Photo Frank Ockenfels /AMCcomplete

“Mad Men” failed to win any of its 17 nominations on Sunday’s 2012 Emmy Awards.

As an avid fan of the show, I was disappointed, yet not too surprised. While Jon Hamm plays suave ad man Don Draper well, the past season overall was boring. Other than the suicide death of an ad executive and the loss of a major account, the stirrings at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP) were minor.

The main story arc for season 5 focused too much on Don Draper and his new wife Megan Calvet’s relationship. Megan, played by Jessica Pare, debuted as Draper’s secretary in season 4 ended up getting hitched with her boss in the season finale. Season 5 demonstrated their continuing relationship as husband and wife.

Don struggles (as he always does) with staying faithful to his wife. Megan struggles with what she is passionate about as a career; although she dabbles in and shows talent as a copywriter, she chooses the path of an unsuccessful actress. Both clash frequently throughout the season.

Ultimately, it just got too repetitive. Every other episode featured some floozy trying to seduce Draper and his internal conflict to stay faithful. Megan fell short of landing parts as an actress again and again. The couple fought just about every single episode with Megan’s numerous tantrums sprinkled here and there. One of my favorite quotes came from Megan’s mother, Marie Calvet (Julia Ormond) on her daughter’s tantrum.

“This is what happens when you have the artistic temperament, but you are not an artist.”

While I understand the show used season 5 to update character development in-depth, the formula didn’t work. Seeing the same thing happen again and again is not my idea of a good show. I hope season 6 brings out the in-charge Don Draper that we are used to.