Mad Men and the Sopranos Just Might be the Same Show

Let’s get something sorted before I continue, I LOVE both Mad Men and the Sopranos. If you haven’t watched either, something is wrong with you. I didn’t think I’d ever feel this way about anything, but if new episodes of Lost and Mad Men happened to be on at the same time…I would probably watch Mad Men first.

After getting horribly roped into Don Draper’s smoke-filled and booze-fueled world on a procrastinatory binge about a month ago, I suddenly had a craving to go back and watch the Sopranos. A bit of IMDBing showed that this desire should come as no surprise since Matthew Weiner, writer and producer for several Sopranos’ episodes, happens to be the creator of Mad Men. Well, I obtained the first season of the Sopranos on DVD and have come to the conclusion that Mad Men and the Sopranos are practically the same show-Mad Men possibly appealing to a larger female audience (here’s lookin’ at you, Jon Hamm). I don’t mean this in a bad way, clearly I’m fully addicted to both. But if I didn’t say something, I might go a little insane. Here’s the rundown (in case you hadn’t figured, there will be a few SPOILERS):

1) Don Draper and Tony Soprano as a pair of Bad A’ Mofos.

Okay, so Don Draper is a little easier, to um..digest (on the eyes), and we all really want to like him, but time and time again he shows what a true jerk he is. We all know that Tony’s not exactly the nicest guy but we can see, from his interactions with Dr. Melfi and his daughter Meadow, that he’s not always happy with the decisions he’s made. All he’s ever really wanted is to “get food on the table”, and besides, he barely managed to get into college, let alone survive that semester and a half. Both are mysterious, adulterous, and true top dogs. Don always manages to keep his job by being the best, sharpest, and by having some sweet connections. Tony shows he’s not to be messed with by never being afraid to run over someone.

2) Carmela Soprano and Betty Draper as the almost, but not quite so innocent bystanders.

Although Carmela initially comes off as the stronger woman (she yells and stands up to Tony), we have to remember that Betty is stuck in the late 1950s and early 1960s and can’t be expected to do the same. As the show progresses, Betty does become more vocal and even kicks Don out of the house for a brief period of time. Both want to be good wives and mothers but know that their husbands aren’t exactly honorable men. No one else really understands what they’re going through and we don’t know what they’re going to do next to act out. Each one always seems to be on the edge of having an affair but always seems to return to her spousal duties.

3) The Shoes Thing.

Burt Cooper, everyone’s boss over at Mad Men, makes everyone remove their shoes before entering his office. Meadow Soprano, Tony’s daughter, will not let anyone enter her room until they have removed their shoes. Maybe this isn’t such a big deal, but can you think of any non-Asian shows that do this?

4) Psychiatry.

One of the major relationships on the Sopranos is between Tony and his psychiatrist, Jennifer Malfi. She learns about his emotions, his fears, his secrets in a way that no one else does. On Mad Men, psychiatry is reserved for weak people who weren’t raised right, like Roger Sterling’s daughter. Or Betty Draper. In the first season, Betty develops a nervous condition after her mother dies. As a way of “fixing” her, Don sends her off to a psychiatrist, who reports to him by telephone in the evenings. Betty’s sessions with her shrink are incredibly different from those of Tony and Dr. Melfi, but each each tends to be the pivotal scene of the episode. Perhaps the folks at the Sopranos and Mad Men are interested in demonstrating how psychiatry has changed over the decades? The relatively silent and somewhat creepy doctor from MM versus the rather engaging and likable  Melfi from the Sopranos.

5) Catholicism

Tony certainly makes no claims to be a good Catholic, but Carmela does. She hangs out with the priest, regularly confesses, and often admits that she thinks her husband is doomed to Hell. Don doesn’t really speak about religion and is called out for it by Connie Hilton. Peggy Olson, Don’s former secretary and now copy-writer, has been raised Catholic and frequently clashes with her family over her lack of devoutness. Both Carmela and Peggy get dangerously close to their parish priests and we sometimes can’t help but wonder whether something scandalous will happen.

6) New York City is always in the distance but never quite attainable.

In the Sopranos opening we see NYC in Tony’s side view mirror before he gets on the Jersey turnpike to go home. They go into the City sometimes, but most big business is handled off the side of the highway and closer to home. Sure the folks at Mad Men work in Manhattan, but most of the scenes downtown take place indoors. Anything that takes place outside happens in the ‘burbs of Tarrytown. Betty continually expresses her love of NYC but always seems stuck outside of it because Don never takes her there unless he has some sort of business to attend to.

7) Weird dream sequences and troublesome parents.

Tony and Betty not only share their need for psychiatry, but also their draining, elderly parents and bizarre dreams. Both Betty’s father, Gene, and Tony’s mother provide constant problems until they eventually die.

That’s all I’ve got for now, but trust me, they’re the same.