When the good guy is the baddie

Breaking Bad is the story of a 50-year chemistry teacher diagnosed with incurable cancer. This good man, rather than fearing his death, is concerned about the economic welfare of his family. He recruits a former student, after deciding to start “cooking” methamphetamine. A lucrative, illegal and malicious business, for a laudable goal. What is good, is now bad.

The creator of Breaking Bad is Vince Gilligan, and yesterday he gave a master class for teachers and students in Blanquerna in the Faculty of Communication and Institutional Relations moderated by film director Nacho Vigalondo as part of the Serializados festival.

Gilligan became interested in series with the X-files and eventually joined the team. What he noted though was that despite the popularity of the series, even the most ardent fans only watched one in four episodes; they were “self contained” and offered little continuity.

When Breaking Bad was screened in 2008, its main feature was that it was “serialised”, viewers found that they could not miss one episode. Incorporating new technological advances such as streaming meant that the viewer was not tied to a fixed screening time and could watch at his or her own pace. Digitalisation allowed for different filming approaches, moving away from the traditional television image. In Breaking Bad, for example, the wide open spaces of new Mexico become a protagonist. Autonomy of creation is also a factor. With no set road map, creators know where they are going but can vary the details of the voyage easily. The spin-off series Better call Saul, is a good example of the unplanned becoming reality.

Along with Walter White, Gilligan’s other characters must suffer the consequence of their actions, “just like in real life”, he said.