Those who weren't in the workforce 46 years ago might find Mad Men a bit of a shock. Not only do the employees of the Sterling Cooper advertising agency smoke and drink at work, the men are sexist pigs, and the women, still several years away from feminist bra burning, play second fiddle—when not fiddling around with their bosses. With its detail-perfect setting, twisty plots, and vivid characters, this fascinating peek into the not-so-distant past highlights how much has changed in the past four decades. Or has it?

Certainly,  as Emmy-nominated star Jon Hamm, who plays protagonist Don Draper, points out, "The HR department would be very busy right now at Sterling Cooper if it was 2009 and these people behaved that way." There are rules and laws protecting against sexist comments and conduct. But that doesn't mean they don't exist. "It's just gone undercover. Men are still pigs. And women are too," insists Vincent Kartheiser, who plays Pete Campbell. "I grew up with four sisters. You can't fool me! When it comes to a group of guys and girls, we're all pigs!"

Jon Hamm agrees. "I think people fundamentally haven't changed since the Stone Age. We just hide it better now." So does Aaron Staton, who plays Ken Cosgrove. "Even though we've come a long way, people aren't necessarily thinking any differently. It's still there under the surface." No matter how respectfully men might behave, "Behind closed doors," Staton says, "guys will be guys."

He and Hamm point to what Staton calls "trashy reality shows" as a sign that we haven't progressed much since the '60s—and may have regressed. "I don't know how popular The Hills or Girls Gone Wild would have been in 1962," muses Hamm. "The idea of putting yourself out there with a complete lack of dignity in an attempt to grab fame or attention wasn't considered sexy at all back in the day. All the women on our show are incredibly sexy, and they're not walking around in bikinis or less than that." Staton concurs, noting that "there was more left to the imagination back then. The idea of what is sexy has changed, and I think something has been lost." And when it comes to relations between the sexes, says Hamm, "We've learned a lot of lessons, but we probably still have far to go."

In Season One, the married Don Draper cheated on his wife Betty (January Jones) with client Rachel Menken (Maggie Siff) and beatnik chick Midge Daniels (Rosemarie DeWitt), but the marriage has been troubled even without the infidelity. Their relationship lacks "communication, loyalty and honesty," says Jones, who doesn't believe the couple is right for each other but married "because they thought it was what they should do." No matter how unhappy she is, "I don't think that separating is an option for Betty," Jones opines, stressing that she's nothing like her character and would "definitely not" stand for infidelity from a partner.