My son-in-law Brett told me about the television series Breaking Bad on the AMC Cable network right after the first season. Somehow, I ended up getting the DVD of Season 1 to watch shortly before the second season and as a result, I haven't missed a episode yet. There is a reason this show has gathered the audience and won the awards it has, which are far too numerous to mention. What I will say, is there is a very large list of critics who have listed this show as among the best ever made and in the top ten of all time. For example,this fourth season carries an approval rating of 96 out of 100 on the review aggregator website Metacritic, an unheard of rating.

To fully understand the premise of Breaking Bad, one has to go back to the first season. Walter White, played by award-winning actor Bryan Cranston, is a high-school chemistry teacher who has been diagnosed with lung cancer. In order to financially provide for his family after death he ends up making crystal meth. He teams up with former high-school student Jesse Pinkman and enters the world of selling drugs. There is an unusual working relationship that develops between the two (along with Walter's family) where he attempts to keep all things secret from his family. That is Season 1, though, and by the time we get to Season 4, most everything has turned to hell; his wife knows what is going on and while Walt started it all off with good intentions, the viewer is fully aware that there are moral consequences for actions. While one may have good intentions, how one goes about getting to those intentions definitely has a bearing on the lives of people who may be around, whether knowing and involved with those actions or not.

More times than not, the transfer of a television series to Blu-ray just isn't necessary due to the lower-than-normal filming qualities of the show. I don't have the Blu-ray rendition for review but the transfer, the quality of the show, sound and look is amazing! The series is shot on 35 mm film at a reported cost of three million dollars per episode, making it among the most expensive per-episode programs on television. That cost in filming and production is obvious. From the incredible set design to the ensemble cast including its minor characters, there are as many memorable characters of any show since The Sopranos.

While one doesn't have to watch every season to appreciate this season, as I have mentioned in other reviews, the benefit of shows like this is that they allow a period of time where characters can be developed. The creator of the show has mentioned that he doesn't viewBreaking Badas a series with many different stories or episodes; he sees it as a single story all playing together to get to a central theme. To fully understand the plights of the characters in this film, especially Walt and Jessie, you really need to start with Season 1. That said, it isn't as difficult as one may imagine due to the reasonable prices of the videos. (I was able to find this season online from $19.99 - $32.99, depending on whether you want DVD or Blu-ray. One can easily find earlier seasons for less than that.) While watching, the viewer will become enthralled in the characters as there are changes, twists, turns, and surprises through out the season. The intensity develops from episode to episode until the final shocking episode of Season 4.

As coarse asBreaking Badis in its language, imagery, and adult content, it is realistic... and the coarseness of the show is needed to drive home the point that there are consequences for actions. The lovable Cranston family from Season 1 is no longer such a lovable family. Yet in the brilliance of the direction of the show we still want to root for Cranston. The viewer longs for Walt and his family to come together and get their life back. His cancer is in remission, and there is after all no way the program can continue for four seasons otherwise; but he is now stuck in this world, dealing with unsavory characters and in a life likely not imagined when he first decided to become a high-school chemistry teacher. In that life, though, we the viewers can reflect on our lives and the decisions we make.

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