1. The Writing: It Is Surprising, Dramatic and Hilarious
The thing that keeps this show burning so brightly is the team behind the writing. Lead by the humble and talented Vince Gilligan who claims that he never reads any reviews of his writing. Gilligan is a veteran of television having spent seven years helping craft one of the most important TV shows of all time, the X-Fileshaving learnt from the great show runner Chris Carter, who executively produced and was show runner on four TV shows in the 90s (The X-Files, Harsh Realm, Millenium and The Lone Gunmen). Listening to him speak he talks about letting his room of six writers speak their minds and go wherever they want without fear of going too far or being too outrageous. The show has some of the wittiest moments and greatest dialogue there is on TV, and some of the oddest moments (Ill just mention the turtle) that keep the audience in complete suspense at all times. It never lets up, it never lets you goand the minute you think you know whats going on the writers pull the rug from under you with aplomb. Ultimately television is that: its twists and turns and surprises. But nothing before Breaking Bad has quite managed to nail such a spell bindingly gripping tale. And nothing, not film, not television, not poetry has ever made my jaw drop as far as it did at the end of the season finale of Season Four.
Gilligan himself claims that the single biggest factor in the success of Breaking Bad comes from the Writers Strikenow this is a time where writers were not allowed to write (and he was a key supporter of the strike) so you may be wondering how this helped. At this point they had wrapped on six episodes of the First Season where he spent most of his time in Phoenix, Arizona (where the series is shot on location), picking out hats and all the important things. Not expecting to get picked up for a second season the writers strike allowed him time to think about what he was going to do next. He says this was the best thing that could have happened because before the strike he was desperate, with two script orders due, he was ready to throw the kitchen sink in with gun fights and car chaseswhich would have left him nowhere to go. Instead the series was allowed to breathe, and that is what makes this show so special, the confidence of the writingthe ability to take a reprieve, to take a moment, to build something up slowly; because, let me tell, you when Breaking Bad hits you, its a sucker punch right in the gut. There you have it the worst objective review of Breaking Bad of all time. I cant help it, this show makes me gush. It makes everyone who watches it gush. Watch it and it will make you gush. The first three seasons of Breaking Bad are now
available on DVD in the UK. The fifth and final season of Breaking Bad will air on AMC in the USA, in two parts of 8 episodes. The first part of Season Five starts airing July 2012. I. Cant. Wait.