Top 5: Mad Men Characters

I may have come in a little late to the game, but I am now a huge fan of AMC's Mad Men. Over the past couple of years I've collected all four of the past seasons on DVD and now am finally able to watch new episodes! I'm so excited that it's back on the air. I have to admit, being a designer, I love seeing the pitches that SCDP pulls off. Megan's Heinz Beans timeless concept? Brilliant. Right up there with Peggy's "basket of kisses" from the lipstick testing episode. There is so much to love about this show - the fashion, the drama, the sets - but undeniably what draws you in is the intricate characters. Each of them have so many different things going on at a time that sometimes it's hard to keep up. And I love every minute of it. So in honor of last night's episode, here are my top 5 favorite characters (to date).

5. Sal Romano

It's really a shame that this character got written out of the show, because Sal was one of the most fascinating and unique characters. He was a creative director at Sterling Cooper, and the only gay character on the show. He was also married and in the closet, with boyfriends on the side, which made for some fascinating and awkward situations, especially in the 60s. His character was interesting and troubled - I wish he was still part of the cast.

4. Joan Holloway/Harris

On the surface, Joan is a sassy secretary that can hold her own with the men in her office while still exuding femininity. Underneath that, though, is a young woman torn between wanting family or a job, romance or marriage, wealth or happiness. What makes her fantastic is her high level of confidence and unmatched ability to know exactly how to act (and how everyone else should act) in every situation - something that all of the men in the ad agency depend on. Her gorgeous red hair and curvaceous Marilyn Monroe style make her a unique fashion icon unlike most women on TV today.

3. Anna Draper

Anna is such a unique character to the show. Most of the series takes place on the east coast, except for Anna, who lives in California. Everything from her nearly-hippie clothes to her sunny disposition screams Californian, a stark contrast to the dark and cynical lifestyle of Madison Avenue.  She knows all about Don's past - for a long time she was the only character who knew his real name - and still loves him like a brother despite all of the things he's done. Anna is the one point of truth and consistency in Don's life, and her death changes him. She is only featured in four episodes but has a profound impact on Jon Hamm's character.

2. Sally Draper

You don't often see fully developed child characters on adult dramas, but Mad Men does an excellent job of integrating Don and Betty's oldest daughter into the storyline. Sally is a spitfire of a young girl, full of her father's ingenuity, passion, and forwardness, as well as her mother's stubbornness. She tries to deal with an absent father, a distanced mother, younger siblings, the death of her grandfather, and eventually her parents' divorce and subsequent remarriages. It's a lot for a girl just now turning 12. Over the course of the series she has stolen and smoked her mother's cigarettes, made cocktails, learned to drive, and gone to see the Beatles. Sally knows a lot more than she lets on, and young actress Kiernan Shipka plays the troubled child beautifully.

1. Peggy Olson

Peggy is hands-down my favorite character of the entire series. If I had to choose someone from the cast that I identify with the most, it would probably be her. She's the only woman in the creative department, working hard to promote herself out of the pool of secretaries and into the world of mock-ups, pitches, and ad campaigns. She earns the respect of a lot of the men she works with, especially Don, who urges her to do better and even takes her with him when he leaves to form SCDP. She's pretty, but not a bombshell like Joan or a beauty like Megan; she often dressed frumpy and led a fairly conservative lifestyle (before the whole "secretly have Pete's illegitimate child and give it up for adoption" thing, at least). She's unlike most of the women portrayed in the show, as she values her career over marriage and housewifery, and is a lot more like leading man Don Draper than probably either of them want to admit. Despite the fact that Don's new wife Megan works at SCDP (and in creative under Peggy, no less), his "work spouse" is most definitely Peggy. Now that she's broken into the men's world of advertising she has been known to hang out with beatniks, smoke pot, and go to strip clubs with her clients. All the while rocking a Jackie-O hat like no one else on the series can.