One of the best shows on television right now is back, and I couldn't be more excited.
In the past few years, the AMC channel transformed itself from being a channel for movie buffs to reminisce on classics from long ago. Now, it is also home to one of the best shows on television, "Breaking Bad."
The drama features Bryan Cranston, likely best known to my generation as the father on "Malcolm in the Middle," as Walter White a father and science teach diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Desperate for a way to financially support his family, he begins cooking and selling methamphetamine with a former student of his, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul, also seen on "Big Love"). Walt and Jesse try to make their name in the Albuquerque, N.M. drug trade, and they both deal with personal struggles. Jesse fights his drug addiction, while Walt attempts to keep this 'family business' hidden from his wife, two children and his DEA agent brother-in-law.
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read the blue text if you do not want to find out what happens on the season three premiere tonight or have not seen the season two finale.
Tonight, the fantastic show returns for its third season, and it is sure to be fascinating and intense. Walt's family will discover his secret life, and Jesse will be forced to deal with the death of his girlfriend, Jane, at the end of season two. Jane's air-traffic controller father's grief over his daughter's death caused a mid-air plane crash, and the show will reportedly explore the fallout of the crash.
AMC is more widely known for its Best Drama Emmy-winning show "Mad Men" than it is for "Breaking Bad," which is a shame, because I feel it is far superior to "Mad Men" (that's not to say "Mad Men" is bad, I just could never bring myself to have prolonged interest in it). Cranston has won consecutive Best Actor Emmys, and they are incredibly well-deserved. His performance is incredibly captivating, and you feel so invested in his life and his family, that your heart breaks for him. Paul was nominated for an Emmy last year, and I feel that he should have won. He turns a character that, on paper, would be deplorable, into a multifaceted, troubled character who will make you laugh at his glib, semi-incompetent nature one minute, and feel sadness and pity the next. Additionally, Bob Odenkirk returns as the morally questionable strip-mall lawyer Saul Goodman (slogan: Better Call Saul!), a character offering lots of comic relief.
Two of my favorite current television characters return, and for those who have hesitated to try this show out, please reconsider. Seasons one and two are available on DVD now. If you need a bit of a refresher before tonight's episode, AMCTV.com has posted this video so you can catch up.
Breaking Bad returns tonight at 10 p.m. on AMC. IMDb has a list of the upcoming encores of the show.
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