Interesting comparison by Maureen Ryan at HuffPo:

Both "Mad Men" and "Game of Thrones" spend a lot of time meditating on the nature and use of power -- how those who don't have it try to get it, the wise and unwise ways in which those in authority wield it, how those with lower status fight to preserve a scrap of autonomy, and how people can give the impression of having control even when they're unsure of where they stand. To be a character on either drama is to face constant flux and change -- not all of which is bad, mind you.

The '60s of "Mad Men" are a bit less bloody than Westeros -- we've yet to see anyone's guts on the floor on this AMC show -- but for the men and women of that kingdom and for the employees of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, to count on things staying the same is to court disaster. Of course, the big difference between the shows is that "Mad Men" is often the story of Don Draper while "Game of Thrones" is more the story of the migration of power, but even on the AMC show, power appears to be migrating away from the man who started the show with everything (or so we thought).

And the foreboding atmosphere pervading "Mad Men," where the sense of fear and decay grows by the week, is every bit as menacing as the unsettled mood of Westeros at war. On both shows, it's hard to escape the feeling that something truly awful is coming, something much worse than losing an account or even seeing a loyal retainer beheaded. There's a sense, on both dramas, that an old order and a traditional way of life are going away, and that's exciting and terrifying, sometimes simultaneously. A sense of unease and possibility courses through both "Mad Men" and "Game of Thrones," and it's impossible to predict who will benefit from the passing of the torch and who will pay dearly. As a character on "The Wire" once said, "Deserve got nothing to do with it."

These two shows, along with Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, True Blood, Fringe, GLEE, and now The Newsroom, are my favorite dramas on television right now. Each depicts groups of people dealing with all manner of situations, good and bad, natural and otherworldly. (Past favorites Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, SportsNight, Arrested Development, and LOST, dealt with similar themes.)

Season 5 of Mad Men and Season 2 of Game of Thrones were excellent and leave me wanting more.

See also Don Draper in the Iron Throne: http://pandawhale.com/convo/2682/don-draper-in-the-iron-throne

have you tried Battlestar Galactica yet?

I liked the first season but I'm tainted by the people who said the series ending was disappointing.

Should I barrel through anyway?

Yes! Although I am one of those people who says that about Lost. After Season 3, all down hill...BSG, at least in my opinion, has a story that was not so impacted by the writers' strike.

Deadwood.  It's all downhill after Swearengen

I did enjoy this Deadwood retrospective:

http://pandawhale.com/post/39407/video-the-best-deadwood-retrospective-youll-find-on-the-internet

love deadwood

Yeah, that show ended too soon.