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'Mad Men' Stars Tease Season 5 And Share Their Favorite Episodes

'Mad Men' Stars Pick Their Favorite Episodes Ever
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West Coast Editor, Huffington Post TV

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Can't wait for "Mad Men" to finally return? Neither can I -- it has been 459 days since we last saw Don Draper and the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce gang in "Tomorrowland," and so many questions linger going into Season 5's big two-hour premiere (Sunday, March 25, if you don't already have it circled on your calendar).

HuffPost caught up with the cast -- including Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, January Jones and creator Matthew Weiner -- who were all as tight-lipped as ever about what to expect next season. They would only non-jokingly joke that they'll get fired if they say anything. (They will.)

The "Mad Men" cast did, however, have some things to say about the new season. "I think this season is the best yet. I really do," Slattery said. "We were all commenting that it felt like the first season. We've somehow circled back after all the details and all the plot development that's happened with everybody ... it's kind of circled back to the sort of tunnel vision on each character and various elements of each character that they've dialed in on. It's somehow simpler."

Do his castmates agree? "This season I think is our best season, script-wise. 100 percent," said Rich Sommer, who plays Harry Crane. "I really can't imagine how anyone would be disappointed, and I think that it definitely rewards those people who have been there from the beginning. It's not a show you can start from the middle ... well, you can, but you'll not only miss information, you'll miss nuance. There are literally glances that happen between two characters where it's like, 'Oh shit!'"

"A lot happens this season!," Hendricks agreed. "A lot of last season, we were wondering what was happening with Don Draper, what was happening with his marriage. But every character experiences so much this year. It's very exciting."

"I heard something that Matt [Weiner] said tonight," Moss said, "which is that this season is about every man for himself. I just thought that was so interesting ... I'd never heard him say it before, but I think that is the most perfect way of describing this season. And I think that's the parallel to Season 1 as well."

Speaking of Season 1 -- and all the previous seasons -- the castmates had to answer an even tougher question: What's your favorite "Mad Men" episode ever?

Click through the slideshow below to see which ones they chose and why. And share your own favorite episodes in the comments!

Jon Hamm (Don Draper)(01 of11)
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"My favorite episode is still the pilot ['Smoke Gets In Your Eyes']. It was just such an amazing experience, and the first step in this incredible journey. But I've never ever worked on something and felt the way I felt after we shot the episode in Season 4 called 'The Suitcase' [Episode 7]. That one ... I can't even put it into words, but that one over there [pointing to Elisabeth Moss] is so talented and it was such a lovely performance. It was really just great to be able to say those words next to that person." (credit:AMC)
Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson) (02 of11)
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"That is impossible. Well, no it's not. Not for me. 'The Suitcase' -- Season 4, Episode 7 -- is a hard one to beat. It's the greatest material I've ever had the privilege of acting. How do you top that?" (credit:AMC)
John Slattery (Roger Sterling)(03 of11)
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"Christina Hendricks and I had a lot to do in the episode 'Babylon' [Season 1, Episode 6] -- that was great. I think they get better and better. There was an episode last year where we lose the Lucky Strike account ['Chinese Wall,' Season 4, Episode 11] and I had a lot of challenging stuff to do."
Christina Hendricks (Joan Harris)(04 of11)
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"You know, I always go back to Season 1, and I think it must be because it was all so new and fresh. There are so many wonderful episodes, but one of my favorite Joan episodes would be 'Babylon' in Season 1, which has a lot of the relationship with Roger and he gives her the birdcage. And I really like the image of the girls putting on the lipstick and the guys on the opposite side ... I remember getting that script and saying, 'Oh, I can't wait to do this!' and I still feel that energy when I see that episode." (credit:AMC)
January Jones (Betty Draper)(05 of11)
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"I really loved the episode in Season 1 [Episode 9, 'Shoot'] where Betty tries to become a model again, and then gets shut down and shoots the birds. I also really love the episode from Season 3 [Episode 11, 'The Gypsy and the Hobo'] when she confronts Don about the box." (credit:AMC)
Jared Harris (Lane Pryce)(06 of11)
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"There are some really good ones this season, but this season excluded, obviously the one with Jon [Hamm] where they go out on the town ['The Good News,' Season 4, Episode 3]. For me, it meant that people would start to see the character as less functionary, and you'd start to get an idea of who he is and what makes him tick. They humanized him. As a writer, Matt [Weiner] never goes backwards ... it's all an evolution based on the characters." (credit:AMC)
Robert Morse (Bert Cooper)(07 of11)
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"One of my favorite episodes is [in Season 2] when I didn't have shoes on and I'd walk around the office in argyle socks. And I would ask the director or the producer or the writer, 'Why am I doing this?' and he would say, 'I can't tell you. I don't tell you what's going to happen in the next episode. You just walk around -- there's a reason.' [Laughs] Finally, after two or three more episodes, I found out that my office was decorated in early Japanese style, and I was an aficionado of the Japanese way of life. [Laughs] And because they don't wear shoes in an office, everybody who would come into my office would have to take their shoes off." (credit:AMC)
Rich Sommer (Harry Crane)(08 of11)
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"I like them all. I think for me, my favorite scene that I've shot goes all the way back to Season 1 [Episode 13, 'The Wheel'] when Harry stayed in the office overnight in his underwear. And there's that scene with Don Draper in his office, and they're two broken guys talking about anything but the stuff they should be talking about. Harry talked about the Lascaux cave paintings and how he took pictures of girls in college, all this crazy stuff, and I really loved that scene. I thought it was so quiet and beautiful and so well-written. It was a true pleasure to get that scene -- and it was my first one-on-one with Don Draper, and that was exciting." (credit:AMC)
Aaron Staton (Ken Cosgrove)(09 of11)
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"It's 'The Suitcase' [Season 4, Episode 7]. It's been my favorite since I turned the last page of the script -- it was incredible." (credit:AMC)
Jay R. Ferguson (Stan Rizzo)(10 of11)
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"I want to say it's the fourth episode -- some crazy shit happens this season. Oh, I mean, I didn't mean that ... what I meant was ... can we scratch that from the record? No? I might get fired. Okay. Favorite episode that's aired? I really loved the last episode of Season 3 [Episode 13, 'Shut the Door, Have a Seat'] where they're all in the hotel room strategizing." (credit:AMC)
Matthew Weiner, Creator(11 of11)
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"I think that the first episode where I realized that this could not be done on any other show was 'Maidenform' [Season 2, Episode 6]. That's a very special episode to me, because it's really about how other people see you, and it's a tough thing to express dramatically." (credit:AMC)

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