Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad…worth watching all day and all night long, everyday!

I If there is a series that has to be seen by every TV show lover is Breaking Bad. When I saw the first episode I was so hooked that I went to sleep at 4:00 a.m. watching as much episodes as possible. Breaking Bad is simply one of the greatest TV shows ever because it instantly glues you to the screen from its very first scene. It was that first scene with Bryan Cranston in tighty whities, running away in the desert of New Mexico that announced the greatness of Breaking Bad. Beginning with the spectacular work done by Vince Gilligan creating, writing and directing the acclaimed TV show and following up with a deluxe cast led by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, this series has it all: beautiful scenography, unexpected twists around every corner and some great characters that support the impeccable job done by Cranston.

Vince Gilligan had plenty of experience directing hit TV shows such as X-Files and even in some movies but he really hit a home-rum with this one. Breaking Bad means to raise hell, to defy the authorities and completely dominate your surroundings; there is someone who did all those things and his name is Walter White (Bryan Cranston).

At first glance you would never guess that Mr. White, the brilliant but serene chemistry teacher did all those things and that right there is one of his strongest qualities. He is a family man devoted to a special needs teenage son and a pregnant wife, performed by RJ Mitte and Anna Gunn respectively. Both Anna and RJ portray the perfect, loving family of the hard working chemistry teacher, who is also beloved by his wife’s sister Marie (Betsy Brandt) and his brother-in-law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris).

Walter White supported his family working two jobs and living a dull life until he found out that he was suffering from Cancer and now he was in desperate need of expensive treatment, something he could not afford. But as the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures and soon enough he finds a solution to his money problem when he bumps into his former student/currently meth head Jesse Pinkman, performed by Aaron Paul. Pinkman called himself a “meth cook” but Mr. White found out soon enough that his methods were far from good so they started a new enterprise devoted to the production, distribution and sale of methamphetamines.

Nothing good comes easy and the duo find out soon enough when they start cooking and selling their product. They are playing a dangerous game in the ruthless dessert of New Mexico, which offers the audience spectacular landscapes to decorate this gripping story. As they get better and better in their business, more obstacles rise to meet them, in the forms of the Mexican Cartel and DEA Special Agent Hank Schrader, Walter’s brother-in-law. Hank is almost the complete opposite to Heisenberg (Mr. White’s pseudonym), he is loud, strong, and pompous with a booming personality. Nonetheless, they make the perfect counterpart to each other because Heisenberg may not have the muscles but he has the brains and a talent for cooking crystal surpassed by no other.

As the episodes go by, we start to see new characters such as Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), the unscrupulous lawyer that helps Heisenberg and Pinkman with their enterprise. Through him they get to know Mike the “specialist”, performed by Jonathan Banks, and they also meet Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), one of the best characters from the series. Like I said, the supporting characters give a fresh view to the audience and keep things rolling whenever you get tired of seeing Bryan Cranston in tighty whitties. And another thing that really makes Breaking Bad so cool is that deep inside, almost every man would like to be like Heisenberg, not just to become a crystal meth cook but to tackle life the way he did it: with everything he had and doing whatever that had to be done.