Breaking Bad, Season 4, Episode 1: ‘Box Cutter’ Written by Vince Gilligan Directed by Adam Bernstein Breaking Bad essentially boils down to a long series of narrative curveballs. Over the course of its thirty-plus episodes so far, showrunner Vince Gilligan has demonstrated an ability to consistently subvert expectations without cheapening the series’ grand scheme (to …
The 37th Annual Saturn Awards were held this weekend and The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films honored the best film to Inception with no surprise. Other winners in the top categories include Fringe for Best Network Series, Breaking Bad for best Cable Series, Let Me In for Best Horror Film, Alice in …
Top 10 Episodes #3 – Season 3, Episode 7: One Minute Directed by Michelle Maxwell MacLaren Written by Vince Gilligan & Thomas Schnauz – Hank, outraged over having been tricked into thinking that his wife has been in a horrible accident, goes after Jesse and gives him a severe beating. He has bigger problems, however, …
Top 10 Episodes #2 – Season 3, Episode 10: ‘Fly’ Directed by Rian Johnson Written by Vince Gilligan & Sam Catlin It is a shame that while so many people spent six long years awaiting the series finale of Lost, those very same folks were missing possibly one of the greatest bottle episodes ever aired …
Top 10 Episodes #5 – Season 2, Episode 2: ‘Grilled’ Directed by Charles Haid Written by Vince Gilligan & George Mastras ‘Grilled’ opens with another attention grabbing flash-forward sequence – an ’89 Monte Carlo lowrider bouncing up and down, working its hydraulics system hard, stranded in the desert. We see the trunk of the car …
Top 10 Episodes #10 – Season 2, Episode 7: Negro Y Azul Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá Written by Vince Gilligan & John Shiban “Tortuga means ‘Turtle.’ That’s me: I take my time, but I always win.” -Tortuga ‘Negro Y Azul‘ appears on this list simply for having the biggest “WTF” moment of the entire …
Top 10 Episodes #6 – Season 2, Episode 13: ABQ Directed by Adam Bernstein Written by Vince Gilligan Breaking Bad’s first season was all about setting up the situation of two unlikely partners getting started in the criminal world. The second season was all about them getting in over their heads and ends with the …
Top 10 Episodes #7 – Season 1, Episode 6: Crazy Handful of Nothin’ Directed by Bronwen Hughes Writen by George Mastras In the traditional Breaking Bad vein, we open up with a great juxtaposition of the beginning versus the ending. Episode 6 of season one introduces Tuco, a big-time drug dealer who doesn’t quite …
– Top 10 Episodes #8 – Season 1, Episode 3: And the Bag’s in the River Directed by Adam Bernstein Written by Vince Gilligan This is the episode in which Jesse and Walt clean up the mess caused by Jesse’s chosen method to get rid of Emilio’s body. The episode recalls such films as Very …
Top 10 Episodes #9 – Season 2, Episode 9: 4 Days Out Directed by Michelle MacLaren Written by Vince Gilligan & Sam Catlin ‘4 Days Out’ is another memorable episode in an astounding series. Here we have the take on Flight of the Phoenix, with travellers stranded in a desert, low on supplies and …
Top 10 Episodes #1 – Season 3 – Episode 12 – ‘Half Measures’ When Mike the Cleaner delivers his big speech to Walter about doing away with “half measures,” it’s clear what he means. ‘Half Measures’ is the perfect reminder of why Breaking Bad is the best show on television. This specific scene was …
“How come you only show us clips from movies none of us ever heard of?” She was 30, a single mom who’d admirably gone back to school for a business degree to better things for her and her family. She’d taken my film appreciation class as an elective, a break from the grind of her …
If a single recent event can help to sum up what’s happened to television in 2010, at least on a symbolic level, it’s this one: Charles Eglee, one of the writer-producers who had worked on AMC’s wildly popular The Walking Dead before either leaving or getting sacked by showrunner Frank Darabont (depending on who you …