Don Draper is the Most Interesting Character of this TV Season

Thanks to Lisa for pointing out that the fabulous Don Draper was featured on Saturday Night Live. Unfortunately I did not see the post until Sunday afternoon! Woe is me! Surely NBC.com must stream entire episodes of SNL somewhere, after the live episode has aired!

I am particularly devastated because Mad Men's Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is the most intriguing character on television these days. He has more layers than my Aunt Lorene's chocolate cake and not all of them are angel food. There is the dark side of Don who shunned his own brother causing the poor kid's suicide. There is the amazingly compassionate side of Don who gave co-worker Peggy the heart and bravery to become one of the fast track stars of Sterling Cooper. He treats his wife like chattel, but he has lovingly maintained a long term friendship with the real Mrs. Draper, a sweet soul from San Pedro with a bad leg. Don is menacing, enigmatic, and sometimes cruel. But at the end of the day, his innate decency as a human being always shines through. The only other TV character I can recall being this fascinated by was Nate Fisher (Peter Krause on Six Feet Under) who had the same amphibious, emotionally remote dark exterior, but hiding inside was the nicest guy you ever want to meet.

No doubt about it, Sunday nights are the best night of the week for TV. After tonight's Mad Men season finale, we will still have True Blood, Entourage and Dexter to enjoy for a bit longer. Then Christmas, then New Year's and then....mercifully....a new season of American Idol. Life in the TV lane goes on!