The Film
The seven-episode first season of AMC's Breaking Bad was meant to be just enough to get hooked on the exploits of high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who, facing terminal cancer and impending financial ruin, enters the world of crystal meth. Working with strung out former student Jesse (Aaron Paul), Walt begins to make enough cash to support his wife, physically handicapped son and expected daughter after he's gone - that is if the DEA, as well as some very bad men, don't ruin his plans first. Breaking Bad The Complete Second Season continues where the first season ended, and delivers 13 more hard-hitting stories that are good to the bone.
The Picture
As with The Complete First Season, season two offers at times an all too clear look at the world of crystal meth. The 1.78:1 1080p presentation is actually a slight improvement over the 720p broadcast, and this makes the Blu-ray look even better, where you can see the effects of meth almost up close and personal. The signature "blue meth" that Walt and Jesse cook up even stands out at times, while the picture is free from any significant flaws or inaccurate colors - unless you count the pale skin and darkened teeth of the users!
The Sound
The 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack provides discrete sound separation for the season's moments of heightened action, while delivering clear center channel dialog throughout. The audio mix, which once again includes minimal musical cues, is never too hot, even when Walt kicks things up a notch with his chemistry skills, or the bad guys get pay back.
The Extras
This three-disc set features a lot of extras including a season one recap, more than a dozen making of featurettes (one for each episode), as well as an interactive guide to the show, plus six original Webisodes and a season three sneak peak. Throw in a music video, mock commercial, photo gallery, and gag reel and this Blu-ray set won't leave you with withdrawal while you're waiting for season three to begin.
Final Thoughts
The second season proves that this show was far from a novelty, and most of the time, it is clear that meth doesn't bring the characters anything good. In addition to strong writing and acting, the Blu-ray lends the series a presentation that looks and sounds really good. This one isn't broken, so let's hope they don't try to fix it.
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