TV Quote of the Day (‘Mad Men,’ With an Ad Man’s View of Love)

“What you call love was invented by guys like me, to sell nylons.” —Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm, pictured) in Mad Men, Season 1, Episode 1, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” original air date July 19, 2007, teleplay by Matthew Weiner, directed by Alan Taylor

Fifteen years ago, Mad Men premiered on AMC, propelling the cable station away from vintage movies and more towards original programming.

More important, it solidified a trend that began nearly a decade before with The Sopranos: an anti-hero (in this case, a smoking, drinking, womanizing ad agency creative director) who kept viewers coming back week after week, despite (or maybe that’s because of) his continual falls from grace.

I know that I couldn’t bear to miss a single one of its 92 episodes in its seven seasons.

For a fine summary about why this quintessential period drama was “a show built to last,” read this blog post by Vulture’s Matt Zoller Seitz.