2026 - Breaking Bad: No Half Measures

I treated myself to the BluRay box set of the complete series because it’s loaded to the tits with features and also because I think it’s one of the few perfect television series that exists and I look forward to revisiting and studying it further - especially with all of the features that are on it.  It’s television school in a box and I think anyone wanting to work in the medium owes it to themselves to pick this up.

So this is supposed to be about the documentary that came with the set.  It follows the production of the final eight episodes, and it’s largely a love fest as they go through it, but there’s a lot of insight into how it works and if you’re a fan of the show then there’s no better way to dive back in and enjoy the final pieces being put together.

I look forward to slowly going through the series all over again and all of the special features that this set contains - there’s, I believe, over 55 hours of bonus which is almost as much as the series itself.  What a great ride I’ve got ahead of me… 

2023 - Mad Men - Season Seven: part one

Somehow I thought we had one more episode for this half-season.  I love how this season started up and worked - it was so refreshing to see Don working for something as opposed to just coasting and bossing people around - it did a lot for regaining sympathy for him with his head between his heels.  I loved the way his relationship with Peggy has changed in all the years we’ve known them - it’s pretty amazing and staggering.  If you’d told the Don of season 1 that he’d one day be answering to the girl who gets his coffee he’d have laughed you out of his office.  

I have to say that with the exception of Sally, I could do without ever seeing the adventures of Betty and family for the rest of the series.  No offence to those cast members involved, it just feels like such a wasted amount of time especially given that we’ve got so precious few episodes left.  It really feels like everyone is getting a chance to shine - Roger visiting his daughter on a commune, co-workers going, literally, insane.  The company coming into it’s own, and Joan finally getting the financial wealth she’s only ever dreamed of.  It was actually sad to see Don and Megan’s relationship disintegrate and I wonder what they’ve got planned for him in the final eight when it comes to romance.  I doubt they’d have him and Peggy hit the sheets, but stranger things have happened… Looking forward to the final episodes when it returns.

1976 - The Walking Dead: season four - part 2

It should go without saying, but read this at your own risk of SPOILERS.  Walking Dead is a funny show for me.  There are few I anticipate watching as much as this when it comes to new episodes - but it’s also the kind of show where once I’ve seen it, I don’t really feel the need to revisit.  It’s very much popcorn and guilty pleasure for me.  I like that it’s nuanced in areas, but again - I get everything out of it the first time.  This isn’t a terrible thing - and I imagine once it’s completely over I’ll go back and marathon the entire thing, but outside of a few touchstone episodes, I haven’t done that.

So this half-season was a different feel than what we’ve seen before but I think it worked well.  We’re dealing with the aftermath of their major battle, and we needed time with each of these characters to regroup.  If the first half of the season was about “Can we come back from what we’ve done.” the second half answers it by asking “Can we come to terms with who we are now given what we’ve had to do?”

I love how this show adapts the comics for their own, often richer, purposes.  Having the young girls and Carol get the murder storyline that belonged to the twins and Carl in the comics worked quite well here.  Having the group that attacks Rick and Carl on the road be the ones Daryl finds himself with was clever as well.  And I can only assume that the folks at Terminus are the series version of The Hunters.  I imagine that’ll be the entire focus of the first half of the next season - I’d be surprised if they milked it any longer.  

I think this is the kind of show that gets better the longer it goes - and what’s really fun is now that we’ve lived in this post-zombie world for a while we’re starting to come across other people and filling in their history and stories is equally interesting.  I can’t wait to see what Terminus is all about.  Fall can’t come some enough…

1942 - Walking Dead: season four (part 1)

I like these mini seasons.  This one had a particularly strong theme with "Can we come back?  Are we too far gone?"  It's a great question to ask at this point in the series, given what they've been through.  What I also love is how it stays connected to the comic series, but giving us it fresh.  We still get the Governor charging the prison with his tank, and while the outcome is similar it's different and unique to it's own world.  I'm not as harsh a critic on this show as a lot are - I think it's a really fun show with decent enough characters.  I loved the little side-step to see what the Governor has been up to.  I thought it gave the proper weight to it, and we needed a break from the plague storyline (which I didn't absolutely love).  I thought the meeting between Rick and the Governor was smart - I believed that, perhaps, in this version of the story - maybe they do stretch it out and try to find a way to live together.  That said, what a great place for us to leave and have to come back from.  I can't wait to see where they go with the story in the second half of this season.  So many possibilities.  So exciting!  If you haven't heard of this show you're likely living under a rock - but if you haven't seen it - it's super easy to catch-up to on Netflix.  Enjoy!

1917 - Breaking Bad: season five - part 2

What can I say here that hasn't already been said?  This show is universally loved, by myself as well.  There isn't a bad performance, a bad scene, hell I'd argue there isn't a bad episode in the entire run.  Perfect is a strong word, but Breaking Bad might be just that.  There was an interesting theory that the final episode was a dream of Walt's, and that he simply died alone, not accomplishing anything he wanted to - part of me likes that as much as I like the idea of the ending going down exactly as it happened.  Did it tie things up too cleanly?  Maybe.  It went down pretty much as I'd expected and thought - so I didn't have a lot of surprises in the final hour, but I had a lot of fun watching it. What I loved about the last run of episodes was that it really felt like Vince Gilligan was giving us a sample of every possible outcome.  We got to see what it looked like when Jesse turned the tables on Walt, what it looked like when Hank won, Walt running away with his tail between his legs, Walt dying alone, and then Walt making amends and doing what he set out to do: take care of his family.  I'd argue that if you didn't like the ending of the actual finale - then at least you were given something in that group that helped it.  

I'm really looking forward to picking up that big-ass boxset and delving into the materials and behind the scenes.  Shit yes.  It's a beautiful show that never stayed past it's welcome and went out absolutely on top.  It's inspiring.  Good on ya, Gilligan and company.  Thank you for giving us an amazing story to obsess over for several seasons.  You'll be missed.

1862 - Mad Men: season 6

I've read some complaints about this season, but I don't have a single one.  I don't think this show is for everyone - it's got a pretty specific pace and it takes it's sweet-ass time.  It goes on minor tangents I don't largely care for - but for the most part it hits it's mark and it hits it hard.  I loved watching Don become his own undoing, and Peggy, bless her, be dragged around without any say in what she was doing, but being rewarded and no longer having to feel like she was under the thumb of Don.  The merger of companies was a pretty inspired choice.  I won't be the first to say that this felt like it easily could have been a series finale the way they left things off - but I for one am curious to see what this series does for it's swan song and finale bow.  This show will leave a pretty big hole in the drama world when it comes to a close.

1827 - The Walking Dead: season three part 2

Holy shit. I just realized that I never wrote about this.  Huh.  So I'm a bit late to this commentary party but here goes… I think this season was largely the strongest season of the series.  I think it had a momentum that was exactly where it needs to be and go.  I love what the first half of this season did for setting up the second.  I love how they're honouring the comic series without feeling the need to subscribe to it.  The changes they did with Woodbury and The Governor in particular were smart - and I'm not sure how I feel about how they left it - I'll have a better opinion once I see where they go with it come season four.  I want to say a whole lot here, but I'm holding back for those who haven't seen the show yet.  And along those lines, I really do urge you to pick up the comic books - especially if you LOVE the show - it's a nice way to fill the gap between seasons!

1779: The Walking Dead: season 3 (part 1)

I think it's safe to say that this first half of season three has been as sigh of relief to anyone who was on the wavering fence of this series.  Much like the comic that inspired it, this show has finally shown it's tremendous balls and made no bones about it - it will kill the shit out of anyone and everyone as it sees fit.  In the comic version I believe that Rick and/or Carl will always be safe.  In the television series… I just don't know.  The comic clearly has Grimes as their main protagonist, but the series feels more like an ensemble than anything.  I love the feeling that anything can and will happen.  I loved watching this first-half-finale because I was actually really tense, worried about these characters that I, apparently, have grown quite attached to! 

So that's it for the spoiler-free half of this review - in short if you like good television and love zombies, I'm amazed you're not already watching this.

SPOILERS BELOW

This thing has been a roller-coaster ride.  I love the energy, I loved Rick's descent into madness.  I loved how they killed off T-Dog just to give away the suspense of killing Lori.  Lori is a character I never really cared about, but her death made me cry like a little girl - mostly because of the way that Carl and Rick reacted - and the absolutely horrible thing that Carl had to do to help with her passing.  That poor little bad-ass. 
I love that this series no longer feels like it's wasting time.  Originally I thought we'd be at the prison for two seasons, but I wouldn't be surprised if the prison was the back-drop for season 3 alone.  I can't imagine the Governor's retribution being dragged out much further than the second half of the season - but we shall see.  If this is true then next season I want the entire thing to be on-the-road.  No home to call their own - completely fucked.  Thats a terrible thing to want, but there it is. 
The Governor was a really great slow burn - and I love that we've gotten to see the transformation a bit - the fight with Michonne (spelling, sorry) at the end of the season was pretty goddamn great.  And how about putting Merle and Darryl against each other?  (part of me thinks it's all part of the plan, though, to get Merle to infiltrate the group - have Darryl vouch for him that he was kicked out of Woodbury - it's pretty smart, if you ask me - and what wonderful drama we can get out of Merle reuniting with the group that left him stuck up on the roof). 
We've got two months off until the show comes back, and that's a hell of a shame.  Luckily the new book comes out in a few days :)

1761 - Breaking Bad: season five

I'm a tad behind on writing about this one as well - although only a week so cut me some slack :)  Needless to say, this is season five (or the first half anyway - I'm still considering the next season as season six given that it's a year break) and so this is going to be ridiculously SPOILER HEAVY.  Get out now if you're not caught up of the series.  And if you're just starting, enjoy the ride!  You're in good hands.
So it's been a hell of a ride watching Walter White go from good guy to buy, from Mr. Chips to Scarface.  And it's seemed awfully effortless.  Bryan Cranston is peerless in just how fucking good he is in this type of role.  After the hell he went through last year it was delightful to watch Walt come into his own while still cleaning up the mess that his pride had gotten him into.  And what amazed me the most was how as soon as Skyler finally broke through to him… Heisenberg went away.  Walt saw that he's well-over-achieved his dream.  And beautifully, that's when the other shoe drops.  Although he doesn't know it yet.  If I have one complaint it's that we didn't get to see Hank freak out more at the ultimate discovery.  Although how goddamn exciting is it to know that Hank is in 'the know' going into the final eight episodes?  So many ways this could go down, and we know that we're in good hands with Vince Gilligan and crew.  Shame we have to wait a year, but it's worth it if the final chapter is anywhere near the quality of this series thus far.  Easily one of the best television series of all time.

1745 - Breaking Bad: season one

I rewatched this with my Dad while he was staying at our place, and it was so interesting to give it a second glance, knowing where it's headed.  There's a lot of lovely foreshadowing going on here, and it's really great to step back and remember where the characters came from.  One thing that really stood out was how much I liked Skylar (I think she's currently an annoying, raving bitch). 
I need not go on and on about it - those who have seen it know how great it is, and those who haven't, I dare not ruin any of the fun.  I look forward to revisiting these and watching my Dad discover it for the first time.

1744 - Mad Men: season five

No point in burying the lead.  As a show that has shown continued quality in storytelling, this is Mad Men's finest season.  It does what great television does - it gets better as it goes along, deeper into the characters the longer get to know them, to the point where someone like Peggy who started off as Don's secretary is now his equal.  A show that makes you hate Pete Campbell and then have a season where he literally gets punched in the face a lot and you feel, sort of, bad for him. 
I won't get into the specifics of the season, great as they were.  I will say that Jessica Pare is a very welcome edition to the main cast and there's no love lost to seeing January Jones step into a very minor part of the show (the seasons only weak spot was checking in on her, as if we cared at all about her getting fat - seriously writers, have Sally move in with Don and then drop Betty altogether). 
What I really liked about this season was how we saw deeper into Don's psyche than ever before.  This is a man whom it means a great deal to earn what you have, to work hard for it.  And this is where I'll probably get into SPOILERS… Take the characters of Lane and Megan.  Lane didn't really earn what he had, he didn't follow the proper way of things, and so his punishment was the ultimate one.  Megan, frustrated and tired of not being successful in her chosen field asks Don to pull a favour and get her the part that she wants.  And as punishment it would appear that Don's wandering eye has returned.  Joan helped the firm get a client that Don worked his ass off to earn, and so she's forever sullied their relationship.  The one person in his entire world that's worked hard and earned what they have is Peggy.  And because of that Don treasures her above everyone else, even if he does realize it too late.
I believe that the show is expecting to do two more seasons - and if it continues with this level of greatness then sign me up!  If you haven't been in on this from the get-go, I believe that the first four season are on Netflix - do yourself a favour and get caught up!

1706 - The Walking Dead: season two (part II)

Here's a show that gets endlessly loved and yet ripped upon at the same time.  If you don't know what this series is about you're probably living under a zombie, but feel free to click the tags below.  Otherwise I'll assume those reading know the score.
The first half of this season had issues, I think.  It was just slow and it spent too much time stalling.  That same first half ended with what I honestly believe to be one of the best executed sequences in television history.  And I think that's what's frustrating about this show, when it's bad it's mediocre, but when it's good it's absolutely phenomenal!  And for the fans of the comic series, you know just how much material these people have to draw upon and how much story is left to come up.

SPOILERS BELOW

I was pretty damn surprised that they did some of the things that they did in this second half of the season - sometimes in a good way.  I knew Shane had to go, but was shocked that Dale did as well.  I FUCKING LOVED the reveal of Michoinne (don't know how to spell her name) at the end of this season, as well as the nod to the prison. In the comic series they spend more time at the prison than anywhere so far, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.  If they do it properly they can easily get two seasons out of it given how much happens in and around it. 
I think this show could benefit from some more characterization that isn't merely speecifying.  I think that Rick's declaration in the final scene was a great one and a strong choice for moving forward. 
As flawed as it was I kept coming back, and I think the back-half of this season was a vast improvement upon what had come before.  I think they've finally hit their grove.  It's a long wait till fall...

1634 - Breaking Bad: season four

I saw the first three seasons of this show back to back because I was late to it, so this was the first time that I had to wait week by week, and if you're a fan of the show you know that that's torture.  I have to be honest in that I was getting pretty impatient with the beginning of this season.  The first episode was pretty solid - and I'm sure that if you watched it back to back with last's seasons finale, the pace was a nice relief.  The three episodes or so that followed felt a tad labored though.  I know that they probably needed it to set up what was to come, but I can't tell you how sick I was of Hank and his rock collection.  And when the show resort to watching Marie deal with her kleptomania, you know that you're not in the most exciting part of the season.  Given how much those characters fall to the way-side once shit hits the fan it should be a pretty significant sign to the creative team that these cast members aren't that important, and so spending ridiculous amount of screen time on them just makes us want to get back to the characters that are. 
The rest of this is going to be pretty SPOILER HEAVY, I can't imagine anyone would be reading this that hasn't seen the season - but there's your warning.  Take it or leave it.

First, for anyone interesting click here to get a link to an interview that the A.V. Club did with the showrunner Vince Gilligan - it breaks down every episode this season and it's a pretty awesome window into how they work on the show.
Gus has been an amazing villain, and a real opponent for Walt and Jesse.  The game of chess that they played this season was extraordinary.  And just as you were starting to really dislike Walt they had Gus come in and knock him down a few notches so that you could feel sorry for him.  Brilliantly played.  This show is easily one of the more visually styled show on television, and it almost always work in their favor.  With the exception of those early episodes this season, this has been a series that is always top notch.  The stakes are high, which helps, but the brilliance is that the show never takes itself uber seriously.  There is always a bit of a wink there.  Take Gus' death in the season finale - no way that man walks out of that room, but it's fine because if anyone, he deserved a kick-ass death. 
The dynamic between Walt and Jesse was superb this year and it really tested their relationship - and will continue to do so based on the path that Walt is now on.  I'm going to make a bit of a prediction.  Given that next season is their last, I really believe that the focus is going to shift ever so slightly.  Walt is finally going to fully transform into the shows villain (all hail Heisenberg) and it'll be about Hank and/or Jesse taking him down in the end (unless the cancer gets to him first, which would be the ultimate irony). 
This is a great show and it's been a (mostly) great season.  Can't wait to see where they go next.  Just hope that they don't take as big a break as they did between the last season and this one. 

1472 - The Walking Dead: season one

Anyone who has read my blog in the past month knows that I'm pretty into this story, or at least the idea of the series, which is essentially a band of people just trying to survive in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. The comic series is phenomenal in every way - great characters, story, themes, and more important, great execution.
The pilot for this series nailed the tone just right - it mixed the disturbing with the mundane, but future episodes seemed to lose that a bit. And for a series that it meant to be about the survivors I didn't really feel like I got to know, or care, about them all that much - and that is the biggest downfall from this first season. And for someone like Darabont it really surprises me. This show has been greenlit for a second, longer, season and so perhaps that will help deal with some of those issues.
For fans of the comic that haven't jumped in yet keep in mind that they're not following the comic religiously by any means, so it's not just like a giant retread (if it were it might be a bit better..., but that's just my humble opinion).
It's worth giving this show a shot given that it's only six episodes in it's first run - but I implore you that if you like this show in anyway do yourself a favor and pick up the comic series of the same name, it will not disappoint!

1447 - Mad Men: season four

In the age of event television it amazes (and delights) me that Mad Men does so well. Here is a show that is purely a character drama. Sure they have dramatic plots here and there - there are stakes involved, and there are good and bad things that happen. But they don't need to leave us on a huge cliffhanger to make us want to come back - we come back because we love these characters and we want to spend time with them (even some of the characters we may hate - I'm looking at you Betty...).
For me the heart of this series is the relationship between Don and Peggy (how much do I love Elisabeth Moss...). They have this mutual respect for each other that's simply delightful and I can't get enough of it. I could watch an entire series of just them. I've read some complaints that the finale was "nonsensical" and "nothing happened". I say if you really think that, you don't understand a damn thing about what makes this show so special.
I love this series, and I simply can't wait for season five next summer. What a horribly long time to wait...

1390 - Breaking Bad: season three

This is a series that just continues to get better and better. What's really amazing is, if after watching this season, you went back to the pilot I think that a lot of the characters wouldn't even be recognizable. That's how far these people have come in three seasons. It's a show that continues to test it's premise, mess with its characters, and put them in the worst possible situations. It's a show that's not scared of messing with itself. I'm really want to avoid any kind of spoilers, but I just have to say that AMC is giving Showtime and HBO a run for its money with their original series. In terms of writing and acting it's hard to imagine a series better than this one.

1383 - Breaking Bad: season two

Goddamn are we ever addicted to this show. It's intense, it's smart, it's EXTREMELY well written. This show gives Dexter a run for it's money in terms of putting it's main character(s) in the worst possible situation that they could be in. They brilliant use of science to solve some of their problems (the one above was a great great sequence). The show's ability to always take one step forwards and two back is really wonderful. I love where they took this season and I really can't wait to see where it continues to. If you haven't gotten into this show yet, get on it. You won't be disappointed.

1378 - Breaking Bad: season one

We came late to this series (now in it's fourth season), but we're fully on board. Huzzah! This show really is as good as everyone says it is and we're looking forward to delving into the other available seasons. I love how well they integrate the science into the show and yet keep it grounded in our real world. The set-up and premise to this show is really fantastic and the cast is stellar. They have so much room to play within this world - I'm really excited about where they're going to go with it. So much good summer television on right now with Mad Men starting back up, Entourage and True Blood already in full swing, and new Weeds on its way... oh baby!

1285 - Mad Men: season three

First time I watched this series as the episodes were airing. I love this show. In the absence of The Wire it fills that void of solid epic novel-esque writing. I adore this series and all that comes with it. I don't want to ruin a damn thing, so all I'll say is that this was a fantastic season in what is a truly great story. They've done some really interesting things in this season, in particular the final episode and I can't wait to see the next chapter of this story. I can't recommend this show highly enough.

1221 - Mad Men: season two

I was annoyed because I swore that there was one more episode left in this season, but then I realized there wasn't. I was looking forward to seeing what happened next and now... damn it! I have to wait! Bah! I really like this show. It's pace is not unlike The Wire, but in a totally different way. Characters fall in and out of your my favor, and in a skillful way, the end of this season saw Pete Campbell coming into a better light where, Betty Draper is now a completely horrible person. She makes Don's infidelities okay because I hate her so much.
Love Peggy Olson. I think there's a lot more to her than the writers have shown so far, which is on full display when a certain someone reveals his feelings to her.
Really look forward to the new season and the fall-out from the merger. I think that this show is smart and has balls. Setting this season years after the first one ended shows that they're not scared to do whatever the hell they want to tell a good story. Looking forward to seeing where this one goes...