Breaking Bad: The Final Season

Breaking Bad: The Final Season [season five part 2], 2013. A retired drug lord tries to avoid capture.

Created by Vince Gilligan. Directed by Michelle MacLaren (2 episodes), Bryan Cranston (1), Michael Slovis (1), Sam Catlin (1), Rian Johnson (1), Peter Gould (1) & Gilligan (1). Written by Peter Gould (2 episodes), Thomas Schnauz (1), Gennifer Hutchison (1), Sam Catlin (1), George Mastras (1), Moira Walley-Beckett (1) & Gilligan (1). Starring Bryan Cranston.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 3/4 (Good). Great through episode six.
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 4/4 (Great)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). The finale is a little disappointing. The story arc of this season wraps up in episode six, and the final two episodes feel like an epilogue. They're still good episodes, but compared to the rest of the season (which is one of the best of the series), it's anticlimactic.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.3/4 (Very good)

Breaking Bad: Season Five

Breaking Bad: Season Five [part 1? I'm not clear on how they're labeling this], 2012. A ruthless meth cook builds his empire.

Created by Vince Gilligan. Directed by Michelle MacLaren (2 episodes), Michael Slovis (1), Adam Bernstein (1), Rian Johnson (1), George Mastras (1), Colin Bucksey (1) & Thomas Schnauz (1). Written by Gilligan (2 episodes), Peter Gould (1), Sam Catlin (1), Mastras (1), Gennifer Hutchison (1), Schnauz (1) & Moira Walley-Beckett (1). Starring Bryan Cranston.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 3/4 (Good)
Acting: 4/4 (Great)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). It's not really as good as previous seasons (not that that's a particularly strong criticism). Skyler has turned into a helpless victim, and most of the other main characters are more or less waiting in the background for the story to get to a point where they're needed again. And now that Walt has real power and resources, a lot of what's happening is stuff that's been done already in movies. But still, I can't wait to see what happens next.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.3/4 (Very good)

Breaking Bad: Season Four

Breaking Bad: Season Four, 2011. Everyone's favorite meth-cooking science teacher tries to kill his boss.

Created by Vince Gilligan. Directed by Michelle MacLaren (3 episodes), Gilligan (2), Adam Bernstein (1), David Slade (1), Colin Bucksey (1), Michael Slovis (1), Peter Gould (1), Johan Renck (1), Terry McDonough (1) & Scott Winant (1). Written by George Mastras (3 episodes), Sam Catlin (3), Moira Walley-Beckett (3), Thomas Schnauz (3), Gilligan (2), Gennifer Hutchison (2) & Peter Gould (2). Starring Bryan Cranston.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 4/4 (Great)
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 4/4 (Great)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). It's basically one giant final act to season three's set-up, which is a change from previous seasons. This one's more focused on plot - a drawn-out thriller rather than a (primarily) character-driven drama. I'd say the change is an improvement, although it wouldn't have been half as good as it is if it didn't follow three seasons of ground-breaking, awesome character development.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.5/4 (Great)

Breaking Bad: Season Three

Breaking Bad: Season Three, 2010. Everyone's favorite meth-cooking science teacher goes to work for a powerful boss.

Created by Vince Gilligan. Directed by Michelle MacLaren (3 episodes), Adam Bernstein (2), Bryan Cranston (1), Scott Winant (1), Johan Renck (1), John Shiban (1), Colin Bucksey (1), Michael Slovis (1), Rian Johnson (1) & Gilligan (1). Written by Peter Gould (3 episodes), Sam Catlin (3), Gilligan (2), George Mastras (2), Moira Walley-Beckett (2), John Shiban (2), Thomas Schnauz (2) & Gennifer Hutchison (1). Starring Bryan Cranston.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 4/4 (Great)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). When I think about it, it's a little hard to judge this season, thanks to the frustrating cliff hanger ending. I feel like I just watched the first two acts of a movie. But at least I won't have to wait a year for season four like the poor bastards who watched the show when it aired did.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.4/4 (Very good)

Breaking Bad: Season Two

Breaking Bad: Season Two, 2009. The meth-cooking odd couple tries to get their business running.

Created by Vince Gilligan. Directed by Terry McDonough (2 episodes), Adam Bernstein (2), Bryan Cranston (1), Charles Haid (1), John Dahl (1), Johan Renck (1), Peter Medak (1), Felix Alcala (1), Michelle MacLaren (1), Phil Abraham (1) & Colin Bucksey (1). Written by J. Roberts (2 episodes), George Mastras (2), Peter Gould (2), Sam Catlin (2), Moira Walley-Beckett (2), Gilligan (2) & John Shiban (2). Starring Bryan Cranston.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 3/4 (Good)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 3/4 (Good)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 4/4 (Great)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). Intense and fun. The overarching plot doesn't have much direction; the story is basically a series of mechanisms to get the characters to develop the way they want. Not that there's anything wrong with that. That's just the kind of show they're making, and to say they excel at it is a huge understatement. Still, there are a lot of plot strands that seem to be building to something but are just left behind, and it's a much more episodic show than season one was.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.4/4 (Very good)

Breaking Bad: Season One

From my Best TV Shows We've Never Seen marathon - part 2 of 5.



Breaking Bad: Season One, 2008. A terminally ill science teacher takes up cooking meth.

Created by Vince Gilligan. Directed by Adam Bernstein (2 episodes), Gilligan (1), Jim McKay (1), Tricia Brock (1), Bronwen Hughes (1) & Tim Hunter (1). Written by Gilligan (4 episodes), Patty Lin (1), George Mastras (1) & Peter Gould (1). Starring Bryan Cranston.

Concept: 3/4 (Good)
Story: 3/4 (Good)
Characters: 4/4 (Great)
Dialog: 4/4 (Great)
Pacing: 3/4 (Good)
Cinematography: 2/4 (Indifferent)
Special effects/design: 4/4 (Great)
Acting: 3/4 (Good)
Music: 3/4 (Good)
Subjective Rating: 8/10 (Great, 4/4). Well that was fun. People might be on to something with this whole Watching TV thing that's so popular lately.
Objective Rating (Average): 3.3/4 (Very good)