Breaking Bad, Season 5, Episode 5: “Dead Freight” Written by George Mastras Directed by George Mastras Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on AMC Remember “Live Free or Die,” the fifth-season premiere of Breaking Bad, and its nifty but slight little magnet-powered heist? In retrospect, that was little more than a dry run for ‘Dead Freight,” …
Breaking Bad, Season 5, Episode 3: “Hazard Pay” Written by Peter Gould Directed by Adam Bernstein Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on AMC “Hazard Pay” is a classic get-the-pieces-moving episode, of the sort that serialized dramas generally need to make their season arcs tick. In other words, it’s not likely to be recalled as “the …
Breaking Bad, Season 5, Episode 1: “Live Free or Die” Written by Vince Gilligan Directed by Michael Slovis Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on AMC And so the end begins. The most acclaimed drama around kicks off its last, bipartite season with…a scene in a Denny’s. More specifically, a flashforward, one which sees our esteemed …
Rock of Ages Written by Justin Theroux, Chris D’Arienzo and Allan Loeb Directed by Adam Shankman USA, 2012 Generally a provider of terrible studio product (Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and The Pacifier among others), Adam Shankman did direct 2007’s surprisingly good Hairspray, the big-screen version of the Broadway hit that was itself based on …
Community, Season 3, Episode 12, “Contemporary Impressionists” Written by Alex Cooley Directed by Kyle Newacheck Airs Thursdays at 8pm ET on NBC Abed is one of Community’s most intriguing characters. His pop culture hyper-literacy aligns him with just the kind of person that would be an avid fan of the show (albeit at a comically …
Community, Season 3, Episode 11, “Urban Matrimony and Sandwich Arts” Written by Vera Santamaria Directed by Kyle Newacheck Airs Thursdays at 8pm ET on NBC So, Community’s back. Maybe not with the high concept episode with meta-commentary on its absence fans were hoping for but a solid half-hour none the less. Community has always been …
Breaking Bad, Season 4, Episode 13: “Face Off” Written by Vince Gilligan Directed by Vince Gilligan Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on AMC Now here’s an hour of television that had a lot to do. First, it had two incredible season finales to follow up on (Season 2’s “ABQ” and Season 3’s “Full Measures”). Second, …
Breaking Bad, Season 4, Episode 12: “End Times” Written by Moira Walley-Beckett and Thomas Schnauz Directed by Vince Gilligan As though he’s been reading Breaking Bad threads online, Walter White has had a few moments of honesty this season, even if most of them are in some way self-serving. This week, in shooing Walt Jr., …
Breaking Bad Season 4, Episode 11: “Crawl Space” Written by Sam Catlin and George Mastras Directed by Scott Winant Airs Sundays, 10pm ET on AMC Let’s talk about antiheroes. We all know that when HBO unleashed The Sopranos, the idea that an entire series could be oriented around an inherently despicable figure was not necessarily …
Breaking Bad, Season 4, Episode 10: “Salud” Written by Gennifer Hutchison and Peter Gould Directed by Michelle MacLaren Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on AMC That Breaking Bad‘s damn-near patented “holy shit!” factor is back in full force this week is not the only thing that makes “Salud” the best episode the show’s produced in …
Breaking Bad, Season 4, Episode 9: “Bug” Written by Moira Walley-Beckett and Thomas Schnauz Directed by Terry McDonough Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on AMC When you were watching Walt’s blood trickle down towards the frame in “Bug”‘s typically striking cold open, was there any doubt in your mind that it was Jesse who’d dealt …
Breaking Bad, Season 4, Episode 8: “Hermanos” Written by Sam Catlin and George Maestras Directed by John Renck Just a brief recap/review this week, as I’m still up at the Telluride Film Festival binging on movies and mountain air. Giancarlo Esposito has been Breaking Bad‘s secret weapon since Gus Fring became the closest thing the …
Breaking Bad, Season 4, Episode 7: “Problem Dog” Written by Peter Gould Directed by Peter Gould Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on AMC First off: there is a very good chance that “Problem Dog” contains a piece of television history. David Costabile, who has continued to leave an indelible impression as doomed chemist Gale Boetticher, …
Many of us here at SOS are absolute bananas about one of AMC’s outstanding drama series, not the 50s era one with all the smoking men, but rather Breaking Bad. Unfortunately, after five years and numerous awards (with more sure to come) including three consecutive Emmy wins for lead actor Bryan Cranston, AMC officially announced on Sunday its decision …
Breaking Bad, Season Four, Episode Five: “Shotgun” Written by Thomas Schnauz Directed by Michelle MacLaren – As we approach the halfway point of Breaking Bad‘s fourth season, we finally hit upon a serious snag. Yes, it’s true that the season’s pacing has been measured to an almost perverse degree, but that’s hardly an issue when …
Breaking Bad, Season Four, Episode Four: ‘Bullet Points’ Written by Moira Walley-Beckett Directed by Colin Bucksey Airs 10pm ET on AMC Performance. For Skyler and Walt, that appears to be this season’s watchword. Ever since Skyler made the decision to stick around in the wake of Walt’s “break,” life has evolved into a series of …
Breaking Bad Season 4, Episode 3: ‘Open House’ Written by Sam Catlin Directed by David Slade Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on AMC Is Breaking Bad‘s fourth season a transitional one? Over the last couple of weeks, Vince Gilligan has all but confirmed that Season 5 will be the show’s last, making this one the …
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 …