Come on a journey with me kiddos. Or rather, come and join me on Vince Gilligan’s journey. On his journey, there is plenty of blood, violence, intrigue, and a dash of television brilliance. Breaking Bad is the most fascinating show I have ever had the pleasure of watching. Let me show you why.

To preface the rest of this post, it is necessary to say that I will not have any spoilers in my fan boy rant. Most of the things I talk about will just be general observations, and none of them have to do with the plot, or any plot events.

HERE IS THE SPOILER-FREE POST

The first thing needed to appreciate the entirety of Breaking Bad is that Walter White is the main character of the show. The only main character. All the other characters are just supporting him. They add dimension to his character, but that is essentially all they do. Even though there may be an episode that follows Jesse for the majority of the time, he is still just there to be a contrast to Walt and all the decisions that Walt makes. Jesse may seem to be evolving as a person, and becoming three dimensional in his own right, but in actuality, he is still only important in the context of his relationship with Walt. That makes Walt all the more fantastic of a character. Obviously, he is not a good person, but this particular tale is not one about a hero and a villain, it is a character study of the highest order. The show is almost a documentary in that aspect, a grim, dark and frightening documentary. Stylized as an epic saga, or a compelling biopic, Breaking Bad accomplishes an unparallelled mastery of its medium. With sophisticated serialization.

If you don’t know what serialization is, have no fear, I’ll tell you. Serialization is when a TV show has episodes that are connected to each other, or to understand each subsequent episode you need to have watched all the previous ones. Breaking Bad is a highly serialized show. It absolutely requires you to watch each episode to understand the next. That is how television should be made in its current format, that is the full potential. To tell stories that take more than 3 hours to unfold. They can take either a season- 13 hours, or even 6 season- 68 hours to finally conclude an epic story. The sad part is, that not many shows take this route. Serialization of Breaking Bad’s magnitude is not attempted on network television, because the executives are afraid that the format is not conducive to gaining viewers. They are right, since you can’t just tune in to the middle of a season of Breaking Bad and just start watching. You would be majorly confused. That does not mean, however, that this format should not be used. Network executives don’t give a flying ferret whether or not a show is good or not, they just want to be able to make money, which translates to getting as many viewers as possible so that advertisers will want to pay for air time. The tragedy of this whole arrangement is that many shows that are serialized will miss out on opportunities. As a viewer of television I am saddened by this fact. I have found that many of my favorite shows are the ones that are the most serialized. I find the grand adventure that continues each week far more entertaining than just having a crime to solve each week. I love spending an hour each week following a Meth manufacturer around New Mexico. I love joining the true queen of Westeros on her journey to reclaim her rightful crown. I love joining the remnants of the human race fleeing for their lives from the robots that they created.

Breaking Bad takes serialization to a whole nother level. In this uber-serialized show, episode to episode, you need to pay attention to every detail, and remember every word. Otherwise, you will be lost and confused since there is no break in pace, even from season to season. The brilliance of this serialization is not just in the level, but also in the style. The show is literally just the day to day life of Walt, and occasionally you check in with some of the other characters, but more often than naught, you are just observing the crazy things that Walt does. This firmly grounds the show in reality. Which makes it even more powerful. By just spending your time with Walt and the people associated with Walt, the experience is all in terms of him, and his life. There is no side plot, or extra story line that need to be explored. It is all about him, and week to week, Walt’s life is explored an hour at a time. You learn an hour more about Walt and the things he does. Sometimes in an unflinching and brutal fashion. The show is grounded by the fact that the action all takes place in a reality that is realistic and detailed. The whole thing feel as if it takes place in a real life town, and it essentially does. The locations are real, and the cars are real. Even the sounds are real. This show has some of the most fantastic sounds I’ve ever heard. Instead of having an elaborate score with lots of music playing, there is almost disconcerting lack of music. Instead there are the sounds of nature in the desert, or the sound of cars in the street. Any scoring that there is melts into the background and it feel like you are really just sitting in a RV in the desert. The serialization makes this all possible because you do not need any assistance feeling the emotions that the show wants you to feel. You feel them with out any help. Because you experienced it, and felt it. You have seen the whole journey.

Journeys that take a long time are often the best. Like life. Life is the longest journey that we as humans experience, and it is all the more interesting and intriguing for it. The decade long epic is a story that I want to read and experience, with all the intricacies and experiences, it creates a more whole world that I can lose myself in. And that is one of the goals of entertainment, is it not? To make the viewer forget their worldly issues for just a time. Enter a world that will excite and enchant you. Breaking Bad does this, and although it creates a brutal and nightmarish world, it still is a master of that. It is one of the few shows that I can watch without distraction, because it titillates all all of my senses at once. I can loose myself in this world, and I love that.