Breaking Bad Breaks all Boundaries

I have been catching up on the television show Breaking Bad on Netflix.  I did not start watching the show when it first aired so I have always been behind, and it does not come out on DVD until a newer season is out on AMC.  Breaking Bad started in 2008 and stars Bryan Cranston as Walter White.  The original premise to the show followed Walter who was diagnosed with cancer, and in order to pay his bills he starts making and selling crystal meth.  Walter is a middle aged chemistry teacher who does not know the ways of the drug world so he forms a relationship with Aaron Paul's character Jesse Pinkman.  The two men form of the most unlikely duos but their relationship is one of a father/son relationship.

Cranston is brilliant as the suffering yet manipulative Walter White.  This is one of the best anti-heroes in television history.  You want to root for his character to live, and keep fighting, but he is making his money in such a terrible way.  Throughout the first couple of seasons Walter's wife played by Anna Gunn (Skylar White) is mislead by Walter on how he gets the money to pay for his treatment.  Skylar and Walter's relationship becomes complicated as the seasons pass and his secret becomes more and more obvious.  The other complication with Walter's new business is that her sister is married to a DEA agent.  Dean Norris plays Hank Schraeder, Walter's brother in-law a character who has evolved over the years.

The other focus of the show is the drug world and the world of Jesse Pinkman.  Jesse is a burn out who takes/uses every drug imaginable, but gets connected with his former chemistry teacher and they start a business creating the best crystal meth and muscling out the big drug dealers.  This character is a loser, but he has grown into something more complex through the portrayal of Aaron Paul.

I have rarely seen a show improve as the years go by, but Breaking Bad breaks transcends typical television show norms.  The third season of this show is the best season that the show has ever had (I have yet to see the latest fourth season).  I have seen shows have strong seasons throughout their history, but this show only gets better and better.  With strong acting, writing, and directing I am blown away by every episode of this show, and the emotional levels the viewer can have.  This is another AMC show that proves this network is on fire with creativity, and blows HBO out of the water these days.