2. The Acting
Talking about adding depth to the show, the acting is just phenomenal. Bryan Cranston who plays Walter White has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series three consecutive times, the only person to have ever done the same is the legendary Bill Cosby. Vince Gilligan started the show with the idea of bringing a man on a journey from bad to good and has given almost all the credit for the depth of the characters slow transformation to the wonderful work of Bryan Cranston. Cranston started working in television on the show Malcolm in the Middle as the disengaged but loving father of the eponymous Malcolm. Breaking Bad was a huge risk on his part that has really paid off with Cranston gaining critical acclaim and is now becoming a go-to character actor in cinema with roles in Argo, John Carter, The Lincoln Lawyer, Drive and the Total Recall remake. Then theres Aaron Paul who plays Walters partner in crime Jesse Pinkman, his fantastic workparticularly in the third seasonmeant that both he and Cranston won acting Emmy awards in 2010, something that has not happened since The Sopranos. The craziest thing about this is the fact that the character of Jesse Pinkman, whose relationship with Walter so defines the series, was originally set to die in the first season but when series creator saw the on-screen chemistry between Paul and Cranston he realized there was something special going on and decided to keep him on the showI cant even begin to imagine what the show would be like without him.
Its not just the main characters, however; the series is littered with great acting talent. From the supporting cast of Walters in-laws to the main antagonist of Season Four Gus played by the magnificently dark and creepy Giancarlo Esposito whose performance was so fantastic that this writer thinks he will win an Emmy in 2012 for the award even though the show will have been off the air for a year. Breaking Bad was not eligible for the 2011 Emmy awards because it aired outside of 2010-2011 eligibility period. This is the strength of this show that even a year on people will remember such an amazing and deep performance (let alone Cranston who surely will win again for lead actor).