Mad Men: parents' guide

Mostly fistfights, slaps and marital struggles, but a woman is raped by her fiancé in an office in season 2, a lawn mower accident sprays blood, and a partner is beaten bloody. Two men die by hanging, one found in his office.

S-words, 'damn,' 'hell' and misuses of God's name are common; Plugged In counted a handful of s-words per episode. The f-word comes up only twice, in the season 6 premiere, and is censored both times. Bigoted remarks about Black and Jewish people reflect the era.

Frequent affairs and sex scenes, usually shown through kissing, lingerie and pillow talk, with some rough sex, brothels, and a woman briefly seen topless. A season 6 flashback shows a sick teenage Don seduced by a prostitute at the brothel where he lived.

Constant smoking, plus cocktails at lunch and at the office, often to drunkenness. Don's drinking becomes a serious problem, characters smoke pot, some take LSD, and staff get injections of an 'energy serum' that makes them manic. Drinking is often made to look glamorous.

Little suspense, but heavy moments: coworkers discovering a colleague's suicide, a parent's death and a later terminal diagnosis, the JFK assassination, a feverish dream of strangling an ex-lover, and an employee's breakdown and self-mutilation.