Breaking Bad (AMC) Renewed for one more (16 episode) season this past August, Breaking Bad wrapped its fourth earlier this month, and it was as good as any of the ones previous. Vince Gilligan’s marvelous story about high school science teacher/cancer patient Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) descent into the dirty business of meth dealing has managed to grow into a wider reaching drama about organized crime, money laundering, and federal law enforcement, while managing to keep us tightly invested in the main characters, including Walter’s former high school student/current partner Jesse (Aaron Paul); ex-wife Skyler (Anna Gunn); brother in law/DEA Agent Hank (Dean Norris); and bad guy boss Gus (Giancarlo Esposito). Rather than straining to keep the drama alive, Gilligan et al have, ala The Sopranos, shrewdly kept the story exciting without ruining the plausibility and sense of realism they worked so hard to create in the first place. Though there are some wildly violent action sequences in season four, the drama is always well plotted, never random and over the top, a feat that should not go unrecognized. Though AMC is reportedly having money trouble with the expensive cast of Mad Men and their costly new show Walking Dead draining their coffers, it is good news to know that Breaking Bad will get an extra long final season, with a break in between that should allow Gilligan and staff to come up with a fitting conclusion to one of the best shows ever on the airwaves.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 27th, 2011 at 9:13 pm and is filed under On DVD. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.