Breaking down Breaking Bad: an amuse-bouche

Breaking Bad's fourth season begins July 17th. Sarah and I watched the first two seasons last year and DIEEEEEEEED. Other than The Wire, I have never heard the overwhelming amount of praise for a show I've heard for Breaking Bad. People fall over themselves trying to describe what a magnificent vision it is. From the first few minutes of the pilot it is obvious that this is no exaggeration. It has some of the strongest writing I have ever seen on a TV show, and the two protagonists are cast more brilliantly than words can describe. Bryan Cranston consistently gives the best performance by anyone on television (and winning an Emmy three years in a row is a pretty sweet vindication of that; there is just no competition - I'm looking at you, Jon Hamm. Pfft). Aaron Paul, who won a well-deserved Emmy this past year, is a considerable partner to Cranston. Their chemistry (more on that later) is palpable onscreen and it is one of the best things about the show.


If you will kindly take a look at the bone-chilling and endlessly satisfying poster for season four, you can see that the title card for the show uses elements from the periodic table. This simple yet clever artistic decision alludes to the fact that Walter White (Cranston) is a high school chemistry teacher who, upon learning that he has lung cancer, begins to use his considerable knowledge of chemistry to cook crystal meth. He goes into business with his former high school student Jesse Pinkman (Paul), who happens to be in the meth market already. Walter's ultimate goal is to earn enough money so his pregnant wife and son, who has cerebral palsy, can be financially secure once he dies.

As can be expected, Breaking Bad is, for the most part, a very heavy and intense show. The aforementioned brilliance in writing and acting make you incredibly invested in the characters, which can be quite emotionally draining. That said, the scenes with Jesse and Mr. White cooking meth and butting heads are so expertly done and contain such great comedic moments that you will never run the risk of burning out.

I don't want to ramble more than I already have. This is all a prelude to us watching and writing about the third season in preparation for the fourth season premiere in July. I do want to give a special mention to RJ Mitte, who plays Walt's son, Walt Jr. His portrayal of the character is stunning and his interactions with Walt Sr. are often some of the most emotional scenes in the series. Yet he's also often the source of much of the humour on the show. All this makes him, in my eyes at least, one of the best characters not only on this show, but anywhere on TV. Suck it, Jon Hamm!*

*I quite like Jon Hamm. On 30 Rock. And SNL.

When I am through with you, there won't be anything left

People of Earth,

Please allow me to indulge myself on this hump night with a love letter to the creators of Damages, a show so pants-droppingly mesmerizing that I devoured it almost in its entirety in a matter of weeks, before I had to stop myself because I did not want the ride to end. I am a little more than midway through season three, and I am rationing for myself the remaining episodes so as to decrease the waiting period between my watching the season three finale and the season four premiere this summer. In the meantime, words fail me in describing how incredibly this show is written and paced, except to say that the WTF moments happen so consistently and thoroughly that I can barely gird my loins in preparation, but the casting is really where the jaw begins to drop. Below, a pictorial summary:

The show begins and ends with Patty Hewes and what Glenn Close does with this role is, in the words of Javier, UNBELEBABLE. She won two Emmys back-to-back for the first two seasons and there is just no competition. She is terrifying and it is incredible to watch her eyes light up with every new scheme she cooks up to take down everyone around her. Nothing more can be said. Her performance has to be seen to be believed.

Next up, Ellen Parsons. The sad-eyed, innocent waif gets scooped up by Patty straight out of law school and, as expected, has no idea what she's getting herself into. Rose Byrne is an interesting character. I've been flipflopping about her since I first saw her in Troy and I generally found her to be bland and uninteresting. But lately, she's turned me around completely, and it was Get Him to the Greek that cinched it. She goes through hell and back throughout Damages and, though she lost me in season two, that was more to do with where her character was going than what she was doing as an actor. She's become one of the main reasons I'm excited about Bridesmaids this year. I'm thinking she could outshine all the other seasoned comedians she's working with, though that would be tough as shit. Almost as tough as Ellen. Parsons.

Ahh, there he is. My love. Tom Shayes. If you'd have told me five years ago that Marissa's dad would weasel his way into my heart, I would have thought you were fucking my face. But alas, Tom Shayes. Tom Shayes Tom Shayes Tom Shayes. Patty's right-hand woman. What can I say about Tom? He dresses like a young Scott Disick. That's about it. Oh, and he's completely amazing in every way. No one was happier than me to see this happen, not even Tom (if you consider this a spoiler, please sit down before you fall down):