Posted on 08/24/2013 2:39:14 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
"Breaking Bad" is a fascinating show. But efforts to compare it to "The Wire," which systematically analyzed American institutions and the American experience, are misguided. "Breaking Bad" is fundamentally a conservative show that is all about the individual.
This Sunday (September 2) AMC will air the final episode of part one of it's fifth and final season of "Breaking Bad," an immensely popular and critically acclaimed show about a down-on-his luck high school chemistry teacher who, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, starts a life as a crystal methamphetamine manufacturer. The high praise of the show is largely warranted: the premise is fascinating, the photography and acting is superb and the drama intense. Some have even dared to suggest that "Breaking Bad" represents the best that modern television has to offer, even surpassing HBO's the "Wire" as the greatest show of its time.
(Excerpt) Read more at truth-out.org ...
BB is one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
Netflix has up to ep8 S5.
My son was begging me to watch it, but he got me actually started on episode one when I was newly pregnant. I could get through a few episodes, but wasn’t really enjoying it, and came to the “bathtub episode” where I had to STOP WATCHING. Lol. We picked up again after the baby was born, and I got totally hooked. Now I’m watching this last half season live.
The show is extremely well written, acted, edited, and shot. The state of New Mexico should get a Best Supporting Actor nod. Amazing characters and more addictive than the Heisenberg Blue Meth.
Loved The Wire, guess I’ll have to give Breaking Bad another chance.
Say my name.
I agree.
To be appreciated it must be watched from the beginning. It is very convoluted with plots and sub plots and subsub plots. I have watched it more than once to develop an understanding of what actually took place.
The conservative aspect are the family life of the two sisters. Walt and Skyler pretty much have an average middle class family. He is a chemistry teacher. In Albuquerque. Aside from being the most wealthy and capable meth cook and dealer, Walt is a down to earth great middle class guy. His wife Skyler struggles constantly to be a mom and a wife.
Skyler’s sister is a wonderfully written flake who has purple everything except kids. Her husband id the DEA agent in Charge for New Mexico.
The tension between the sisters and the brothers in law that are actually great pals make for great drama
Unlike the various bad guys against whom Walt is pitted, he is smart. He uses his intellect and education to prevail.
Jessee provides a window into the American seamy culture of poorly educated but middle class young men that deal drugs. Jessee is a tragedy. He is a criminal with misplaced honor.
The worst character is the lawyer. He plays all side against the middle and is a totally disgusting but skilled individual.
Breaking Bad reveals a very wide cross section of America
The best episode is called Face Off, a genuine life and death encounter between two powerful men. It is a great tragic comedy scene .
I’ll miss this Sunday but will tape it.
My question is why did Walt return to a fenced in weed over grown former home with all his hair (chemo treatment for his cancer was hard on his hair) and retrieve a vial of sarin powder he synthesized to kill his arch enemy.
My favorite line from last season was an episode that took place in Alergia. The good guys were getting help from a local Berber woman in tracking down an Arab carrying nuclear triggers. They were holed up with a couple of Algerians on a farm and surrounded by the terrorists who were trying to kill them. During downtime, one of the Algerians is critical of the Berber woman for helping the special forces guys and says to her: "They just use you and move on." She then turns to the Algerian Arab and says to him, "At least they leave. We've been waiting a thousand years for you to leave and you still haven't."
Smack. Pow. Zing.
http://www.solarmovie.so/tv/strike-back-2010/
The Wire. The Shield. Breaking Bad are my favorites in that order .
That scene was classic Breaking Bad.
Yeah that was typical of the odd moments of humor in the show.
She's one of the scariest bad guys I've ever seen. That scene of her leaving the underground lab in her high heels with her eyes closed was priceless.
Next question. What will Walt do with the ricin?
That's exactly what he is. Good analogy.
The Pig is belt-fed. He should have considered the optional tripod.
Walter’s wife launders as much as she can with her job at a car wash.
He has killed other people's children. That's really bad karma. And we know his abandoned house was the target of some horrible event. He paused twice in the bedroom while retrieving the ricin, once right where Holly's crib would have been, and once where he and Skyler's bed would have been. Or at least that's what I perceived.
i think the lawyer had his guys put a gps tracker in the money barrels.
he is, they are laundering it through their car wash business.
plenty of episodes have no gore.
also the weird neighbor on king of queens and dad in malcom in the middle. he was all humor before this.
So do Huell and Kuby. "This guy hit 10 guys in jail in a two-minute window -- all's I'm sayin'."
There can be honor among thieves when they fear each other.
Plus, did you catch the looks Huell and Kuby gave each other when Walter says "close enough" after shaking the barrels and assessing their contents. They took some and Walt knows they took some, but they weren't greedy so he let them get away with it.
Actually, “Breaking Bad” is what happens when a group of Hard Line Socialists try to write a TV program about someone they CLAIM is a Conservative individualist.
I watched the first episode and small parts of a few other shows.
The basic premise is that a cancer stricken teacher is terrified about the financial security of his family after his death.
What do the show’s creators fail to tell their gullible and poorly informed viewers?
The teacher belongs to a powerful union, and his family will be lavished with benefits after his death.
To begin with, his health and funeral expenses would be close to ZERO.
He would have a basic life insurance policy - probably equal to three years untaxed salary - plus the opportunity to purchase more insurance at an absurdly low rate, even AFTER he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
His children would receive educational benefits as they reached college age.
His Down Syndrome child would have been eligible for Social Security (SSI) and Medicaid from birth.
Most public school teachers are state employees who do not pay into Social Security.
Instead, the teacher would have a wonderful state pension plan, typically one that pays 75% of his salary after 30 years of service.
Most likely, that plan would pay around $40,000 per year to his wife, plus monthly benefits to the children until they reach age 22 or so.
His wife would receive lifetime health insurance, and his kids would be covered until their mid-20’s.
The wife would have to find a job in order to maintain the lifestyle they had before the teacher died.
If she did not work, her family could get by, without taking on debt, if she was really careful about spending.
In other words, the whole financial premise of this show is 24 carat BS!
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