Breaking Bad - The Complete First Season (Sony DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C Episodes: C
Weeds has been such a surprise success
with cable viewers that it is no surprise that someone would try to recreate
its situation and Sony (through American Movie Classics) is taking a shot at it
with Breaking Bad. The shows have several things in common,
including likable lead characters in dire financial straights, children who
need taken care of and a popular illegal drug they “need” to sell to make their
life work. Oooh, times are tough.
This time
it is a college professor (Bryan Cranston) with a wife and a son who is
disabled, turning to the production of crystal methamphetamine to make ends
meet. Of course, it is hard to get
started up at first, but invention is the mother of necessity and with the help
of an enterprising, sneaky student, this might just work out.
However,
these first seven hour-long shows are as derivative as they are predictable,
not showing us much we have not seen before (I can watch Big Bang Theory for chemistry lessons and that is a better show)
while missing the real story here: the father’s relationship with his
challenged son. It becomes a background
part more than it should and the overall feel is that the show is very
mixed. Will it change and grow? Will it want to? Now you can see for yourself.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image looks more than a little weaker than
expected with softness throughout, poor video black and detail issues that have
little to do with anything like style.
Color is also poor often. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix is the default highlight and it has music that outdoes its
dialogue in fidelity all the time. There
are no extras.
- Nicholas Sheffo
