Breaking Bad: Season 4 [Blu-ray] by Bryan Cranston

I was hooked after Season 1. I thought it was brilliant. The story, the acting, I haven't seen something this good for ages. I was sorry when it finished.

Much has already been said by other people on the site so there's little to add. The entire concept is unusual but very possible and makes for a fascinating study of the human nature. The acting could not be bettered. There are no weak members of the cast. The metamorphosis of the star character, brilliant Chemistry teacher Walter White, from the loving husband and father and quiet but diligent Chemistry teacher at the local school, to an increasingly hardened master chef of top quality methamphetamine to murderous drug lord is achieved in masterly form by Bryan Cranston. The script is superb and the evolving plot brilliant. This really is TV at its best and it totally eclipses most of what Hollywood produces. The series has a real moral message as Walt destroys his entire family to be what he wants to be regardless of the consequences. Was it really worth it Walt? If there is any complaints at all it concerns the almost farce like end to one key personality and the almost too neatly finessed end to Series 6. Nonetheless, this is superb TV that even the BBC at its very best would struggle to rival. Well done US, this is worth more than 5 stars and proves the US has great script writers and actors to rank alongside the world's best.

MGM are noted for making slushy cheesy films filled with unbelievable stories of rich man meets poor girl; falls in love; and the woman gets to live a life of luxury. Not so here - MGM have broken the mould - for what you have in a gritty 'tell life as it really is' story – the sort favoured by Warner Brothers.Here is a ‘story well told’ that is filled with twists and turns that will have you on the edge of your seat - a story that is a 'black comedy' full of pathos, juxtapositions, intrigue, murder, and much much more as it examines the ‘dark’ side of ‘the human condition’.These are not two-dimensional characters without any depth that one encounters in many many films and TV series - these characters are real and 'true to life. All of the characters are seriously flawed; all of the characters are 'two-faced'; not one of them is 'nice' - and every character has their own 'hidden agenda' - and while you find that you cannot 'warm' to any of them, these sleazy double-dealing, double-crossing characters will speak VOLUMES to you – and make you question YOUR integrity.It is a six-star production - but I am only permitted to award five.

I cannot tell a lie. There were times during season 3 when my attention wavered slightly. No chance with season 4.*spoilers ahead*Following Jesse's murder of Gail at the end of season 3, season 4 is entirely dominated by the increasingly tense relationship between crime lord Gus and his unwanted but irreplaceable cooks - Walter and Jesse. The season tracks Jesse's reaction to the murder and the pair's imminent deaths - Aaron Paul has never been better. And the balance of power shifts subtly and delightfully over the course of the season. Walt's journey is brilliantly handled, hugely believable and Cranston is utterly compelling. And while all of this is going on, Hank is recovering from his shooting and is on the scent (and getting closer all the time). Without ever losing sight of plausibility, they keep cranking the handle and it just goes from strength to strength.There is only one reason not to buy season 4 - and that's because season 5 isn't yet available to buy (hasn't even been finished in the US) so your life will be utterly bereft once you get to the final episode.Apart from that, you need Breaking Bad in your life

Seriously one of the best seasons of television I've ever seen and I have seen the Sopranos, the Wire, Mad Men etc. How they can just keep making breaking bad get better and better is beyond me. It was brilliant right from the start but form there each season has got better and better. By season 4 Breaking Bad is a show that is as exciting and pulse-racing as something like 24 or any block-buster action movie and as thoughtful and introspective as the sopranos. Proof that television can, at its best, truly be considered 'art'. Everything in breaking bad is exceptional from the writing, direction and plot however the stand-out praise must go to its two lead-actors, Bryan Cranston (perhaps the greatest actor around at the moment, not just on TV) and Aaron Paul as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. Two characters the started out a comedy odd-couple have become one of the most complex relationships I have ever seen in a work of fiction. Their love/ hate co-dependent relationship is astonishing and breath-taking to watch as the go from killing to save each other to nearly killing each other. Phenomenal TV and I recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. You are truly missing out if you do not watch this show.