Many TV shows are defined by the way they use time. "24" wouldn't be the same without its real-time story telling, and "Lost" wouldn't be as strange and mysterious were it not constantly jumping between past, present and future.

Of course, sometimes when a TV show monkeys around with time, it can seem like a cheap gimmick. How many sitcoms have had cheesy flashback episodes in which actors were forced to wear wacky period costumes and bad wigs? And don't even get me started on the awkward, five-year fast forward at the end of season four of "Desperate Housewives."

Yet leaps in time are effective when used properly. Fortunately, the AMC drama "Mad Men" falls into that category.

When the show debuted last year, it focused on the advertising industry in Manhattan in 1960, and all the hard-living, sexism, and general close-mindedness that went with it. Don Draper (Jon Hamm), creative director at the ad agency Sterling Cooper, was still the master of his particular universe.

Sure, he felt vaguely threatened by the young men working under him. And, yes, he was starting to realize that the glamorous life he'd created for himself — complete with a beautiful, blonde, ex-model wife — had serious flaws. But he usually ended up on top, keeping his underlings in check and preserving his illusion of the perfect life. In the first episode of the second season, which airs 10 p.m. today on AMC, the show has jumped ahead two years, to 1962. On the surface, everything

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looks the same. Characters still smoke like chimneys and enjoy three-martini lunches, but change is clearly in the air.

Don is his usual self, browbeating his subordinates and keeping the wheels turning at his firm. At home, he's trying to make nice with his wife Betty (January Jones), whom he spent much of last season neglecting.

However, trouble is on the horizon both at work and at home. Don gets word that Sterling Cooper is trying to attract a younger audience, and will be seeking out younger employees. Don is dismissive, and asserts that the guys working under him are young enough. His superiors disagree. At home, Betty is slowly edging toward self-discovery — a path that includes riding lessons and a growing awareness of her sexuality.

Other characters are facing big changes, too. Don's boss Roger Sterling (John Slattery) is still feeling vulnerable following the heart attack he had last season and, so far, is managing to control himself around seductive office manager and former flame Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks).

Meanwhile, secretary turned copywriter Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) is now firmly ensconced in the writers' room. There is that small matter of the baby she unexpectedly had at the end of last season, following a tryst with married co-worker Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), but the show cleverly takes its time in revealing what happened to the child. The time-jump device is effective in showing us how fragile the world of Don and his cohorts is. We know the world of mostly male, mostly white agencies like Sterling Cooper will one day crumble. In jumping ahead two years, series creator Matt Weiner puts us closer to a time when guys like Don will become obsolete.

Of course, there's still a way to go, and the fun is in getting there. "Mad Men" showcases some of the best writing and acting on television and, despite its somewhat melancholy feel, it's sublimely entertaining.

The dialogue is unfailingly sparkling. Early on, for instance, Don responds to his bosses' request for younger talent by barking "Young people don't know anything. Especially that they're young."

Hamm, a little known actor when the show debuted last year, became an instant star for playing Don. Weiner was once a writer on "The Sopranos," and you can see this role having the same impact on Hamm's career that Tony Soprano had on James Gandolfini's. The rest of the cast is equally accomplished, with Moss and Kartheiser the standouts. Moss strikes just the right tone as a young woman making professional progress at a time when that was still rare. She's come a long way from the mousy girl we saw at the start of last season, becoming stronger and more confident.

Peggy is the only Sterling Cooper employee Don isn't threatened by, and, thus, the only one whose creativity he nurtures. There's a scene in the premiere where the two hash over ideas for an airline campaign, and the interplay between Hamm and Moss is almost erotic in its intensity.

Kartheiser, meanwhile, has one of the show's toughest roles. His Pete is ambitious, shallow, and occasionally cruel, but he's also a poor little rich boy whose family looks down on him. Perhaps that's why he constantly seeks approval from the perennially disapproving Don.

Pete's role is somewhat small in the premiere but, in the season's second episode, he takes center stage, and Kartheiser is astonishing. He makes Pete sympathetic without making him soft.

Just as it was last season, "Mad Men" is one of the summer's greatest treats, and one of TV's best shows.

Staff writer Amanda Cuda can be reached at acuda@ctpost.com. Visit her blog at forum.connpost.com/turnedon.