White + Pink = 'Bad'

While it's become evident that this blog is kept updated just about as much as Kristen Stewart's acting lessons schedule, I have as of late strayed away from my movie-watching experiences (gasp!) and ventured into more entertainment which is present on AMC.

AMC was once a great MOVIE channel.  It showed tons of REAL classic films, uninterrupted, such as Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, Citizen Kane, and even a forgotten classic, Mirage with Gregory Peck.  Then, right around the turn of the millennium, suddenly, AMC was no more.  Commercials started popping up in-between films, black and white classics became obsolete, and then a great shock of seeing an advertisement for Halloween: Resurrection on AMC as part of their "Horror-athon" which included Child's Play 2 and Scream 3. (????)

This huge WTF moment hit me like a ton of bricks which made me decide that the folks over at AMC became (to quote George Clooney) "dumber than a bag of hammers", and I thusly gave up on the channel for many, many years.

Flash-forward to 2007, when a show called 'Mad Men' made its debut on the channel, and then 3 years later the zombie-favorite 'The Walking Dead' also creeped in.  Both series became universally praised, but I didn't pay any attention.

I avoided both of the shows, but had heard about another series entitled 'Breaking Bad' which had begun in 2008.  I had no idea what the show was about, but being how I had been ridiculously duped into all of the last days of JJ Abrams' mockery LOST, and the love-it-or-hate it 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia', I distinctively made it clear to myself that I didn't have time to start another TV show.  Besides, just 2 years prior, my favorite show of all time had ended and then the following year, my other favorite went bye-bye.  These were 'The Sopranos' and 'The Shield', and I had figured that even though there were people out there that were hugely ready to take down a small city with a shotgun because of the way David Chase allowed Tony Soprano's story to end, I for one thought it was a brilliant epilogue to the greatest character novella for television.  How could another show live up to it?

Cut to a few weeks ago.  During an intermission of a repeat viewing of Season 2 of 'Damages' on my laptop, I perused YouTube in a ridiculously bored way, looking for something to capture my attention, when I saw a video entitled "Yeah, Mr. White! Yeah, SCIENCE!"



I was intrigued, and after seeing this 1 minute and 49 second section of goofiness, and then wallowing through all of the incredibly educated YouTube comments about the video...you know, the wonderful "STFU idiot, Obama didn't do crap for this country!" and whatnot, I decided I HAD to see what the origin of this series was.  My attention had been caught, and now it was time for me see what made it happen.

This was my introduction into 'Breaking Bad', a show I can say with no forgiveness whatsoever, that it is a series that brought back the magic I had watching 'The Sopranos' for the first time.  It's an absolutely amazing piece of character development and brilliant writing.  Which, I can only assume, is what's been missing these days from the cinema, which caused me to venture into television territory once again.

Which brings me to this confession:  I have only watched 3.25  seasons of the series, so if there is anyone out there that needs to warn me about so-called "disappointments to come", keep it to yourself please, I'd rather just find out for myself.

The plot involves a simple explanation.  High school chemistry professor Walter White discovers he has lung cancer, and with that information, he decides to become a manufacturer of crystal meth, which he would then sell and build up a huge money account to leave to his family when he is gone, thereby not leaving them with any worries and hardships. 

Long introduction over with, here's my observation on 'Breaking Bad' so far:

1) Bryan Cranston:  This guy....I just don't know what to say.  All I knew was that he was the dad on 'Malcolm In The Middle' and that was it.  Who would think he would supply TV with such a brilliantly portrayed multi-layered character as chemistry professor Walter White?  I am just flabbergasted on how he can play this character with such tension and enigmatic menace and yet still remain so likeable.

2) The show's creator, Vince Gilligan:  This guy was a writer for 'The X-Files'! Who knew he could do a 180 and produce some of the best written television since the days of Rod Serling and Edward R. Murrow?  

3) Anna Gunn, the actress who plays Walter White's so-called "suffering" wife: There takes a certain type of finesse to play a bitch so well, and while generating some sympathy from viewers, her victimized attitude plays just as creepy and suspenseful as the villainous drug dealers that Walt himself encounters.

4) The story itself: The series depends so much on the unknown, and the majority of episodes begin with flinging us into something that we have no idea about.  A hydraulic car shaking for no apparent reason in the middle of the desert?  Mexican residents crawling on the ground in a creepy yet organized line?  And a floating eye in a swimming pool belonging to pink, plush-toy?  These crazy images are the things that (and yes, I'm going to truthfully say it...with a non-joking attitude) David Lynch only wishes he could create.  And also, the secondary life and the secrets that Walt has kept from his family, especially his DEA brother-in-law, played with wit and hilarious aplomb by Dean Norris, who seems to be somewhat channeling some leftover Michael Chiklis's Vic Mackey from 'The Shield'.

5) Aaron Paul, Walter White's Eminem-esque partner in crime, Jesse Pinkman:  At first, I didn't think this guy was going to be a good fit for the show.  I mean, really.... this guy looked liked he just walked off any episode of 'Road Rules' or 'The Challenge'.  He's a whacked-out homie wantin' to know what the breakdown is...YO!!! But I was fooled, and by the end of season one, I realized that there would be no show without him.  Cranston and Paul's battles of wit and one-upping the other are amazing sights to witness.

So that's it. This is the end of my diatribe.  'Breaking Bad' is literature for television.  (Which, is a line I stole from a review of HBO's 'The Wire'.) 

Ashamed of the plagiarism?  Perhaps.  Ashamed of its meaning towards 'Breaking Bad'? Absolutely not.  Watch it, folks.  Get away from The Kardashians.  You don't need to keep up with them.