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Show LIFE C4 The end of the "B d" OCTOBER 21, 2013 A retrospective of one of the finest television dramas By Jimmy Hall Life Writer @jimmyrhall sir Fall 2013 Now that die-hard TV enthusiasts have had a couple of weeks to dry their tears and fill their Breaking Bad void, let's have a retrospective of one of the finest shows of our time. If you're not in the know, Breaking Bad follows a high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who is struck with the news that he has inoperable lung cancer. In order to leave his family with some money, Walt recruits a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), to help cook the highest grade of methamphetamine. A stellar supporting cast made it so it wasn't just a buddy story. Walt's wife, Skyler White (Anna Gunn), played the strong-willed housewife whose own morality slowly crumbled under her husband's actions. DEA agent Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), White's brother-in-law, is determined to take down the drug kingpin, Heisenberg, which is Walt's alias. These diverse characters helped mix up the genres into its own hybrid of crime, western and family drama. Breaking Bad wasn't an overnight success by any definition. The first couple sea- FRIDAY NOON KELLY MCILRATH -- [Instructor, Orem Institute] Institute North Chapel OREM UTAH UNIVERSITY " IIN@TEITTUE THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS nov 8 oct 4 fiNt ED J. & PATRICIA ELDER TERRY L. WADE PINEGAR (Former Monti Temple President & Matron) sept 6 [Area Seventy) nov 15 oct 11 STEVEN LINFORD FALL BREAK [Director, Orem Institute] [No Classes] DR. RICHARD J. MOUW RANDALL LUNT [Recently retired president of Fuller Theological Seminary) [Asst. Director, Orem Institute] sept 13 ELDER CRAIG A. CARDON (Of the First Quorum of the Seventy) sept 20 JACK CHRISTIANSON [Recently returned mission president and previous institute director & instructor) sept 27 PRES. ROBERT H. DAINES ti [President, Provo Temple] are innocent get affected by those actions as well. There are some unrealistic points in some of the episodes, like a couple being dissected that was tackled by Mythbusters in their Breaking Bad special. Yet it always teetered on the edge of realism and definite plausibility. Yes, there were parts that were cool for the sake of being cool. But that's what gave it its personality and thrill. The series was a water cooler talking point as all in the community of watchers want in on the conversation. Speculation and theories about the characters' motivations, symbolism and color meanings ran rampant. If anyone wanted to hear the general consensus of a certain point, there were Reddit threads, podcasts and fan articles in abundance. The series is about the American dream taken by an ordinary man with evil means, very similar to Scarface. The series spans only two years of real time. But by the beauty of the medium, the viewers were able to see Walter White's transformation throughout the seasons. Giving the characters the right amount to breathe and grow, and make those "Did that just happen?" moments gave the show its true shock and emotional weight. The aesthetics of the show were iconic in their own right. Time-lapses, Point-of-view and GoPro camera shots were all visual staples of the show that gave Breaking Bad its own trademark. Although the stars in front of the camera get most of the recognition, much can be said about what happened behind it. Vince Gilligan, the show's creator, is a master of telling a compelling and gripping story. He credits the rest of his staff for their collaboration efforts, but Gilligan is the clear voice of each episode. Gilligan's next project is Battle Creek premiering on CBS for the 2014-2015 season. AMC is also working on Better Call Saul, a series spin-off prequel featuring Walt and Jesse's charismatic, fast talking lawyer, Saul Goodman. Gilligan will help to produce the show. We live in the Renaissance Age of Television. The medium has moved into high art where previously movies would only be considered. Shows like The Sopranos, The Shield, The Wire and Mad Men have solidified cable television as the place to be for quality storytelling. It's safe to say that Breaking Bad will find its place as one of the best television drama series of all time. Orem LDS Institute of Religion )EvOTION Akr S aug 30 _ sons scraped by and only hit its stride with seasons three and four, which led up to the much anticipated final season. The Sept 29 series finale had a viewership of 10.3 million according to Entertainment Weekly. In comparison, the previous season's finale, "Face OW' had1.9 million viewers. The assistance of technology boosted the viewership exponentially. Netflix raised awareness and fan base by streaming all current episodes before the last season. Subsequently, there was no reason not to be caught up and jump on the bandwagon. On the top television episodes of IMDB , Breaking Bad has 24 episodes in the top 100 as rated by the viewers. One of which, "Ozymandias," has a perfect 10 star rating; the only one of its kind. Not only was the show an audience pleaser but also a critical sweetheart. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Television Series-Drama and recently won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. The cast got their share of praise as well. Bryan Cranston was nominated for three Golden Globes and won three Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. Aaron Paul won two Emmys for Best Supporting Actor and Anna Gunn recently won for Best Supporting Actress. With all the numbers and awards aside, what made Breaking Bad a cultural pillar? An over-arching moral theme of how far would one man go in order to provide for his family. Throughout the five seasons, Walt professed that his reasoning for his crimes and murders was so that he could provide a life for those he loved. Although Breaking Bad is based around drugs and violence, it doesn't handle those matters lightly. Consequences and karma are waiting around the comer for each character who chooses to do evil. And by happenstance, those that nov 22 oc4 9 . 1 LARRY DAHL ANDY HORTON (First Counselor in the Provo Temple presidency) (Mountain View Seminary principal) I nov 29 oct 25 ELDER W. CRAIG & JAN J. ZWICK THANKSGIVING BREAKT [No Classes] (Of the First Quorum of the Seventy) nov 1 JILL JOHNSON MI [Wife of Elder Paul V. Johnson of the Seventy] dec 6 LATTER-ID/WI CELEBRATION CHOIR |