Breaking Bad: The Story So Far
Unfortunately a slight snag has presented itself in our coverage of the Autumn TV lineup in that the European air dates have switched back to a more old school fashion, meaning us lowly folk won’t see any of these TV shows until the New Year most likely. With that in mind what we’ve decided to do is write up some retrospective reviews on what has come so far in some of the top series we recommend, starting this week with AMC show Breaking Bad. *SOME SPOILERS FOR SEASON 1-4 OF BREAKING BAD BELOW*.
Breaking Bad is not like anything you’ve ever seen. This is a hyperbolic statement much overused when someone describes a favourite movie/series/album etc but it is completely relevant and appropriate when it comes to this show. We follow the exploits of a high school science teacher, Walter White, who already has it bad enough working two jobs to pay the bills when he is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Lost in the throws of disbelief and shock, Walt seems to be a soft and unspoken man ready to accept his fate and succumb to his illness, until fate brings him to Jesse Pinkman. Jesse is a former student of his and Walt is surprised to find that this average to poor student has seemingly turned himself into a reputable producer of Crystal Meth, or “cook”. With some leverage over him, Walt offers Jesse too choices: be turned in to the D.E.A or allow Walt to join him and together they can clean up producing the much sought after high. If that much already sounds crazy, you’ve no idea what you are in for as the series progresses. Looking back now, I don’t think I could actually watch the first season with half as much interest as I did originally, given how much bigger and bolder the show has become five years later. Walt’s journey brings him to dizzying heights, turning a small scale operation producing a couple of thousand dollars per cook into a conglomerate yielding millions…. And of course back again. Walt and Jesse leave a slew of bodies and relationships in their wake as they work toward the ultimate goal of total domination over the rest, which includes average street thugs right up to the Mexican cartel. Oh and did I mention that Walt’s brother in-law is the D.E.A agent leading the charge to eradicate Walt’s special “Blue Ice” methamphetamine? What makes the show work is how well it knows it is insanely over the top. The writers, and particularly showrunner Vince Gilligan, write it in such a way that they are always looking for the most outlandish resolution to a plot thread, yet still always manage to ground the show in some sense of reality at the same time. Quite simply there never has been and never will be another show like this on television, and the icing on the cake is the perfection of the casting, Malcolm In The Middle veteran Bryan Cranston commanding in the lead as Walt, Anna Gunn and Aaron Paul playing perfectly as Walt’s wife Skylar and his partner Jesse respectively, the two polar opposite sides of his life. Particular mention also must go to Dean Norris as Walt’s family nemesis in the D.E.A as well as Giancarlo Esposito as the ice cold Gus, who has one of the best character arcs of the show. If you’re looking for something different, there is no other option, this is the show for you. The first half of the fifth and final season has just ended on the states and the second half doesn’t kick off until next summer so now is the perfect opportunity to catch up, with recent episodes airing on TG4 and as of Monday, the first four seasons are all available on DVD. As Pinkman might say, there’s no excuses yo!