In my last blog post I mentioned in passing the show Breaking Bad, but it's such an incredible show that it deserves its own blog post.

I am surprised to say I had never heard of the show anywhere before I heard the leading actor, Bryan Cranston, being interviewed by Adam Carolla. I didn't really get a feel for what the show was from the interview, but I was interested enough to give it a shot. And holy shit I'm glad I did.

Breaking Bad is a phenomenal show that is extremely dark but doubly well done. The writing is great, while the characters and performances are awe-inspiring. Bryan Cranston won the last 2 "Best Actor in a Drama Series" Emmy awards with very good reason.

If I still haven't convinced you to go watch it immediately, I'll tell you a bit about the premise, but I started watching the show without any idea of the plot and I recommend you do the same.



[PREMISE SPOILERS FOLLOW]

Walt White is a chemistry teacher at a local high school. He has a wife who is a stay-at-home mom caring for their teenage son who has cerebral palsy. Walt lives a life that he detests because he's getting up in years and should have accomplished so much more. His dissatisfaction with life leaves him as sort of a walking corpse, just going through the motions as a mild-mannered husband and father because he has to.

He discovers that he has lung cancer (despite the fact that he has never been a smoker.) Rather than telling his family he has mere months left to live, he makes the fateful decision to use his knowledge of chemistry to cook and sell crystal meth (aka. speed) in order to ensure his family's subsistence after his passing.

That's when things get really interesting.