Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

As we celebrated the 17th anniversary of the start of one of the greatest TV series on January 20, here are my thoughts on it! Am I exaggerating here? Nah, It's the No. 01 ranked TV show in IMDB with a rating of 9.5/10 out of 2.3 Mn votes. Cast performances, direction, cinematography, writing, story, and character development, you mention what you are looking for in a TV show, Breaking Bad has everything. The suspense and thriller developed in each episode and had the perfect ending, solidifying the GOATed status.

It's a crime drama, created by Vince Gilligan and telecasted from 2008 to 2013 for five seasons. With the great success of the series, the Breaking Bad franchise released another series named Better Call Saul(2015-2022, and a movie El Camino, which are also perfect.

The show is about the transformation of Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher into a major drug dealer, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We can see his lifestyle, relationship with his family, and with his partner Jesse Pinkman, and many other characters. The brilliance of the show is, that it's not only about the main character but everyone chipped in like crazy. As per the record, overall it has won 169 awards & 269 nominations.

General Details

Created by - Vince Gilligan
Executive producers - Vince Gilligan, Mark Johnson, Michelle MacLaren
Release - January 20, 2008 - September 29, 2013
No. of seasons - 5 (62 episodes)
Main Cast -Bryan Cranston as Walter White/ Heisenberg, Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman (Walter's partner), Anna Gunn as Skyler White(Walter's wife), Dean Norris as Hank Schrader (DEA Agent), RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr., Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo Fring, Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman, Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad#

As I said earlier, only one episode of the series has an IMDB rating lower than 8.0, and, S5.E14 Ozymandias is the only episode in any TV series to receive a perfect review of 10.0. It created the road for a perfect ending for the show.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903747/ratings/?ref_=tt_ov_rat

Walter White appears as a brilliant high-school chemistry teacher. But after diagnosing with stage-three lung cancer, he was worried about the financial situation of his family, and his medical bills, so he stepped into the drug world. In partnering with his former student, Jesse Pinkman they created high-quality methamphetamine, which became the standard in the area.

First, we see their struggle in the cooking, distribution, and constant disputes with the low-level dealers. Meantime Walter has to hide the fact from his family, and his brother-in-law, a DEA agent Hank as well. And we regularly see the mental instability and quick temper from Jesse. Eventhough the showrunner killed him off early, with the brilliant portrayal by Aaron Paul, they decided to continue the character. Only Walter and Jessee appeared in every episode.

The show transformed to the next level, with the arrival of the criminal lawyer Soul Goodman, the cartel, drug lord Gustavo Fring, and Mike Ehrmantraut. Every character influences in shaping the transformation of Walter into a ruthless drug kingpin. First, he wanted to make enough money for his family but finished creating his drug empire, with a net worth of 80 million dollars.

“Jesse, you asked me if I was in the meth business or the money business. Neither. I’m in the empire business.”

Anyway, I am not going to spoil the show from there. Because you have to watch, it may be a bit boring at the start. But believe me, it won't last long, and will be worth every second. And watching its prequel Better Call Soul, will provide a much better understanding as well.

As I mentioned earlier, the show was well-praised. Having 16 Primetime Emmy Awards and 58 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series in 2013 and 2014 proves its brilliance.

Especially the portrayal by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul was simply amazing. Bryan won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series four times (2008, 2009, 2010, and 2014) and a Golden Globe in 2014. Paul won three times as the Supporting Actor in 2010, 2012, and 2014. And many other awards in various popular selections, You can see the full list here,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Breaking_Bad

So, this is just an invitation to watch this masterpiece.

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So, that's it for today!! Until the next time! Enjoy!

Thank you.
Best Regards!