The return of Mad Men … not watching wasn’t an option

Mad Men is one of my favourite TV shows. But preparing to watch the first new episode in 17 months, I almost wished I wasn’t.

There’s a lot to be said for going out on a high and the fourth season’s bittersweet finale, with Don Draper suddenly deciding to marry his unchallenging secretary, leaving Peggy and Joan rolling their eyes at the predictability of men, was the show at its best. Had the protracted negotiations between producer Matthew Weiner and the AMC channel broken down, it would have been a satisfactory series finale.

Had the show been away too long? In its absence, other intelligent adult dramas have stolen its thunder: the Danish and French shows imported by BBC4, or the gripping spy series Homeland. Feebler period-set imitations, like Pan Am, which had the clothes but not the brains, or BBC2’s flawed The Hour, have undermined Mad Men’s uniqueness. Meanwhile, Jon Hamm has been indulging his comic side as the horrible boyfriend in Bridesmaids, or in other self-mocking guises on Saturday Night Live (spread by YouTube) – but doesn’t seeing the real, goofy Hamm make you fancy the enigmatic Draper just a bit less?

More importantly, the series is now showing here on Sky Atlantic, which hopes to cash in on the audience built up by BBC4. Fans of Lost, 24, Glee, Nurse Jackie and other poached shows will attest how frustrating this is for those without paid-for digital channels. There’s either the wait for the DVDs, months after the main plot points have been spoiled, or the dodgy temptation of seeking it online.

Still, despite all that, not watching wasn’t an option. But the first double-length episode was a slow-burner and, after the long hiatus, it was hard to get back into the show. What was the story with Mohawk Airlines again? And was Peggy going out with that journalist? Joan’s had her baby, but does Roger know it might be his? If you couldn’t catch up, tough: the show didn’t make many allowances to re-set the scene. It had other stories to tell, about Joan’s desperation to return to work, Pete’s increasing self-importance and – brilliantly – the moment when Don realised that his amenable new wife might just have a personality of her own, as she embarrassed him with a sexy song and dance at a surprise birthday party. That excruciating moment, and the reassuring sense that the show trusts its viewers enough not to spell everything out slowly (a tendency of too much British drama, from White Heat to Titanic) is what Mad Men does so well. And that’s why, in the end, I was very glad to see it come back.