10 Things I love about Breaking Bad

I recently became a fan of Breaking Bad.  After a few weeks of hearing rave reviews about the show from different people, I finally sucked it up and started watching it on Netflix instant. Over the course of a few weeks, I managed to watch Seasons 1-3.

 For those who haven't yet seen the show, don't worry, this post won't spoil the show for you. I'm not going to summarize the story's plot.  I'm not going to give away any hidden gems that the show has to offer.  So, if you're so inclined, you can continue reading on...

In a nutshell, Breaking Bad is a show about a relatively straight-laced high school Chemistry teacher who learns that he has lung cancer.  Saddled with incredibly high medical bills and worried that he may die and leave his wife and special needs son with a lifetime of debt, said teacher starts cooking meth on the side.  The story is more or less about his struggle to keep this new life and identity separate from his other life.  There, that's all I'm going to say.  It may sound kinda hokey, but the plot and writing are excellent.

There are many things to like about Breaking Bad.  This blog post probably won't do the show much justice, but I thought I'd get back into the swing of blog writing with a fairly easy and straightforward topic: "10 Things I love about Breaking Bad."

1)  There is hardly a dull moment in the show.  In addition to the fast-paced action scenes, there are incredibly tense scenes in which you feel empathy, disgust, fear, and a wide range of uncomfortable emotions for the cast of characters.  The writers and creators seem to have a good grasp on the pacing of the show.

2) The show takes place in Albuquerque (and yes, I had to look up the spelling of this word).  In addition to some beautiful scenes that showcase the vast and sometimes haunting Southwest--a part of the country often neglect in popular culture--we as viewers get a sampling of rural poverty.  While popular media depictions of poverty often take place in familiar urban settings, we as viewers often forget about the rural side of poverty.  Breaking Bad puts this theme into focus.

Bryan Cranston: Goofball turned dark meth cook

3) The main character, Bryan Cranston, used to be the dad on Malcolm in the Middle.  I didn't really get into that show, but I seem to remember him playing a pretty goofy and light-hearted character.  His role on Breaking Bad is anything but goofy and light-hearted.  At times dark, and often tragic, his new role is an amazing departure from his old role on Malcolm.  Would I be going to far to say that Cranston has resuscitated his acting career?

4) The show seems to have done a good amount of research on the topics they're depicting.  Writers and producers show you how meth is cooked, how its smoked, snorted, injected, sold, etc...Basically, I feel like the writers and creators really wanted their show to be an authentic representation of the social world of meth.
I knew quite a few meth addicts and dealers when I was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, so the depictions are pretty true to form in my opinion.  Also, popular media seems to love stories about much higher profile drugs like cocaine, heroine, and even marijuana.  Meth is that other drug that is often forgotten about in popular representations.

5) Similar to The Wire--which I also think is a great and complex show--Breaking Bad avoids making characters into simple, flat caricatures.  Although there are clear protagonists and antagonists, no character is always portrayed as good, bad, heroic, evil, etc.  The main characters have quite a bit of depth and evolve continuously throughout the show.

6) Breaking Bad also touches on the precarious existence of working families who experience tragedy.  While the plight of the poor is well documented, Breaking Bad reminds us that working families who are at the lower end of the middle class, are often one tragedy away from slipping into really tough times.  I don't think this topic gets nearly enough play in the social sciences.

7) Breaking Bad has a great musical score.  I'm a big believer that music is a big and often under-appreciated element that shapes how we view TV shows, movies, etc.  Breaking Bad doesn't beat you over the head with music that is supposed to evoke some feeling.  Instead, the music plays a great complementary role to the already stellar writing and story.

8) Breaking Bad's episodes have an hour slot.  This means that each episode is about 43-46 minutes long.  I like shows that are given a half-hour time slot on TV as well, but feel that the hour slot really allows writers to build some depth into their stories.  Like Madmen or The Wire, I feel like a lot of stuff happens in each episode of Breaking Bad.  Sometimes, those 30 minute shows just feel like they're starting to go somewhere interesting before they end.

9) There is cussing in Breaking Bad.  AMC is great because many of their shows have cussing.  I don't think a show needs a ton of foul language to be enjoyable, but shows about serious and often dark material just don't seem that serious or dark when characters say things like "Darn" or "Shoot."

10) I couldn't think of a 10th reason and I'm getting sleepy.  I will just end by saying that Breaking Bad is very entertaining and if you get into it now, you'll be part of a show that's quickly become a pop cultural phenomenon, much like Madmen, The Wire, and other celebrated TV shows before it.  I was a latecomer to The Wire, but have made a pact to stay on top of the final 2 seasons of Breaking Bad.

Cheers!