So, sure - Breaking Bad has already finished its second series and the lead actor Bryan Cranston (the dad from Malcolm in the Middle) has already won two Best Actor emmys for his role in the show but until last night I hadn't seen it so in Couch Media world, I guess this passes for breaking news.
It was just the pilot that I saw - possibly the hardest episode of a series to make because you have just under an hour (or half an hour) to set up your premise, introduce your characters and give viewers a reason to come back. Tick, tick and tick.
In a nutshell, Cranston plays high school chem teacher Walter White who is struggling to make a living and then discovers that he has inoperable lung cancer. Cheery start right. (Did I mention that he also has a mildly disabled son?) After learning just how much money is to be made in the production of crystal meth (ice), he decides to go into business, with the intention of setting up his family for the future. Despite the premise, it's not a depressing story - it's real (but not too real) and Cranston's White is a genuinely interesting and likeable character. (And it's always good to see kinda-nerds being a bit badass)
It's also won the Emmy for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series for the last two years - one was for the episode that I saw last night - guess it helps to have a good editor.
