Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad Season 1 & 2: 9/10AMC has done one hell of a job with having both Mad Men and Breaking Bad being the two best dramas on television at the moment. They each respectively win awards for best drama and actors for the last two to three years and have had universal critical claim for being astounding shows. I started of watching Mad Men first and upon the completion of the third season, I felt as if I had easily viewed the best drama since The Sopranos (though it helps that Matthew Weiner was also a writer for The Sopranos).
However, after having finished Breaking Bad I can say that in its short span of only twenty episodes it has been able to match the same of level of excellence the other two series have provided. What's great about all three shows is that they focus on many different aspects of drama with business and politics, family and crime, and drugs with a unique angle. They are separate and unique in identity and provide audiences with many different themes and subjects.
Now onto a more in-depth review on this series. There are countless shows on drugs and the effects is has on individuals, groups, and societies. Law & Order and CSI are the two prime shows that deal with them, but in my opinion they tend to get repetitive and redundant with the drug aspect. The Wire, which is my second favorite show all time, broke the traditional police cop drama and dealing with drugs in society to broadening the perspective so viewers got a chance to see the whole spectrum of drugs from those who try to prevent it from harming society, to those who inadvertently cause it's downfall upon their own personal gain.
What's fascinating about Breaking Bad is that the story is so anomalous and not what you'd expect. A chemistry teacher who has never done anything bad in his life becoming a drug dealer? Someone that you'd least expect getting involved in a crime with such high stakes of risk? That along with dealing with terminal lung cancer and partnering up with his former drop out student to sell drugs has the making of one crazy story. And you know what? It damn well delivers on every bit of that. All of the main cast and even the side characters do an amazing job in portraying their roles and really bringing out the personality of who they are playing. They fit so well and adapt greatly towards the setting of the show. I'm only familiar with Bryan Cranston on his role as the dad on Malcolm in the Middle and the dentist on Seinfeld. You'd expect him being on sitcoms mean he wouldn't be suited for a role which requires advert seriousness, but he truly gives an outstanding performance of such an intriguing character and rightfully has been awarded two straight Emmys for it.
Walter White, is not only the central character of the show, he carries the whole thing. He is a very complicated man and one who walks a dangerous path upon which many people wouldn't imagine someone in his predicament would be able to do. And that's why the show is so great. It isn't your typical drama about a drug lords' rise to the top or a policeman infiltrating a drug syndicate. It's a normal average man who has to face some tribulation in his life and has to resort to a means that most people wouldn't imagine going into. This helps make the show very unpredictable as you try to figure out what is he going to do since he isn't a bad man. Would he really be able to kill a person? Would he really be able to create a potent drug and sell it with no consequence? How can he keep his double life a secret with causing suspicion from his family and loved ones?
Then you have Jessie Pinkman, the supporting actor and polar opposite of Walter, who is the junkie trying to make money from the drug game, but isn't the hardened street thug you'd expect so he to like Walter has to overcome the challenges of the drug game. He falls victim to his own addiction and it begins to harm him despite his constant struggle to get over it. He isn't a hardened street kid but one who came from nurturing and caring upbringing. He is exposed to a lot of the drug game, but hasn't fully grasped it. This creates for some excellent character development and keeps the viewer suspenseful on what exactly Jessie will do in certain situations and the effects it will have on him.
What so great about the show is its morale gray area and walking a very thin line between good and bad. Normally most people would not be able to sympathize with someone who gets involved in drugs. Yet in Walters case the viewer can understand this pain and has an idea of why he does what he does. This is how brilliant shows are created. When they aren't linear and stray away from normal expected entertainment and focus on "outside of the box". They help you question your own thoughts, expectations, and morality. Subjects that aren't simply up for common interpretation but rather require some sense and deliberation into whether the choices the character(s) make are right or wrong, and what we would do if we were in their situation.
How far will Walter descension into being a criminal go? At what point does he realize what he is doing is terribly wrong and something that will drastically hurt people. He wants to make sure his family is safe and able to carry on financially if he were to die. But won't what he is doing currently not only hurt his family, but tear it apart? Towards the edge he dowels closer and closer and his morality only gets thinner that he may just truly become "bad to the bone".
