breaking bad-related stories
Posted Sep 1st 2009 3:28PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Pickups and Renewals, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free, Mad Men
This should come as no surprise to even the most casual of TV Squad readers.
Mad Men has been picked up for a fourth season, assuring that Matthew Weiner's engrossing and demanding tale of Don Draper and the people at Sterling Cooper will be played out for at least another year.
When a show like
Mad Men comes along, not unlike
The Sopranos in quality and pop culture appeal, the question usually isn't whether the network will stand behind it for the duration, but whether or not the creative team envisions a long run.
Continue reading Mad Men renewed for fourth season
Posted Jul 16th 2009 2:44PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, The Simpsons, Watercooler Talk, 30 Rock, Awards, Emmys, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free, Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory
Now that the excitement has died down, I've been scouring
the complete list of nominations. Here's a few observations... Then, let me know what you think.
-- Why bother with the Outstanding Mini-Series category? There were only two nominees worthy of a nomination. Exactly how many mini-series are even produced anymore? This is an outmoded TV format. Kill the category.
-- What's going on with the writers?
30 Rock dominates the comedy category and
Mad Men dominates the drama category. What are the chances that the lone nomination in each category wins? I'd say slim and none. I call for limitations; only two episodes per series. Writing is such a subjective thing anyway. If you like
30 Rock's scattershot humor, you're more likely to vote for it compared to a traditional sitcom like
Big Bang Theory. The latter should have snagged a nom for
The Lizard-Spock Expansion episode.
Continue reading Some random thoughts on the Emmy nominations
Posted Jul 16th 2009 9:05AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
The
Emmy Award nominees were announced this morning, and with the help of a lot of caffeine and my DVR, I managed to catch the announcement. Here are the nominees in the major categories, with some comment on who was nominated and who was neglected.
If you notice, the major categories have more nominees starting this year.
Outstanding DramaMad Men
Damages
House
Lost
Big Love
Breaking BadDexterContinue reading The Emmy Nominations
Posted Jun 25th 2009 11:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, TV Squad Lists, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free
Now that
the second season of Breaking Bad is in the books, it's time to evaluate high school science teacher
Walter White's performance. He's been giving out the grades to students for years, but who's been monitoring this high school teacher?
It's time for this
Breaking Bad character to be graded. Here's a report card for Mr. White, and whether he's using the name Heisenberg or White, we're turning the tables on "teach" and giving him some grades across the board.
Continue reading Breaking Bad: Walter White's Report Card
Posted Jun 19th 2009 11:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Interviews, Casting, Emmys, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free
On July 16th when the Primetime Emmy nominations are announced, one name that is likely to appear in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series is
Aaron Paul. As Jesse Pinkman on AMC's
Breaking Bad, Aaron has done amazing work, revealing a character as fascinating as he is flawed.
His performance this past season on
Breaking Bad has generated lots of talk about an Emmy nomination, but not to be overlooked is the fact that Paul is also doing great work on HBO's
Big Love. On that drama, his character, Scott, is the antithesis of Jesse. It's a testament to Aaron's skill as an actor that I didn't recognize him at first from
Big Love when I watched
Breaking Bad. A search of
his IMDB listing was one of those 'ah-ha' moments. Recently, I had to chance to speak with Aaron, and we started with the jaw-dropping season finale of
Breaking Bad.
Continue reading Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad: The TV Squad Interview
Posted May 31st 2009 11:22PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: 24, House, Lost, Episode Reviews, Emmys, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free, Mad Men
(S02E13) Cause and effect, random selection, grief, life and death... "My father is my hero, he's just decent."
Breaking Bad covered all that and more in the season finale, setting up Walter White's life after successful surgery that bought him more time. The question was this when the end credits rolled, what will that life be for the New Mexico science teacher after all that's come before?
Anyone out there who thinks they know is lying because only creator Vince Gilligan has a handle on what's been going on and what's to come. What we do know after watching the season finale is this:
Breaking Bad is as good as any other drama currently on television, and that includes
Lost, Mad Men, House, 24 and the other potential Emmy nominees for Outstanding Drama Series.
Continue reading Breaking Bad: ABQ (season finale)
Posted May 31st 2009 4:07PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
At 8, CBS has the season premiere of Million Dollar Password.- NBC has the Penguins/Red Wings game at 8.
- Food Network has a new Challenge at 8, then a new Iron Chef America.
- At 9, PBS has a new Masterpiece Mystery!
- USA has a new Law and Order: CI at 9, followed by a new In Plain Sight.
- History Channel has the season premiere of Ice Road Truckers, then the series premiere of Expedition Africa.
- MTV has the 2009 MTV Movie Awards at 9.
- Lifetime has the miniseries Maneater at 9.
- Also at 9: GSN has a new High Stakes Poker.
- At 10, AMC has the season finale of Breaking Bad.
- HGTV has HGTV's $250,000 Challenge at 10.
- At 11:45, Cartoon Network has the season finale of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, then a new Squidbillies.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
Posted May 28th 2009 5:03PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Web, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free
Something from AMC's brilliant
Breaking Bad has found its way into the real world. And no, I don't mean 34 pounds of pure crystal meth so fine it could make your toes curl into sheepshanks.
During last Sunday's episode, Walter's son created a very touching web page for his ailing father that solicits donations for his cancer treatments. Walt was very touched by the gesture, but objected to taking charity from strangers. Of course, that changed when Walter's legal partner in crime Saul saw it as a way to launder his drug money to his family without them getting wise to his deeds.
That website actually exists on the web at
SaveWalterWhite.com.
Continue reading SaveWalterWhite.com joins the real world wide web
Posted May 26th 2009 2:03PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd
Remember that
Barbra Streisand-Donna Summer disco duet, "Enough Is Enough"? That's what came to mind when I read that
Bravo is planning another edition of The Real Housewives, this time D.C. Is there any end to Bravo's lack of innovation? Are there no new ideas out there that they have to spin out more housewives. How real they are remains debatable, if you ask me.
Don't get me wrong. I've actually watched
The Real Housewives of Orange County, as well as the New York City ladies and even the newest creation, those Jersey girls,
The Real Housewives of New Jersey. The latter, in fact, are a hoot if you can get past the similarities to
Carmela Soprano that imbue the entire series. I keep expecting Tony or Uncle Junior to pop up at one of their parties.
Continue reading Bravo concocts The Real Housewives of D.C.
Posted May 25th 2009 3:29AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free
(S02E12) Walter White, be careful what you wish for. That's the thought that occurred to me watching this penultimate episode of season two. Is it possible that Walt might actually make it through this bizarre journey to the dark side and actually come out the other side in one piece? For a time, it sure seemed possible.
For starters, there's Holly. Sky finally has the baby and she's perfect. The scenes of domestic bliss at the White's contrasted with the wreckage at Jesse's bungalow. Vince Gilligan may make Walter's perfection of crystal meth seem like a noble achievement -- the best ever cooked in New Mexico -- but seeing how Jane and Jesse's lives have deteriorated in just a few weeks of shooting heroin seemed like the ultimate anti-drug message. They were as gross as the meth couple with the ATM machine that Jesse found so disgusting.
Continue reading Breaking Bad: Phoenix
Posted May 24th 2009 4:00PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
- FOX has the Sprint Cup: Coca-Cola 600 race all night.
- At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes.
- NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline at 7.
- At 8, TNT has the Magic/Cavaliers game.
- At 9, ABC has the miniseries Diamonds.
- GSN has a new High Stakes Poker at 9.
- Sci-Fi has the movie Polar Storm at 9.
- HBO has two new episodes of In Treatment at 9.
- Also at 9: Showtime has the season finale of The Tudors at 9, followed by a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
- At 10, AMC has a new Breaking Bad.
- At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
Posted May 20th 2009 2:06PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Watercooler Talk, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free
A few weeks ago, I got to speak with
Bryan Cranston about Breaking Bad winning a Peabody Award. In the course of that conversation, Bryan told me that writer/creator Vince Gilligan had considered killing the character of Jesse Pinkman at the end of last season. This was a bit of shock to me, but according to Bryan, what saved Jesse was Aaron Paul's performance. "He has this puppy dog quality even when he's doing the most despicable things," Bryan told me.
Well, as I watched
Breaking Bad the other night, it occurred to me that Jesse's days might be numbered. In fact,
Jason alluded to the possibility in his review; those two dead bodies lying under blankets that have been beside the White pool in the season-long foreshadowed crime scene could be Jane and Jesse.
Continue reading Will Walter kill Jesse on Breaking Bad?
Posted May 18th 2009 11:01AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Episode Reviews, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free
(S02E11) After last week's episode, I thought we might have a moment where Walt came back to Jesse and said that it was back on. He'd got the passion for cooking in his soul and he couldn't shake it out. It's really starting to make me worry more about those foreshadowing opening sequences we've seen with body bags and destruction. Explosion at the White house? Is his family going to be collateral damage?
We didn't get any further on the foreshadowing sequence in the opening segment, instead we got something equally devastating in the here and now. If you're going to get into drug distribution, you have to learn to expect collateral damage. When that damage came it was perfect that Walter didn't even recognize him by name.
Continue reading Breaking Bad: Mandala
Posted May 17th 2009 4:00PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Programming, Celebrities, What To Watch Tonight, Reality-Free
- At 7, ABC has two new episodes of Extreme Makeover, then the two-hour season finale of Desperate Housewives.
- CBS has a new 60 Minutes at 7, followed by the season finale of Survivor.
- NBC has a new, two-hour Dateline at 7, then Saturday Night Live Just Shorts.
- At 8, FOX has the season finale of The Simpsons, then the season finales of King of the Hill, Family Guy, and American Dad.
- PBS has a new Nature at 8, followed by a new Masterpiece Mystery!
- Food Network has a new Challenge at 8.
- Disney has a new Jonas at 8, followed by a new Sonny with a Chance.
- Also at 8: TNT has the Celtics/Magic game.
- At 9, USA has a new Law and Order: CI, then a new In Plain Sight.
- HBO has two new episodes of In Treatment at 9, followed by a new Russell Simmons Presents Brave New Voices.
- There's a new episode of The Tudors on Showtime at 9, then a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
- GSN has a new High Stakes Poker at 9.
- At 10, AMC has a new Breaking Bad.
- At 11:45, Cartoon Network has a new Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
Check your
local TV listings for more.
Posted May 11th 2009 10:27AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free
(S02E10) As I watched this episode, I was pondering, can you put the toothpaste back in the tube? What about taking a bite from the apple from the tree of knowledge, if you want to get Old Testament about it? Walter White has issues with what he's done, how he's rationalized his doing them and now, seemingly, wants a fresh start. But as another saying goes, be careful what you wish for.
For viewers who haven't yet watched the episode, from here on I'm talking spoilers, so be forewarned.
Continue reading Breaking Bad: Over
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