Speaking of Madison Avenue, Ruth La Ferla at the NY Times has a really great read on the production design of Mad Men, this writer's favorite new television show he hasn't seen yet because he keeps forgetting to watch. But even he can tell from the promos and little bits and pieces found on the internet, that the people behind the look of the show know what they're doing.

Not a single prop is an afterthought, he said. "The metal fixture that clasps like a clothespin onto the guest towel -- my grandmother had it, my mother had it," Mr. Weiner said. "It's actually written into the script."

Roughly $2.5 million went into the filming of each episode. "All of that money has been funneled onto the screen," he added, down to the conference tables coated in cigarette ash, and the homely touches bestowed on the characters -- wrinkled shirts, sweat stains, ill-applied makeup -- that lend the show an air of authenticity.