Breaking Bad - Series 1

So I've heard a lot about this series and when friends say it's really good, you want to see it. And I'm glad I did.

This series focuses on Walter White, a chemist teacher who, after being diagnosed with cancer and given only a few years to live, decides to start cooking and selling crystal meth in order to create a financially secure future for his pregnant wife and cerebral palsic son.

When I had heard about that character change I was a bit unsure about its validity, but once I saw the first episode I found that I understood Walter's decision. Also I felt the setup worked well to make me sympathise with him and it was interesting to see how the events that take place altered him and how he goes from being seen as a joke to someone whose enjoys the thrill of doing something illegal. I thought Bryan Cranston was able to communicate this effectively and gave a fantastic performance throughout.

Overall, I like how humour is used and placed within the episodes. Moreover, I like how the domesticity shown through his wife Skyler, son Walter Jr, brother in law Hank and sister in law Marie helped to break up and make the episodes more lighter when compared with the darker, gorier elements, such as the dissolved remains of a body falling through the ceiling onto the floor in episode 2, that are used. The connecting of various storylines and how they develop through the series are very interesting and felt that the show was looking at a very human perspective on what happens.

Cranston and Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman work well together  and the two conflicting characters create a likable duo. I found that there was something that felt different about this show and I think its original context allows it to set itself out from other shows.