

Looking at The Sopranos or The Wire, their cast and characters section is prose-like, which is fine, but note that they merely describe the personality of characters and the relationships they hold to other characters. Specifically in The Wire, where new characters are introduced every season, the characters section is much more digestible than in this article. The sections of those articles do not hold fine details.

The cast and characters section should provide the reader an overview of the personalities, motives, and overall development of the characters, but not list out detailed development for a person who is reading the article to learn about the show. Fuser55 (talk) 04:37, 5 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Article length (WP:TOOBIG)

I believe this article can be improved by summarize sections of this article and reducing overall length per guidelines set under Wikipedia:TOOBIG

current prose length is 13,120 words per https://xtools.wmcloud.org/articleinfo/en.wikipedia.org/mad%20men Pdubs.94 (talk) 00:14, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The problem is the cast section which is way too long, as every character has a large paragraph description, when realistically it should just be a short description (a few sentences). Especially since List of Mad Men characters exists, which allows for longer character summaries. I'm in the midst of a Mad Men rewatch, so I'll try and pare that section down, which is long overdue anyway. Drovethrughosts (talk) 00:19, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

this is where i identified an easy opportunity to trim as well, and wasn't even aware of the list article. thanks in advance Pdubs.94 (talk) 01:24, 6 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Pdubs.94:

Done Drovethrughosts (talk) 19:26, 20 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Two "Themes and motifs" questions

(1.) Why is that section called "Identity and memory"? Identify, certainly, but memory? I've read the section a few times and don't get how that term applies to it.
(2.) In the Cast section, the Sal Romano character entry describes his repressed sexuality, superficial marriage, and how he was fired after being falsely accused of making advances on another man (who hid his own orientation)—such common and believable aspects of life as a gay man at that time. Yet "Themes and motifs" > Gender and sexuality" says nothing about this entire theme. What if the character description were more general, so the thematic events could be moved to a sub-subsection of their own? (I haven't presumed to do so.)
– AndyFielding (talk) 10:49, 25 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

"Mad Men (TV series" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Mad Men (TV series has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2024 February 11 § Mad Men (TV series until a consensus is reached. Utopes _{(talk / cont)} 04:28, 11 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]