Remember that stale science teacher that bored you and your peers to sleep in high school? Now imagine after he had packed up his periodic tables and beakers for the day, he drove out into the desert,  stripped down to his white briefs, and started cooking crystal meth. That’s the day in the life of Walter White, the protagonist of AMC’s Breaking Bad.
In case you’ve been living out in boonies with no cable for the past five years, Breaking Bad is the story of an underachieving chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.  In lieu of his diagnosis, Walter White turns to cooking methamphetamine to ensure a future for his pregnant wife and disabled son.  Where most protagonists have a character arch, Walter White has a compelling downward spiral (similar to Scarface’s Tony Montana). Walter is portrayed by Bryan Cranston (you may remember him as the dad from Malcolm in the Middle), who won three consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role in the first three seasons Breaking Bad.
Breaking Bad, one of my personal TV recommendations, has pulled in a record amount of viewers since 2008.  In that time, it has drawn everyone’s interest (your little cousin, your great uncle, and maybe even your grandparents).  With captivating and down to earth characters, Breaking Bad should be on the top of your watchlist.  The fifth and final season is currently airing Sundays on AMC.  Want to catch up? All five seasons are now available for live streaming on Netflix.  Just promise to leave all the cooking up to Walter.
Photo credit: AMC
