Whenever I hear people grumble about how bad television is these days, I just roll my eyes and mutter under my breath how they don’t know what they are talking about. Sure, there’s plenty of crap on, and with the 800 channels available there is perhaps more than ever, but if you know where to look, there are tons of great shows out there. In fact I’d argue that the last 20 years has seen some of the best television programming since the invention of the cathode ray tubes.
Breaking Bad comes very near the top of any list you wanna make about great show in this new renaissance era in television. It starts with a pretty simple premise – a high school chemistry teacher is diagnosed with cancer and given only a short time to live so he decides to cook and sell meth as a means to keep his family financially supported when he’s gone – and turns it into some of the most riviting television I’ve ever seen. Each season has started with the stakes already pretty high and it continually adds pressure and increases the tension until things break and explode in gloriously spectacular ways.
Season four was, perhaps, the most exciting season yet in what has turned out to be one of the most exciting series on television with a finale that ranks up their as one of the best endings to a season ever. Now it’s coming to DVD so we can watch it over and over again. Special features include uncensored episodes, deleted/extended scenes, cast and crew commentaries on all episodes, a gag reel, 30 featurettes, “Better Call Saul” commercials, and more. The Blu-ray also includes 13 video podcasts.
Also out this week of interest:
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Eight Season: I’m about six seasons behind on Curb, but continue to find it hilarious – like an unspooled Seinfeld episode.
John Carter (Four Disc Combo – Blu-ray 3-D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy): A lot has been said how this film bombed at the box office, and it admittedly never caught my attention enough to make me pay money, but I’ll still likely catch it on some lazy Saturday. Extras include audio commentary, a second screen app of John Carter’s journal, deleted scenes with director commentary, bloopers and a couple of features on the film and Edgar Rice Burroughs.
