Mad Men: series one and two catch-up guide

Season 1: Head secretary Joan explains to new girl Peggy the secrets of life, manual typewriting and underwire, but refuses to divulge the name of her corsetiere. Spin through her Rolodex, Peggy. It’ll be under G for Govan shipbuilder Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features Photograph: guardian.co.uk Meet Jon Hamm as Don Draper. He is the handsomest man on the planet at this time. He has a beautiful wife, and sex with whomever he wants. Somehow, it seems only fair Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features/Everett Collection Photograph: Everett Collection / Rex Feature/guardian.co.uk Don Draper and his beautiful wife, Betty. She is happy at the moment because she is about to have sex with Don Draper. But when she finally reads The Feminine Mystique, all hell is going to break loose Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features Photograph: guardian.co.uk Don Draper doing what he does best – despising beatniks and bohemians. One of them is his favourite mistress, but he wants to punch every one of her friends in the throat, and may do after his fourth brandy napoleon Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features Photograph: guardian.co.uk Yes, 60s sexism was bad. But it did give you a nice break on the days when your bosses needed you to try out lipsticks for a client’s new ad campaign. Who needs child-care or parity of pay when you can learn to pout on company time! Girls, am I right? Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features Photograph: guardian.co.uk Even closeted art director Salvatore gets occasionally warm for Joan’s astonishing form. All this, and she does shorthand too Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features Photograph: guardian.co.uk Season 2: Peggy’s priest suspects she is unhappy. He does not suspect that it is because over the previous season she had sex with weasel adman Pete, got pregnant, didn’t realise, gave birth, had a breakdown, gave the baby up for adoption and got right back to work. Peggy is amazing. Priests are dumb Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features Photograph: guardian.co.uk Joan, far more magnificently upholstered than the sofa, snogs her doctor-fiance before he turns out to be a rapist. The question hanging over season three is whether the proto-feminism lurking within our Joanie is strong enough to save her before it is too late Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features Photograph: guardian.co.uk This is the wife of a major client, whom Don is about to shag. Admirable commitment to the womanising arts or needless jeopardising of his firm’s bottom line? Discuss, over six old-fashioneds and a vodka gimlet Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features Photograph: guardian.co.uk Peggy offers up her latest copy to see whose turn it is to take credit for her work this time and wonders whether a bunch of sods suckling at her creative teat is a fair exchange for a baby Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features Photograph: guardian.co.uk Feeling blue because your husband has been straying (yet again)? Draw the sting of infidelity with cigarettes and separates! Betty Draper – still waiting for the book that will explain everything Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features Photograph: guardian.co.uk Weasel Pete and his wife, still not pregnant after a season of trying. When she finds out about Peggy, perhaps she and Betty can get together and do some serious damage – either to a bottle of Tanqueray or their respective philanderers. Photograph: Carin Baer/AMC/Lionsgate Photograph: guardian.co.uk