Do you think the show got worse as it went on?

I agree that Seasons 4 and 5 are the strongest, with 5 being my favorite. I think Season 7 would have been among the weaker seasons if it weren't for the final 4 episodes, which were all among the best episodes the show ever did.

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Are you asking if some people only like the beginnings of things?

California (Los Angeles, really) was an obsession with the show from Season 1, when Nixon wins California but loses the election.

In Season 2, Don blows off the aerospace conference in L.A. and goes off with Joy, then visits Anna in San Pedro.

When his absence is finally noticed in New York, Paul guesses that Don is working on opening an office of "Sterling Cooper West" in Los Angeles. This finally becomes reality several seasons later.

In the early sixties, California was viewed in the rest of the country as the Golden State of the future. As it turned out to be.

I'm just now getting into this on netflix streaming (late to the party!)

I've only watched the first three seasons, which I love. However, I would say that Season 1 is *slightly* better than season 2, which in turn is slightly better than season 3.

Partly that's because Season 1 flawlessly introduces so many characters, to the point where every moment feels significant. They end up with so many characters that by Season 3, even major players like Joan and Roger are sidelined for long periods.

Season 3 is the least plot driven of the first three. It begins and ends with major corporate shakeups, but everything in the middle is driven more by mood and shading. We're exploring characters we already know, and the foundation wasn't there to do that yet in Season 2.

I think there are a few things holding back Season 3. One is that Don's impending divorce feels awfully close to a foregone conclusion. The writing is incredibly sharp in Mad Men, but it surprised me that a whole season is spent watching Don and Betty in an uneasy truce brought on by her third pregnancy. It's one of the very few threads in the show that feel cliche to me. And while we're waiting for Don and Betty's relationship to fail, we're also waiting for the Kennedy assassination.

Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of interesting material in season 3, but the show feels almost a little stifled, like it can't move on until those two bombs finally explode. Curious to see how Season 4 stacks up.

in response to the op's question-yes, the show went downhill as it went on. the first season of mad men is one of the greatest first seasons any show could ever want to have. season two is right up there as well. how the show ended was really unforgivable to me. especially Don's final revelation.

his character was supposed to be doomed. from the moment we met him he was living on borrowed time..among other borrowed things. how they could finally let him make peace with himself-at a hippie commune, no less-and dream up the famous coca-cola ad was particularly galling. Don is the character falling from the building during the show's animated title sequence. i realize that sequence is also emblematic of a while way of life coming to an abrupt end but shouldn't Don have finally gotten his comeuppance? Don could've been one of the most memorable characters in the history of television if he had ended the show's run broken and alone somewhere, which is what he knew he deserved. instead he got a happy ending. the happiest of endings.. i never felt like that was what this character was all about..as opposed to someone like peggy who was twice the human being Don could ever be and who fought for and earned everything she got including her own happy ending, good for her..

there are still things to like in every season. some great characters, roger sterling especially, but as a whole i never thought it lived up to the promise of those first two years.