Sadly, and out of nowhere, the first season of AMC’s Breaking Bad came to an end Sunday night after only seven episodes. Bryan Cranston garnered newfound respect in my eyes for his portrayal of Walter White, a man diagnosed with lung cancer who tries to help his family’s financial future by “cooking” crystal meth.
I just wanted to do a bit of a recap and review of one of the more surprising new shows this season. If you don’t want to know anything about it because you plan on watching it down the road, then skip this blog post and read about something else, like the new Indiana Jones movie poster with an alien head?
Before you skip though, rest assured that AMC is going to re-air all of season one starting this coming Sunday evening. That’s pretty good news as I have a few friends who missed the first 4 or 5, but AMC’s website only had the first two available for free.
It all starts on Sunday, March 16 @ 10PM | 9C.
Breaking Bad season 1 recap and review
I’m not going to get too detailed into everything that happened this season, but I want to just highlight the big moments and the stuff that made it great.
We first get to know Walter White as a man who has had a boring life, is domesticated, makes no decisions for himself and is stuck working as a chemistry teacher with a second job at a car wash.
Not pleasant. But then it gets worse. He collapses at the car wash and ends up being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.
What happens next is the title of the show. Walt “breaks bad”…or loses it. He realizes that his life has been pathetic and that with him gone, his family (with a new baby on the way) has no way to support itself. His brother-in-law is a DEA officer and one night he talks about how much money the snagged at a meth drug bust.
The light bulb goes off in Walt’s head, and he teams up with a loser former student of his to cook crystal and make money.
The events that unfold next are like a Greek tragedy and a hilarious dark comedy all intertwined. You have scenes of Walt in his underwear and an apron “cooking” and in the next moment he’s killing a drug dealer with a bicycle lock.
The first four episodes or so kind of make up the first chapter of his meth journey. After that, things calm down a bit as he decides to do chemotherapy to appease his distraught wife. But he wont take money from a friend to pay for the $100,000+ in medical bills that will result from it.
So he goes back to cooking. And in the next chapter of the show, he and the kid start making some of the best crystal in Los Angeles and the cash starts to flow.
The show works because of the comedy that is just under the surface of the stories, and because Bryan Cranston is fantastic. But his cohort in crime is Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul and he’s hilarious. The “chemistry” between the two of them is funny and perfect.
Overall, it was a great first season. It ends early because of the writer’s strike, so that’s a bummer, but you could feel it going places. The only downside I saw in the show was possibly the subplots concerning his wife and her sister, but mostly because I hated being away from the Walt/Jesse moments.
Hopefully you give it a show this coming Sunday and let me know what you think. It’s on cable, so there is swearing and violence, even some pretty gory scenes, so don’t let the kiddies watch.
The good news is that season 2 of Breaking Bad seems to be in the works already, so there doesn’t appear to be that threat of never seeing the story end. Does Walt end up dying eventually?
I want to find out.
i LOVE this show!!! its insane and the writers are amazing!
Good to hear it Heather, I have found a few fans out there that I had no idea watched it…
Hope it returns for season 2
Same here; This is the best show, EVER!
Yea, this series if fantastic. i just saw ep 1-7 on a friends dvr & im
tapping on the remote & chanting in tongues in a desperate wish
more episodes will magically appear immediately !
This is an awsome show – cant wait till season 2 – havent head anything but i am anxiously waiting… the return – LOVE THIS SHOW; Bryan Cranston is the Man….
Yeah, we’ll keep you guys posted if we hear anything about season 2.
This is a great show, for sure. It’s the best in a long time. But it’s not in LA dude, it’s in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Duh, thanks for the tip Eric. Seems like most shows are set in L.A., so sometimes you just figure it must be there!
Hey everyone! When is Season 2 comming???!!! Cant wait
Adrian, I actually tried to contact AMC about it and got nothing in return. I’ll try again, but I don’t think they are talking for some reason.
Thanks Mike i hope, they respond because that show was amazing.
[...] Breaking Bad starred Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, and when you get a chance, read my season 1 recap and review. [...]
Breaking Bad is 1 of the best shows on television today! Im so happy that they are making a second season! Keep up the great work i love the show!
Breaking Bad is the greatest new show ever!! I can’t even say how much I LOVE this whole season! A bunch of us get together every time a new show is on.
I can’t wait till next season!!
i really loved this show and hope to see lots more of it
please let season two become a reality because this is hands down the best televivion series i have ever seen.It would be stupid not to make a season two or threee or even four
Jessica, it’s already been renewed
OMG this show is Sweet… i love it its funny and messed up… i didnt even hear about it till season 1 was over… cant wait till season 2
Awesome show indeed, recently started airing in Aust and I've seen all episodes, only 7, pretty stingee
I still want to know about season 2! Come on amc let us KNOW SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!
The show is fantastic, glad it’s back for a second season. BTW, it’s set in New Mexico, not Los Angeles.
“So he goes back to cooking. And in the next chapter of the show, he and the kid start making some of the best crystal in Los Angeles and the cash starts to flow.”
Part of the appeal of the show, in my opinion, is that all this is taking place somewhere other than a big city, and the scenes in the desert are some of the best of the season.