Entertainment
5 'Breaking Bad' Critics Who Hated the Show In Season One
It's hard to imagine anyone giving Breaking Bad anything but love today, but only a few short years ago, some critics weren't too thrilled with the now-iconic series. To be fair, they didn't hate it, but they definitely didn't lavish it with anything close to the same praise that it now regularly gets . While they were impressed by the acting of stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, they didn't see much of a future for AMC's follow-up to Mad Men, which premiered just a year earlier. Shocking, we know, and now, you can bet those critics have come around and seen how incredible the Emmy-winning drama, now in its last season, truly is. Image: AMC
Bet They're Eating Their Words Now
It's hard to imagine anyone giving Breaking Bad anything but love today, but only a few short years ago, some critics weren't too thrilled with the now-iconic series. To be fair, they didn't hate it, but they definitely didn't lavish it with anything close to the same praise that it now regularly gets . While they were impressed by the acting of stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, they didn't see much of a future for AMC's follow-up to Mad Men, which premiered just a year earlier. Shocking, we know, and now, you can bet those critics have come around and seen how incredible the Emmy-winning drama, now in its last season, truly is. Image: AMC
1. Alessandra Stanley, 'The New York Times'
"This is the first series offered by AMC since its heady offering last summer, the hit Mad Men. And the network’s next may well be much better. Television follows the same pattern as fiction and families: The second novel and the middle child almost never live up to the expectations stoked by the first. Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, a writer and executive producer of The X-Files, couldn’t be more different from Mad Men, but it also lacks that series’s originality and sparkle." Image: AMC
2. Matthew Gilbert, 'The Boston Globe'
"We know all along that Walter White is a hero, which flattens the potential for character complexity. His last name implies only good things, no gray areas ... the show isn't a moral teaser or a look at the two sides of human nature; it's just a fast, slick ride to hell." Image: AMC
3. Troy Patterson, 'Slate'
"It's no mere coincidence that a scene in this Sunday's episode — a vision of a dazed and bloodied outlaw marching through a pristine suburb — recalls a moment in No Country for Old Men. Breaking Bad often tries to make like a Coen brothers' edition of Weeds. Its achievement rarely matches its ambitions." Image: Miramax
4. Melanie McFarland, 'Seattle Post-Intelligencer'
"To read this makes Breaking Bad sound like a comedy. It should be, and by the end of the third episode you are going to wish somebody would let in more light. But no. Instead, we have another drama taking itself far too seriously... making a hit out of any situation is possible with the right writers — what was Arthur if not a sparkling swim through drooling and slurring? — but those talents are not at work here."
5. Rob Owen, 'Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'
"A TV series must dole out morsels of character motivation often enough to keep viewers tuning in, and I'm not convinced Breaking Bad does ... Breaking Bad offers no concrete answers, rendering the show frustratingly oblique."
And Two Who Hit the Nail Right on the Head
Not all critics found something to criticize about the first season of Breaking Bad, though. Some knew right away that the series was bound to become the cultural phenomenon that it is today. Image: AMC
1. Linda Stasi, 'The New York Post'
"Gory, ugly, at times funny, at times horrifying, Cranston and Paul are so good, it's astounding. I'd say the two have created great chemistry, but I'm ashamed to say such a cheap thing ... if you've got the stomach, AMC has got the guts." Image: AMC
2. Seth Amitin, 'IGN'
"A dynamic and deep show with some realistic insight into the world of meth dealing, and creating characters you care about, too ... it's a true joy to watch a show that can be dissected so much and make it more enjoyable. If you haven't watched this show yet, it's time to get on the bandwagon." Image: AMC
