5 out of 5

Director: Rian Johnson for one episode woot woot comma other people

It’s difficult to describe how multifaceted is Breaking Bad. If you’re around as the show is on (season 4 is airing as of this writing), you probably have heard – through someone or some other source – the main premise of the show: chemistry teacher (brian cranston) gets cancer, and due to various machinations, decides to start manufacturing crystal meth with a local small-time dealer (aaron paul). Cute. And all of the things that you’d expect from such a setup are there – the fun chemistry facts, the balance of family and crime, the noir-ish everything-that-can-go-wrong-will-go-wrong, and the overall descent into line straddling good n’ evil. When describing the show other shows will come to mind, but what I’ve found interesting is how difficult everything is to summarize. Other TV shows, a viewer can be caught up in a couple broad strokes. It may not do the show’s nuances justice, but there you are in a nutshell. Breaking Bad, somehow, doesn’t lend itself to that. Every element requires the elements that came before it. This makes it sound rapid-fire, but the success seems to be in the patience allotted to every aspect of the show. While there are moments that threaten to tip into TV norm, a drawn out and yet interesting diversion is right around the corner, or a decision that pushes the show that much closer to crossing a line. It’s like cat and mouse with the viewer, done patiently and intelligently. The performances are – all-around – amazing, and while the shooting style and cinematography are expected for high-end TV drama, the music, editing, and production are all insanely top notch. Said enough? I can’t. And now (as of Jan 2013) you can stream it on Netflix, so maybe go do that.