Breaking Bad is perfectly cast. I was reading the backstory on the development of the series. Very tortured as is the case with most of great entertainment. AMC originally wanted John Cusack or Matthew Broderick as Walt, they both passed. It was going to take place in Riverside, CA and the Walt character was going to be 40. It takes place in New Mexico because of production tax credits and the AMC people thought Walt needed to be 50 because a 40 y/o wouldn't be in such a desperate place. The use of character actors instead of stars makes the show much better. If there were any stars, I think that would detract from the quality. You could argue the Bryan Cranston is a star, but Malcolm in the Middle was about Malcolm, not Hal.

I think the cast and crew realized what they were creating and pulled out all of the stops. You go to work on the standard show, you just do a competent job to keep your job, but when you realize what this is about, you want to really step it up to make the whole greater than the parts. From the acting, writing, directing, cinematography, music, art direction, production design it is pretty damn near flawless.

I can't wait to see how Walt convinces Mike not to kill him. My favorite characters: Saul, Mike and Jesse.