Winner of two 2010 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Lead Actor
in a Drama Series for Bryan Cranston and Outstanding Supporting
Actor in a Drama Series for Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad: The
Complete Third Season returns, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as
"the best show on television." Even though his cancer's in
remission, chemistry teacher-turned-meth maker Walter White
(Cranston) still can't catch a break. his wife (Anna n) has
filed for divorce, his DEA agent brother-in-law (Dean Norris) is
out to bust him and a Mexican cartel just wants him dead. But
with his family's future still at stake Walt cooks up a deal that
will make him a fortune, a scheme with a terrible price.
Executive produced by Vince Gilligan and Mark Johnson.
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Here's how things are going for Walter White, the central
character in Breaking Bad, as this outstanding cable series
reaches its third season. By the end of the fourth episode, less
than a third of the way through the year, Walt (played by Bryan
Cranston, who won three straight Emmys for this role) has been
arrested and put in jail twice; has been served with divorce
papers by his wife, to whom he has finally confessed that he's a
crystal methamphetamine manufacturer; has had a serious falling
out with his young partner in crime; and is the subject of a
manhunt by two silent but very deadly members of a Mexican drug
cartel. And it gets a lot worse. Of course, Walt is hardly the
only character who's afflicted, conflicted, and "breaking bad."
Wife Skyler (Anna n) is in the excruciating position of
knowing that she could blow the whistle on Walt and get him out
of her and their children's lives once and for all, while also
realizing what that would do to her family. Hank (Dean Norris),
the DEA agent who's married to Skyler's sister, becomes obsessed
with figuring out who's putting "blue meth" on the streets of
Albuquerque, little knowing that it's his own brother-in-law and
leading to near-tragic consequences. And partner Jesse (Aaron
Paul, another Emmy winner) is haunted by the fact that it was his
drugs that killed his girlfriend, whose distraught her may
have caused a hideously destructive plane collision over the city
when he returned to his air traffic controller job too soon.
All of this is presented in an artful brew of black humor and
frequently violent drama, with excellent acting, dialogue, and
storytelling (the 10th episode, "The Fly," takes place entirely
in Walt and Jesse's fancy new meth lab), and innovative film
techniques (the opening scenes in episode one, and several
thereafter, are with a beautiful, almost sepia-toned look).
But it's Walt, portrayed so memorably by Cranston, who remains
the main draw, as this brilliant but self-destructive, angry man,
prone to making calamitous decisions, gradually realizes that he
is truly becoming Heisenberg, his criminal alter ego, and is in
way over his head--and may very well be losing his mind in the
process. One can only wonder how much lower creator Vince
Gilligan and his team will take him in season four.
The bonus features are many and varied, with numerous offerings
on all four discs. Audio commentary, available on the nine
episodes, is provided by Gilligan, Cranston, Paul, and other
actors and members of the team. Elsewhere, a variety of short but
entertaining featurettes focus on behind-the-scenes details of
individual s (Walt deftly tossing a pizza on to the roof of
his house), scenes (Walt impetuously torching a huge pile of
cash, then trying to douse the blaze in his swimming pool), props
(Walt’s custom-painted Pontiac Aztek), characters (an interview
with the real-life brothers who portray the two murderous Mexican
cousins), or the show’s music. Other offerings include pod casts,
deleted scenes, a gag reel, and a series of promotional pieces
produced for AMC (which airs the show) under the banner of
“Inside Breaking Bad,” in which members of the cast and crew
discuss specific aspects of each episode (viewer beware, as these
bits contain some spoilers). --Sam Graham