Walter White is a father, a husband, a chemistry teacher, a meth manufacturer and the protagonist of Breaking Bad. In season one, Walter (Bryan Cranston) is diagnosed with stage three lung cancer, and desperately wishes to be able to provide for his family when he eventually passes away. To make money, he begins creating and selling crystal meth, and his world immediately is turned upside down. After wrapping up its fourth season, Breaking Bad has remained one of television's most complex dramas, touching upon hotly debated issues such as drug use, suburban life and family values.\nThroughout the last four seasons, Walter develops as a complicated character; his illegal activities begin to consume his life, yet he still craves respect from his family. Ultimately, Walter turns a blind eye to his ethical dilemmas and family dramas in his pursuit to continue creating perfect meth. In addition, Walter gets tangled up in the dangerous world of meth dealing and is forced to commit multiple murders. The ensuing drama centers around Walter's internal moral conflicts and his struggle to keep his dark life a secret from his family.
Even with such a great, twisted plot, Breaking Bad's greatest asset is actually its cast of actors. Cranston demonstrates his acting prowess as Walter White, a character who in some ways reprises his role as Hal, the clueless dad in Malcolm in the Middle: they both have family obligations as fathers, and they both have wives with strong moral compasses. That is the farthest it gets in terms of character similarity, however. The intense drama and moral ambiguity makes Breaking Bad a completely different monster than Cranston's former sitcom.
Walter's problems are further dramatized by the character development of his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn). Although Skyler represents the voice of reason, viewers have a hard time sympathizing with her - precisely because of her inability to sympathize with Walter's plight. A moment from season one, during a therapy session in which Walter's family finally manages to talk about his cancer, exemplifies this tension. The scene clearly portrays the characters' underlying problems, with a suspicious Skyler trying - and failing - to get Walter to open up about his secret life as a meth manufacturer. In season three, Skyler herself turns "bad" in some ways, allowing her issues with Walter to manifest in adulterous ways that ultimately have a negative effect on her family.
Breaking Bad has won six Emmy Awards and has been labeled as one of the greatest television dramas of all time by multiple publications. With non-stop intense action and emotionally-charged situations, Breaking Bad is a must-see show. The tension, drama and desires of each character will be continued in its fifth and final season, which debuts in 2012.
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