It's finally here. After an excruciatingly long
break, AMC's hit series, "Breaking Bad" returned to television.
What's that? You don't watch the show? No problem, we'll get you up to speed in
no time.
"Breaking Bad" tells the story of
high-school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston, "Malcolm in
the Middle"), who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Realizing his
death will leave his pregnant wife (Anna Gunn) and disabled son (RJ Mitte) straddled
with an overwhelming amount of debt, Walt looks for a way to create a solid
nest egg for his family. This is where it gets interesting.
Walt and his family live in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, an area devastated by the crystal meth drug trade. It doesn't take Walt
long to figure out he can leverage his chemistry skills to create a pure, and
economically valuable, strain of crystal meth. In a brazen attempt to create a
stable financial future for his family, Walt teams up with former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) to produce and sell crystal meth.
The show skillfully explores how Walter's fatal
diagnosis frees him from everyday concerns and societal norms, and follows his
remarkable transformation from mild-mannered family man into a feared drug trade
kingpin.
We understand the premise of "Breaking
Bad" might sound a tad disconcerting. Kicking off a series with a
protagonist who has terminal cancer isn't the happiest of starts and then
mixing in an illegal and immoral endeavor like producing crystal meth probably
sounds like a cocktail for disaster. Don't let the unconventional storyline
dissuade you from watching this ridiculously entertaining show.
While the production and distribution of an illegal
substance rests near the nucleolus of this show, "Breaking Bad" isn't
heavy handed with socio-political commentary. It doesn't get mired down in
socially responsible messages. This is a character-driven show that aims to
suck you into its universe and entertain the ever-living daylights out of you.
To help whet your whistle, here are a few
interesting tidbits about the show:
·
The actor who plays Walt's son
(RH Mitte) has cerebral palsy just like his character; however, Mitte's
affliction isn't as severe as his character's. He had to learn to walk with
crutches and slow his speech to play the part.
·
When characters on the show
are shown smoking meth, they're actually smoking rock candy or sugar. Don't
worry, they don't inhale!
·
Each character wears a certain
color of clothes that depicts their values or role in the show. For example,
Walt wears green, his wife wears blue, DEA agents wear orange, Jesse wears red
and yellow (he wears gray while in recovery), and Walt's sister-in-law wears
purple.
·
Bryan Cranston sat in on
several high school chemistry classes to help develop his character.
If for some reason you don't want to watch the
latest season without catching up with all of the earlier seasons, Netflix
offers seasons 1-3 in their Instant Streaming service. Why not give the first
few episodes a chance. You in?
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