I review the first season of AMC’s critically
acclaimed television show Breaking Bad, starring
Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn and more.
Because I didn’t really start watching
television on a scale beyond simply Doctor
Who and Arrow up until early
2013, I had a lot of catching up to do. There’s a reason why I only started Battlestar Galactica the previous year, as well as the likes of Sons of Anarchy, True Blood, The Wire and Breaking Bad. I simply wasn’t
interested in television before that. But over the past two years, that’s
rapidly changed, and now I’m watching at least three episodes of television a
day. So it was only a matter of time until I got around to watching what has
been regarded as the best television show apart from The Wire (which I am also catching up on, albeit at a slower pace),
and I was hooked from the first episode. Now moving my way through Season 2, Breaking Bad has dragged me and refused
to let me go, and it’ll do the same for you if you let it, because it is one of
those ‘one more episode’ type series that will have you captivated from the get
go.
You’ll almost certainly be aware of the
synopsis by now, but just in case you aren’t, Breaking Bad follows high-school teacher Walter White (Bryan
Cranston) as he hits rock bottom in his life when he finds out that he has
terminal cancer, whilst struggling to make a living which is a situation that
will most likely not improve when Skyler (Anna Gunn), his wife, gives birth.
And he also has to look after his disabled son, Walter White Jr. (RJ Mitte). Realising
that his illness will destroy his family’s wealth (what little of it there is),
Walter teams up with former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) in order to make
money by selling Crystal Meth. As he moves up the food chain, he starts to
attract the attention of his wife’s sister’s husband Hank, (Dean Norris), who
is a DEA Agent.
The show starts off with an incredibly strong
pilot that will have you hooked straight away. It hits the ground running and
although few of the middle episodes are slower paced, thanks to the writer’s
strike of the year that the first season came out in, it is only seven episodes
long. Set in New Mexico, Albuquerque, It tells the story of Walter’s first
expansion into the drug trade, encountering one problem after another with
small time drug dealers. It explores the themes of morality and devotion to
family in great depth, making it a very character driven drama. Actions have
consequences and the cast portray these characters to very high standards, with
Bryan Cranston knocking it out of the park as Walter White. Aaron Paul also
impresses as Jesse Pinkman and the rest of the cast also delivers some good
performances.
With the backdrop of Albuquerque, you really
get a sense of location with the show being incredibly well shot. The cinematography
is great and this show looks visually stunning, making it a damn good
television series, with pretty much everything spot on. Some elements of humour
prevent it from being an incredibly dark show, it isn’t afraid to pull its
punches in the first season as the groundwork for the series is being laid
down. Even if the finale seems rather rushed, it still remains incredibly
strong.
At this point, I can imagine most of the
people who have wanted to watch Breaking
Bad will have already started watching it, but if you, like me, are coming
to television later than everybody else then I can recommend it to just about
anyone interested in sampling one of the greatest television shows on the
market. With it available on Netflix in the UK and the USA – and with all
seasons currently available on DVD, there’s really no reason for you not to
have given it a try. Highly Recommended!
VERDICT:
9.5/10
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