Walter White: Boring Lame Chemistry Teacher to Bad Ass Meth Cook

Let's be real here; for those of you who have seen Breaking Bad, you know why it's such an amazing show. For those of you who haven't seen it, just stop reading this post and go on a binge watch right now.
Character development is such an essential item for all films and television shows. There's nothing better than to see characters grow and change. And to be honest, in the words of Yeezus himself, "Imma let you finish, but Walter White had the best character development of all time."



Breaking Bad first came out in 2008, but the show wasn't buzzing at that time. It only got hyped up and became the most watched show on American cable when it was approaching the season finale. People were starting to go crazy with every episode being a cliff hanger. As the show started to get more noticed and recognized, everyone just knew Walter White as the bad ass, bald chemistry teacher suffering from Stage III lung cancer who could also cook some high quality blue meth. At least, that's who I knew Mr. White to be when I started hearing about Breaking Bad. But Mr. White was never anything close to being Heisenberg at the start of it. Instead he was the socially awkward, boring chemistry teacher.

He had hair on his head too. Weird.

How did he become such a bad ass you're wondering? It's obviously because of Aaron Paul's character, Jesse Pinkman.

Pinkman, bitch!

Yeah, Pinkman. I mean, just look at this: Walter starts doing the famous 'grab crotch' motion to anyone that makes him angry, just like Pinkman. 

Okay...so maybe that's not entirely the reason, but if we really want to explore this development, it all goes back to the man who plays the genius: Bryan Cranston. The writers never really developed a back story as to who Walter White really is when developing the show. So, Cranston made his own past. He gained weight for the show and dressed in bland and boring colors like green and brown. He also took some attributes that his father had like being slightly slouched over to make it seem like the character had so much weight on his shoulders. He starts off like this, being the protagonist in the show. But later on, we start to see how he becomes the antagonist and we as the audience start to question his morality in choices as well.

Some have suggested that Walter White actually adopts some traits off of the people he's murdered, and maybe that's what has led to him being such a bad ass. And it's a pretty accurate theory. Gus was probably the most irritating character of all for Mr. White; he was always ahead of Mr. White's plan and just knew exactly what to do. Later on, Walter would adopt the same concept. We even seen a little bit of Mike's personality in Walter, especially in the season finale. Mike had a non-sense attitude, kind of serious humor, and Walter would eventually develop the same personality, which can be witnessed here:

He pulls off some smooth tricks that really do make him the bad ass that he is. For example, he pulls of a stunt when selling meth to one of his "bosses" early in the season:

And other pretty sneaky stunts like when he finally got rid of Gus:

Whether or not you think Mr. White is the bad ass bad guy at the end of it all, he did start out pretty lame. But to become this genius meth cook that happens to be two steps ahead of his enemies is still pretty awesome if you ask me. We even witness in the beginning of the season how he ends up being the one pursued all the time. But eventually towards the fourth season, he becomes the pursuer. He's no longer Walter White at the end of it, but instead he finally becomes Heisenberg. 

Always in style.

What Editing Can Do to Feeling

Many people have seen the popular she show the seriousness, like the emotion of the actors in the scenes, what the actors are doing within the shot, how the show is composed, what music is chosen, and so many more. You can really give a show a certain feeling by the way you edit it. A perfect example of this is Breaking Bad The Sitcom. Many people have seen the popular show Breaking Bad. The show is a very serious crime drama. Youtuber Sacha Proctor created many videos from many different episodes of Breaking Bad. It is funny, but at the same time really hard to watch. Here is an example of Breaking Bad The Sitcom and an original clips from Breaking Bad.

Breaking Bad The Sitcom

Clips from the original Breaking Bad

So as you can see there is a huge difference in the feeling, even though many of the same scenes were used. The way it's edited can really set the mood. I definitely recommend watching some more of Sacha Proctor's videos.

Breaking Bad, Breaking Fans, and Breaking Binge Watching

I'm well aware of the fact that I've written about Breaking Bad in nearly every one of my blog posts this semester, but let's ignore that for a second and focus on what really matters here; last Sunday's blisteringly painful (and antepenultimate) episode of the series. The buildup for this particular entry of the show had been approaching astronomical levels. Amid rumors of creator Vince Gilligan calling it his favorite episode ever and the extreme, cut-to-black cliffhanger ending of the previous episode, Twitter and Facebook users alike were collectively - excuse my language - losing their shit. The title of the episode alone is an homage to, appropriately enough, Percy Bysshe Shelley's Poem "Ozymandias," about a former "king of kings" that has since fallen from grace and disappeared forever in the sands. I'm no poetry major, but the similarities are enough for any fan of Breaking Bad to see.

I'll try and keep this summation/rant/love letter to Vince Gilligan as spoiler free as possible, but there are some events I'll just have to mention, so be warned. I've spent the past three days trying - and failing - to explain as eloquently as possible my opinion of the new developments on the show (If you want a truly great recap of the episode, check out Grantland's Andy Greenwald's take on things) but I think I'm finally ready to get my thoughts out there. At the very least, this may be a bit therapeutic for me: God knows I need something to dig me out of the funk I've been in.

To be blunt, "Ozymandias" made me feel things that I didn't know a TV show was capable of making me feel. My emotions ran the gamut of terrified to devastated to hopeful and then back to terrified. I was watching this show in a room full of 4-5 generally rowdy college guys, and each time the show cut to a commercial break there was dead silence. What started out five seasons ago as a fun (if very dark and gritty) "TV" show now felt extremely real. Too real. All Breaking Bad fans knew that everything was always pointing in this direction, but the sudden realization that it was all happening at the same damn time was too much to handle. Just thinking about it now has my adrenaline pumping.

From one of the first shots of a younger, oblivious Skyler talking on the phone to Walter, I knew things weren't going to end well (that knife rack anyone? Breaking Bad never foreshadows a weapon that it'll never use). And I was right. Any hope left for Hank - excuse me, ASAC Schrader - was gone within the first 15 minutes of the episode. And things just went downhill from there.

So much can be said about the decline of Walter White; how, no matter what, he failed to take responsibility for the hole he dug himself into or how the family that he sacrificed everything to protect no longer recognizes him as one of their own. How he rats on Jesse (poor Jesse, who ended up being the wisest, yet most tragic character on the show) and then almost kills his wife and son with a knife. "WE ARE A FAMILY," he screams, as his crippled son stands between him and his trembling wife, who is currently being held at knife point.

Let me repeat that. Walter is holding his wife and son at knife point. 

The acting was as top notch as ever (Bryan Cranston absolutely nailed the telephone call scene, filling his voice with loathing to throw the police off the scent of Skyler - thereby taking all the blame - while simultaneously breaking down in tears at the thought that he was about to lose his entire family forever. Seriously, I've never seen a better piece of acting.) but so much credit needs to go to Gilligan, writer Moira Walley-Beckett, and director Rian Johnshon. Kudos to Johnson for letting the characters tell the story - including the town of ABQ, which has become a character in and of itself - and for just

Heisenberg and Ozymandias

absolutely killing it cinematically.

And of course, Mr. Gilligan. I'm not sure whether to love him or loathe him right now. This episode of television was so devasting, so hard to endure, so - as Greenwald puts it -  "designed to counter our cultural turn toward binge-watching," that it almost seems inhumane to say that one enjoyed it. And yet it was perfect. It made an entire audience stop and think about what had just happened. And I don't mean the kind of thinking that you do while you wait for the new episode of Low Winter Sun to start; I mean the kind of thinking that immediately makes you turn off the TV and then proceeds to keep you up at night. We'd been through 60 episodes of rising action, building building building, until finally, we reach this climax. Because this was indeed the climax of our story; the next two episodes, whatever they have in store, will be the show's Shakespearean denouement. Our "hero" has fled, and now all that's left is the cleaning up of loose ends, the products of some sloppy half measures. And we know what Breaking Bad thinks about half measures.

I feel as if I haven't touched on anything, and yet I also feel that no more can be said. Yes, this was just an episode of TV, and yes, I know that you're sick of reading my endless tweets about Breaking Bad. But as a TVR major...hell, as a human being, I know that this show is the most important thing happening in the entertainment industry right now, and "Ozymandias" will likely go down as one of the best episodes of television ever. Heisenberg may have gone the way of the King of Kings, but Breaking Bad will live forever.

My Big Issue With Women in Television

In the past few months, I've been told by dozens of people that I am overly critical of female characters in television shows. Maybe this is true. But there's a reason that none of them live up to my expectations. I am a sucker for the antihero. There is nothing I find more fascinating than rooting for the bad guy, or watching a character blur the lines of good and evil. Unfortunately, female characters are crippled by the limitations of those writing them. I acknowledge that there are some television writers that have tried to break free from the woman stereotype, but all have failed again and again to create a successful antihero.

No antiheroine has ever clung to viewers the way Dexter Morgan or Walter White have. A major flaw with attempts to create this role is that writers are afraid of going to the extreme. Their hesitance bleeds into the character, preventing the birth of a strong, captivating woman that the audience wants to watch. Of course it's unsettling to think about a female serial killer or meth manufacturer, but it's those kind of extremities that a female character needs in order to prove herself to the viewers. What if Dexter was called Debra? A show about a female cop with deep urges to kill, who's brother is a blood spatter analyst and always on her tail without realizing it. Now that's a show I would watch. What if Breaking Bad's leading character was Skyler White? A show about a woman who's the breadwinner, which is not saying much, but diagnosed with cancer. The doctor's best guess is that she only has a few more months left, and the pilot ends with her finding out she's pregnant. Maybe she runs the show, forcing her high school chemistry teacher husband to cook meth to support her family when she's gone, and turns into a monster. I can't even imagine what those writers could do with a premise like that. But television has nothing remotely close to a female as dangerous and edgy as either of those examples.

There are a few female roles that somewhat satisfy my antiheroine needs as a viewer. Alicia Florrick, also known as The Good Wife, takes her life back after having to stand beside her political husband as he makes a public apology for a sex scandal. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her go from a suppressed stay at home mom to a very successful lawyer who has taken back control over her own life. Still, I wouldn't consider that antiheroic, as much as I would call her a strong, independent self-heroic woman. I have seen a hint of antiheroism in Nurse Jackie's leading lady. Jackie Peyton is an unfaithful, rule breaking drug addicted nurse that any woman could relate to. She constantly goes around the system to do what she believes should be done, no matter how immoral her means are to make it happen. Even with all of that, she lacks the edge that I'm looking for.

I have searched far and wide with no luck in finding a female character that can rank among Dexter Morgan and Walter White. At the end of the day, I've decided that there is only one way I'm ever going to find the antiheroine I am searching for. Time to write her myself.

3 Reasons Why 'Low Winter Sun' Will Never Replace 'Breaking Bad'

With only 8 episodes of their groundbreaking, genre-bending mega-hit Breaking Bad left in the series, AMC must have realized that they would soon need to fill a very big, genre-bending hole in their TV lineup. Enter Low Winter Sun: a dark, brooding crime drama centered around two Detroit cops who, in the opening of the pilot, kill another cop. Sub-plots and moody lighting abound, and the guy who played Gale on Breaking Bad even pops up every now and then. I'll be the first to admit that the show piqued my interest: AMC has a fairly good track record with its TV shows, and anything that might break me out of my post Breaking Bad depression seemed like a good deal to me. However, I'll also be the first to admit that Low Winter Sun totally lost my interest after the first episode. Here's three reasons why the show (despite its best efforts) will never be able to replace its predecessor.

1. It's too dark. Yes, I'm aware that Breaking Bad is a show about making crystal meth, where little kids are shot or poisoned (spoilers?) and where the main character is slowly imploding on himself. But something about Low Winter Sun is just...too dark. Breaking Bad has it's laughs, whether coming from Saul Goodman's antics or Jesse filling up his hazard suit with air and dancing around an empty meth lab. It's dark, but there's always some sort of silver lining. So far, I haven't seen anything like that in LWS. By taking itself too seriously, it almost guarantees that audiences won't take it seriously enough. Granted, Detroit is a pretty bleak backdrop, but a little light humor could really take things a long way.

2. It seems like just another cop drama. I may well be judging a book by it's cover, but I've seen the first few chapters of this one and it seems like the cover is pretty reflective of the book as a whole. I almost want to say that if the writers toned down the four letter expletives and made it a bit more network friendly, the show would be more at home on CBS or Fox. After something as creative and imaginative as a high school chemistry teacher getting cancer and turning to meth-making to procure money for his family, a cop drama just seems a little bland. All of the actors say that the show really picks up after its sixth episode (and maybe it does) but until then, it seems like it's doing nothing to grab the attention of veiwers. 

3. It's coming at a bad time. I totally understand the thought process for this one: "let's sandwich our new show between Breaking Bad and the Breaking Bad talk show to see how many viewers will stick around." Lots of networks do this to promote new shows, and sometimes it works. But for me personally, when an episode of Breaking Bad ends, I'm not mentally prepared to leave that universe, let alone jump headfirst into a totally new one. I would probably be more satisfied with watching a blank screen for an hour and going over what just happened on BB than with wrapping my head around the (somewhat dense) plot of this new show. If AMC had aired Low Winter Sun at a different time (maybe during the winter break they typically have in the middle of the new season of the Walking Dead) the show would be getting a better reception. 

I want to like you, Low Winter Sun. I really do. The timing just isn't in our favor. Maybe, in another time, a different place (a Netflix binge, perhaps) I'll learn to love you. Until then, I'm just going to buckle down and wait for Sunday nights at 9pm to get my final 4 doses of Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and the rest of Albuquerque's finest. 

I Can't Wait For Breaking Bad!

It's been a few months since part one of season five of Breaking Bad concluded and I just cannot wait to see the final eight episodes. I began watching Breaking Bad this past summer on Netflix and I was instantly hooked. I watched episode after episode and could not stop hitting the "Next Episode" button. Instead of crystal meth, my drug was Breaking Bad. I must have watched the entire series in a couple of weeks.

Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who finds out that he has terminal cancer and begins making crystal meth to provide for his family is the main character of the series. All of the characters are incredibly well developed and intriguing but my personal favorite is Walter's meth dealing, drug addict, high school dropout, Jesse Pinkman played by Aaron Paul. The way that the character Jesse has developed and evolved throughout the series is truly amazing. He goes from a low life drug addict in season one to a drug kingpin and badass by season five.

I think the final eight episodes are going to be exhilarating and suspenseful. Although no one knows exactly what is going to happen in the final eight, I think Hank Shrader, Walter White's DEA Agent brother-in-law, is going to find out that Walt is the drug kingpin he has been searching for all along. There are bound to be many twists and cliffhangers and nothing is for certain. But one thing for sure is that the final eight episodes of Breaking Bad are going to worth watching.