As magazines begin to compile their "best of 2009" features, it should come as no surprise that Breaking Bad is ending up on everyone's mind. Esquire's "Best & Brightest" December issue features Aaron Paul among four Breakout Actors this year. Referring to the Season 2 scene where Jesse wakes to find Jane dead, the magazine states, "During a few moments of raw, unwatchable anguish, Paul does the damnedest thing: He makes you want to watch..."

Not to be outdone, The A.V. Club compiled a list of the best television series of the '00s, in which Breaking Bad stole the No. 6 spot (just below AMC's Mad Men at No. 5). "Few shows have proven as skillful as Breaking Bad at stringing together memorable scenes," the article explains. "The actors help imbue the life and times of a dying man with the sort of powerful drama that keeps viewers rapt between big moments that can take a whole season to play out. But as Breaking Bad showed with its masterful second season, it's always worth the wait."

Mere days before the 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, the critics are weighing in with last-minute predictions. And it's no surprise that several have Breaking Bad on the brain.

Over at Entertainment Weekly, Ken Tucker feels ambivalent about which of his favorite AMC shows (the other being Mad Men, of course) will walk home with the Best Drama statue. But, he concludes, "If I had to narrow it to one pick (which I do), I'll say: Breaking Bad should win." Elsewhere in the magazine, EW writer Michael Ausiello predicts Aaron Paul will pick up the Supporting Actor trophy: "It takes a formidable actor to go toe-to-toe with Bryan Cranston," writes Ausiello. "Voters would have to be high to disagree."

TV Guide feels confident in selecting Bryan Cranston for a follow-up to last year's Best Actor in a Drama win. "While Simon Baker and Gabriel Byrne's nominations are nice gestures, their roles are too subdued to reward among this company," the magazine writes. "Michael C. Hall added daddy to Dexter's many hats, but Cranston's increasingly desperate portrait will move him to the fore."

TV Guide also selects Aaron Paul as the favorite in the Supporting Actor category: "Paul's descent into heroin addiction was both sad and willful -- a hard combination to watch," it writes. (And apparently, a hard combination not to vote for.) As for whether or not Breaking Bad can win best series? "A lot of fans in the Academy (remember Bryan Cranston's win last year?) could be good news for Breaking Bad."

AMCtv.com awards the Talk forum commenters quoted in our weekly "What You're Saying" post with prizes like a Breaking Bad hat (limit one per person).

The fans this week were talking about how Walt and Skyler's relationship can be repaired, and readdressing the age-old topic of whether or not Walt can be redeemed.

• "The possibility of Skyler and Walt getting back together again romantically seems very remote right now. But, I could see them getting back together again... because deep down inside, they are truly devoted to each other and their family. When his cancer comes back, she'll give up everything she's gained while away from Walt to come back to care for him." -- diksee

"We are all supposed to be conflicted about Walt's character as he goes further and further down this road. I think Walt is still a good man, but very lost right now. I think he will redeem himself, he will look at himself and see just how far he's fallen. I just hope it's not when it's too late." -- Liz

"Walt is always the same guy that uses the same rationalization when he makes decisions. He only uses the name Heisenberg to try to keep his drug business from reaching him at his house." -- kevin o

Continue reading "Talk Forum and Comments - What You're Saying" »

A plane crash; an exploding head (mounted on a live tortoise); an ATM machine; a porta-potty. In Walter White's ever-darkening world, the smallest actions can have the direst consequences for those around him. Watch (or re-watch) the many lives that get tangled in Walt's web with an encore presentation of Season 2 of Breaking Bad. You can catch an episode each week, starting this Sun., Aug. 16 at Midnight | 11PM C following the Season 3 premiere of Mad Men.

Click here to see the schedule »

Click here to see Season 2 photos »

Click here to watch Season 2 videos »

With the Emmys still over a month away, the Los Angeles Times is finding new ways to talk about one of its favorite AMC dramas and check in with the cast and crew.

The Times's Josh Gajewski sat down with creator Vince Gilligan and his longtime friend Tom Schnauz, who joined Breaking Bad's writing staff for the third season. Schnauz related to the Times how he and Gilligan conceived of the show's premise after reading about a mobile meth lab and joking about their career prospects if writing didn't pan out. "He called me back a week later and said, 'Remember that idea? Mind if I use that?'" Schnauz recalls. "I said, 'Of course.' I mean, I'd never think to write a story, let alone a whole TV series around the idea of a mobile meth lab. But lo and behold."

Gajewski goes on to describe Gilligan's brainstorming style in the writers' room: "The key phrase is 'What if . . . ,' the key ingredient is caffeine and the key goal is to surprise. The talk always revolves around how a character might be expected to react and then, how that expectation might be turned on its head."

Continue reading "The Los Angeles Times Checks in With Breaking Bad" »

The Television Critics Association press tour -- where journalists from around the world descend upon Los Angeles to get a sneak peek at networks' upcoming offerings -- kicked off this week with an AMC-sponsored cocktail party. For Breaking Bad, this was an opportunity for critics to get a few hints about Season 3, and of course shower one of their favorite shows with praise.

San Francisco Chronicle critic Tim Goodman, after hailing Bryan Cranston ("with hipster highlights in his hair, looking nothing like Walt White,") and Anna Gunn for their fortitude with the critics, revealed some details from his conversation with creator Vince Gilligan, who "told a great story -- that the writers embellished -- about how the scene with the head on the tortoise came about. And how it went from brilliant to genius in one easy step. 'It's Breaking Bad. Of course we had to blow it up.'" Moving on to the third season, Gilligan teased, "Some crazy s--t happens."

iF Magazine spent some time with Bryan Cranston, who talked about his role in George Lucas' World War II drama Red Tails, but also spoke to his Breaking Bad character. Speaking to the audience's ability to relate to Walt in the upcoming season, Cranston said, "The most important thing to me is that they see a story unfolding that is honest. Whether or not they agree with what this character [Walt] is doing is not important. What's important is that they understand why this character is doing this, that they believe the set of circumstances that are presented and that it's truthful and we see his humanity."

The press tour will culminate with the TCA Awards on Sat. Aug. 1, for which Breaking Bad has received two nominations.

The news yesterday of AMC's 23 Emmy award nominations -- 5 of which belong to Breaking Bad -- had publications across the country praising Vince Gilligan's drama and co-star Aaron Paul, who is celebrating his first-ever nomination.

The Los Angeles Times toasted the nods, pointing out that AMC made television history for the second year in a row, exceeding its 20 nominations last year. "More notable," the Times's Maria Elena Fernandez writes, "is that both of its original dramas, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, managed to secure nominations for outstanding drama, pushing the network past such competitors as USA, FX and TNT, which air some of the most popular series in basic cable."

"It was such a crazy idea when I came up with it," Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan told the Times. "And then AMC came along -- before 'Mad Men' was on the air -- and they went after it with such gusto and intelligence. I still can't believe it."

Continue reading "The Los Angeles Times, USA Today Toast Breaking Bad and Aaron Paul" »

Tomorrow morning the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will announce their nominees for the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards. But before they do, the critics are weighing in with some last-minute predictions -- and not surprisingly, Breaking Bad is on everyone's mind.

The San Francisco Chronicle's Tim Goodman writes that "in a critic's perfect world," Vince Gilligan's character study should be given an Outstanding Drama nomination, citing Breaking Bad as "in the upper echelon of all television. Audaciously great, wildly ambitious." Goodman goes on to recommend Bryan Cranston for a follow-up Emmy, praising his "unbelievably great work...on a series that miraculously got a lot greater." Rounding out Goodman's predictions is Anna Gunn for Outstanding Lead Actress, for which he notes her "unbelievable nuance rising to ever-broader levels by season's end."

Not to be outdone, The Fort-Worth Star Telegram, too, calls out Breaking Bad and its lead Bryan Cranston to bring home nominations. For the former Robert Philpot writes that Breaking Bad "had a knockout second season (the first or second episode alone could wipe most other shows off the map). " Turning his attentions to Outstanding Lead Actor, Philpot praises Cranston's "career-redefining performance as a dying schoolteacher who turns to making crystal meth as a way of supporting his unaware family in Breaking Bad; he was even better in Season Two, and he'll be back."

Will the critics be proven right, or will they find that Breaking Bad has performed even better than expected? Find out tomorrow on AMCtv.com.

The reviews are in, and Breaking Bad's season finale has swept the critics away. Entertainment Weekly calls Episode 13, "tremendously satisfying," while Newsday's Verne Gay considers it "TV"s best finale of the season." In California, The Los Angeles Times says the episode was "audacious in scope and flawless in execution," and The San Francisco Chronicle raves the show is "unbelievably impressive." Online, TV Squad noted that it capped off a "stellar" sophomore season, while AV Club hailed Season 2 as "one of serialized drama's greatest accomplishments."

Critics have the E-word (Emmy) on their minds as well, and not just for Bryan Cranston -- who won the best actor statue last year. "Emmy nominations all around, please," The Seattle Times pleads, citing Cranston's portrayal of Walter White as "raw, tense and soulful." Anna Gunn (Skyler) in particular is singled out by The San Francisco Chronicle: "If she doesn't join Cranston as an Emmy nominee, then the whole process has come undone (yet again)." Aaron Paul's performance as Jesse wins kudos from the The Los Angeles Times, as does the cinematography of Michael Slovis: "No other show looks quite like this, with the haunting close-ups of a teddy bear interwoven with amazing vistas of the New Mexico desert."

Continue reading "Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times Hail Breaking Bad's Finale" »

With four days to go until the Breaking Bad finale, the critics are starting to weigh in. Episode 13, "ABQ," writes Newsday's Verne Gay, "quite literally made me double up in pain in the closing seconds. I drew in my breath, held it, then released it."

Predicting a Best Drama Emmy nomination and a best actress nod for Anna Gunn, Gay writes: "A promise, sworn on any book of faith you would wish me to swear this promise upon: This Sunday's Breaking Bad, coupled with with last Sunday's 'Phoenix,' is the most extraordinary finale of the season. This is like nothing you have ever seen."

"If there is any justice," Gay concludes, "Breaking Bad will win [Emmys] in September. This is the best program on television, commercial or pay."

Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello called out star Aaron Paul for a Best Supporting Actor nod in his Dream Emmy Ballot column. "Slowly stepping out of Bryan Cranston's shadow," Ausiello writes about the man behind Jesse Pinkman, "[Paul] revealed himself to be a powerhouse actor in his own right."

Breaking Bad's Season 2 finale, "ABQ," airs Sun., May 31 at 10PM | 9C.