DVD Review: Breaking Bad Season One
Emmy Winner Bryan Cranston Leads Tragicomic Family Drama
Continuing in the modern televised tradition of off-center topics such as sex, murder or drug trafficking, Breaking Bad follows the adventures of Walt White (Bryan Cranston, Malcolm in the Middle), a typical middle-aged father and teacher who is suddenly forced to make unusual choices, in order to provide for his family,
Breaking Bad Synopsis
Walt White (Cranston) is a 50-year old chemistry teacher at a local high school in New Mexico. While he does his best to make do with the usual bills, obligations and the usual family crises, Walt learns he has terminal Stage 3 lung cancer, leaving him with very few options in very little time.
With the need to provide for his cerebral palsy afflicted son Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte) and his wife Skylar (Anna Gunn), who discovers she is pregnant, Walt realizes his latest medical problems could leave his survivors with endless debt and interminable problems.
His solution? By relying on the street smarts of Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), a cocky former student of his, Walt realizes the best way to make fast money to ensure his family's financial future, is to utilize his considerable chemistry skills and knowledge, to start clandestinely manufacturing extremely pure quality crystal meth.
Of course, nothing is ever so simple as brewing up a batch of drugs in your basement, and so Walt and Jesse engage in a series of often risky (but mostly comedic) procedures, trying to secure the necessary elements to make their highly potent product, all the while keeping those close to them unaware of their illegal enterprise.
Unfortunately, this doesn't always prove easy, what with Skylar being a nosey control freak, and Walt's brother-in-law Hank (Dean Norris) working as a DEA agent, unaware that his latest investigation could lead him to his own relatives.
As Walt and Jesse try to break into the highly profitable drug trade they created, Breaking Bad follows their often failed attempts to do so successfully.
Breaking Bad Overall Analysis
It goes without saying that the presence of Bryan Cranston is addictive (pun intended) in this show, a considerable far cry from his comedic neurotic turn as Hal from his days on Malcolm in the Middle. This time, he explores the other side of acting, playing a man left with very few options, who adopts an all or nothing philosophy, using his skills to maximize potential earnings, to ensure his family is well looked after.
This show isn't unlike Showtime's Weeds, in that both shows explore the effects of drug trade on former nuclear families, but for comic effect more often than not. While Weeds usually adopts a much lighter approach to the problem, Breaking Bad veers towards the dramatic nine times out of ten.
The show boasts a fairly engaging supporting cast, and exploits the good chemistry between Cranston and Aaron Paul (who plays his partner in crime and young hip hop drug entrepreneur). Dean Norris, who has played a fair amount of supporting roles in his career, brings good comic timing as Hank, a man who takes his drug war seriously while in the line of duty, but who is very ill-equipped to offer valid moral support while handling his relatives' personal problems.
Breaking Bad DVD Extras
This three-disc set includes extensive interviews with both cast and crew, including insightful points from show creator Vince Gilligan (a former producer on The X-Files), and highlights of this 7-episode first season.
Also included are some webisodes highlighting some memorable moments featuring various cast members.
8 out of 10 for a worthwhile tragicomic series not unlike Weeds.
Breaking Bad Season One DVD Cover
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