Breaking Backtime Season 2: Now You See Them

There is no episode of Breaking Bad that ultimately defines the characters of Walt and Jesse more than Season 2's "Peekaboo." Their motivations have been documented, and we know about their lives on the surface. But it's this episode, the 13th in the series' history, that opens up our eyes to what's in their souls.

If a subtitle says a thousand words, this is the one. After Skinny Pete got robbed by junkies, Walt told Jesse to "handle it," which meant get back the money or the meth. So Jesse, a paper gangster, goes under the pseudonym "Diesel" to play the tough guy and get retribution from Spooge.

At gunpoint, Jesse gets Mr. & Mrs. Spooge to literally pull the drug bags out of their asses, and realizes there isn't nearly enough.

JESSE: So you hold the crystal and she holds the H, huh?

SPOOGE: Division of labor, yo.

While Jesse is doing the heavy lifting at the Spooge residence, Walt's "division of labor" for the day consists of compounding lies to his family and berating Gretchen Schwartz, his former partner/lover/family friend for no good reason. Unless you consider Walt's hate, spite and envy good reasons.

GRETCHEN: Let me just get this straight - Elliott and I offer to pay for your treatment - no strings attached, an offer that still stands by the way. And you turn us down out of pride, whatever? And then you tell your wife that we are in fact paying for your treatment. Without our knowledge, against our will, you involve us in your lie. And you sit here and tell me that is none of my business?

WALT: Yeah. That's pretty much the size of it.

GRETCHEN: What happened to you. Really Walt? What happened. Because this isn't you.

WALT: What would you know about me, Gretchen? What would your presumption be about me, exactly? That I should go begging for your charity? You, waving your checkbook around like some magic wand...

And Walt's bitterness and disdain only gets worse from there culminating with the dropping of an F-bomb on a lady, forcing his former partner/lover/family friend to storm out of the restaurant.

Meanwhile back at the drug den, Jesse loses his focus because of a toddler living there in squalor. He has one eye on the strangers' kid, playing "Peekaboo" when he gets jumped.

But junkies will be junkies. They get high and bicker, and after Spooge calls his woman a "skank" for the umteenth time in a row, she pushes a propped-up ATM on his head, killing him instantly and then resumes getting high.

Jesse works through his shock, wipes down all the traces of his existence, and somehow the ATM unloads for him. He calls 911 as he makes his escape, but remembers...the kid.

Jesse whisks the kid out of the house so he doesn't witness the horrific scene. Then he engages the kid on the front stoop until he hears the emergency sirens making their way.

"You have a good rest of your life, kid."

And there it is in a nutshell. Jesse cared more for a skank whore's dirty kid than Walt did for a pivotal person in his life. And that's what fans of the show love about it.

"Peekaboo" originally aired April 12, 2009.

Breaking Backtime Season 1: Pillow Talk

It's the summer television hiatus. The Americans, Game Of Thrones, and Mad Men are done for the season. There is nothing to watch now except for the often frustrating New York Yankees. But there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Breaking Bad returns in 37 days and AMC is re-running every episode in order.

So it gives die-hard viewers a chance to re-live the situation from the beginning, and watch in amazement as the story and characters develop so drastically.

In the show's fifth-ever episode "Gray Matter," we realize why we love the show so much - it's the writing. There is a scene that is dramatic as (almost) any in the series, where an intervention is staged with five people in the White family living room.

There's no meth, no death, and the roles of Saul, Mike, and Gus haven't been introduced. It's one episode before Tuco and the unveiling of "Heisenberg." Walt even has hair. The scene is 11 minutes of talk only, and it starts with Skyler White clenching "the talking pillow."

The intervention is for Walt to undergo a debilitating and expensive chemotherapy treatment for his terminal lung cancer, which he is trying desperately to evade. Everyone takes their turn with the pillow and the words are raw and real. Skyler is indignant that Walt fight for his life for the sake of his family, and she gets into a shouting match with her sister, who insists that Walter has the right to make his own choice.

Walt sits quietly while those around him bicker, which is a metaphor for the whole process. Until he is forced to seize the pillow and speak for himself.

"These doctors, taking about surviving - one year, two years - like it's the only thing that matters. Well what good is it to just survive if I am too sick to work? To enjoy a meal? To make love? For what time I have left I want to live in my own house. I want to sleep in my own bed. I'm not going to choke down 30, 40 pills and lose my hair and lie around too tired to get up, so nauseated I can't even move my head..."

Walt made his stand and made his choice. I choose not to do it. At this point in Walt's mind he had left the meth business behind, having just pocketed a mere few thousand bucks with only a couple of bodies in his wake.

But the next morning he wakes up, hugs his wife and reconsiders. And if you know anything about Walt's character, even just 5 episodes in, he isn't going to take any handouts. He is going to make sure that he is responsible for his treatment and that his family is taken care of.

In the closing scene he appears back in Jesse Pinkman's driveway, "Wanna cook?" That's the moment that Walter White really breaks bad...for good.

"Gray Matter" originally aired February 24, 2008.

Whoa, Man

"I admire your predictability Elizabeth, it's comforting."

The Americans had been consistently excellent in its first season, but you could see it coming: a little cold water on The Cold War. In the form of the show's lead character, Keri Russell as Elizabeth Jennings. Her character has become too writer-friendly, too adamant, too one-dimensional.

Now every great show, from The Sopranos to Breaking Bad, isn't immune to some subpar episodes. But when the characters are too predictable, the luster can fade quickly. This isn't a comedy featuring Ralph Cramden or George Jefferson. Staid gets stale in a spy drama.

Elizabeth is definitely averse to the American pursuit of happiness like any good deep-cover KGB agent, but her demand for revenge on some bureaucratic lackey for the assassination of her beloved General Zhukov was just tiresome. And the flashback scenes with Elizabeth and Zhukov were just annoying.

The "covert" plan to target CIA middle-man Richard Patterson was dubious at best. But Elizabeth jumped all over it, somehow compiling a surveillance dossier on him in no time. She put together her best Jane Fonda outfit and librarian specs, and seduced him at the bar with jukebox selections and crossword puzzles.

So just while the first half of the show was frustrating, it led to the seduction/abduction scene in the ladies' room at The Wheel House, which set to Pete Townshend's "Rough Boys" was predictable in its awesomeness. The sequence was every bit as great as the opening chase scene in the pilot to Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk."

Then as Elizabeth puts her life in her husband/partner's hands all the time, she can't bring herself to say the words, "I love you. Come home."

You can't blame the writers for continuing to create tension, but the actor has got to be the one to grab the viewer's attention and empathy for the character. There needs to be investment, even if the character is flawed. Despite the terrible things they do, we love Tony Soprano and Walter White. And we could drop Carrie Mathison (Homeland) in a heartbeat.

With a couple of episodes left in a great opening season, we love the ass-kicking Elizabeth, but we want more from our femme fatale and her writers. Surprise us.

The Tangled Web They Weave When It's Their Job To Deceive

The Americans is gaining more and more momentum as the season rolls on. And it's not anything new to portray US federal agents as adversaries (The Sopranos, Breaking Bad), but the intricate, conscience-shattering role of FBI Agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich) is one of the best turns in recent TV history.

Stan's insight and ignorance blend perfectly in the first 15 minutes of episode 10 "Only You," making you want to hug him and choke him at the same time. You can imagine his internal strife, which is the key to a great character and outstanding acting.

Stan, while reeling from the death of his partner, seeks out the solace of his best friend Phillip Jennings, the KGB ace who killed him - which wasn't premeditated. Maybe Stan finds Phillip in these situations because of some 6th sense (like Hank and Walt in Breaking Bad), or maybe he's just got a soft spot and his head up his ass.

When Stan deals with his bosses or works a source, he is as sharp as can be. But he's emotional, tortured, and sometimes drunk, which makes him all too human. Like his handling of his informant, Nina.

He coerced her, slept with her, then lied to her face when she wanted answers about the death of her friend Vlad, the KGB stooge that Stan executed in an eye-for-an-eye, coldest-blooded Cold War moment you can get.

Meanwhile the Jennings family is going through their own family rollercoaster ride. Their marriage was always a cover, now their separation is too. But their partnership is as strong as ever as they deal with the fallout of FBI Agent Chris Amador's death, and the residual effects that could bring two nations to nuclear war - always the underlying theme of the show.

And the cat-and-mouse games continue. Elizabeth Jennings can't smile on her own, a subtle characteristic of a Russian woman playing in the skin of an American. Phillip Jennings continues to be above all the physical and emotional torture to become one of the greatest spies TV has ever seen. And Agent Beeman continues to reel in the little fish while the big one always gets away.

How's Your Bracket Looking?

Sure. Like you lost to Harvard. Right.

New Mexico was my artsy pick for the Final Four, likely propelled by my love for Breaking Bad. Unfortunately Steve Alford and the Lobos didn't get anywhere close to Atlanta. Neither did Georgetown or Gonzaga.

This tournament has had it's share of upsets, but two regions still have #1 and #2, and one has #1 and #3. So for everyone whacking themselves on the head for not having Wichita, La Salle, or Florida Gulf Coast, there a lot of chalk still out there.

MIDWEST - Indianapolis

Louisville will have a big home crowd edge and the seemingly easier road with Oregon, while Duke and Michigan State beat each other to death.

WEST - Los Angeles

This is the wild card. There's #9 Wichita and #13 La Salle facing off for the Final 8. And Ohio State-Arizona maybe the game of the round.

SOUTH - Arlington, TX

Florida's road to the Final 8 was supposed to include UCLA and Georgetown, instead they get Minnesota and Florida-Gulf Coast. They look like a prime contender to knock off Kansas, if Michigan doesn't get there first.

EAST - Washington

I'm very happy my alma mater has played well, and the Indiana/Syracuse clash also has a shot to be a great one. I still like Miami to emerge.

So for all the attention to the Cinderellas, most of the big fish still lurk. So I suppose most brackets still look pretty good.

We Like Spies Like Us

The spy game of the 80s is great in retrospect. But in the decade itself, our undercover heros were as cheesy as the music and the fashion. Roger Moore was the worst James Bond, and Crockett & Tubbs were hopelessly slick in Miami Vice.

But when we look back, the infiltrators seem so much cooler. Donnie Brasco is in my all-time Top 5 movies, and the new FX series The Americans kicks the genre's ass - at least after one episode.

***CAUTION-SPOILERS***

So much tension and background information came out right out of the box that I'm hooked. But we'll get into the substance in a second. The style rocked.

The 80s music actually kicked ass, with Quarterflash's Harden My Heart and its distinctive sax riff preceding the first word of dialogue (and first blow-job) in the series. That was followed by an epic pulsating chase scene set set to Fleetwood Mac's Tusk. I still haven't gotten the Tusk beat out of my head. Also great in the shopping mall scene was Juice Newton's Playin' With The Queen Of Hearts.

Keri Russell fills out he mom jeans nicely, and the '77 Olds getaway car reminded me of The French Connection.

So high marks for nailing the audio/visuals of the era. But the story itself is pretty well-conceived.

There's the tension of the family dynamic and the mission. "Phillip" has adapted to the American family lifestyle, and can live it out for the right price. He longs to feel the love of his "wife" who is an agent first and a wife and mom second.

"Elizabeth" is the hard-ass officer, the presumed higher-ranking member of the sleeper team. Her loyalty is to the homeland, Mother Russia, for reasons we haven't yet been exposed to. She should have plenty of reason to hate the KGB, but evidently doesn't.

There's also the series-long cat and mouse game with the FBI guy across the street, which sort of reminds me of the dynamic with Walt and Hank in Breaking Bad. The superspies are one step ahead of the FBI at every turn and we don't know who to root for.

There were a couple of eye-rolls in the 90-minute premiere. There was the melee in the garage with the KGB defector who raped Elizabeth back when she was a cadet, with a ton of noise that didn't wake the kids or the neighbors. And the flashback sequences to Russia and the early days in the states made very little effort to make the characters seem 15-20 years younger.

But the show really moved. There's plenty of intrigue and a lot of sex. But the big hook is that the characters are believable and the husband and wife play non-traditional roles, especially for 1981. And anti-heros are big these days.

If we can embrace Tony Soprano and Walter White, then a couple of "Americans" shouldn't be so hard.

The Epic Escape From Salt Lake

OK, when the Utah fans rushed the field for the third time it was finally over. And so were our chances to get out out of Dodge - so it appeared...

When planning your TV crew's escape from a packed college football stadium, there's some etiquette that needs to be followed:

1) Get your plan done early, like the day before. Find out how many people and how many cars are going to the airport. Let your operations people in on the whos, whats and whens, and touch base with university or local police to find how to best get out of the parking lot or to the highway.

I have been in full police details with lights and sirens all the way to the airport (SEC), and inched along behind security golf carts (Big Ten). I have been abandoned by announcers (you know who you are) and been unable to keep up with the lead car while drunken fans pounded on the hood of my rental vehicle (more than once). Every situation is different.

2) You are there for one reason only, to do the game. Getting out is secondary. You set up a turn key operation ahead of time so that you can concentrate on doing your job without logistical distractions hanging over you.

Overtimes happen. Lightning delays happen. Officials sometimes slow games to a crawl. This is your career, and nobody paid you to do this game at gunpoint. On the rare occasion you will miss your planned family time or your next work assignment, just as you would with a standard-issue airline fiasco.

3) There will be no complaints. See #2. Hopefully I set a good example on this.

Personally, I will not tolerate people on my crew complaining, whining, or cheering like children because the path the game has taken has affected your ability to get out. I have seen announcers and directors completely lose focus in close finishes because they had a flight to catch. You need to be a professional until the moment we are done with our responsibilities from site.

This is all prologue for dateline: Salt Lake City - September 15th (and 16th), 2012.

BYU vs Utah was a 8:15 MT kick, and a handful of us had the 12:55 AM red-eye to Atlanta. My GPS spat out a 9-mile route that would take 13 minutes from Rice-Eccels Stadium to SLC Int'l in an ideal world.

Our stats guy was going to ride with us - he had the NFL game in Charlotte at 1 PM ET Sunday, and asked during the week what our chances were.

I immediately thought of Breaking Bad Season 4, "Salud," what Mike told Jesse on their expedition down to the Mexican drug cartel as they sat by Don Eladio's piscina.

"I promise you this. Either we're all going home or none of us are."

You would have to think, barring some sort of worst-case scenario that we would make it out.

And things seemed to be going smoothly. The game was slow but the outcome seemed assured. Utah led BYU 24-7 at home, entering the 4th quarter. But after a botched Utah punt attempt deep in their own end, it became 24-21 late rather unexpectedly.

At about 11:40 MT, BYU got the ball back on their own 8 with 1:11 left and no timeouts. The game seemed all but over, but on a 4th & 12 Cody Hoffman got past a clueless defender and Riley Nelson hit him for a 47 yard out-and-up.

Now there was :08 left and BYU was at the Utes' 34. They tried one play to get a closer FG, but Nelson's arm was hit and the ball fluttered. When it landed there were all zeroes on the clock and Utah celebrated. We did our due diligence, showing there should be :01 left. The replay review process confirmed this and the field needed to be cleared.

BYU then attempted a 52-yard FG to tie. It was blocked. The Utah sideline and fans emptied onto the field again in triumph. Except the blocked kick bounced back to the holder, who started running. He didn't get very far - it wasn't exactly a Stanford band situation - but he dodged a couple of guys and kept the play alive long enough for an "illegal participation" flag to be thrown on the home team.

That's a 15-yard penalty. BYU would have an un-timed down and a much more probable 37-yard kick to send the game into OT. And it would take a couple of minutes to clear the field once again.

At that point you know the kick decides whether you have a chance to get home to your kids, or spend another night in the S-to-the-L-to-the-C and all of Sunday in the air. You can't keep it out of your mind, and you know what you want to happen, but you simply push that all aside and do your job.

Then the improbable happens, the kick looks good but hits the upright and drops meekly to the ground. Utah wins and the field is deluged in red for a third time.

At this point there are a handful of edgy people, since it's my car that's going to the airport. We milk the scene in the stadium, do all of our replays and reactions and get off the air right at Midnight MT. But now we have postgame responsibilities.

Our reporter and handheld camera were sifting through the masses on the field trying to get Coach Whittingham. I felt a tug-of-war in my head. I knew we really had to leave if we were going to make our flight, but I also knew I had to stay to make sure the interview was happened properly.

There was no glad-handing, and no "good job" farewells with the crew. The stadium had begun to empty and the parking lot was starting to look like the zombie apocalypse. We had a solo police vehicle in front of our Chevy Equinox, but no lights no sirens - a Utah state law.

Now I'm a New York Driver, I've cut off plenty of taxicabs and taken my share of turns from the middle lane when pressed for time, but plowing through crowds isn't my specialty unless it's in a video game. We needed someone with a little more (how do I say this?) balls. My colleague took the keys from me.

We had ignition at 12:08 MT, 47 minutes to our ETD. Sometimes they close the doors at 10 minutes prior to departure so we had 37 minutes to get to the gate. Backtime indeed!

Sergeant Smith's guy took us out a route we didn't expect and over the trolley tracks, wound us through some side streets, and we were pretty much clear. The GPS estimate was 13 minutes and we pulled up at the rental car return in under 20.

We all had our boarding passes and security was a cakewalk at that hour. It was one of those moments when we were the ones playing against the clock...

...And reached the end zone.

We arrived in Atlanta on schedule. I even slept a bit on the plane but there were still 3 hours to kill in the airport before my connection home. It was now 7 AM, and Sunday morning of course, which meant Chick-fil-A was closed. It infuriates me every time but that's a subject for another post, if not a manifesto.

I saw highlights of the end of the BYU/Utah game several times on monitors throughout the airport. I was running on fumes and wondering if the adventure was worth it just to spend a few extra hours with the kids. I eventually melted into an open seat at the crowded gate area and audibly sighed.

"Tired?" I heard a deep voice, and turned to the older gentleman next to me. He looked like Colin Powell, but was dressed like Jimmy Buffett. I told him I just took the redeye in from Salt Lake City, "and you?"

"Afghanistan, Kandahar Province."

Dude was retired military. He had just completed his one-year contract training Afghan police, and was headed home to Hinesville. Now that's what I call an escape.

Broken Man

We know why the show is called Breaking Bad. It goes back to the very first episode when cancer-afflicted, unfulfilled middle-aged high school science teacher Walter White decides to get into the meth business.

His former student, Jesse Pinkman, becomes a partner in the scheme but fails to understand, "Some straight guy like you, giant stick up his ass, age what - 60? He's just gonna break bad?"

Walt first retorts that he's only 50. He then says, "I am awake."

So we don't know the old Walt (except for a handful of flashbacks), but the current Walt is not only beyond repair, he is beyond belief.

Is it that the character is broken, or have the show's creators made him that way? It's an important distinction. If Walt's behavior is unbelievable to the show's fanatic audience, then maybe the show has jumped the shark.

****CAUTION-SPOILED****

In Season 5 Episode 6, "Buyout," it all comes the closest to full circle that the show has ever been. It's done through talk - which I don't like, but it's done with Jesse in Walt's living room of all places where his wife could walk in at any moment - which she eventually does.

The scene where Walt pulls a James Bond/MacGyver to escape handcuffed detainment is more believable than the scene where he reaches into his darkened soul to tell Jesse his reasoning behind the refusal of a $5 Million buyout.

It doesn't explain why Walt has decided to live at home while Skyler won't allow the kids to live in the same house, rather than living in the place he had originally moved out to and already owns. Except that we are expected to believe that he is stubbornly going to turn her.

And the same logic applies to Walt's dogged determination to press Jesse and Mike to continue their operation, rather than simply sell out for millions each.

As much as we love the series, we are begging Walt to be sensible. But he's just as obstinate with us.

Jesse references their conversation from the Season 2 premiere "Seven Thirty Seven," when Walt had figured out the math that $737K was all the money he needed, before the cancer killed him, to set up his family.

Jesse asks Walt if they're in the meth business or the money business. Walt seethes that he's in the "empire business." Jesse asks if that's really something to be proud of.

Walt rants about the one time he sold out in his past, trading in his stake in "Gray Matter" for a few months rent, while his partners Elliott and Gretchen Schwartz built a multi-billion dollar business.

So in just a year's time (theoretically), Walt's motivation changed from his family's security to being king. It's an unrealistic transformation. Unless Walt had already broken bad, and the misery inside him was just looking for an excuse to express itself.

That's if the writers can make us believe that the sympathetic anti-hero we've been rooting for is actually, truly evil.

Breaking Bad and The Business They've Chosen

"This is the business we've chosen" 

In The Godfather: Part II, Hyman Roth didn't ask Michael Corleone who gave the order to kill his friend Moe Greene. It had nothing to do with business.

In Breaking Bad, despite Walt and Jesse's best intentions to run a multi-million dollar illegal meth operation without bloodshed, extortion, and drama, there's nothing that changes the business they've chosen. There will always be innocent blood on their hands.

****CAUTION-SPOILED****

"Give me a break, you we're gonna murder me. I thought you were professionals." 

Lydia Rodarte-Quayle is quickly establishing herself as a major player in Season 5, as Madrigal's last "man" standing in the U.S. operation. She is frenzied but savvy, and she saved her own life a couple of times already.

She hatches the scheme to rob the train transporting methylamine, but can't understand what the reservations are about killing the train's crew.

"Boosting methylamine from a train is like a major rap. The point is, nobody, other than us, can ever know this robbery ever went down."

Jesse said it, and Walt seconded for their new henchman, Todd from the pest control operation, so they were perfectly clear. Too clear obviously.

Jesse has been the criminal with the heart from the beginning. While Walt and Mike argue incessantly about how much human damage needs to be done, Jesse now stays out and thinks. He came up with the "magnet" plan, and had the insight to turn the train heist from "armed robbery" to just "robbery."

Oh by the way, Skyler noticed the soot on Walt's pants after the dry run and sarcastically asked if he was out burying bodies. Walt said pridefully that in fact he was robbing a train. Don't think that won't come back. There isn't a throwaway scene or line or cutaway in this series.

So the pulsating train heist goes down with some speed bumps along the way. The track interruption ruse gets foiled prematurely and Jesse almost gets flattened when the train gets moving again, but they pulled it off and got all their meth.

Except the poor kid riding his bike in the desert collecting tarantulas, who happened upon the heist celebration. Todd isn't in the operation's inner circle and didn't know the lengths they went to avoid a body count. He figured he was working for "professional" gangsters and promptly shoots and kills the kid, as he thought he was ordered.

So now Walt and Jesse are caught in their own vicious circle. They went against Gus Fring and started a war because of his willingness to make a child (riding a bike no less) expendable, as the cost of doing business.

Now it's their business, and they gave the order. Whether they chose to or not.

The Gold Medal for Confrontational Dialogue

There are some very good conceptual shows out there that really make you think, but the character dialogue is so stilted that you can almost see Joe Writer in front of a typewriter with a lightbulb over his head.

Then there are the gold standards, where the dialogue is so real you are drawn in to the show and forget that anyone ever put words down on paper in the first place. I think of The Wire, The Sopranos, Deadwood, and Justified. And it isn't too much of a coincidence that they all deal in great detail with the criminal's point of view.

So I present Exhibit A: Breaking Bad, Season 5 Episode 4 "Fifty-One." Conceived by Vince Gilligan and written by Sam Catlin. The scene involves only Bryan Cranston (Walter White) and Anna Gunn (Skyler White).

****CAUTION-SPOILERS****

Skyler's very real state of constant fear had just manifested itself in a transparent cry for help, a faked suicide attempt in the Whites' own swimming pool at a dinner party for Walt's 51st birthday. She knows what she now wants: the kids out of this combustible environment. But she doesn't know how to get there, and she finally ditches the passive aggression and strips it down for Walt.

SKY: I'm in it now. I'm compromised, but I will not have my children living in a house where dealing drugs, where hurting people, and killing people is shrugged off as shit happens! We're back at it, fine. The kids stay away and that's that.

WALT: That's that? That's what?

SKY: I got them out of this house.

WALT: To a sleepover at their aunt and uncle's. They spend a day or two, Junior stays up late watching movies, and then what happens?

SKY: We'll see...

WALT: No I'll tell you what happens. They come home to this house to their parents who love them.

SKY: No. I will not let our business endanger them.

WALT: How many times do I have to say they are not in --

SKY: I said No. I swear to god I won't have them back here.

WALT: What are you going to do to stop it?

SKY: Whatever it takes. Everything in my power.

WALT: Like what...I mean specifically? What is your next move?

SKY: My next move is maybe I hurt myself. Make it clear we need more time. Let Hank and Marie see we're still struggling.

WALT: No, more like you're still struggling. So maybe next time I have you committed. Put you in some in-patient facility while I take care of the kids myself. Is that what you want?

SKY: So then maybe I show up with bruises on my neck, give myself a black eye. Say that you beat me when you found out about my lover.

WALT: I see. So you want to involve Ted? Now that would be fun, bringing the police up to speed on all of that. But not as much fun as telling your 16-year old son his father is a wife-beater...Also not a very good plan, what else you got?

SKY: I could send Junior away to school.

WALT: Oh. Here's the conversation: "So Honey I know you've only got one year left in high school, but I would love it so much if you would drop everything, leave all your friends behind and go to boarding school in Arizona." You have any other ideas? Because I am not hearing a solution to your problem...How are you going to save our kids from this terrible environment? What are you gonna do, what're you gonna run off to France? What're you gonna close the curtains, change the locks? This is a joke, come on Skyler. You wanna take me on? You wanna take away my children? What's the plan!

SKY: I don't know! This is the best I could come up with! Okay? I will count every minute that the kids are away from here, away from you, as a victory. But you're right. It's a bad plan. I don't have any of your magic Walt, I don't know what to do, I'm a coward. I can't go to the police, I can't stop laundering your money, I can't keep you out of this house, I can't even keep you out of my bed...All I can do is wait, that's it, that's the only good option. Hold on, bide my time, and wait.

WALT: Wait for what? What are you waiting for?

SKY: ...For the cancer to come back.

Cut to Walt. Scene. Go to commercial. Perfect. And it was all talk.

But the body language made it too. Walt was stalking, menacing, and had all the answers. Skyler was retreating, even to the point of pulling her robe tightly over her chest. She was losing to the superior mind throughout, but hit him with the last word with more force than any weapon. But she's no saint here. Notice how she said "our business" but "your money?"

In the episode's final scene, Walt tries to convince Skyler that she'll come around. Because Jesse had just recently had a gun at his head and was now buying him an expensive watch. She'll come around too. Oh that'll do the trick. Keep reminding her of the constant danger he's in.

It's only the 4th episode of the season and show arcs are a lot like scene arcs, so it's not inconceivable that Walt is right - that Skyler will defy all logic and change her tune. It would be the human thing to do. And that's what separates the truly great shows from just great concepts.

Sweet Tees! Cost Effective Fashion Statements

I don't have some killer wardrobe. I work behind the scenes in television. On-air types have dozens of suits, and women talent have been known to amass much, much more. My fashion statements are made through my T-shirt collection, mostly during the summer when I'm off the job.

Signature tees are an emerging internet industry. Like anything unique, you're likely not going to find it at the local department store. CafePress and Zazzle are two of the leaders in terms of selection, irreverence, and design. Amazon and Ebay are mainstays, but they don't specialize in tees. Be careful as many places have good stuff, but are are fly-by-night. Try to use PayPal whenever possible in those cases.

Anyway, without (much) further ado, here's Backtime's summer rotation Top 5, and where they came from:

5. Yankees ~ Melky Cabrera #28. Yankee Stadium, 2008.

Since the purchase, Melky changed his number from 28 to 53, won a World Series with the Yanks, was traded to the Braves, stunk for a season, and was released after 2010. He signed with KC in '11 and had a great year, was traded to SF - where he's currently batting .355 and is a legit MVP candidate. My faith in him has been well-rewarded.

4. Sesame Street ~ All My Homies are from the Street. Target, 2009.

This one's faded a bit, but it fits great and the kids laugh every time I put it on. Perfect for school events, camp pickups and afternoon activities. Lots of chuckles from young moms of all races.

3. Sportvision ~ 1st & 10. SWAG, 2008.

A real rarity, only received by a few in the TV football community. Sportvision is the technology company behind the incredible innovations in TV sports. In addition to many of the mind-boggling race tracking gadgets in NASCAR and MLB's K-Zone, they created the single greatest invention in TV sports in 1998: The 1st & 10 "yellow line" on football. What did we ever do without it? The T-shirt is beyond a collector's item, it is a historical treasure.

2. Breaking Bad ~ Los Pollos Hermanos. CafePress, 2011.

The establishment is dead, along with its proprietor Gustavo Fring (should I have issued a spoiler alert?), but brand recognition in the meth community and on Tybee is still king. I saw that season 5's new "front," Vamonos Pest Control shirts are already out. Get 'em while they're hot.

1. Mr. Clean. Zazzle, 2011.

Of extraordinary value. It's the moniker bestowed on me by my martial arts Master. I followed through with the shirt when I reached a certain level of achievement. I rarely bust it out for ordinary events, like a lap or two around Forsyth. I almost feel like ironing it before I wear it.

The honorable mention title shirt "Kalamazoo" (some mall in K'zoo, 2006) from the closet is suffering from too much use over the years and frayed around the collar. Treat your tees with respect and they will pay you back handsomely for years!

Baracking Bad Part 2: What Will 51 Bring?

Yesterday the President officially became middle-aged, a fifty-something. Tonight's Breaking Bad is titled "Fifty One," for Walter White's birthday (Bryan Cranston is actually 56). Which means that even though the show is on Season 5, Episode 4, it's only been one year since the series began on Walt's 50th birthday.

The President has sprouted a few gray hairs with the weight of the world on his shoulders and all, but he's got it easy compared to Walt.

****CAUTION - SPOILERS****

In one year of calendar time, Walt learned he had terminal lung cancer, became a crystal meth guru, missed the birth of his daughter, killed several people, hired the coolest shady lawyer ever, had his wife have an affair with her boss and leave him, killed his partner's junkie girlfriend, had a plane crash in his backyard, got his DEA agent brother-in-law shot, saw a man get his throat cut in front of him, bought a car wash, poisoned a kid, and blew up the biggest drug kingpin in the southwest.

I'm sure I'm missing something but that's the gist of it.

Season 5 opens up with a flash-forward. Walt is 52 now and his hair is back. He's obviously been on his own for some time and returns home to New Mexico to buy an assault weapon. So what happens in the next year? How could Walt break any worse?

Walt has gone from sympathetic wimp, to fledgling amateur criminal to mastermind to sociopath. His character is beyond redemption, and he'll need to be taken down. Many have tried already, but have been outwitted. Tuco was a maniac. Jane was conniving and desperate. Gus was a machine. But they all had weaknesses. So who will put an end to Heisenberg?

Mike? No. While he's a badass, he's not a top dog. He needs Walt more than ever. Walt's troubling idea of business still provides the money necessary to keep Mike's family, and his guys "whole."

Skyler? Likely not. She may wind up shooting him in a panic, but she has invested too much guilt and too many lies in what's happened already. She thought she had a stomach for the business, but money laundering was as far as she could go. She's on the verge of a breakdown after yelling SHUT UP at her sister Marie, 14 times in a row. She's constantly at war with her conscience, a problem Walt doesn't have.

Hank? Don't think so. He may be forced in a situation to put the collar on Walt, but he'll never make him the target because he just won't see him like that. He's been minutes away from cracking the elusive Heisenberg on several tries, and has continually just missed.

Jesse? That's got to be it. Jesse has been too clean and straight-laced since his heroic turn in Mexico. He's been a perfect, don't-rock-the-boat partner for Walt in the newest chapter of their endeavor.

The show's first junkie crook is the most likable character in the cast. You wouldn't say he knows right from wrong, but wrong from really wrong.

And now that he's not using and not screwing up, what does he get for his efforts? He gets manipulated into ending a happy relationship, and a not-too-subtle threat from his partner about knowing his place.

If Jesse ever finds out about Walt's role in Jane's death, or in Brock's poisoning, it's going to be World War III.

He's not as steely or strong-willed as Walt, but he has Mike's trust. And unlike Walt, he has friends that are loyal.

The pieces are on the chessboard. The king will eventually go down. He may not be killed, he may not be captured, but he will most certainly be forced out.

And that's what will cause Walt's "sabbatical," and a return home with a machine gun for one final showdown. Which will most certainly have more drama than election night.

Breaking Bad: Back To Business?

The new season's second episode still was dealing with the clean up of last season's loose ends. Now it seems everyone is in a position to look forward.

****CAUTION-SPOILERS****

The fallout of multinational "concern" Madrigal's financing of Gus Fring's Los Pollos Hermanos franchise reached the top as the company's CEO offed himself in the opening scene.

When Madrigal brass came to Albuquerque to meet DEA, they promised transparency in the investigation. Though we are introduced to a Brooks Brothers lawyer, Lydia (as opposed to Bus Stop lawyer Saul Goodman) who is more determined to eliminate loose ends.

Meanwhile Walt continues his ruse with Jessie that the poison-laced cigarette is still out there. And as always brilliantly handled by the show's producers, it isn't done in live back-and-forth conversation. Their talk is played as voice-over as Walt prepares a fake and hides the real one. And they aggressively tear up Jesse's house with Walt pretending to discover it, all to the driving music of "Stay On The Outside" by Whitey. 

When they decide that they need to resume cooking (Walt needs to - he's at a net loss after Skylar bailed out Beneke for the IRS), they try to entice Mike to be an equal partner, since they need him for logistics, distribution, and a "steady supply of precursor." Precursor represents the materials and chemicals needed to synthesize crystal meth.  

Mike says thanks but no thanks. As he rightly points out, Walt is a time bomb. 

Except that the scientific stunt that erased Gus' laptop in evidence control in Episode 1 also broke a photograph that revealed Gus' off-shore bank codes which the DEA has now promised to seize. That eliminates the financial safety net for Mike (set aside for his granddaughter) and "his guys." Which means they may talk, which means Lydia will try to have them killed. But she didn't finish off Mike, and he tortures himself about whether or not to murder her and orphan her daughter. 

So Mike trades her life back for "precursor" since he's going to need money too.   

ASAC Merkert shakes his head to Hank that he couldn't believe Gus was under his nose the whole time and didn't see it. Did it make Hank think of Walt?

Skylar is terrified of the man Walt has become too, realizing the scope and reach of what he's capable of, and what he's made her do. 

Season 5 is heading towards Murder On The Orient Express, where everyone has a motive. Mike sees Walt as too much trouble. Hank doesn't have his finger on Walt, but may be ready to confront him. Walt's wife can't breathe around him.

But I still think the show's creators haven't underplayed this by accident. It's going to be Walt vs Jesse to finish off this "split" final season in 2013.

Breaking Bad Returns: Magnets Have Two Sides

After a exhaustive and thorough post-mortem on The Freeh Report, it's time to return to my favorite criminal activities, fictional ones. Breaking Bad is back and like a huge magnet, it draws the polar opposites back together.

****CAUTION-SPOILERS****

As a season opener generally does, it sets up more story than it provides. This contrasts with last season's premiere which featured a memorable scene involving the now deceased Gustavo Fring, a box-cutter, and an associate's throat.

The opening scene jumps about a year ahead. Walt's got a new name, New Hampshire plates, and a high-powered assault weapon. The title of the episode "Live Free Or Die" (the New Hampshire state motto) would be cute and apropos, except it was already used in The Sopranos when Vito Spatafore was outed at a gay club and broke north, ultimately hooking up with a New Hampshire firefighter.

The episode itself shifts back to the aftermath of Gus' demise. Walt has sold Jesse and somehow convinced Mike on the clean-up, a high-risk, low-probability use of a super magnet to infiltrate a guarded Albuquerque Police Department evidence room.

One of the trademarks of Breaking Bad, what separates this show from other one-hour dramas, is that the great acting isn't cluttered with a bunch of monologues by the main characters. Facial expressions do the exposition work of a good two pages of clever back-and-forth banter.

Mike is the exception. His old Irish curmudgeonly ways fit well. And he gets a pass from his exceptional breakout as Frank McPike in Wiseguy, the first great Mob series. His exchanges with Walt are real and anecdotal (remember Half-Measures?) and illuminating, even though they're a little long.

Meanwhile, Skyler White has very much established herself as a co-kingpin. With (somewhat) more humanity that Walt, she is the one moving the pieces on the chessboard while Walt has become the bull in the china shop, relying on pure intimidation.

Skyler has become the one that Saul Goodman turns to when even a shady lawyer finds himself in an ethical quandary. And she's the one who makes sure that Ted Beneke doesn't talk.

We were sure that Ted was dead, right? Turns out he's just badly injured, and just another good-looking bald man in Season 5.

As Skyler and Walt now have similar levels of accountability in the scheme, expect that they will repel each other as similar ends of a magnet would.

As season 5 continues on, I expect this will eventually all lead to the foreshadowed war. But I think it will be Walt vs Jesse, who was way too even keeled right out of the box.

And there's the business of business. Walt and Jesse need a new lab and a new distributor.

I was happy to see that AMC wasn't one of the channels on the DirecTV chopping block. The relief will be short-lived if the Viacom deal isn't worked out by the time the Colbert Report returns tonight.

Predictions for the Mad Men Season Finale: Go Fish

Some of my friends who enjoy Mad Men don't like the Sally Draper story arc. I find it to be one of the most enjoyable parts of the series. Her reaction to her parents' breakup, combined with growing up as a young lady in the mid 1960s, is fascinating.

But that only leads into Backtime's Mad Men fishing expedition into the season finale:

1. Sally Draper will do something more defiant and outrageous than anything she's pulled to this point. Her Mom's plan to move to get her away from Glenn down the street will be the next tipping point in her volatile state in the "Francis" residence.

2. There will be some sort of confrontation between Don Draper's most recent steady, Dr. Faye Miller, and his new secretary Megan.

3. Roger Sterling will be marginalized. Now John Slattery has become a bona fide TV star so I don't expect him to be gone from the series, but he will become a glorified consultant a la the role that Bert Cooper has take on this season.

4. As a result, Pete Campbell gets to be the agency's top dog. And SCDP won't have to change their logo as Campbell slides right into Sterling Campbell Draper Pryce.

5. Don Draper's New York Times ad that renounces Big Tobacco catches the eye of some big fish, and even prompts the return of Conrad Hilton, who signs with SCDP and saves them from economic free fall.

6. But ultimately, it will be an episode that ends the season with closure instead of an open-ended cliffhanger and tons of unanswered questions (a la AMC's other show, Breaking Bad).

Mad About You: Another Case of Co-Dependency

The continuing, evolving drama of a night with Don and Peggy told you everything you wanted to know about what this show is all about. Watching them take on a the Samsonite campaign, a mouse, and a Duck in an all-nighter, was very reminiscent of watching the way a mentor and protegee bicker on their AMC compadre show, Breaking Bad.

Don naturally backed Sonny Liston against Cassius Clay that night in 1965. The way he liked Nixon over Kennedy a few seasons earlier. Don liked the guys who didn't brag.

And Peggy is Don's #2 now. Peggy gives don ideas and she tries to boast about it, but he shits on her. At least that's Peggy's take on it. But Don is adamant.

"That's the way it works. There are no credits on commercials."

"I give you money. You give me ideas."

When Peggy complains, "But you never say thank you!" Don is incredulous, "That's what the money is for!"

It is a pivotal night in Don's life. Not just because Don lost $100 on Liston, but because of the death of Anna Draper - and the close relationship he had with the woman who allowed him his name. And Don showed vulnerability for the very first time.

But at the end of the night (really the next day), a "spruced up" Don Draper realizes he has a stable relationship in his life. Despite the death of his great friend, his divorce, and his reckless drinking, he found someone to complete him, and not in the usual way Don relies on a woman.

And the constant shake-up of the pecking order on the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce totem pole continues. At age 26 (Happy birthday!) Peggy Olson is in a tremendous position at her job. And she didn't know it until now.

Breaking Bread: A Recipe for the Cook

Gus Frings, the Mexican chicken magnate and the southwest's top crystal meth kingpin just invited his most valuable employee, Walter White, over to the house for dinner. But as always, Walt knew the subtext and tried to blind him with science.

Gus:

"It always amazes me the way the senses work in connection to my brain...Taken separately, these ingredients alone don't remind me of anything...But in this precise combination, the smell of this meal instantly brings me back to my childhood. How is that possible?"

Walt:

"Basically it all takes place in the hippocampus. Neural connections are formed. The senses make the neurons express signals that go right back to the same part of the brain as before...Where memory is stored. It's something called relational memory."

But what Gus really smells is a rat, not in the mafioso sense, just one who is nibbling from his cheese. Simply put, Jesse Pinkman, Walt's resourceful but foolish partner may have just become an endangered species.

While that one scene dictates exactly where Breaking Bad is headed next, two amazing sub-plots have emerged that nobody ever could have seen coming:

When Skyler Met Saul

Saul Goodman:

"Clearly Walt's taste in women is the same as his taste in lawyers. Only the very best, with just the right amount of dirty."

Since Walt's extensive bankroll is going to fund the recovery of their brother-in-law (enforcement), Skyler needs to know that the laundered money is "unimpeachable."

As events unfold, Skyler injects herself as a point person in the process. Oh, and by the way we're not divorced after all - so we can't be compelled to testify against each other.

Avenging Combo

Jesse has always come across as a wannabe gangster. Yes, he's the self-admitted "bad guy," but he's clearly loyal and has a good heart when it comes to things, and people, that matter.

But through a random turn of events, another door has opened to his painful past. Jesse has tracked down the pre-teen gunman, and the soulless crew responsible for the assassination of his best friend.

Now Jesse's yin and yang are in unison. In one look you know he wants to wipe out Combo's killers, the ones who would use a 10-year old boy to sling and slay. And he can do it with a clear conscience in the name of righteousness.