Published: May 29, 2009 12:03 am      

Ken Hart: ‘Breaking Bad’ an easy show to get hooked on

Please don’t try to call me between the hours of 10 and 11 tonight.

Don’t e-mail me, text me, Twitter me or anything of that nature, either. Not if you’re expecting an immediate answer.

That’s because I will be incommunicado and deeply ensconced in the finale of Season 2 of a program I consider one of the absolute best television has to offer.

“Breaking Bad” is the name of it. It airs on AMC, the cable network that is also home to the highly acclaimed dramatic series “Mad Men.”

For those unfamiliar with the premise of “Breaking Bad,” a brief primer might be in order.

Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher (played by Bryan Cranston, previously best known for his role as the clueless dad on the sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle,”) is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. In an effort to build a nest egg for his wife and children, he teams with one of his former students, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and puts his talents as a chemist to use making methamphetamine.

Walt’s pregnant wife, Skylar (Anna Gunn), is oblivious to her husband’s secret life as a drug lord, although his secrecy has aroused her suspicions about what he might be doing during the times he’s not at home, which are growing more and more frequent.

Walt’s prolonged absences also have caused him to become detached from handicapped son (played by R.J. Mitte, who has cerebral palsy in real life.)

Walt also has a brother-in-law, Hank (Dean Norris), who’s an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration and who has no clue that the nebbishy, henpecked Walt is the meth kingpin known on the streets as Heisenberg. Seriously, who would suspect a man who drives a beat-up Pontiac Aztek would be capable of such evil?

I started watching “Breaking Bad” during its writers’ strike-shortened premier season and became a fan almost immediately. Thanks in no small part to that modern marvel known as the DVR, I’ve yet to miss an episode.

While Season 1 of “Breaking Bad” (for which Cranston won a well-deserved Emmy as best actor in a dramatic series), was great, nothing could have prepared me for the flat-out brilliance that has been Season 2.

In the beginning, it was possible to root for Walt. While manufacturing and selling a deadly and illegal drug is, obviously, reprehensible, his purpose for doing so — making sure his family was provided for following his demise — was at least a noble one.

This season, though, viewers have witnessed nothing less than the disintegration of Walt’s soul. That reached an apex in the final moments of last week’s episode. In those moments, Walt commits an act (which I won’t reveal, in case you didn’t see it) that would seem to have placed him far beyond redemption.

While much of the critical praise for “Breaking Bad” has deservedly focused on Cranston, the show’s supporting cast is strong as well. Paul is particularly good as the dim-witted Jesse, and he and Cranston have terrific onscreen chemistry (no pun intended.) Kudos also to Bob Odenkirk for his guest-starring role as Saul Goodman, a shyster attorney who helps Walt and Jesse refine their criminal enterprise.

Anyone who might accuse “Breaking Bad” of glamorizing the drug trade has obviously never watched the show. The world Walt and Jesse have entered is a dark and terrifying one.

Because of its subject matter, its sometimes-coarse language and its unflinching depictions of drug-related violence, “Breaking Bad” obviously isn’t for everyone.

For those with the stomach for it, though, it’s one heck of an addictive ride.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.