Bad is bad

We don’t have cable, and our network television is limited to whatever stations our old-fashioned antenna is able to suck into the house.

Of course, the quality of the picture often varies depending upon the position of the viewers’ legs. Or arms. Or hair.

So, I recently started a Netflix subscription. As a result, I spend even more time with my computer. The laptop does provide some warmth on these very cold winter nights. Remember, I have been married over 30 years….sometimes this is the best I can hope for in the warm lap department.

In any event, I have been watching many British dramas. I love them. Inspector Morse. Inspector Alleyn, Miss Marple. Hercule Poirot.  Jack Frost. Inspector Lewis. Inspector Lynley.

Perhaps I am fixated on solving murders. Or trying to learn about the perfect murder. As noted above, I have been married for over 30 years.

Primarily, I love seeing the English countryside, and listening to the variety of British accents. I also love to see the actors-a somewhat fixed group who seem to rotate through all of the shows. I recently watched the actress who plays Mrs. Hughes on Downton Abbey marry the character Jack Frost in a twenty-year-old episode of A Touch of Frost.

But after having watched just about all of the British crime series offered by Netflix. I’ve had to move on to shows recommended by friends. The one most highly recommended was “Breaking Bad”.

The concept of the show seemed unique. A plain, middle-class guy who begins a life of crime (“breaking bad”) during a crisis in his life. I decided to watch it. I’ve now seen the first four episodes.

I’m not sure I’ll watch any more.

In my job, I see  lot of criminals. I also see a lot of “criminals”. The “criminals”, people who are mostly just mentally ill, poor, or just plain sad, make up the majority of the caseload.  In all of the time I’ve done this, I have never seen anyone like Walter, Breaking Bad’s main character. No one I’ve ever seen has gone so far as Walter within such a short period of time, after having been a “model citizen” throughout his life. In order to avoid being a spoiler, I will just say that he has done some extremely horrifying things in these first few episodes. It bothers me that this show seems to romanticize the concept of a regular guy doing really bad things….and then he goes to work the next day as though nothing was amiss. He is not portrayed as a psychopath, just a normal guy who has made a decision that this is how he will live his life. He does have some minor moral struggles with decisions he faces, but in the end, he continues on his chosen path. I’ll acknowledge that it does have a bit of a comedic edge to it, but the series is more of a drama than a comedy.

Could this be a playbook for other frustrated, good, middle-class folks in a similar situation? Maybe, maybe not.

There is one character whom I do particularly like-Walter’s son, Walt Jr. He is a teenager who happens to have cerebral palsy. The actor does a great job. And the character is very sweet.

Ok, maybe I will watch just a few more episodes. Just to see what happens

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