10 years ago, the world was introduced to Walter White and watched his journey from meek, cancer-ridden chemistry teacher to drug lord Heisenberg. Vince Gilligan’s “Breaking Bad” ran for five seasons and carved a legacy in television while continuing its narrative with a prequel, “Better Call Saul.”
You’ve probably heard of it. The critically acclaimed show is found on many best of lists and has earned many industry accolades.
The show’s first season released on January 20, 2008 to critical acclaim. Every following season earned higher ratings on Metacritic, with the first receiving a 73 out of 100, and the fifth and final season earning a 99.
It starred Bryan Cranston as Walter White. While he had roles in several other shows, he was mostly known as the loveable father Hal from “Malcolm in the Middle.”
This role was a complete departure from that, as White was a disgruntled, prideful middle-aged dad, who is incredibly intelligent and relegated to working two jobs as a high school teacher and a car wash attendant to make ends meet.
It’s soon revealed that White is diagnosed with lung cancer, and his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) and son Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte) are devastated by it.
However, after going on a stakeout with his DEA brother in law Hank, (Dean Norris) Walt decides to cook meth with a former student Jesse Pinkman, (Aaron Paul) to earn money and support his cancer treatment and his family.
Later on in the show’s run, we’ll meet new characters such as: Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), a delightfully grumpy jack of all trades and cleaner for hire, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), a colorful, charismatic criminal lawyer that provides legal counsel to Walt and Jesse, while spouting quips galore and Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), a cool as a cucumber drug lord who is the biggest distributor in the West and becomes a rival toward Walt.
That is the bare bones description, as I don’t want to spoil any more of the story, which goes through so many different twists and turns, several new characters are introduced in later seasons that steal the show and the writing and cinematography are just on another level compared to other shows.
As the show went on its level of quality was compared to lauded programs like “The Sopranos” and “The Wire,” two early 2000s HBO shows that also focused on morally grey, realistic characters and are considered to be the greatest TV shows of all time.
Even now, several fans and critics hail the show as one of, if not the greatest of all time and its legacy is kept intact by the great work Gilligan, Peter Gould and Co. are doing with the prequel spin-off series “Better Call Saul.”
The performances have been lauded, with several cast members being nominated and winning Emmy Awards for their work (Cranston was nominated six times for Outstanding Lead Actor, winning four times. Paul won for Outstanding Supporting Actor three times and Gunn won Outstanding Supporting Actress twice). The show earned 262 nominations in total and won 110 awards over its five-year run.
One aspect the show was unique in was its ratings. For the majority of its run, it was not seen as a major ratings success. The first season earned an average of 1.23 million viewers, and each subsequent season had small increases, with the fourth averaging 1.90.
The show was a constant critical darling, and word of mouth began to spread, especially around the fourth season. This was around the time Netflix became popular. People ended up binge-watching the whole series and by the time the final season came around, it turned in a whopping average of 4.32 million viewers, more than double the number the previous season earned. This was one of the first shows that got a big boost from streaming services.
The ratings success of the final season and the incredible quality of it cemented the show as one of the all-time greats. Its success led to a Saul Goodman focused show that released in 2015.
Following the show’s end, the main actors became huge names, with Cranston starring in the “Godzilla” reboot and much bigger projects than his pre-”Breaking Bad” work.
Aaron Paul took a stab at movies as well but wasn’t very successful. His career has gotten back on track with his work on the Hulu show “The Path,” and his voiceover work, most notably as Todd in “Bojack Horseman.”
For me, this show has a place in my heart as one of the first serious dramas I got in to. At the time I really only watched comedies, but some of my friends had seen the show and recommended it to me.
I started the first season and was intrigued. It was a little slow for my taste, but I liked the characters and action. I proceeded to buy the first four seasons and watched them all in a six-month span.
By the time I was done with the first four seasons and the first eight of season five, I was able to catch the final eight episodes on TV live as they aired. It changed my perception of what TV shows were capable of.
The characters had so much depth, and no one (besides Walt Jr. and baby Holly) was innocent in how the show transpired. All of the characters met demises that fit them (except for Mike perhaps) and were of their own making.
The characters’ actions are never made out of type, and the writing is tight, always avoiding silly cliffhangers and action for the sake of action.
The cinematography is on another level as well. Different settings have different lighting (the scenes in Mexico have an orange-yellowish tint to them). The camera angles are very unorthodox at times and overall it feels like I’m actually watching a film.
“Ozymandias” may be the greatest hour of TV I’ve ever seen. So many moving parts and outcomes built up for the past five seasons came to a head in one 60 minute gut-punch.
The show still holds up 10 years later. I’ve rewatched the show a couple times, always finding a new detail or line of dialogue foreshadowing something in the future. While upon rewatches there are some moments that are a bit over the top that you have to suspend your disbelief for, the show earned enough goodwill for me to allow myself to do so.
“Better Call Saul” is (in my opinion) just as good as “Breaking Bad” and is only making the narrative tighter and the universe deeper, especially by fleshing out the backstories of Hector Salamanca, Gus, Saul and Mike.
If you haven’t seen “Breaking Bad” yet, I’m sure you’ve already been told many times to watch it. It probably annoys you a bit. However, I can say that the hype is worth it and if you have any interest in well-written dramas you will find something worthwhile here.
Henry Wolski
Executive Editor