HBO Max’s release of a 4K remastering of Mad Men did not go according to plan.
The streamer debuted the critically acclaimed series for the first time on Monday, after promising fans a new look with updated quality. What the streamer apparently hadn’t banked on was that updating the picture would uncover several embarrassing gaffes. One of the most jarring errors, as pointed out by an X user, occurs in the infamous scene in which Roger Sterling (John Slattery) vomits after eating too many oysters.
A crew member can be seen operating a machine to spew the fake vomit, entirely in full view of the camera and in the company of other crew members.
The user who uploaded the screengrab explained, “The new 4K transfer of Mad Men on HBO somehow does not have any of the post-production edits added in, which means you get stuff like this.”
The Cut’s Olivia Craighead speculated that the errors occurred because “part of the show’s 4K restoration included a change of aspect ratio, meaning either we’re seeing more of the original shot than what initially aired on AMC or HBO Max forgot to redo some postproduction edits.”
Fans gathered below this post and others to share screengrabs of the “remastered” series’ biggest gaffes online, which, according to IndieWire, touch several seasons and include out-of-order and mislabeled episodes.
“Imagine getting the rights to stream the 4k version of one of the most meticulously crafted TV shows of all time, just to absolutely whiff it,” one X user wrote.
Since HBO Max made the 4K edition available only to premium users, another fan wrote, “Imagine paying for 4K just to see behind-the-scenes in the actual scene.”
The gaffes remain as of Tuesday afternoon. According to IndieWire, sources close to the situation say the series’ files were delivered to HBO Max in error. The streamer is working to upload the corrected files as soon as possible, according to the site.
