Gold Rush: 2012 Emmy Nominations

Depending on whether or not I’m currently watching anything on TV, I sometimes do and sometimes don’t care about the Emmys. But this year I do!

‘Breaking Bad’ Season Five Premiere: “Live Free Or Die”

(Catch up on Season Four here.) After a rollicking Season Four in which Breaking Bad became, quite deservedly, one of the buzziest shows on TV, the Season Five premiere had a lot to live up to. While a few threads were left unresolved in “Face Off,” in many ways, things were tied off much more […]

‘Breaking Bad’ Season Four Finale & Favorites: “Face Off”

(Wrapping up my assessment of Breaking Bad‘s fourth season. Find the first installment here.) 13. “FACE OFF” Oh, Breaking Bad. So clever with those episode titles! Let me start this review by repurposing some familiar song lyrics: “Ding dong, the Fring is dead…”

‘Breaking Bad’ Season Four: “Crawl Space” & “End Times”

(Continuing my assessment of Breaking Bad‘s fourth season. Find the first installment here.) 11. “CRAWL SPACE” So this is it. Three episodes to go, and with ominous titles like “Crawl Space” and “End Times” and “Face Off,” you know it won’t be a trio of light-hearted comedies about everyone making nice over a bucket of […]

‘Breaking Bad’ Season Four: “Bug” & “Salud”

(Continuing my assessment of Breaking Bad‘s fourth season. Find the first installment here.) 9. “BUG” After last week’s tense, cinematic Gus-centric flashback episode, “Bug” gets the forward momentum back on track, focusing on the series’ core characters and the central relationship of Breaking Bad — Walt and Jesse’s. For the entirety of Season Four, Walt […]

‘Breaking Bad’ Season Four: “Problem Dog” & “Hermanos”

(Continuing my assessment of Breaking Bad‘s fourth season. Find the first installment here.) 7. “PROBLEM DOG” In my last installment, I bemoaned Walt’s twin stupid choices — letting some Honduran maids into the meth lab, and buying his son a flashy new sports car. In “Problem Dog,” Walt makes a decision that’s ten times stupider […]

‘Breaking Bad’ Season Four: “Shotgun” & “Cornered”

(Continuing my assessment of Breaking Bad‘s fourth season. Find the first installment here.) 5. “SHOTGUN” “Walter!!” That’s me, screaming at my TV set in fury at the end of “Shotgun,” which contains the most jaw-dropping “I can’t believe he just did that!” moment of the season to date. And it’s not a violent life-or-death situation, […]

‘Breaking Bad’ Season Four: “Open House” & “Bullet Points”

(Continuing my assessment of Breaking Bad‘s fourth season. Find the first installment here.) 3. “OPEN HOUSE” Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. In my last post, I emphasized the stark bleakness of Breaking Bad. And bleak it is. When you think Breaking Bad, you think of those shocking bursts of violence and mayhem, the nail-biting tension, […]

‘Breaking Bad’ Season Four: “Box Cutter” & “Thirty-Eight Snub”

I’ve been a Breaking Bad fan since the beginning. I got in on the ground floor, not knowing what I was in for. When it debuted, Breaking Bad sounded a bit like a twist on Weeds — maybe even a rip-off. A nice suburban person hits some bad luck and turns to the drug trade […]