“Breaking Bad” is perhaps one of the best series ever to grace the television screen. There is not much the show did not have. Thematically it is the tale of a good man driven down the path to evil, but it is also a hard drama, with a flair for the comedic, ironic, and absurd. It was something that we had never seen on the screen before, and changed the way both we view television, and how it’s made. Now, from ECW Press, we have an unofficial companion guide to “Breaking Bad.” After the jump, I’ll tell you about Wanna Cook? by Ensley F. Guffey and K. Dale Koontz.
Breaking Down Breaking Bad
Just in case you’ve been living in a cave for the last decade, “Breaking Bad” is the saga of Walter White, chemistry teacher played by Bryan Cranston, who comes down with cancer and is looking for a way to provide for his family after he’s gone. Hooking up with former student and small time drug dealer Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and builds an empire as a meth drug lord calling himself Heisenberg. The rise and fall of Heisenberg fills five award-winning seasons of the acclaimed AMC drama.
Created by Vince Gilligan as a contemporary western where the protagonist of the piece would eventually become the antagonist, “Breaking Bad” is, in many ways, a masterpiece and some of the best television ever produced. Those who were there at the beginning knew how cool it was years before it became a pop culture phenomenon, but the hype that came later never affected the quality of the production. “Breaking Bad” remained solid from start to finish.
The Only Guide You Will Ever Need
There are a lot of books out there that say they are the unofficial companion guides to whatever television series, but let me say up front, Ensley F. Guffey and K. Dale Koontz have found the perfect formula. Wanna Cook? is the primer for how those books should be written. Episode by episode, season by season, storyline by storyline, synopsis and analysis is given for each one, along with interviews, quotes, highlights, fun facts, behind the scenes stuff, and ‘Did You Notice’ and ‘Special Ingredients.’ These last two give us tidbits that affect what has gone before and what is yet to come, and let us into the minds of the folks behind “Breaking Bad” and why they did what they did.
Anyone can throw together a list of who’s who and what happened (hell, just go to IMDb), but Guffey and Koontz have turned the companion guide on its ass, much like “Breaking Bad” did to television and how we think about anti-heroes. Reading through the book, which grabbed me like a fiction bestseller, I constantly felt the need to pull out my DVDs and watch again as I read. This is literally a companion guide that needs to go right next to your complete series, and be thumbed through, bookmarked and read as you view the show. Wanna Cook? is an interactive treasure you will read again and again, just like the show requires multiple viewings.
Where to Get the Blue Crystal
Wanna buy the book? It’s right here, also available as an ebook, in epub or PDF formats, and if you wanna read an excerpt, check it out here. As a fan of the show “Breaking Bad,” and as a fan of television and anti-heroes in general, I cannot recommend this book enough. You must get Wanna Cook? The Complete Unofficial Companion to Breaking Bad by Ensley F. Guffey and K. Dale Koontz. Get it now, feed your addiction.
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