Breaking more Bad
Dec. 29th, 2010 12:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
roginAnd again, doing the crossposting thing.
I'm currently in total Squee mode over Breaking Bad. I have no idea how this show that totally rivals Mad Men in it's brilliance passed me by and I intend to save you all from that dire fate, dear flist.
So I decided before I'm going to start my big Breaking Bad rewatch (I pretty much wolfed it down once I started) and review series once my Season 1 DVDs arrive, I'll attempt to get as many of you as possible to watch and squee with me and list 11 reasons why you should watch Breaking Bad if you're not doing so already:
Reason 1: Bryan Cranston as Walter White
Before this show I only knew Bryan Cranston as the goofy dad from Malcolm in the Middle, where he was very funny. Here he's funny too and a whole range of other things. From the very picture of desperation, chillingly cold liar and criminal, to caring father figure, to nerdy chemist, he gets to explore his whole range with the role of Walter and he deserves every one of the three Emmys he got for this role.
Walter is a talented chemist who ended up as an underachiever, teaching high school chemistry and working part time at a car was to provide for his family. In the beginning of the series he's diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer and turns to cooking meth to pay the bills. Over time he gets caught up deeper and deeper in the drug scene and the lies he dishes to his family. He might be one of the most realistic and fascinating bad guys ever created. He's motivated by a need to break out of his life before it's over as well as sense of wanting to provide for his family instead of leaving them with a pile of bills for his cancer treatments, but also a very twisted sense of pride. And on the side he's also a kind of father figure for his partner in crime reason 2.
Reason 2: Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman
Aaron Paul is every bit as deserving of the two Emmy's (and one nomination) he got for this role as Bryan Cranston. He does everything from completely ridiculous to totally heartbreaking with an ease that probably makes other actors go green with envy. Jesse is a former pupil of Walter who quit school to be a full time junkie, meth manufacturer and dealer. In the beginning of the show Walter blackmails him into an unlikely partnership, where Walter cooks and Jesse sells the meth.
In the beginning Jesse is pretty much Walter's nemesis with his rather crappy chemistry skills and his would be criminal attitude but it turns out Jesse is not nearly as stupid as all the drugs make him and after being kicked out and totally estranged to his middle class parents, he finds a twisted surrogate father in Walter.
Reason 3: The two of them together
Those two have an amazing on screen chemistry with each other (both literally and figuratively). They do incredible stand up comedy pieces when Walter's bourgeoisie and nerdy pettiness clashes with Jesse's chaotic life style and would be gangsta attitude, but at the same time they have character moments that are guaranteed to break your heart, when in this weird drug world they somehow take care of each other while usually bantering or fighting pretty much all the time. The way Jesse always calls Walter Mr. White (especially when he panics and needs someone to tell him what to do) is just adorable. It's also fascinating to watch Walter knowing that Jesse somewhat looks up to him and abusing that but then five minutes later feeling responsible to preserve what's left of Jesse's innocence. Their father/son thing is an endless source of brilliant character moments.
Reason 4: All the other characters
While Jesse and Walt form the core of the show it's certainly not as if the other characters are boring. The most time goes to Walt's family. His wife Skyler (who has a bit of a thankless role, much like Rita on Dexter, but is still interesting), his son Walt Jr. (who could not be more different from his father), and his wife's sister Marie and her husband Hank, who is a DEA agent with a post traumatic stress problem and of course a danger Walter must doge at all times.
Then there's the population of the drug world, with a row of ever more hardcore kingpins and Jesse's adorable gang of losers.
Reason 5: The chemistry
It's really rare to see decent chemistry on tv. This show has it. Not completely, there are still a few hick ups with how they use the lab equipment and they make a bit of a big deal of Walter's Meth cooking abilities (really not that hard), but the basic synthesis and chemicals they use? It always adds up. Also the chemical tricks Walter occasionally uses to get out of a hot spot, they all really work.
What's best though are the beautiful shots of the glassware and how they capture the atmosphere of the lab. Nothing really compares to the kind of mad haze you're in when you spent 10 (or more) hours in an organic lab, cooking some stinking poison, completely focused and at the same time often waiting for something to happen, calculating, getting everything right. Also there's a special kind of connection with the people who share that experience and fascination with you. Breaking Bad captures that and it's brilliant.
Reason 6: The Writing
Vince Gilligan and his team do a fantastic job. There's just everything right with this show. The humor is as black as it can possibly get , the plots are thought through and induce nail biting, the dialogue flies between the actors and there are incredibly touching and horrible scenes as well. Also it has layers, pretty much like with mad men, you can analyse the episodes from lots and lots of angles and see recurring themes, resonating metaphors, tragedy and humanity around every corner. There's an amazing love for detail and it just rocks.
Reason 7: Walter's drug name is Heisenberg
How neat is that? In Season two they even got a Narcocorrido band to perform "The ballad of Heisenberg" for the show. :)
Reason 8: The visuals and the music
This show is a piece of art. It bursts with interesting angels to shoot from and creates a perfect atmosphere.
Reason 9: They got a human head on a turtle
There are not many shows who can claim that.
Reason 10: The take on gender
How come it's always AMC that produces the shows that are interesting genderwise these days? Breaking Bad is not really interesting because of it's female characters who are mostly in the background (still good, but not fascinating), but their take on masculine stereotypes is incredibly engaging. Walter being caught in this obsession to be a provider for his family, the pride he takes in having earned the money for his cancer treatment himself (by producing a deadly drug). Jesse, trying to live up to Walter's expectations, trying to be the hard man who runs the gang. I never saw a show that depicted the toxicity of male gender roles in such a unglorifying and realistic way.
Reason 11: The Fly
This is an episode in season 3 that consists solely of Walter and Jesse hunting a fly in their lab. It's everything. It's beautiful, it's funny, heavy with metaphors, it's crazy, it's heartbreaking, in short a thing of beauty.
I'm currently in total Squee mode over Breaking Bad. I have no idea how this show that totally rivals Mad Men in it's brilliance passed me by and I intend to save you all from that dire fate, dear flist.
So I decided before I'm going to start my big Breaking Bad rewatch (I pretty much wolfed it down once I started) and review series once my Season 1 DVDs arrive, I'll attempt to get as many of you as possible to watch and squee with me and list 11 reasons why you should watch Breaking Bad if you're not doing so already:
Reason 1: Bryan Cranston as Walter White
Before this show I only knew Bryan Cranston as the goofy dad from Malcolm in the Middle, where he was very funny. Here he's funny too and a whole range of other things. From the very picture of desperation, chillingly cold liar and criminal, to caring father figure, to nerdy chemist, he gets to explore his whole range with the role of Walter and he deserves every one of the three Emmys he got for this role.
Walter is a talented chemist who ended up as an underachiever, teaching high school chemistry and working part time at a car was to provide for his family. In the beginning of the series he's diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer and turns to cooking meth to pay the bills. Over time he gets caught up deeper and deeper in the drug scene and the lies he dishes to his family. He might be one of the most realistic and fascinating bad guys ever created. He's motivated by a need to break out of his life before it's over as well as sense of wanting to provide for his family instead of leaving them with a pile of bills for his cancer treatments, but also a very twisted sense of pride. And on the side he's also a kind of father figure for his partner in crime reason 2.
Reason 2: Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman
Aaron Paul is every bit as deserving of the two Emmy's (and one nomination) he got for this role as Bryan Cranston. He does everything from completely ridiculous to totally heartbreaking with an ease that probably makes other actors go green with envy. Jesse is a former pupil of Walter who quit school to be a full time junkie, meth manufacturer and dealer. In the beginning of the show Walter blackmails him into an unlikely partnership, where Walter cooks and Jesse sells the meth.
In the beginning Jesse is pretty much Walter's nemesis with his rather crappy chemistry skills and his would be criminal attitude but it turns out Jesse is not nearly as stupid as all the drugs make him and after being kicked out and totally estranged to his middle class parents, he finds a twisted surrogate father in Walter.
Reason 3: The two of them together
Those two have an amazing on screen chemistry with each other (both literally and figuratively). They do incredible stand up comedy pieces when Walter's bourgeoisie and nerdy pettiness clashes with Jesse's chaotic life style and would be gangsta attitude, but at the same time they have character moments that are guaranteed to break your heart, when in this weird drug world they somehow take care of each other while usually bantering or fighting pretty much all the time. The way Jesse always calls Walter Mr. White (especially when he panics and needs someone to tell him what to do) is just adorable. It's also fascinating to watch Walter knowing that Jesse somewhat looks up to him and abusing that but then five minutes later feeling responsible to preserve what's left of Jesse's innocence. Their father/son thing is an endless source of brilliant character moments.
Reason 4: All the other characters
While Jesse and Walt form the core of the show it's certainly not as if the other characters are boring. The most time goes to Walt's family. His wife Skyler (who has a bit of a thankless role, much like Rita on Dexter, but is still interesting), his son Walt Jr. (who could not be more different from his father), and his wife's sister Marie and her husband Hank, who is a DEA agent with a post traumatic stress problem and of course a danger Walter must doge at all times.
Then there's the population of the drug world, with a row of ever more hardcore kingpins and Jesse's adorable gang of losers.
Reason 5: The chemistry
It's really rare to see decent chemistry on tv. This show has it. Not completely, there are still a few hick ups with how they use the lab equipment and they make a bit of a big deal of Walter's Meth cooking abilities (really not that hard), but the basic synthesis and chemicals they use? It always adds up. Also the chemical tricks Walter occasionally uses to get out of a hot spot, they all really work.
What's best though are the beautiful shots of the glassware and how they capture the atmosphere of the lab. Nothing really compares to the kind of mad haze you're in when you spent 10 (or more) hours in an organic lab, cooking some stinking poison, completely focused and at the same time often waiting for something to happen, calculating, getting everything right. Also there's a special kind of connection with the people who share that experience and fascination with you. Breaking Bad captures that and it's brilliant.
Reason 6: The Writing
Vince Gilligan and his team do a fantastic job. There's just everything right with this show. The humor is as black as it can possibly get , the plots are thought through and induce nail biting, the dialogue flies between the actors and there are incredibly touching and horrible scenes as well. Also it has layers, pretty much like with mad men, you can analyse the episodes from lots and lots of angles and see recurring themes, resonating metaphors, tragedy and humanity around every corner. There's an amazing love for detail and it just rocks.
Reason 7: Walter's drug name is Heisenberg
How neat is that? In Season two they even got a Narcocorrido band to perform "The ballad of Heisenberg" for the show. :)
Reason 8: The visuals and the music
This show is a piece of art. It bursts with interesting angels to shoot from and creates a perfect atmosphere.
Reason 9: They got a human head on a turtle
There are not many shows who can claim that.
Reason 10: The take on gender
How come it's always AMC that produces the shows that are interesting genderwise these days? Breaking Bad is not really interesting because of it's female characters who are mostly in the background (still good, but not fascinating), but their take on masculine stereotypes is incredibly engaging. Walter being caught in this obsession to be a provider for his family, the pride he takes in having earned the money for his cancer treatment himself (by producing a deadly drug). Jesse, trying to live up to Walter's expectations, trying to be the hard man who runs the gang. I never saw a show that depicted the toxicity of male gender roles in such a unglorifying and realistic way.
Reason 11: The Fly
This is an episode in season 3 that consists solely of Walter and Jesse hunting a fly in their lab. It's everything. It's beautiful, it's funny, heavy with metaphors, it's crazy, it's heartbreaking, in short a thing of beauty.