Breaking Bad

(S03E07) How did the cousins become the cold, unfeeling mutants we've perceived them to be? It started with a dunk in the beer bucket. Uncle's lesson may have been about family, but what sunk in to the youthful psychopaths was how to kill someone in one minute. A minute would turn out to be their undoing ...

(S03E06) The word "pivotal" doesn't even begin to describe this episode. When it was over, I let out a "Jimmy H. Carter!" so loud that it freaked out my fiancee -- imagine another name with the initials "J.C." instead of "Jimmy Carter" and you'll get the idea.

(S03E05) If you've been waiting this season for the switch to be flipped, for the seemingly inert Walter White to snap back to life, this was it. The show was called "Mas," Spanish for more. Looking ahead, that's what we're going to be seeing. For "mas" on the shifting tone, the parting of the ways and Ted's heated bathroom tiles in this episode, follow after the jump.

(S03E04) Even on cable shows that are tightly plotted because of their short seasons, there are sometimes episodes that feel more like they're setting things up for the episodes to come rather than pushing the story arc forward. This week felt like one of those episodes.

I wouldn't classify it as a "throat-clearing" kind of episode, because, even when treading water, 'Breaking Bad' still retains its intensity and sense of drama. But after the first three rollicking episodes, it was interesting to see the show take an hour to collect its thoughts and linger for a little while.

Here's tonight's TV lineup (all times Eastern). All shows mentioned are new, unless otherwise noted.

7:00 to 8:00
ABC: 'America's Funniest Home Videos'
CBS: '60 Minutes' -- Interview with John Gotti Jr.
FOX: 'Til Death'
NBC: 'Dateline NBC'
Animal Planet: 'Wild Kingdom'

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'
CBS: 'Amazing Race'
FOX: 'The Simpsons' and 'The Cleveland Show'
Discovery: 'Life'
Disney: 'Sonny With a Chance' and 'Good Luck Charlie'
Food Network: 'Food Network Challenge'
Nick: 'Victorious'
Style: 'Ruby'

9:00 to 10:00
ABC: 'Brothers & Sisters' -- Two-hour edition
CBS: 'Undercover Boss'
FOX: 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad'
NBC: 'The Celebrity Apprentice'
A&E: 'Gene Simmons Family Jewels' -- 9:30 start time
Discovery: 'Life'
Food Network: 'Ultimate Recipe Showdown'
HBO: 'The Pacific'
Showtime: 'The Tudors' -- Season premiere
Style: 'Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane'

10:00 to 11:00
CBS: 'Cold Case'
A&E: 'Kristie Alley's Big Life'
AMC: 'Breaking Bad'
Discovery: 'The Deadliest Catch: Best of Season 5'
Food Network: 'Iron Chef America'
HBO: 'Treme' -- Series premiere
History: 'Ax Men'
Lifetime: 'Army Wives' -- Season premiere
Style: 'Jerseylicious'
TLC: 'Hoarding: Buried Alive'

11:00 and beyond
Cartoon Network (Adult Swim): 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force' at midnight and 'Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job' at 12:30

(S03E03) One of the aspects of 'Breaking Bad' that amazes me week after week, and one of the things that makes it one of the most compelling shows on television, is this:

Intellectually, as you watch Walter White lie his way through his family's lives and the lives of everyone he comes in contact with, you know he's one of the biggest bastards on TV. And, also intellectually, you watch Skyler have to suffer through all of Walt's lies -- at least the ones she knows about -- and you know she's trying her best to protect herself and her children from someone who's become a monster she no longer recognizes.

But, here's the compelling part: No matter how rationally I think about the situation, I still don't know who to root for.

(S03E02) Last season, we had to wait until the end to see what the cold open was all about each week. This time around, the scary pair of bald Mexicans worked their way into the main story almost immediately, even if it's still unclear what their objective is. In fact, the climax at the White house that wrapped this episode had so much going on, it was almost overwhelming.

Vince Gilligan and company continue to take things slow, after the bombshell revelation that Walter laid on Skyler last week. Walter's clearly in a state of crisis, and he's becoming unraveled completely because of it. He's without direction and focus. Everything he did for the past two seasons he did for his family; albeit misguided and taking things way, way too far.

He at least had a purpose and there was always a goal behind the production of meth: making enough money to keep his family going after he died ... then to pay for his treatment and surgery ... then to pay for Holly, the new and unexpected baby. Now, he's lost everything and he's lost in response.

This is really, really good news. This is the kind of news that has to make every television fan cheer ... and breathe a sigh of relief. The season three premiere of 'Breaking Bad' was seen by two million viewers. For a network show, that would be cause for alarm. For AMC, it's a reason to celebrate. Those two million viewers were the most to ever tune in to an episode of 'Breaking Bad.' Did you hear that, world? 'Breaking Bad's' most-watched episode ever.

The numbers were spun, naturally, and they got even better. There were two repeats of 'No Mas' that night, and the total number of viewers climbed to 3.3 million.

In season two of 'Breaking Bad,' viewers saw Anna Gunn's character of Skyler White go from long-suffering wife of cancer-patient-slash-meth-maker Walter White to a person who is starting to have her own moral dilemmas.

But right at the start of the third season, Skyler's world gets turned upside down. I can't say more without spoiling things, which is why I postponed posting the interview I did with Anna Gunn in January until after the season three premiere aired. Gunn and I talk about the first episode bombshell and how her character reacted. We also talk about what might be in store for Skyler and son Walt Jr. (RJ MItte) in season three.

Our friends at AOL TV also spoke to Gunn recently, if you want to find out more about what's in store for Skyler.

(WARNING: Spoilers of the season three premiere are ahead!)

(S03E01) The return of 'Breaking Bad' is a reason to celebrate. No, it's not that Walter White is the kind of character you cheer for and enjoy watching. Rather, it's that the ongoing story of Walt, the very act of his breaking bad, is the most compelling television currently on the air.

There are elements of 'Breaking Bad' that are simply unmatched on any other drama series. This return picks up precisely where the last season ended, albeit a few days later, but the tone, the time and the emotional dynamite is firmly intact. Be prepared for the ride of your life in the weeks ahead.

Wanted to pass along another tidbit from the 'Breaking Bad' roundtable I wrote about the other day. When Bob Odenkirk was asked by one of the reporters if he modeled his character of slimy lawyer Saul Goodman on TV televangelists like Joel Osteen and various media hucksters, he agreed that those people informed his character. But the biggest influence on how he played Saul wasn't a huckster; it was legendary movie producer Robert Evans.

"I've never had a part with this many lines that someone else wrote. Even for myself, even that I wrote. Anything I've ever written for myself, I've never had these monologues. So that was intimidating," said Odenkirk. "I thought, if your cadence doesn't change, if you don't have an interesting delivery to this, you're never going to be able to listen to this three pages of dialogue from this one guy."

He cited the audiobook to Evans' autobiography 'The Kid Stays In The Picture' for helping him deal with those monologues.

After a few weeks off (my fault... don't ask), we're back in the swing of things, talking about everything going on this March on TV. This week, Jason Hughes, Danny Gallagher and Allison Waldman join me to talk about:

• All the new shows that have started this month. 'Parenthood,' 'The Pacific,' 'Justified' and 'Minute to Win It' are discussed (we're especially flummoxed at why 'Parenthood' isn't at all funny),
• How Leno returned to 'The Tonight Show' and no one cared,
• What we think the Conan tour is going to look like,
• The return of 'Breaking Bad,' 'United States of Tara,' and 'Nurse Jackie,' (Warning: spoilers abound during this discussion),
• Picks of the week, and more.

Run time is 1:07:14.

You can listen to the podcast below, or download from here or by subscribing to our RSS podcast feed. It is also available via iTunes. Feel free to leave us feedback in the comments or drop us a line at tvsquadpodcast [at] gmail [dot] com.

As always, the music at the beginning and end of the podcast is "Life" by Justin Trawick.



By the way, the audio problems we had in the last podcast have fixed themselves. Enjoy the non-robotic-sounding voices!

After speaking to Vince Gilligan at the press tour, the folks at AMC were eager to get online writers a chance to talk to the entire 'Breaking Bad' cast. So, later on that day, about a half-dozen reporters sat with Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Bob Odenkirk and Anna Gunn to talk about the show's intense second season and what's coming up in season three, which debuts Sunday at 10PM ET.

The most interesting tidbits came from Cranston, which makes sense; not only is he the show's Emmy-winning star, but he has also directed a number of episodes, including the season three premiere. When I asked him about the next-to-last episode of season two, a moment that I've dubbed the show's "holy crap" moment, he had an interesting response.

(WARNING: Spoilers of season two are ahead!)

'Breaking Bad' comes back for its third season this Sunday on AMC (10PM ET / 9PM CT), and after watching the last few episodes of season two, the new season can't come soon enough. The dramatic ante was upped for meth-making science teacher Walter White (a role for which Bryan Cranston won another Emmy) and his partner Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), and the season ended with the fallout of Walter's actions spreading from his family to the greater Albuquerque area.

Creator and executive producer Vince Gilligan is the man behind the dark but wryly amusing world of 'Breaking Bad.' After watching the first two season three episodes while I was at the TCA tour in January, I got a chance to sit with Gilligan poolside at the Langham Huntington for a few minutes.

We talked about the "holy crap" moment of season two, on how he and Cranston see Walter differently, how many seasons he envisions the show running, how Walter might transform over the season's run, and what it's like to be on the same network as 'Mad Men.'

Stay tuned for interviews with the cast later in the week.

(SPOILERS AHEAD! Stop here if you haven't seen season two yet...)

'Breaking Bad' isn't just reinventing the TV drama. It's also reinventing viral marketing.

With the third highly-anticipated season of the popular AMC show just around the corner, the show has unleashed "BetterCallSaul.com," a website advertising the shady law offices of Saul Goodman, Walter White and Jesse Pinkman's equally shady attorney.

Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk who also contributes to the series as a writer, appears all over the site in some hilarious videos that play with Odenkirk's trademark humor and provides some interesting teaser links to the show such as "the tragedy of Wayfarer Flight 515" and Walter's son's funding raising site, SaveWalterWhite.com.