Mad Men

‘MAD MEN" is back, and zou bisou for that; the stylish AMC series about a 1960s ad agency is always full of metaphors for the present day. So it was in Sunday night's premiere, which featured an ill-fated pitch to sell kidney beans - and a lesson for selling modern politicians. In "Mad Men," the ad execs pitched a campaign for Heinz brand beans, proposing to use slow-motion film technology. A copywriter described, in elegiac terms, a TV commercial that would show a "bean ballet.

Survivor: One World 8 p.m., Channel 4 The ladies run this. Pictured: Kimberly Spradlin. Next Food Network Star 9 p.m., Food Network De Laurentiis, Flay, and Brown: Who needs more cooks? The Simpsons 8 p.m., Channel 25 "Nedna" weds. Once Upon a Time 9 p.m., Channel 5 And they lived happily ever after? Mad Men 10 p.m., AMC Peggy starts a side business: Pizza House!

This review contains spoilers. One of the many beauties of AMC’s “Mad Men’’ has been its loud silences. So much is not said on this show, set right before both the therapy revolution and the media explosion put a premium on talk. For three seasons now, all that unspoken feeling among the characters has lingered in the air like their cigarette smoke — a barely visible, subtextual energy. Because the atmosphere has been so muted on “Mad Men,’’ it has sometimes seemed like a bold black-and-white production — think Elia Kazan — even while it’s filmed in lush, sepia-tinged color.

On Thursday the Globe's Sarah Rodman chatted with viewers about TV on Boston.com. Following are condensed and edited excerpts from that chat. Q. [Actor] John Slattery definitely gets an Emmy for this season [of "Mad Men"]. No matter who they pair him with — in order of maturity: ex-wife, Don, Peggy, young wife, Sally, Joan's baby, or Pete — he is spectacular and brings up everyone's game. A. I've been thinking the same thing. He's been nominated several times and he is just on fire this year.

"Mad Men" is vacant - intentionally so. Fiercely so. The AMC drama, which returns as the conquering hero on Sunday after winning 16 Emmy nominations, and a pair of Golden Globes, is a tour de force of starched-white emptiness and emotional evasion. About New York ad men and their secretaries, wives, and paramours in the early 1960s, it's as psychologically flamboyant as a gray flannel suit. Indeed, while the likes of "House," "Grey's Anatomy," and "In Treatment" make fireworks out of pathology, "Mad Men," back Sunday at 10, is psychologically withholding.

If you ask us, the season premiere of "Mad Men" was, well, meh. But the fans of the show who gathered to watch it at the Beacon Hill restaurant Scollay Square didn't mind. They were in a "Mad Men" state of mind, as evidenced by their outfits, which mimicked some of their favorite characters. The party celebrating the life and times of Jon Hamm's alter ego Don Draper featured more than a few 60s-style cocktails and retro dishes.

Back in November, Newsweek and Daily Beast editor Tina Brown visited Boston's Hill Holliday for the advertising and marketing agency's content conference. While she was there, she struck up a friendship with Hill Holliday execs Lance Jensen and Karen Kaplan, and told them that Newsweek had plans for a special "Mad Men"-themed issue to celebrate the show's 2012 return. Gensen, who is Hill Holliday's Chief Creative Officer, had some ideas for Brown, speficially that all of the advertising in the special issue should reflect the time period of...

"Mad Men" last aired a new episode in October 2010. But relief is in sight, according to its star, Jon Hamm. Hamm revealed on a podcast last week that the premiere of the fifth season of the AMC network drama is March 25. Hamm also says he will direct that episode. He appeared on Friday's edition of the podcast "Doug Loves Movies," hosted by comedian Doug Benson. AMC declined to confirm the date. The return of the show follows protracted negotiations after the fourth season between Lionsgate, the studio that produces it, and its creator-executive producer, Matthew Weiner (WY'-nur)

John Slattery was in Pasadena, Calif., Saturday night at a press event to celebrate the return of "Mad Men" on AMC on March 25. But in between interviews and chatting with costars like Jon Hamm and Christina Hendricks, the Newton native was constantly checking his phone for the score of the Patriots game. He eagerly showed a reporter the update. The actor, who plays silver fox ad man Roger Sterling, was excited about the show's return after such a long layoff but admitted that even he was a little confused about just where we left off in the award-winning period drama.

[The following article contains spoilers about the first two episodes of season five of "Mad Men. " Consider yourself warned.] Don Draper and Harry Crane failed in their attempt to get the Rolling Stones to sing a jingle for Heinz beans in last Sunday's episode of "Mad Men," but with the melodic afterglow of the series' March 25 debut still lingering, the lack of Stones felt like a minor defeat. You'll recall that in the "Mad Men" premiere, Don's recent bride Megan (Jessica Pare)

Flip through any cookbook of mid-20th century America and you're bound to come across a recipe for baked Alaska. It was all the rage for a time. But as quickly as it flamed up, it soon disappeared. Now it's back. The TV drama "Mad Men" has prompted retro-themed parties that often include baked Alaska on the menus. In a recent episode, in fact, the frozen dessert is served at an awards dinner. A Discover card commercial features the flamed ice cream/meringue confection, and it's showing up on cooking shows, made by celebrity chefs.

Silver-haired "Mad Men" star John Slattery is Boston Common magazine's cover boy on the new issue. The Newton native is a big Sox fan - his mother's cousin was married to Jack Rogers, the Red Sox traveling secretary at the time - and he fondly recalls taking the trolley to games at Fenway. The actor tells the mag he doesn't have much in common with his "Mad Men" character, Roger Sterling. "I like Roger. He may say and do things that I find abhorrent, but I understand him," says Slattery.

Old advertising slogans and images, such as Esso's "Put a tiger in your tank" and Maidenform's "I dreamed I was …" campaign, tell a powerful story of the way we were. The sexy sense of possibility trumpeted by ads in the 1950s and '60s is the animating force of a new large-format boxed set. "Mid-Century Ads: Advertising from the ‘Mad Men' Era" (Taschen), a trippy two-volume time capsule edited by Jim Heimann, is a special treat for fans of the popular HBO series. Each volume opens with a timeline of advertising milestones.

[The following article contains spoilers about the first two episodes of season five of "Mad Men. " Consider yourself warned.] Don Draper and Harry Crane failed in their attempt to get the Rolling Stones to sing a jingle for Heinz beans in last Sunday's episode of "Mad Men," but with the melodic afterglow of the series' March 25 debut still lingering, the lack of Stones felt like a minor defeat. You'll recall that in the "Mad Men" premiere, Don's recent bride Megan (Jessica Pare)

If you ask us, the season premiere of "Mad Men" was, well, meh. But the fans of the show who gathered to watch it at the Beacon Hill restaurant Scollay Square didn't mind. They were in a "Mad Men" state of mind, as evidenced by their outfits, which mimicked some of their favorite characters. The party celebrating the life and times of Jon Hamm's alter ego Don Draper featured more than a few 60s-style cocktails and retro dishes.

‘MAD MEN" is back, and zou bisou for that; the stylish AMC series about a 1960s ad agency is always full of metaphors for the present day. So it was in Sunday night's premiere, which featured an ill-fated pitch to sell kidney beans - and a lesson for selling modern politicians. In "Mad Men," the ad execs pitched a campaign for Heinz brand beans, proposing to use slow-motion film technology. A copywriter described, in elegiac terms, a TV commercial that would show a "bean ballet.

"Mad Men" is finally back in our lives in all its cocktail-swigging, moody glory. What do you think of the Drapers as a couple? What about Joan not being in the office? Do you think Peggy may have a drinking problem? Log on at 12:30 and let's chat about everything "Mad Men. " Talk 'Mad Men' with Mawuse Ziegbe

Old advertising slogans and images, such as Esso's "Put a tiger in your tank" and Maidenform's "I dreamed I was …" campaign, tell a powerful story of the way we were. The sexy sense of possibility trumpeted by ads in the 1950s and '60s is the animating force of a new large-format boxed set. "Mid-Century Ads: Advertising from the ‘Mad Men' Era" (Taschen), a trippy two-volume time capsule edited by Jim Heimann, is a special treat for fans of the popular HBO series. Each volume opens with a timeline of advertising milestones.

"Mad Men" is finally back in our lives in all its cocktail-swigging, moody glory. What do you think of the Drapers as a couple? What about Joan not being in the office? Do you think Peggy may have a drinking problem? Log on at 12:30 and let's chat about everything "Mad Men. " Talk 'Mad Men' with Mawuse Ziegbe

MAD MEN FANS, REJOICE. The Season 5 premiere is finally here. Celebrate tonight with a period cocktail party, and continue your mid-century food fix with The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook: Inside the Kitchens, Bars, and Restaurants of Mad Men (BenBella Books/Smart Pop, 2011). In a volume that's equal parts cookbook and historical snapshot of 1960s New York, Mad Men fanatics Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin help readers savor nearly every sip and morsel swallowed by Don Draper and crew during the show's first four seasons.