Breaking Bad: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray] Reviews

Breaking Bad: The Complete First and Second Seasons

Studio: Sony

Year: 2008-2009

Rated: Not Rated

Program Length: Season One: 343 minutes

                Season Two: 615 minutes

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 1080p

Languages: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH, French

The Program

The pilot episode of Breaking Bad, a drama series on the cable network AMC (formerly American Movie Classics), immediately captures the viewer’s attention. A Winnebago careens down a dirt road somewhere in the high desert of New Mexico. Behind the wheel is a middle-aged man, wearing only jockey shorts, socks, shoes and a gas mask. The passenger seat is occupied by a young man, his face also hidden by a gas mask. Two bodies lie on the floor of the RV. The driver, who obviously is panicked, loses control of the vehicle and crashes into a ravine on the side of the road, in the process knocking his young passenger unconscious. You simply have to stay tuned in order to find out what it is that you have just witnessed.

Walt White (Bryan Cranston) is a 50-year-old high school chemistry teacher who is married to a slightly younger woman, Skyler (Anna Gunn). They have a teenage son, Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte), who has cerebral palsy, and Skyler is in the midst of a middle-age pregnancy. The family’s finances are strained, and Walter tries to make ends meet by moonlighting at a car wash. While working at the car wash he experiences the humiliation of having to polish the chrome wheels of a vehicle owned by Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), one of Walt’s more obnoxious students.

One day, while working at his second job, Walt passes out and is rushed to the hospital. Tests are run and he is given a grim diagnosis and prognosis – he has inoperable lung cancer and he may, with treatment, have two years to live. Initially, Walt has no idea how he is going to be able to provide for his family before he dies. However, a seed had been planted earlier at Walt’s 50th birthday party, when everyone present watched a television news story about Walt’s brother-in-law, Hank Schrader (Dean Norris). Hank is with the Drug Enforcement Agency and the news story was about a bust in which $700,000 in drug money was confiscated by Hank’s team. When Walt remarked about how much cash was found, Hank assured him that he has recovered more in other raids and that “It’s easy money – until we catch you.”

After receiving his bad news, Walt takes Hank up on an offer to do a ride-along for a raid on a drug house where crystal meth is being made. As the DEA agents force their way into the house, Walt sees someone climb out of a second-story window and run away. It is none other than Jesse, Walt’s now former chemistry student. The DEA agents don’t know who Jesse is, so Walt finds his ex-student and makes him a proposition which Jesse cannot refuse. Walt will not turn Jesse in if Jesse agrees to take Walt on as his partner. Walt, using his expertise as a chemist, will cook the crystal meth, Jesse will handle the distribution, and they will split the profits.

In the meantime, Walt has not told his wife about his illness, and of course he has said nothing about his new “business arrangement.” Skyler nevertheless realizes that something is wrong, and she is determined to find out what is going on. Walt has no experience as a criminal, and he is ill-prepared for the inevitable complications of his new career in the illegal drug trade.

The moral ambiguity of this tale is obvious, yet not easily resolved. We of course feel sympathy for Walt’s plight, but how can we root for someone who is dealing crystal meth to drug addicts? The answer, I believe, is that we do not really root for Walt. Rather, we are fascinated by what he is doing, in much the same way that we were fascinated by the incredibly violent yet intriguing character Tony Soprano.

Bryan Cranston is a revelation in the lead role. Best-known for his role in the long-running comedy Malcolm in the Middle, here he successfully tackles a very complex role as a basically decent man who is driven by fate to take desperate measures to protect his loved ones. His brilliant performance has already earned him two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent as well.

I am not a fan of AMC. I basically have boycotted the channel since AMC started interrupting films with commercials and stopped showing movies in their original aspect ratios. However, in recent years AMC has burnished its reputation by airing some critically acclaimed original series, including Breaking Bad and Mad Men. Breaking Bad, which begins its third season on March 21, has already won four Emmy Awards and has been nominated for several more. The series also features very high production values and is highly recommended.

Season One consists of seven hour-long episodes, including the pilot. Season Two features thirteen hour-long episodes. Although not rated, this series decidedly is not suitable for young children.

The Video

AMC is not available in high definition on DirecTV, so I am unable to make a direct comparison between the Blu-ray discs and how the show looks in broadcast HD. Regardless, the 1.78:1 1080p transfer is top-notch in every respect. For the pilot episode the producers hired Oscar-winning cinematographer John Toll, and the standard which he set has been continued, in large part by the Emmy-winning cinematographer Michael Slovis. The deep blue New Mexico sky will take your breath away. The images are consistently sharp, with solid colors, excellent contrast and inky blacks. The video is so good that I would not recommend watching the broadcasts of this show unless you get AMC in HD – it is far better to get the Blu-ray discs and watch this series the way it is meant to be seen.

The Audio

The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is very good. The audio does not quite have the punch of a feature film, but it certainly does a commendable job. Dialog is mostly confined to the center channel and every word is clear and intelligible. The surround channels come alive during the action scenes, such as the opening Winnebago foray through the desert and the various encounters with some of the shadier characters Walt is forced to deal with. There is a particularly gruesome scene in episode two (if you have seen the show, you know the scene I am referring to) which is enhanced by some loud and realistic crashing sounds.

The Supplements

An assortment of extras can be found on both season sets. Season One was released on DVD a year ago, and the extras on the DVD release apparently have been replicated here. The Season One supplements are in both high definition and standard definition, with English stereo audio.

There is an audio commentary by series creator and executive producer Vince Gilligan and Bryan Cranston for the pilot episode, as well as the episode “Crazy Handful of Nothin’.”

Also included is an AMC interview of Gilligan and Cranston called “AMC Shootout.”

Another extra is a gallery of still photographs taken by Gilligan during the production of the series.

Screen tests of most of the principal actors provide some interesting insight into how that process plays out.

Several of the episodes allow access to deleted scenes, which will be of interest to anyone who has taken a liking to the series.

“Inside Breaking Bad” is a series of fourteen featurettes which cover various aspects of the show. For example, in one RJ Mitte , who in real life is moderately afflicted with cerebral palsy, talks about the challenges he faces in playing the character of Walt’s son.

“Making of Breaking Bad” is a typical “making of” featurette.

A similar collection of special features covering the second season episodes is available for Season Two, but there are many additional supplements as well. The Season Two extras also are shown in both high definition and standard definition, and in English stereo. In addition to the commentaries, deleted scenes, behind the scenes footage, etc., a Season One recap will come in handy for those who have not watched the first season recently. There also is a music video inspired by the episode “Negro y Azul.” Six web episodes of Breaking Bad are fun to watch, and there is a “sneak peak” at the upcoming third season. Also included is a gag reel. The one BD exclusive is “Writers’ Lab – An Interactive Guide to the Elements of an Episode,” which is self-explanatory.

Unspecified BD Live features for both seasons will be activated on the release date.

The Packaging

Season One is spread over two discs, which come in a standard-sized Blu-ray keep case. Season Two is on three discs, which come in a slightly wider keep case. Both seasons come with episode guide inserts which contain very brief synopses of the episodes.

The Final Analysis

I had not watched Breaking Bad prior to reviewing these Blu-ray sets, and I was immediately impressed by the show’s originality and first-class production. For some reason Sony waited for more than a year to release Season One on Blu-ray, and now both seasons are being released on BD almost simultaneously. Judging from the standard-definition extras which I have seen, the BD is a significant upgrade, so double-dipping will be in order for many of the show’s devoted fans.

Equipment used for this review:

Panasonic DMP-BD50 Blu-ray player

Panasonic Viera TC-P46G15 Plasma display, calibrated to THX specification by Gregg Loewen

Yamaha HTR-5890 THX Surround Receiver

BIC Acoustech speakers

Interconnects: Monster Cable

Release Date: March 16, 2010