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The Breaking Bad Fandom: Most Popular and Compelling Television Show

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The Breaking Bad Fandom: Most Popular and Compelling Television Show
Vincent Aragon Megan Abrahamson English 220-032 19 February 2013 The Breaking Bad Fandom I. Introduction Have you ever seen a show where the main character gradually transforms into a fragment of their former self and becomes the show’s villain? This is exactly the case in AMC’s television drama series, Breaking Bad, which shows the transformation of a hardworking family man into a maniacal drug kingpin. This series, created and directed by Vince Gilligan, is quickly becoming one of the most popular and compelling television shows ever created. With each season, the fandom behind Breaking Bad continues to grow, as the main character’s journey becomes darker and his personality more twisted. Critics and fans attribute the show’s success to Gilligan’s well-written plot, outstanding character development and, most importantly, the dramatic transformation of the show’s main character: Walter White. The Breaking Bad fandom finds the show’s bizarre storyline particularly intriguing. The series begins with Walt, who is an underachieving high school chemistry teacher, being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer (Rockard). This leaves him with approximately two years to live. With his future in doubt and the financial burden his treatments will cause his family; Walt enters a world of drugs and crime. He begins secretly producing and selling methamphetamine with his former student, Jesse Pinkman, in hopes that he will obtain enough money to secure his family’s financial future before he dies (Rockard). While doing this he tries to maintain his family life, but gradually loses himself and becomes more like “Heisenberg,” his drug dealing alter ego.

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II. Fandom Description Breaking Bad grew as a series that some critics were not particularly fond of. On the other hand, fan ratings show that the majority of people were behind it from the beginning. Since season one, viewer ratings have experienced a small rise from 9.2 to 9.7 out of a possible 10 rating


Cited: 1. Adalian, Josef. "Breaking Bad Breaks Its Own Ratings Record." Vulture.com. New York Media LLC, 18 July 2011. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. . 2. AMC. " Amctv.com." Breaking Bad Talk. N.p., 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2013 < http://blogs.amctv.com/breaking-bad/talk/> 3. Collins, Scott. "AMC." Adweek – Breaking News in Advertising, Media and Technology. Adweek Co., 23 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. . 4. Coyote, Ursula. "Breaking Bad-Vince Giligan on Meth and Morals." Interview. NPR.org. NPR, 19 Sept. 2011. Web. 18 Feb. 2013. . 5. Hit Fix. "Breaking Bad -Bryan Cranston." Interview. YouTube, 19 July 2011. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. . 6. Meslow, Scott. "The Big Secret of 'Breaking Bad ': Walter White Was Always a Bad Guy." The Atlantic. Atlantic Monthly Group, 31 Aug. 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. . 7. Metacritic. "Breaking Bad - Season Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More." Metacritic.com. CBS Interactive Inc., Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. . 8. Moaba, Alex. " 'Breaking Bad ' Ratings: Season 5 Premiere Sets Series High." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost Inc., 16 July 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. 9. Rockard, Wellard. IMDb. “Breaking Bad: Overview.” IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013 Aragon 8
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