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… 

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.

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.

1713 - Californication: season five

When discussing television series I often resort to food metaphors.  Something like Breaking Bad, The Wire, or Louie are, for me, like main course meals.  They absolutely fill you up with their goodness - they nourish you.  Then there are shows like Entourage, which no offense, but is more like a dessert.  It's not essential, and it's nothing you want every day (or need really) - however when you get it it's usually pretty good, but you might regret wasting your calories on it soon after.
Californication is somewhere in between for me.  It's always been a slightly uneven show, somewhere being poignant and just plain silly.  I think this season they were finally able to find the balance and work a more consistent tone. 
My one complaint about this season was how they took a lot of really strong and layered supporting characters from the top of the season and really reduced them to stereotypes by the end.  Even poor Becca felt like her character was downgraded by the end of this season.  I don't want to say that this was the best season of the show, but it's the season where I feel like they finally really found the show's voice.
This season ended on a pretty solid cliffhanger and I can only hope that they do it justice by playing it out when the show returns next year.  I think Hank Moody is easily one of the most charismatic and fun characters on television and I for one am gain to follow him a little while longer.  If you haven't started yet this season isn't actually a bad one to start at, since the previous ones all kind of lead up to the fourth season and Hank dealing with his misdeeds.  This is almost a reset.  Although I recommend going back and starting from scratch - fair warning though - it's a bit of a bumpy ride here and there.

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. 

1626 - Weeds: season seven

Weeds has never been shy about showing Mary-Louise Parker off as a sexual object - especially in it's press material as seen above.  And who are we kidding?  She's pretty damn sexy in this show - and not only that but other characters consistently call her on her bullshit, which keeps you from hating the hell out of the character.
One thing Weeds does that no other show does is re-invent itself.  It's first three seasons took place in the 'burbs, but then it boldly shifted, and continued and continued to shift, until last season ended with Nancy being taken off to jail.  And now, it's three years later, and she's out on parole.  If you don't want to know any more I suggest you stop reading here.  There will be SPOILERS AHEAD.

So.  It's a fairly common trend these days for shows that have been on for awhile to do a time jump.  Mad Men did it, as did Desperate Housewives and most recently, True Blood.  It's a nice way to reset the cast and give them new things to do.  I liked the idea of shifting the series to New York and giving as a completely different playground to play in.  I loved bringing Heyla James back into the fold, and I liked seeing the other characters in different places, and I ALWAYS love Justin Kirk - who is as adorable and funny as Parker is sexy and charismatic. 
Weeds is one of those shows that is good at putting their characters into a big pickle and then easily getting them out.  For a more dramatic version of this, see Breaking Bad.  And while the entire season was like this, it's finale took it to a whole other level - one that I might just not buy.  Having Shane commit murder - great season hanger.  Having Nancy dragged off to prison - phenomenal.  Having Nancy with a sniper rifle on her, and ending with an unknown BANG... well... that's just a bit shitty.  Either the show gets cancelled, and the series ends with Nancy finally getting her comeuppance, or the show continues and they need to bullshit there way around this - either way I don't think it's ideal.
Will I tune in next season?  Of course I will.  Nancy is a great character in a series rich with them, and when the writing isn't so-so, it's pretty damn great.  That and I really want to see Nancy and Andy hook up (even if I do think that he can do sooooo much better)...

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!