But in the meantime, ask yourself this..."am I watching "Breaking Bad" on AMC?"
If the answer is no, remedy that situation immediately.
Okay, so you know that I love AMC, home to another great drama, "Mad Men." "Breaking Bad," however, is a complete 180 from the glamorous lifestyle of ad execs in Manhattan in the early 1960s. No, this show is about a chemistry teacher named Walter White who lives in his very middle-class home, with his very middle-class family in a suburb just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Present day. Walt is just about your average very man until he finds himself on the receiving end of some very, very bad news: he has cancer. And it's terminal.
Being a family man, this obviously destroys him. Aside from the devastating news, he is smart enough to realize that once he is gone, his family will be under more of a financial struggle then they are now. After all, his son is almost 16 and walks with the use of crutches. His wife, Skylar, makes a modest income as a bookkeeper. So he does what anyone in that situation would do:
He starts cooking and selling meth.
Because after all, it's a man's job to provide for his family.
I cannot even describe to you the spiral of events that transpire as Walt becomes essentially, a major drug king pin. But remember, this guy is just like you and me - he has no prior history, he doesn't associate with criminals, and most importantly, he doesn't think like a criminal. And so while his intentions are good, he finds himself embroiled in the most insane, outlandish, though extremely believable situations. And the whole time, he's trying to keep his wife from finding out, trying to attend his cancer treatments diligently, and be an overall stand-up guy. Minus that whole drug lord thing.
Brian and I started watching the show last summer and were hooked immediately. Probably one of the best features of the show is there is no filler -- there is no wasted dialogue, no unnecessary scenes. Everything builds on everything else. Even something as small as a fly or a cigarette butt becomes a turning point in the story line. I can't describe where the characters are currently at, but season three ends next week. So if you get a chance, go out and rent seasons one and two so you can catch up to season three by the time it is available, too.
I will warn you though - it's not for the faint of heart. It's realistic, gritty, shocking, and very candid. And it will also make you ask yourself...if I started selling drugs, how would I handle this?