Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad returns for its second season next month and I, for one, am excited. However, since I think only one person on my f’list actually watches this, the other AMC original drama, I sense some promotion is in order. *flexes fingers*
Why you should be watching Breaking Bad:
BB has one of the best premises ever: a middle-aged Chemistry teacher, Walter finds out he has terminal cancer and, in an effort to leave some money behind for his cash-strapped family after his death, he starts cooking crystal meth. And oh, we’re not done with the high-concept stuff yet, because Jesse, his unlikely partner-in-crime (the meth-head who sells for him) is a twentysomething high school drop-out who failed Walter’s Chemistry class and still habours resentment towards him.
It sounds like a mediocre movie pitch, but it actually works really well as a TV series. It’s similar to Weeds in that it uses an incongruous figure to guide the viewer through the drug dealing industry. However, since Weeds is a half-hour comedy, it’s often constrained by its format. BB, being longer and framed as a drama, is able to really dig into some of the awful and fucked up aspects of the drug trade. That’s not to say it’s not funny. It’s noir-ish verging on farcical. Often I’ll watch an intense/disturbing scene agape, my blood pressure rising, and then suddenly burst out laughing. It’s that kind of humour.
The show’s iconic image is of Walter standing in the middle of the desert, holding a gun, dressed from the waist down only in a pair of tighty-whities. Bryan Cranston - who you probably know as the dad from Malcolm In the Middle - won the Emmy for Best Actor last year. This probably pissed off Michael C. Hall/Jon Hamm/Hugh Laurie fans, but Cranston does do a great job as Walter, who is the quintessential white-man-in-crisis as he struggles through a world that no longer automatically bows down before him. BB’s most satisfying moments come as the viewer realizes that Walter’s not just in the drugs biz for the money. He wants the excitement and the underworld kudos, too. (I could get all social theory on your ass right now, but I’ll refrain, because I realize not everyone is as weirdly obsessed with the changing role of masculinity in society as I am.)
You’re probably thinking, ‘wait, Nicola, I don’t care about some old dude and his problems!’ Well, that’s why I’m now going to wax poetic about the show’s loveable druggy burnout, Jesse Pinkman. He’s played with a fantastic mix of absurdity and pathos by Aaron Paul, who Big Love fans will recognize as Sarah’s boyfriend, Creepy Scott. Sorry, back to social theory for a minute, because Jesse is the quintessential young white man in crisis. However, his plight will probably be more familiar to you if you’re a GenY’er. Jesse is adorable and dumb and callous and I just want to give him a hug.
It seems to be the latest fad to call a show “a perfect reflection of our economic crisis” (or, alternatively, call it out as wildly inappropriate for recession viewing), but BB is, more or less… a perfect reflection of our economic crisis. It’s about how making ends meet is an uphill struggle. It’s about how even if you try hard and get a good job, life can still suck. My favourite scene (even though it’s painful as hell) is when Jesse decides to “go straight” and get a real job. He dresses up in a suit and interviews for a crappy sales job. But they won’t even consider him for it because he doesn’t have a degree. The only way he can make a living wage is to carry on dealing drugs.
Jesse and Walter also have a wonderfully intriguing relationship. It starts with the typical animosity of teacher and unfocused student, but as they begin to share (often horrific) experiences over the course of cooking and dealing meth, it deepens and takes on some beautiful nuances. The normal reaction, obviously, is to perceive Jesse and Walter’s relationship as a problematic proxy-father/son. However, I am not normal and I totally ‘ship them and would like to read some hardcore pornography about them. As ever: watch my show; write me fic. :x
The first season of BB was derailed by the Writers’ Strike, so it only contained seven episodes. That means it’s an incredibly low time commitment if you want to catch up before s2 starts airing. *nudges*
Why you should be watching Breaking Bad:
BB has one of the best premises ever: a middle-aged Chemistry teacher, Walter finds out he has terminal cancer and, in an effort to leave some money behind for his cash-strapped family after his death, he starts cooking crystal meth. And oh, we’re not done with the high-concept stuff yet, because Jesse, his unlikely partner-in-crime (the meth-head who sells for him) is a twentysomething high school drop-out who failed Walter’s Chemistry class and still habours resentment towards him.
It sounds like a mediocre movie pitch, but it actually works really well as a TV series. It’s similar to Weeds in that it uses an incongruous figure to guide the viewer through the drug dealing industry. However, since Weeds is a half-hour comedy, it’s often constrained by its format. BB, being longer and framed as a drama, is able to really dig into some of the awful and fucked up aspects of the drug trade. That’s not to say it’s not funny. It’s noir-ish verging on farcical. Often I’ll watch an intense/disturbing scene agape, my blood pressure rising, and then suddenly burst out laughing. It’s that kind of humour.
The show’s iconic image is of Walter standing in the middle of the desert, holding a gun, dressed from the waist down only in a pair of tighty-whities. Bryan Cranston - who you probably know as the dad from Malcolm In the Middle - won the Emmy for Best Actor last year. This probably pissed off Michael C. Hall/Jon Hamm/Hugh Laurie fans, but Cranston does do a great job as Walter, who is the quintessential white-man-in-crisis as he struggles through a world that no longer automatically bows down before him. BB’s most satisfying moments come as the viewer realizes that Walter’s not just in the drugs biz for the money. He wants the excitement and the underworld kudos, too. (I could get all social theory on your ass right now, but I’ll refrain, because I realize not everyone is as weirdly obsessed with the changing role of masculinity in society as I am.)
You’re probably thinking, ‘wait, Nicola, I don’t care about some old dude and his problems!’ Well, that’s why I’m now going to wax poetic about the show’s loveable druggy burnout, Jesse Pinkman. He’s played with a fantastic mix of absurdity and pathos by Aaron Paul, who Big Love fans will recognize as Sarah’s boyfriend, Creepy Scott. Sorry, back to social theory for a minute, because Jesse is the quintessential young white man in crisis. However, his plight will probably be more familiar to you if you’re a GenY’er. Jesse is adorable and dumb and callous and I just want to give him a hug.
It seems to be the latest fad to call a show “a perfect reflection of our economic crisis” (or, alternatively, call it out as wildly inappropriate for recession viewing), but BB is, more or less… a perfect reflection of our economic crisis. It’s about how making ends meet is an uphill struggle. It’s about how even if you try hard and get a good job, life can still suck. My favourite scene (even though it’s painful as hell) is when Jesse decides to “go straight” and get a real job. He dresses up in a suit and interviews for a crappy sales job. But they won’t even consider him for it because he doesn’t have a degree. The only way he can make a living wage is to carry on dealing drugs.
Jesse and Walter also have a wonderfully intriguing relationship. It starts with the typical animosity of teacher and unfocused student, but as they begin to share (often horrific) experiences over the course of cooking and dealing meth, it deepens and takes on some beautiful nuances. The normal reaction, obviously, is to perceive Jesse and Walter’s relationship as a problematic proxy-father/son. However, I am not normal and I totally ‘ship them and would like to read some hardcore pornography about them. As ever: watch my show; write me fic. :x
The first season of BB was derailed by the Writers’ Strike, so it only contained seven episodes. That means it’s an incredibly low time commitment if you want to catch up before s2 starts airing. *nudges*