Posts tagged breaking bad
Malcolm Breaking Bad
Bugger. me. braindead.
I had no idea that the brilliant Bryan Cranston, who plays the perennially stern chemistry teacher / cancer sufferer / meth peddler on Breaking Bad also played the goofy dad on Malcolm in the Middle. What the what?! Talk about a massive shift in gears. I’ve watched both shows religiously and it’s made me appreciate this guy’s work even more.
my (CH)emi(Ca)l roman(Ce)
Currently watching.
Apparently the critics hold this show in higher esteem than my favourite drama, House, so I thought I might suss out the competition.
Once upon a time I loved Chemistry but disastrous lab experiences became the dealbreaker. Gosh, this is going to sound so nerdy but the opening titles alone (Br for bromine and Ba for barium - cute, right?!) pretty much tapped into whatever’s left of my inner chem nurrd.
Breaking Bad is anything BUT cute, though. Quality production. Bryan Cranston is good. But it’s tough rough viewing, no? I know I’m only up to, what, episode 4 but does it ever let up? Is there any sort of happiness or respite for any of the characters on this show?
One thing that does strike a chord with me is this exploration of the things we can and cannot control and our acceptance of this. You can’t control fate but you can certainly undermine it. Walt’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer. This becomes the catalyst for his “breaking bad”. His love and sense of responsibility for his family is distilled and he works to secure their financial future by illicit means. So high is the quality of his “product” that he risks the life of his sidekick, Jesse, as well as further fueling a trade that tarnishes the lives of countless others. By influencing others’ fate he’s outplayed his own.
Then there’s this idea of the chemistry of emotions and the potential to concoct desired outcomes. Piped peace. Crystal courage. Jesse is only able to keep his promise when he’s high. It says a lot about the darkness of the show that the closest we’ve seen Jesse happy, at least 3 eps in, is when he’s sitting on the toilet having another hit. The death and gore come not after a blow to the head or a bullet to the chest but in the hands of phosphine gas and hydrofluoric acid.
Ya, it’s definitely the chemistry that’s got me hooked.
