I don't watch a lot of first run television - I prefer the more moral shows of the 60s, 70s and 80s... so I'd never heard of Breaking Bad before until I came across it at Wikipedia while doing an unrelated search.
It has got to be one of the most disgusting TV shows ever filmed. And worse - it's had three seasons.
Here's the plot:
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television and broadcast in the United States and Canada on the cable channel AMC. It premiered on January 20, 2008, and completed its first seven-episode season on March 9, 2008. The show's 13-episode second season ran from March 8 to May 31, 2009. The third season began on March 21, 2010.
Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer at the beginning of the series. He breaks down and turns to a life of crime, producing and selling methamphetamine with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) in a desire to secure his family's financial future.
Breaking Bad has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its writing as well as Bryan Cranston's and Aaron Paul's performances, and has won four Emmy Awards in addition to numerous other awards and nominations.
So the lead character of this show, the hero, is a man who creates and sells methanphetamine, a drug that ruins people's lives? And we're supposed to feel sorry for him, and hope he succeeds because, after all, all he's trying to do is provide financial freedom for his family after he dies!
Talk about blurring the lines of morality, this show rubs them out.
And yet, if Wikipedia is to be believed, this show is popular, and has been praised in mainstream media:
Breaking Bad has received critical acclaim in addition to two Emmy Awards for its first season. It won the award for best editing, and Bryan Cranston won for best actor in a drama series.[13] Breaking Bad in 2008 also won a Peabody Award for excellence in television broadcasting.[14]
Linda Stasi of the New York Post stated "the acting is as good as you'll see on TV." Time said the series "has the elements of success".[15] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly rated season one a "B+".[16]
The second season opener was watched by 1.7 million people, up 21% from the previous season.[17]
The second season received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Bryan Cranston) and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Aaron Paul). Cranston won for Outstanding Lead Actor.[18]
The third season premiere was the highest rated episode in the series' history; having been watched by 2 million viewers, with an additional 1.1 million watching while the episode was re-aired later on the premiere night
One wonders if real-life "meth heads" are shown in this program, to show its fascinated viewers exactly what the lead character's meth does to people?
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