Breaking Bad has become over the last few years one of the most critically lauded TV shows of all time. After five years of amazing critics though, the programme has never had a TV broadcaster here in the UK.
While Netflix’s arrival on UK shores and a collection of box set DVDs mean that those in the know can seek it out, Breaking Bad’s lack of a broadcast partner is surely the reason why the show hasn’t enjoyed the same levels of success that Homeland and Game Of Thrones have enjoyed in the UK.
Despite this limiting factor though, this is a show that needs to be in your TV life. Why though? Well we’re glad you asked.
It Has The Best Duo On Screen
We can’t think any other pair of characters that have as brilliant chemistry on screen (pun not intended, honest) than meth makers Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. We don’t just mean on TV. We mean that there is no greater duo of characters anywhere at the moment, not even in the movie world.
From the very start, these are two characters that have been the ying to each other’s yang and incredibly watchable on screen. This is in part due to the brilliant writing on the show and the stunning performances of both Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul.
The two have massively grown as characters too. Jesse has transformed from clown to fully rounded character capable of nearly everything, while Walter has changed from a teacher struggling to stay above water into something to be feared.
It Has The Best Villain On TV
From the look of him, you wouldn’t know that quietly spoken chicken restaurant owner and drug lord Gustavo Fring would turn into one of the most terrifying bad guys on TV we’ve seen in decades.
In the twenty six episodes he appeared in though, he became a chillingly psychotic presence, a stone faced arbiter of misery. Most villains scream and shout to get a reaction, all Gus had to do was raise an eyebrow and we started fearing for our lives.
It’s Genuinely Funny….
While the show’s not going to rivalling Community or Girls when it comes to laughs per minute, what it does do very well is black comedy with the occasional slice of idiocy.
The real jokes come from Jesse Pinkman though. His gleeful yell of “Science, bitch!” when a set of magnets worked especially well for him or trying out a plastic bucket for size for ‘rubbish disposal’, are just snapshots of why he’s a the almost perfect blend of comedic and dramatic.
While the show’s funny bone streak may have dried up to some extent over the last couple of years, it still knows when to crack a joke to break the sometime unbearable tension.
….When It’s Not Making You Shout ‘Oh Good Lord!
Breaking Bad is a show that specialises in building up massive amounts of tension and then dissipates it suddenly in a way you just wouldn’t have thought of in any way.
From the first series having Walter White use chemicals as an explosive to get out of a sticky situation to the incredible moment when he saves Jesse’s life with the aggressive use of his car, Breaking Bad can savagely swerve in a heartbeat.
You can get Breaking Bad on DVD right here or watch it all on Netflix.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith
Tagged in TV Breaking Bad Bryan Cranston Aaron Paul