"Mad Men" and "Game of Thrones" are both Emmy-winning Sunday night dramas; they both majestically portray a bygone era, conveniently glossing over the hardships of the less fortunate citizens of the time; they both feature an impetuous, immature young prince desperately trying to ascend to power (Joffrey Baratheon, meet Pete Campbell); they both elevated long-time character actors up to leading man status (here's to Jon Hamm and Peter Dinklage); and they are both impeccably acted and directed with impressive attention to detail. And while I watch them both, I find the experience of sitting down for an hour of "Mad Men" to be consistently more enjoyable.
"Mad Men" is a self-contained, focused human drama that analyzes the complicated lives of a relatively small circle of characters, not dozens of armies dueling over seven kingdoms. "Game of Thrones" is ambitious in its scale, and with its gigantic web of characters and clans -- Lannisters, Starks, Baratheons, Night Watchmen, dragon-people -- I feel like I need a weekly infographic to follow along. With "Mad Men," it's pretty much just about four names: Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. There's something comforting about that familiarity. It's like "Cheers," except in an advertising agency. What I'm trying to say is that I like knowing everyone's name.
"Mad Men" takes place in New York in the early '60s, a time when America was in the midst of some seismic changes: the Civil Rights movement, the sexual revolution, the birth of the American counter-culture and the explosion of mass media. And while it's taken some justifiable criticism for focusing on characters who remain intent on staying blissfully unaware of many of those changes, it does portray the era faithfully. (And, to give "Mad Men" some credit for progress, SCDP has hired its first Jewish and African-American employees this season!)
"Game of Thrones" takes place ... at some unspecified time in the medieval era in a fantasy world called Westeros. Can't we all agree that the 1960s were a cooler time than the Dark Ages? I would rather drink scotch from a lowball glass or "smoke some tea" on Don Draper's balcony than risk drinking possibly-poisoned wine poured from a horn. But that's just me.
Another personal preference: I don't need my favorite TV shows to be based on a multi-volume, several-thousand page foundational text. Some of the best shows in recent memory, like "The Wire," "The Sopranos" and "Mad Men" all feel very much like novels in the way they tell layered stories and develop characters over time. But I didn't have to read several actual novels to fully appreciate them. "Game of Thrones'" origins as a series of novels means you can always be out-geeked by some George R.R. Martin superfan who will insist on explaining to you why last night's episode was not nearly as good as his favorite chapter of "A Song Of Ice And Fire."
Admittedly, "Game of Thrones" does hold a decided advantage over "Mad Men" when it comes to live-action TV violence. "GoT" is like "The Hunger Games" meets Tolkien meets a night out at Medieval Times: The show does beheadings, stabbings, spearings and various other gory deaths brilliantly. Ned Stark's execution was, for me, the most memorable major character TV death since Stringer Bell on "The Wire." By comparison, the most prominent death on "Mad Men" last season was when Don's ancient secretary Ms. Blankenship quietly expired while sitting at her desk. Point, "Thrones."
Another area "Game of Thrones" gets a lot of credit for is its sex scenes, but more often than not, they tend to just weird me out. Either brother and sister Lannister are doing it, or Drogo is manhandling Daenerys Targaryen on their honeymoon, or Dothraki warriors are raping and pillaging. It might as well be called Game of Unsettling HBO Sex.
"Mad Men" sex scenes, on the other hand, do more with less. Exhibit A: Don and Megan's rough make-up cleaning sex session in the Season 5 premiere. Exhibit B: Joan and Roger's rainy alleyway hookup last season. And just imagine how extra awesome those scenes could have been if AMC allowed brief nudity!
Finally, there's something about the Sunday evening timeslot that I find more conducive to watching "Mad Men" than "Game of Thrones." On Sunday night, with the work week bearing down in a few short hours, I can't afford to let my imagination wander to a distant, mystical realm. To its credit, "Game of Thrones" can, at times, feel so vivid that I fear I may literally be sucked into my TV and transported to Westeros. I might not show up to work on Monday. If I'm going to start my week off right, I find it much more helpful to channel Don Draper's business swagger, steely determination and barely concealed depression.