It's a place where men were king, and women were fine with that.

      A land where a breath wasn't taken without the ingestion or expulsion of cigarette smoke, and where the cocktail was in hand instead of a Diet Coke or a jug of vitamin water.

      They were the folks who told us what to buy, and why.     They created the catch phrases of the day, the jingles that worm through our minds, even to this day.

      They were "Mad Men", and they should be part of your television life.

      The low buzz about this AMC cable series reached fever pitch earlier this month when the program about Madison Avenue advertising executives in the early 60's (thus, the nickname, "Mad Men") got much Emmy love, making history by becoming the first series on REGULAR cable to be so honored (yes, pay-channel hits like "The Sopranos" are part of Emmy lore, but the key word here is "pay"). 

      After catching the first five episodes of the premier season on pay-per-view, I can heartily believe the hype.

       This is "The Dick Van Dyke Show" on 'ludes.      New Frontier fashion with late 60's morality.      Imagine Rob Petrie with a woman on the side.     And, plan on Buddy Sorrell steppin' out on Pickles, too.      

       For those of us old enough to remember those days, it's a call back to our youth.       We remember "The Flintstones" firing up a Winston.      We can see our parents having "high balls" after work.      We lived with stay-at-home moms while dads did the 9-to-5 and weren't expected to do much after coming home.

         There isn't much more I can say without giving the show away.    It's an awesome, accurate time piece that rinses the early 60's of their lily-white veneer.     Sexism, racism, office politics and deceit abound, with narrow ties around necks, whiskey "neats" in hand and Marlboro smoke in the air.

         Where the truth lies, indeed.      Check it out on AMC and do the first season if you're lucky enough to have AMC OnDemand on Time Warner cable.

        And tell me what you think at mueller@620wtmj.com.