For years I have heard about how great Mad Men is, about how it makes you wish for the 1960's, about how Don Draper wakes up in the morning and pisses cool. So after Netflix made the entire series available for instant streaming I started to make my way through the 60's period drama. Normally, I fly through TV shows but I struggled to make it through Mad Men for a few reasons. The setting is definitely cool and the attention to detail is top-notch but I found myself not caring about any of the characters. Most of them are adulterous assholes and those who aren't still find ways to become as unlikable as possible (I'm looking at you, Betty). Meanwhile, the plot arcs or lack there of failed to grab my attention until Season 4.
Mad Men is definitely above-average but I expected more from a show that's won the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy for each of its seasons. However, my first-world problems didn't last long because very soon after finishing up Mad Men, I started to make my way through another AMC series, Breaking Bad, a show that takes the intriguing premise of a high school chemistry teacher turned meth cooker into one of the best shows I've ever seen.
Breaking Bad is intense, unrelenting, and even made me want to major in chemistry but its characters are the highlight. Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) is an antihero done right. He's an ass with, at best, questionable morals. Just when you think he's going to help someone out of the kindness of his heart you realize he's acting in his own self-interest. However, you still find yourself rooting for Walt because you understand his motives.
As great as Walter White is, he's only the tip of the iceberg. Jesse (played by Aaron Paul), Walt's oft in-trouble sidekick, Mike, a badass private investigator, and The Cousins, silent assassins for a Mexican drug cartel, are just a small part of the memorable supporting cast.
What's so impressive about Breaking Bad is that it keeps getting better. Just when you think the writers can't possibly up the ante anymore, they blow your mind. From what I've read the recently finished season 4 continues the trend, I can't wait to watch it.
Check out a list of everything I have posted about in my Best of Netflix Instant Archive.
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