Final Report on BREAKING BAD (Part I): Well, weve watched all 62 episodes now, and its clearly a fine series--though measurably inferior, I think, to the very greatest American television dramas, like THE SOPRANOS and THE WIRE. There is much to admire in it, above all the videography: I cannot recall another TV series that is more visually interesting. One could easily enjoy an episode with volume turned off; some of the shots of the Southwestern desert even remind me a bit of John Ford, and there is no higher praise. The acting is also first-rate, though I think that Bryan Cranston is sometimes made to seem better than he is by the really outstanding supporting cast. My main reservations about the series concern the writing--though, even here, there is much I like. The dialogue is very good on a line-by-line basis, and some of the character development is interesting--though I question whether the series clearly understands that its most fascinating and richly drawn characters are Skyler and Hank, both infinitely more interesting than Walter or Jesse. But I think there is a fundamental problem of dramatic structure that takes a serious toll. More on this later, maybe in a week or so: after Ive had time to reread Aristotles POETICS, as I think Vince Gilligan should have done.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 19:18:06 +0000
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