We’ll miss Don … the man, the myth, the enigma.
We’ll miss meeting all of Don’s interesting women.
We’ll miss living vicariously through him.
We’ll miss the way Don could make any suit look amazing with that Cadillac body of his.
We’ll miss Don’s long lunches, late breakfasts and the way he would leave the office whenever he wanted (and wish we could do it, too).
We’ll miss his amazing ad pitches that could make even coffee copy seem like Homer.
We’ll miss Don’s long-suffering secretaries, all the way from Peggy through to Miss Blankenship and beyond.
We’ll miss the drinking in the office.
We’ll miss the sex in the office.
We’ll miss the sex outside the office.
We’ll miss all those interesting books in the show – Exodus, Meditations In An Emergency, Atlas Shrugged, Rosemary’s Baby, Confessions Of An Advertising Man.
We’ll miss the show’s searing indictment of the era’s racial and sexual politics.
We’ll miss how Mad Men signposted so many important moments in American history: the Civil Rights freedom rides, the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK’s assassination, Vietnam, the moon landing … Tab.
We’ll miss Roger Sterling’s joie de vivre, his bon mots and his self-published book, Sterling’s Gold.
We’ll miss that classic opening sequence.
We’ll miss the cracking dialogue.
We’ll miss the Old Fashioneds, Gimlets, Manhattans and Whiskey Sours.
We’ll miss the painstakingly historically accurate sets.
We’ll miss the clothes.
We’ll miss the hair (but not Roger’s moustache).
We’ll miss Peggy and watching her grow from shy young secretary to kick-ass copy chief.
We’ll miss the inimitable Joan (and wonder why Don and Joan never hooked up … what a dream couple that would’ve made).
We’ll miss the strange things out of the blue like Zou Bisou Bisou, Joan playing the accordion and ad men having their feet run over by indoor tractors.
We’ll miss Chauncey more than we’ll miss Duck.
We’ll miss Sally – but remain grateful we watched her blossom into an incredible young woman.
We’ll miss Betty in so many ways.
We’ll miss Burt Cooper and his epic dancing farewell.
We’ll miss Pete … and always remember the time he tried to exchange that “chip and dip”.
We’ll particularly miss the gallant Englishman Lane.
We’ll miss Salvatore and wonder why the producers never brought him back.
We’ll miss the way Don’s journey was a microcosm of a changing America – and how many (including Don) came to question the myths at the heart of the American capitalistic dream.
We’ll miss trying to unravel the mystery of Don’s heart.
We’ll miss Madison Avenue.
We’ll just miss it all.

My ebook military thriller, The Spartan, is available on Amazon.