TV is the New Reading

'Breaking Bad' driven by

dark chemistry, characters

I am awake.

Growling these three words, milquetoast high-school chem teacher Walter White defies a universe that has consistently denied him happiness, a diagnosis of inoperable lung cancer and the taunting of Jesse, his new partner in crime, a flaky 20-something dropout meth-head.

Straightedge White, played with subtle angst and fire by Bryan Cranston (”Malcolm in the Middle”), chooses to “break bad” on the eve of his 50th birthday for ... oh, lots of reasons.

Rattling them off, his chemistry students are beyond learning. His teenage son’s cerebral palsy creates social difficulties and now he and his wife, Skyler, played with restraint by Anna Gunn, have another child on the way who is clearly an “oops” baby. They’re playing their credit cards off one another as it is and even with a second job at a carwash, White can’t keep his life together. In fact, he learns about the cancer when he collapses at the carwash and is taken to the hospital.

It’s a lot to take in for a man who once assisted in Nobel laureate research. What’s happened to his life that he has, as his obnoxious brother-in-law puts it, a “brain the size of Wisconsin” but he’s got his students laughing at him as he wipes down their cars and a boss who won’t get off his case?

Something snaps. The cancer diagnosis is the last straw. He tells his boss at the carwash where to shove it. It’s not enough. He’s got a life savings of $7,000, a crappy insurance policy and a family with significant health issues already and a baby on the way.

At the same time, he is floored by the amount of money seized in the bust of a local meth lab. Tens of thousands of dollars. For basic chemistry.

His obnoxious brother-in-law, a drug enforcement agent, offered him a chance for a ride-along on a meth bust, and he took it. The DEA busted a lab and nabbed a suspect, but the partner got away.

White knew him. He was a former student, and not from too long ago. Jesse, played with flourish by Aaron Paul, had all the know-how to get White hooked up in the meth trade, and White could cook up glass-grade crystals.

It’s a match made in heaven, except that the two have nothing but contempt for one another and Jesse’s connection thinks that White’s a narc straight out the gate. But in all of the rancor, there’s absolutely some chemistry, and a grudging respect develops on both sides.

The show is beautifully photographed and well-drawn presentation featuring outstanding performances by capable actors in compelling roles throughout.

What there is not, and I think it’s missing, is much discussion about the impact of crystal meth on the community. Never mind how dangerous it is to make it – that’s been driven home in nearly every show that’s featured it as a subplot. What’s the danger in using it? Where’s the impact of social cost and distribution?

That’s something that a show like “Breaking Bad” has a good opportunity to address. Here’s hoping that it does so. Because as good as this show is, it shouldn’t become a how-to guide for going into the meth biz.

Features Editor Terry J. Aman compiles the Best Bets for The Minot Daily News.

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