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Time on my hands / Breaking Bad
Feb. 19th, 2008 04:42 pmJackie Powers, the leader of my writing group (also the chief member) is sick, so tonight's meeting was called off. Thus, I have time on my hands.
Last night, I watched three DVR'ed episodes of the new series Breaking Bad. The setup is simple: middle-aged high school chemistry teacher, facing advanced lung cancer and cash flow issues, decides to cook crystal meth with an ex-student. Problems ensue.
Now, I went into this series with mixed feelings. Bashing middle-class American suburbia (which this series does) is overdone, especially by the artistic "smart set." Considering 3/4 of the world's population, from the slums of India to the depths of Africa, would give a significant chuck of their sexual organs to live like a suburban American, it can't be all that bad.
Bashing suburbia is TV's version of the typical literary novel. You know, the one written by a middle-aged professor of English Lit at a small college. It stars a middle-aged professor at a small college who discovers that diddling a cute coed really makes his life more complicated. So, I was set up for not liking Breaking Bad.
Having said that, I've found Breaking Bad rather entertaining. Frankly, I'm finding it hard to put my finger on why. Unlike, say The Sopranos, where the point is taking "glamorous" mobsters and de-glaming them, nobody in this series is supposed to be glamorous. In fact, the ex-student (in particular) is a stupid suburban kid gone bad right out of Central Casting.
The high school teacher, Walter White, is quite intelligent, but finds himself doing things (like murder) that he didn't sign up for. Maybe that's why I find this interesting - it's a series about ordinary people "Breaking Bad" and doing extraordinarily (bad) things. If you haven't been keeping up, the first two episodes are available to watch free online.
Last night, I watched three DVR'ed episodes of the new series Breaking Bad. The setup is simple: middle-aged high school chemistry teacher, facing advanced lung cancer and cash flow issues, decides to cook crystal meth with an ex-student. Problems ensue.
Now, I went into this series with mixed feelings. Bashing middle-class American suburbia (which this series does) is overdone, especially by the artistic "smart set." Considering 3/4 of the world's population, from the slums of India to the depths of Africa, would give a significant chuck of their sexual organs to live like a suburban American, it can't be all that bad.
Bashing suburbia is TV's version of the typical literary novel. You know, the one written by a middle-aged professor of English Lit at a small college. It stars a middle-aged professor at a small college who discovers that diddling a cute coed really makes his life more complicated. So, I was set up for not liking Breaking Bad.
Having said that, I've found Breaking Bad rather entertaining. Frankly, I'm finding it hard to put my finger on why. Unlike, say The Sopranos, where the point is taking "glamorous" mobsters and de-glaming them, nobody in this series is supposed to be glamorous. In fact, the ex-student (in particular) is a stupid suburban kid gone bad right out of Central Casting.
The high school teacher, Walter White, is quite intelligent, but finds himself doing things (like murder) that he didn't sign up for. Maybe that's why I find this interesting - it's a series about ordinary people "Breaking Bad" and doing extraordinarily (bad) things. If you haven't been keeping up, the first two episodes are available to watch free online.
