For people worried about the Great Recession and the uncertainty of what is coming next, the characters of 'Mad Men' are good company.

Set in the advertising world of the 1960s, 'Mad Men' is stunning to look at - a Camelot-era parade of smartly dressed professionals lounging around on midcentury modern furniture.

To a generation beaten down by skyrocketing unemployment, plunging retirement savings, and mounting home foreclosures, 'Mad Men' offers the schadenfreude-filled message that their predecessors were equally unhappy - and that the bleakness meter in American life has always been set on high.

I was a switchboard operator on the first season of 'Mad Men.' I was the oldest and bitterest.

I like 'Mad Men,' and I think 'The Killing' is pretty great too. I like 'Brothers & Sisters.'

I'm the most gregarious of men and love good company, but never less alone when alone.