"Breaking Bad" recap -- Magnetic attraction

Spoilers for the season premiere of "Breaking Bad" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Breaking Bad" heads into first half of its final run

It is even worth reviewing "Breaking Bad" at this point? I mean, the series -- which begins the first half of its final run tonight at 10 on AMC --has pretty much cemented its reputation as one of the best shows on TV at this point. You don't really need me to tell you that it's good, right? But, if you love TV, it's not possible to stay silent about "Breaking Bad," because this is a show that's so weird and crazy and unlike any other show on TV.
After all, this is a series where the previous season's finale included a horrific shot of its chief antagonist with half of his face blown off, and revealed that meth-making antihero Walter White (Bryan Cranston) poisoned a child to manipulate his partner Jesse (Aaron Paul). But "Breaking Bad" isn't just about shock value.

In fact, the shocks are doled out so gradually that they never feel gratuitous. They almost seem incidental to the show's real mission, which is to painstakingly detail a seemingly normal man's transformation into a monstrous criminal mastermind. Showrunner Vince Gilligan and his team seldom miss a step in painting Walter's journey. Each bit of the process is show in loving detail, from the precise way Walt and Jesse make their meth to the methodical way Walt plotted his nemesis Gus's assassination to the hilariously long and detailed sequences of people getting dressed, opening bottles of wine or setting up completed pieces of equipment.

Take this season's premiere, which spends a good 10 minutes or so following Walt, Jesse, and reluctant cohort Mike (Jonathan Banks) as they calibrate a magnet. The magnet will eventually be used in a much more exciting scene (which I won't spoil here), Gilligan and co. wouldn't dare skip over this important step in the process.

There are plenty of shows about crime and antiheroes, but most of these "skip to the good parts," so to speak. They don't show a ton of process or buildup. Even the luxuriously paced "Boardwalk Empire" wouldn't spend 10 minutes on a magnet. Yet "Breaking Bad" is rarely boring and is often insanely thrilling.

The two episodes I've seen so far this season aren't among the show's more exciting episodes, but they do a good job of rebuilding the narrative after Gus's death and Walt's assumption of the role of crime lord. There's a lot of talk about what will happen next, and strong hints that, even with Gus gone, Walt will still have people to answer to. There's not a shocking moment akin to the finale of last season's premiere, "Box Cutter," but there's still plenty of good stuff.

Cranston and Paul remain arguably the best acting team on TV, playing off of each other's intense styles well (Note: At some point, the Emmys really should give a lifetime achievement award to the vein in Paul's forehead, which just might be the hardest-working body part in the TV business). Banks, whose role seems to have expanded this season (though, with this show, who knows) is also fantastic, and the second episode gives him a brilliant showcase. On a show full of complicated characters, Mike might be the hardest to pin down. He was loyal to Gus, seems loyal to Jesse and can't stand Walt, which all makes for an interesting cocktail. It will be fun to see where Mike is heading as the show nears its finish.

And yes, the end is coming soon. The series will air eight episodes this summer, and then air the final eight next summer. It will be sad to see this excellent series finish, but I'm looking forward to watching (and talking about) every minute of it.

"The Killing" finale recap: "What I know"

Spoilers for the season finale of "The Killing" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

'Mad Men' season finale recap: "The Phantom"

Spoilers for this week's season finale below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" recap: Bloodshed

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" recap: Ladies' night

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" recap: Merry Krishna

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

Mad Men recap: If you lead, I will follow

Spoilers for this this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

Mad Men recap: Go get 'em, tiger

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" recap: How I learned to drive

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" recap: Things that go bump in the night

Spoilers on this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Mad Men" recap: Less attractive Betty

Spoilers for this week's episode of "Mad Men" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"The Killing" recap: Can I have my backpack back, please?

Spoilers for this week's episode of "The Killing" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

OK, "The Killing" -- you get one more shot

Like many people who watched the first season of AMC's mystery drama "The Killing," which returns for its second season on Sunday, I have a complicated relationship with the series.

"Mad Men" season premiere recap: You can be a real Dick on your birthday

After more than a year's hiatus, AMC's "Mad Men" returned to air last night with a two-hour episode. Spoilers are below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

Brace yourself: The second half of "Walking Dead" season two might not be terrible

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson) - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Though it started strong in 2010, with a good pilot and a lot of buzz, AMC's zombie drama "The Walking Dead" seemed to have lost its way by season two. As the gang looked fruitlessly for little Sophia and found themselves setting up camp at the seemingly idyllic farm of Hershel Greene, the show offered precious little zombie action and a whole lot of talking. They talked about religion and relationships and the wisdom of raising children in an apocalyptic hellhole. They talked about fears and love and duty. They just talked. A lot. And it was boring. So, by the time the first half of the season came to what could have been a gripping conclusion -- Rick had to kill Sophia, who had been turned into a zombie and was living in Hershel's barn -- I just didn't care any more.
So, it's with some hesitation that I tell you that the first episode of the second season's second half (which airs tonight at 9) is pretty promising. In short, stuff happens. Nothing that really moves the plot dramatically forward, but stuff. There's one zombie jolt at the beginning, some decent imagery and a fairly tense confrontation in the final sequence between Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Hershel (Scott Wilson), Glenn (Steve Yeun) and a couple of creepy fellow survivors (one of who is played by the always-welcome Michael Raymond James of "Terriers"). It's a decently dread-filled episode and gave me some hope. The real question, however, is where will the show go from here? Will there actually be plot movement, gripping action sequences and real character development? Or will we just spend a bunch of episodes watching Shane (Jon Bernthal) glower and listening to everyone else contemplate giving him the boot? This episode, admittedly, contains a really frustrating sequence between two character, in which one espouses a theory about Shane that the audience knows is true, but which another character stupidly refuses to believe. So maybe my hope is misplaced.
But I like pieces of "The Walking Dead" enough to give it a shot. Here's hoping that this is the beginning of good things.

"The Killing" season finale recap: "Orpheus Descending"

Spoilers for "The Killing" first season finale below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

Every parent's nightmare: Reviewing "The Killing"

Given that its subject matter includes murder, political intrigue and youthful depravity, AMC's new drama "The Killing," debuting with a two-hour episode tonight at 9, seems curiously muted.

"The Walking Dead" season finale: "TS-19"

Spoilers for the season finale of "The Walking Dead" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.

"Walking Dead" recap: Road trip (again)

Spoilers for this week's episode of "The Walking Dead" below. Don't click through if you don't want to know.