The obituary concluded, “A private memorial was held by his family. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a drug abuse prevention charity of your choice. He will be greatly missed.” While the publication was a reputable one, The Albuquerque Journal, the obit was a farce. Rather, it was a commemoration of television’s Breaking Bad character Walter White.
Breaking Bad garnered such a dedicated following in its short five-season run that someone took the time to request that a real newspaper run a fake obituary for Walter White. Then the newspaper, no doubt indebted to the show for all the publicity generated for its city, ran it in its Nation & World section. These Breaking Bad fans are downright obsessive.
Forgive me if you’re already a fan of the show. I know it’s nothing new, but I also know there are those of you who haven’t seen it. Now is the perfect opportunity to see what all the fawning is over. Every episode is waiting patiently for you to buffer it through your favorite streaming service. You no longer have to wait for a week before the next one airs, and you don’t have to experience any of the grueling breaks between seasons. Those long breaks when fans pondered how low of a level Walter would stoop to next, or if Jesse would save himself from his tender-hearted stupidity.
All the adulation is heaped upon the show because it is… it was phenomenal. It had film quality components wrapped into one-hour slices. Breaking Bad is… has been revolutionary for basic cable. It gives film directors another medium to consider, and this is pertinent, especially right now as Hollywood is struggling to keep up with the shift toward our new methods of media consumption. Beyond that, it allows creators more freedom to tell their story without the two-hour constraints inherent in a theatre released film.
Aside from its high production value, innovative character development, and the darkness one could only previously expect from HBO or David Fincher, Breaking Bad lends itself to modern viewing habits. In fact, most get hooked once they start watching, stealing away every spare 47 minutes one has, with the thought of always squeezing in one more episode to watch. If you’re averse to addiction, however, you can watch a single episode in under an hour. Please don’t judge trendy TV-haters, it’s not unlike that book that you couldn’t put down, and read into the wee hours of morning… then called in sick the next day not because you were tired, but because you realized how disgusting it was to have not left your couch for ten hours.
Recently, Breaking Bad received MetaCritic.com’s highest rating ever, and that’s without camouflaged, bearded hillbillies. The show represents the beginning of a massive shift in how we will experience quality media in the years to come. As Hollywood continues its big-budget fade to insignificance, television is just hitting its stride.
“He will be greatly missed,” while in a fake obituary, conveys an honest truth. Walter White took us on a ride. Expertly written characters and scenes drew us in to levels of discomfort only assuaged by our knowledge of their imaginary composition. These characters taught us that actions have consequences, and redemption is worth rooting for. Most of all Breaking Bad showed us that we don’t need to throw our TVs out the window, because it’s not all Honey Boo-Boo and the CW, and for that Walter White, you will be greatly missed…
