Well, this is the end. After a semester of late-night Netflix benders and ill-advised television marathons, my time as MOVE Magazine’s resident couch potato has sadly run out. I can no longer justify watching TV as a journalistic endeavor, nor can I visit Hulu eight times a day without feeling lazy. Sure, my GPA and general health may improve, but I’m still torn up – I feel like there’s so much I didn’t get to say.
I never got to explain why Louis C.K. is the smartest stand-up comic alive today, and I didn’t get to profess how watching ABC’s “Splash” is like repeatedly hitting your head against a desk. But in this last print column, as I tearfully leave my post, I just want to share one final piece of advice. I don’t plan on sharing any profound revelations about the future of television, or even how Lena Dunham may be a television comedy robot.
I just have one message: Watch “Breaking Bad” on Aug. 11.
That’s the only thing I have to say. AMC’s twisted, morally depraved primetime drama is without a doubt the best thing on TV. I don’t care how long it may take some to catch up before August, or how depressing that cancer/meth combo can be – “Breaking Bad” is a program that demands to seen. It’s revolutionized the TV drama narrative, and given us a poignant story of a man losing his humanity with each spellbinding season.
I’ve been thinking back to the first few episodes a lot recently. There’s a moment where high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) tells his students that his subject is the study of change. Walter, with his pleated slacks and domesticated-puppy-tolerance, passionately describes the erratic nature of chemistry. It’s growth, then decay, then transformation, he says. He adds that it’s pretty much like all of life.
That scene has come to mean much more as the show’s progressed. Now, four and a half seasons later, Walter is nothing like that spineless teacher. He’s grown, transformed and, for the most part, decayed like a dying plant. With his cancer diagnosis and decision to cook crystal meth under the name “Heisenberg,” he’s made a series of bad decisions that will forever define his life. Walter’s lost his humanity, and he’s bringing his friends and family down with him.
His partner Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) has seen too many terrible things to return to anything that resembles a normal life. His wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) is far too familiar with the dangers of the drug world to rest easy at night. His DEA agent brother-in-law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) has driven himself crazy looking for the elusive “Heisenberg.” Walter’s on a spiraling downward descent, and he’s dragging his loved ones down with him. “Breaking Bad” is ultimately a powerful, breathtaking, thought-provoking show of consequences.
I know it’s become a bit of a cliché for a college-aged student to rave over Vince Gilligan’s masterpiece. “Family Guy” commented on the general sentiment that dudes love “Breaking Bad,” and my friends make fun of me when I get all affectionate about the show. But the program is more than a frat guy’s go-to recommendation. It’s more than the show with “the one who knocks.” It’s more than the show with the dude who says “you’re Goddamn right” and the other dude who says “bitch.”
“Breaking Bad” is a show about change. It’s a show that says a sane man can stoop to insane means, given the right circumstances. It’s a show that entertains, even as it discusses deep themes of family, power and trust. The program, which has been nearly perfect so far, is setting itself up for one hell of a finish – I advise you watch.
Yes, there’s a lot I didn’t get around to in the past few months. There’s shows I never discussed and barriers I didn’t cross. But in this final printed piece, in this desperate attempt to sway the unswayed, I just ask that you find a way to tune in on Aug. 11. Get over your emotional struggles with the show, or invest in Netflix to catch up. You owe it to yourself.
And that’s all I have left to say.
