Trial by Fire

Trial by Fire (2023, India, 7 episode Series)

Trial by Fire (Netflix) is a gut-wrenching depiction of a real-life harrowing tragedy that could been completely avoided. A series of small negligent and dangerous practices by the Uphaar cinema owners and management led to a fire that caused the death of 59 people and injury to hundreds of others. As the series shows, the age group of the almost 900 people that attended that fatal film screening on June 13, 1997 ranged from a newborn baby to young children, teenagers, adults and seniors. All these people were taking part in the cinema viewing ritual that is commonplace in India, more so than in many other nations. Yet, as the series shows, the cinema was a caged trap that could have caused a tragedy on any given day.

The series also highlights the cost of justice that people have to go through, putting their whole life on hold to fight a system that favours the rich. This sadly is not only true of India but the rest of the world as well, including North America. Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy spent almost 25 years fighting a system that never delivered the justice they sought. The series is brilliantly acted, scripted and features an array of smart  technical flourishes that humanizes victims and some of whom inadvertently played a part in the fire.

On a personal note, I am familiar with Uphaar cinema as I used to attend this cinema growing up. I have a few memories of my grandfather taking me to see films here. I knew of the fire but didn’t know the full story until now.

Best New TV Shows

After the success of 2013’s TV shows spotlight, it felt appropriate to do another spotlight in 2014 to catch up with more TV shows/series. The following six shows are part of this spotlight:

Justified, Season 4 (2013) 
House of Cards, Season 2 (2014) 
Orange is the New Black, Season 1 (2013) 
The Newsroom, Season 1 (2012) 
Six Feet Under, Season 1 (2001) 
True Detective, Season 1 (2014) 

With the exception of Six Feet Under, the remaining shows have been released within the last two years. The newest show is True Detective which concluded its 8 episode run on March 9, 2014 while all episodes of House of Cards Season 2 were released on Feb 14.

Justified Season 4 

Justified finished slightly behind Breaking Bad in last year’s TV show spotlight as the first 3 seasons proved to be quite remarkable. Since the ending of Season 3 offered a natural conclusion to the series, I didn’t see a relevance for Season 4. Therefore, it was not a surprise when the first few episodes of Season 4 turned out to be a let down. The structure of Season 4 certainly played a part in the disappointing start. In contrast to previous seasons, S4 consists of a single narrative arc and each episode gets one step closer to putting together all the pieces of a puzzle. The story revolves around an apparent accident that took place a few decades ago and incorporates present day events in unfolding an unsolved mystery around that incident. As the show focuses on elements of this older case, the first few S4 episodes don’t incorporate the dynamic office dialogues that lit up the first 3 seasons nor are key characters from previous seasons given much screen time.

Thankfully, half-way through Season 4, things finally start to pick up. Not surprisingly, the show gets intriguing when Raylan’s colleagues get involved and when Wynn Duffy (Jere Burns) enters the frame and brings the mafia with him. The presence of the mafia sets off a series of events which embodies similar momentum that the last few episodes of Breaking Bad’s S5 had when the show appeared to be heading towards an explosive conclusion. In the case of Justified, those anticipated mouth-watering sequences do arrive and even Limehouse (Mykelti Williamson, impressive as always) makes a vital appearance.

In the first 3 seasons, there were only 1-2 episodes that didn’t belong in the overall structure of Justified. However, Season 4 contains many throw away episodes which don’t add much to the overall story. Still, the show manages to end on a high note and partially redeems itself. Season 5 is currently underway and it will be a few months before I catch-up with that.

House of Cards Season 2

Season 1 of House of Cards was a slow burning chess match where Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) played his machiavellian moves in order to become vide-president, thereby putting him "one heartbeat away from the presidency". In S1, Underwood was always in control and ensured those around him acted according to his wishes. However, all that changes in S2 when everyone is aware of Underwood’s tactics. People can see right through him and start countering his tactics. On top of that, a powerful villain emerges in S2 who attacks Underwood from every single direction, including taking down Francis’ favourite rib joint. This villain Raymond Tusk (Gerald McRaney) had a small vital role in S1, but is the centre of all the action in S2.

The pace is relentless in S2 and episodes move at a breakneck speed with year/month long events unfolding in days. This quick unraveling of events is mostly because S2 condenses 2-3 seasons worth of material in just 13 episodes. As a result, there are many script jumps which require a huge suspension of belief. For example, Tusk is depicted as a man who bring down the entire nation whenever he desires. In order to demonstrate his power, Tusk shuts off power in an entire city with one phone call and takes America on the brink of international conflict with China. He also flows millions of dollars to either political party as he desires. Besides possessing incredible powers and an endless pot of money, Tusk is also omnipresent. Anytime someone calls his henchmen, no matter which part of the nation they are in, Tusk is present in the room. He also appears to know what exactly every character is thinking. Another example of a script convenience is a key live interview for Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) that goes on for hours, with extended breaks which allow swift resolution/action on topics that would normally takes days. There is a lot of material to cover so the script just cuts out the logical progression that would take place between two events.

On the positive side, Kevin Spacey owns the show like he did in S1. It is hard to imagine anyone else in the role of Francis Underwood. The characters of Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) and Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali) are once again essential but even their characters are shown vulnerable in S2. The biggest addition to the show is Molly Parker whose character of Jackie Sharp demonstrates a blend of intelligence and grace. Jackie looks composed but can be ruthless if she desires. There are some motives about her character that are not revealed leading one to believe that she may be a key player in Season 3.

Many aspects of Season 2 of House of Cards are much more compelling than S1 but some of the events in S2 are a bit too ridiculous to digest.

Orange is the New Black 

Orange is the New Black is based on Piper Kerman’s memoir about her time served in prison for carrying a suitcase full of drug money. The opening minutes of Episode 1 catch one off guard in terms of expectations about a show set in a prison. Most prison TV shows or films show characters who are arrested, persecuted and transported handcuffed to prison. But in Orange is the New Black, Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) is dropped off to prison by her fiancee and proceeds to voluntarily check herself in. Of course, once she checks in, the harsh reality of prison life descends and erases any comforts that Piper once knew. Dealing with prison is complicated enough but her life is made even troublesome when she finds out her ex-girlfriend Alex (Laura Prepon) is in prison as well. It was because of transporting Alex’s suitcase that Piper is serving her jail term. Therefore, there are plenty of emotional and unresolved issues that Piper must navigate, in addition to understanding the power dynamics and hierarchy of prison life.

Orange is the New Black is one of the best balanced shows made in recent years where each character is given an equal voice and adequate screen time. Plus, the writing is very strong and balances the brutality of prison life with enough moments of humor and compassion that allows one to care for each character. Piper is the focus of the series but the show does an excellent job of giving other characters ample screen time. The flashbacks, which are used to fill in the backstory of the characters, help make this show so rich and layered. In the flashbacks, a different and much nicer side is shown for each character which contrasts with their rougher persona in prison. Such a contrast illustrates how prison life transformed their core personalities. The reason for each character’s presence in prison is not revealed right away but gradual episodes fill in a portion of their past. This allows viewers to guess possible crimes but sometimes, the truth is more shocking than one’s imagination.

Season 2 will be released in the summer of 2014.

The Newsroom (HBO show, not the Canadian one)

HBO’s The Newsroom takes a fabulous premise of filtering real life events via fictional characters. This means, certain key events from 2010-2011 are used to propel the dramatic tension in the show. We get to see the frantic chaos that could have unfolded when the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill story first broke out. In a similar manner, the Egyptian Revolution and the capture of Osama Bin Laden are also given vital parts in the show. Also, The Newsroom deals with the ever present topic about how TV ratings impact coverage of relevant news and journalistic integrity. Of course, since this is an Aaron Sorkin show, it means characters talk without breathing and their words turn into actions even before the other person has processed the idea. Such back and forth snappy dialogues make for an addictive entertaining show but this method also distances the show from any semblance to reality even though the show’s goal is to depict real events.

Like House of Cards S2, the first season of The Newsroom packs too much in its 10 episodes. If some of the stories had been cut out, then the show could have taken the time to properly depict events. The show also tries to include a few romantic elements which really don’t any depth to the characters but instead weaken the show. There is much to admire in The Newsroom but sometimes the overblown ability of the characters to solve problems is hard to fathom.

True Detective

On the surface, True Detective looks to be heading down a path that has been covered by many films before: two cops with radically different personalities become partners to hunt down a serial killer. But after a few episodes, it becomes apparent True Detective is something entirely different. Even though the cops appear to be at polar opposites, the show takes time to outline their personalities. In addition, the show gives ample time to the swamp and other Louisiana surroundings making the locales a central character, something which takes away the focus from the two cops, Rust (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty (Woody Harrelson). As the season progresses, Rust and Marty appear to be minor characters compared to nature and become even smaller when the swamp area is viewed from above. Hints are given as to the larger scope of the show and this is clear near the end with talks of the universe and even a glimpse of a wormhole.

The entire show was shot on 35mm and that decision plays a vital part in the rich visual language of True Detective. It is quite rare to talk of TV shows from a visual perspective but True Detective extends beyond the narrow frames one finds in other TV shows. A perfect example of how the show shatters a normal TV show frame is depicted in Episode 4 with the now famous 6 minute tracking shot. Besides the tracking shot, episode 4 elevates the show to a higher level. This starts when Rust dives back into the underbelly of a criminal world, thereby plunging the show into dark territory. Interestingly, even though the show deals with dark material, for most of the episodes, it is daytime that appears to be terrifying. This point is hammered home in the nail biting finale where horror exists in the day while nighttime offers comfort.

Season 2 of True Detective will have a new director, new lead actors and likely a completely different setting. That is good news because whoever comes in to direct S2 can work from a blank canvas and not be tied down to events in Season 1. This gives the show much more flexibility than other TV Series.

Top Shows ranking 

Arranging the six shows in order of preference:

1. True Detective, S1 
2. Orange is the New Black, S1 
3. House of Cards, S2 
4. Justified, S4 
5. The Newsroom, S1 
6. Six Feet Under, S1 

As chance would have it, a show titled Six Feet Under lands up on the 6th spot. Six Feet Under S1 has plenty of witty dark humor and that is impressive given the grim setting of a funeral home. But the show premiered back in 2001 and feels more dated than the other shows.

In terms of story, Orange is the New Black is the best overall show but the visual language of True Detective is enough to edge it to the #1 spot. Plus, there are some irresistible moments of cinematic magic in True Detective.

Overall, best TV seasons 

As an experiment, I wanted to do a rough comparison of 29 complete seasons of the following 13 shows that I saw.

24, S1 and S8 
Boardwalk Empire, S1 
Breaking Bad, S1-5  
Game of Thrones, S1-2 
Homeland, S1
House of Cards (USA), S1-2 
Justified, S1-4 
Mad Men, S1-6 
The Newsroom, S1 
Orange is the New Black, S1 
Six Feet Under, S1 
True Detective, S1 
The Walking Dead, S1-S2 

Taking each season on its own and comparing the overall Excellence Per Minute (+EPM) & Soap Opera Moment (-SOM), the following is a rough preference order:

1. Breaking Bad, S4 
2. Mad Men, S4 
3. Breaking Bad, S3 
4. Mad Men, S1 
5. Breaking Bad, S5 
6. Justified, S1 
7. Justified, S3 
8. House of Cards, S1 
9. True Detective, S1 
10. Orange is the New Black, S1 

It is not a surprise that Breaking Bad (3 mentions), Mad Men (2) and Justified (2) occupy the top 7 spots in this list. House of Cards, True Detective and Orange is the New Black are excellent new additions to this list.

Next shows to be watched

The first half of Mad Men’s final season starts on April 13. Also, in the next month, I will be viewing the first two seasons of The Americans.

Best TV Shows

This is an update to an earlier post on the Best TV Shows because two seasons of Game of Thrones & the conclusion of Breaking Bad resulted in a rankings change.


The updated shows are in red with the following 9 eligible for judging.

24, Season 1 and 8
Boardwalk Empire, Season 1
Breaking Bad, Seasons 1-5 
Game of Thrones, S1-2
Homeland, S1
House of Cards (USA), S1
Justified, S1-S3
Mad Men, S1-S6
The Walking Dead, S1-S2, S3 Episodes 1-3

Previously, Game of Thrones was not eligible as an entire season was not watched. But it can now compete after completion of Seasons 1-2.

Judging Criteria for best show 

As established in the previous post, two categories will be used to rate the shows:
Excellence Per Minute (+EPM) & Soap Opera Moment (-SOM).

1. EPM measures the dramatic high points of the show.

Every minute of a show is not excellent, no matter what some TV critics say, but one can often pick out those great jaw dropping moments which involve a great piece of acting, repeatable dialogue or a memorable event. A rough tally of all these EPMs is used to determine which show has the best content per minute.

2. SOM is a negative indicator which will to be used to subtract from a show’s EPM.

Best show: Season 1 comparison 

Top shows in order of EPM/SOM:

1. Mad Men
2. Justified
3. House of Cards
4. Game of Thrones
5. Homeland
6. Breaking Bad
7. The Walking Dead
8. 24
9. Boardwalk Empire  

Game of Thrones manages to edge out Homeland for the 4th spot.

The opening minutes of Game of Thrones S1 are visually stunning, evoke a sense of dread and certainly capture one’s attention, something which appears to be a driving force in the first few episodes of S1 where characters are killed frequently and sex/nudity are on ample display. The sex adds nothing to the overall story but appears to be a method to grow viewers. However, once the sex is tuned down around Episode 5, the fascinating political aspects of the show start to shine through and mesh nicely with the fantasy elements. The show eventually does catch fire and ends on a high when the character of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) has to undergo a trial by fire (“Agni Pariksha”) similar to what Sita does in the Ramayana to prove her virtue.

Best Show: Seasons 1-2

1. Mad Men
2. Justified
3. Breaking Bad
4. House of Cards
5. Game of Thrones

Breaking Bad starts its climb upwards while Season 2 of Game of Thrones is firing on all cylinders and does not have many throw away aspects found in S1. Games of Thrones S2 ends on an impressive chilling note and makes for a jaw-dropping cliff hanger.

Best Show: All Seasons

1. Breaking Bad, Seasons 1-5

2. Justified, Seasons 1-3

3. Mad Men, Seasons 1-6

The excellence of Breaking Bad’s S5 part II ensures that the show rightfully takes over the #1 spot as the overall best tv show. Episode 9 of S5 does start off disappointedly but the final 10 minutes set the stage for a showdown which will lead to the show’s incredible finale. Episodes 10-12 take their time to set up events and allow one to catch their breath before the relentless pace and tension of Episodes 13-16 leaves one breathless and in awe of the best show in TV.

Best TV Shows

In the last few years, articles about the excellence of TV shows have become quite common as have the number of people who watch entire seasons of a TV show in a weekend. After managing to stay away from these shows for a while, I decided to watch a few episodes. But as it turned out in most cases, I could not stop at a few episodes and over the last 2 years, I managed to watch complete seasons of many shows.

Here is a rundown of the shows that I saw, followed by thoughts about the best shows & other aspects of the series:

24, Season 1 and 8 
Boardwalk Empire, Season 1 
Breaking Bad, Seasons 1-4, Season 5, part 1
Dexter, S3 & S4, few episodes
Game of Thrones, S1, Episodes 1-4 
Homeland, S1 
House of Cards (USA), S1
Justified, S1-S3 
Mad Men, S1-S6
Person of Interest, S1 & S2, few episodes
The Walking Dead, S1-S2, S3 Episodes 1-3 

I am currently caught up with all seasons of Mad Men & Breaking Bad. I would like to be in sync with Justified as well but since the show is not on Canadian channels, I am forced to wait for the DVD release, thereby causing a delay.

Judging Criteria for best show

All the above TV series have different stories and take varying approaches in handling their material. So it is not straight forward to compare them but I used a simple gauge to measure their performance, Excellence Per Minute (EPM) & Soap Opera Moment (SOM).

1) EPM measures the dramatic high points of the show. Every minute of the show is not excellent, no matter what some TV critics say, but one can often pick out those great jaw dropping moments which involve a great piece of acting, repeatable dialogue or a memorable event. A rough tally of all these EPMs was used to determine which show had the best content per minute.

2) SOM is a negative indicator which will to be used to subtract from a  show’s EPM.

These two criteria were used to structure the overall ranking of a show.

In addition, each show varies in length. For example, an average Mad Men and Breaking Bad episode is either 47 or 48 minutes long while a single episode of Justified averages anywhere from 38 to 48 minutes. Plus, Breaking Bad has a shorter first season while Mad Men has the most episodes to choose from. As a result, Mad Men has a benefit of having more EPMs than the other shows. On the flip side, it also has more instances to have SOMs which will undermine a lot of the good work. Therefore, in order to have some sort of relative EPM/SOM comparison, I only picked shows for which I had seen atleast one complete season. This made Dexter, Game of Thrones and Person of Interest ineligible.

The following shows were eligible to be judged:

24, Season 1 and 8 
Boardwalk Empire, Season 1 
Breaking Bad, Seasons 1-4, S5, Part I
Homeland, S1 
House of Cards (USA), S1 
Justified, S1-S3 
Mad Men, S1-S6 
The Walking Dead, S1-S2, S3, Episodes 1-3

Comparisons were be done in the following manner: using only Season 1, Seasons 1-2, Seasons 1-3, Seasons 1-4, All seasons.

Best show: Season 1 comparison

Top shows in order of EPM/SOM:

1. Mad Men 
2. Justified 
3. House of Cards 
4. Homeland 
5. Breaking Bad 
6. The Walking Dead 
7. 24 
8. Boardwalk Empire 

Season 1 of Mad Men stands head and shoulders above the competition while House of Cards has atleast 9 stellar episodes out of 13. The first 6 episodes of House of Cards offer plenty of intrigue and addictive viewing but episodes 7-10 take a slight dip before E11-13 pick up the pace and end with a flourish.

S1 of Breaking Bad only had 7 episodes and nicely set the tone but there were not enough moments to catch fire as the later seasons do.

Boardwalk Empire, which finishes bottom of the 8 shows, does feature some very good acting but the supporting cast and framework is not as solid as the other shows. Also, the show has the least memorable production values, which seems surprizing given some of the big name producers involved. For example, Boardwalk Empire uses similar shots of people walking repeatedly on the pier and some of the sets are not as polished as the other shows. The only reason 24 finishes ahead of Boardwalk Empire is because of Kiefer Sutherland’s presence.

Best Show: Seasons 1-2

1. Mad Men 
2. Justified 
3. Breaking Bad 
4. House of Cards 

Mad Men still holds the lead but Breaking Bad makes up a lot of ground and starts firing up all cylinders.

Best Show: Seasons 1-3

1. Breaking Bad 
2. Justified 
3. Mad Men 

Breaking Bad finally takes the #1 spot while Justified continues to hold down the #2 spot. Mad Men takes a slight decline even though the overall show is still strong.

Best Show: Seasons 1-4

Both Breaking Bad and Mad Men had an excellent Season 4 which made this a tough comparison.

1. Breaking Bad
2. Mad Men 
3. Justified 

It is hard to pull both Breaking Bad and Mad Men apart after the first four seasons but I have to give a slight lead to Breaking Bad.

Best Show: All Seasons 

This is where the negative factors of soap opera moments comes into play and hits Mad Men hard with weaker Seasons 5-6 taking away a lot of the positive EPMs earned from S1-4. Also, the first half of Breaking Bad's S5 features some negative SOMs. While, Justified always managed to maintain a consistent level of excellent dialogue and acting, despite having the weaker story compared to Breaking Bad & Mad Men. So this results in the following surprizing table:

1. Justified, Seasons 1-3 
2. Breaking Bad, Seasons 1-4, S5, part I 
3. Mad Men, Seasons 1-6 

At this particular point in time having seen the above seasons, Justified has to be the best show on TV as it has only featured a few weak moments over its three seasons. Even though the show has never hit many riveting dramatic high moments like Breaking Bad and Mad Men, it has never hit some of the lows like the other two shows.

Of course, this rating could change if the second half of Breaking Bad S5 features some of the sharpness and high points that S4 did. Also, Justified could finally collect some negative SOMs in S4 as it is hard to imagine how the show can continue after an excellent S3, which appears to have reached a creative zenith and offered an appropriate point to end the show as most of the negative characters had been dealt with. But Justified returned for S4 and will now have a S5 as well. It remains to be seen if the show can still maintain its consistent level of fierce word play with a breathless mix of wit, sarcasm and verbal punches.

Other notable category mentions

Best Story 

1. Breaking Bad 
2. Mad Men 
3. House of Cards 

Best Dialogues 

1. Justified 
2. House of Cards 
3. Mad Men 

Best Lead Actor/Actress 

1. Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad 
2. Jon Hamm, Don Draper 
3. Claire Danes, Homeland 
4. Kevin Spacey, House of Cards 
5. Timothy Olyphant, Justified 

Best Supporting Actor 

1. Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad 
2. John Slattery, Mad Men 
3. Walton Goggins, Justified 
4. Robert Morse, Mad Men

Giancarlo Esposito’s Gus Fring has to be one of the best villains ever seen on a TV show. He appears friendly yet is a cold blooded killer capable of ripping one’s heart out (literally) in a blink of the eye.

No one may truly understands the job John Slattery’s Roger Sterling does in Mad Men but it is clear that the room gets brighter and a more fun place everytime Roger Sterling walks in.

Walter Goggins’ Boyd Crowder is a perfect foil to Timothy Olyphant’s Raylan Givens in Justified. When Boyd Crowder & Raylan Givens are together in the frame, it appears we are watching an electric scene from a Western, where two old friends are calmly talking before they will go out and kill each other in a stand-off.

Best Supporting Actress 

1. Christina Hendricks, Mad Men 
2. Natalie Zea, Justified 
3. Jessica Paré, Mad Men 

Christina Hendricks’ deserves more screen time in Mad Men as her character is far more riveting than most of her male colleagues. Unfortunately, the writers decided to relegate Joan Harris to the sidelines and included a needless scenario where she is forced to sell herself for the sake of the firm, a situation which ensures that her character will never earn the respect she deserves.

Best Visuals 

1. The Walking Dead 
2. House of Cards 
3. Game of Thrones 

The Walking Dead maintains a darkish palette which is in keeping with the story’s theme. In fact, it is the only show which looks and feels like a film in the way the camera moves about confined space. Unlike other TV shows, The Walking Dead features many tense moments where there are no dialogues and the camera follows characters as they look for zombies or quietly make their way around a city or a confined space.

The opening few minutes of Game of Thrones are eye-popping in terms of their graphic nature & pure darkness. I have only seen a few episodes of the show so far but even that limited viewing is enough to warrant a high placing of this show in a visual comparison.

Best opening credit sequence 

1. House of Cards 
2. Boardwalk Empire 
3. Dexter

The opening credits of House of Cards appear simplistic with shots of the city at nighttime yet those shots & background music embody the cool, slick look of the show and highlight that the best moments in the episodes take place at night time, at a time when half the city is asleep and the other half is scheming.

Dexter: it is appropriate that a show about killers features an opening sequence where every object looks like a dangerous weapon capable of shedding blood.

Long form novel vs short story

Many articles about the golden age of TV emphasize how contemporary TV shows are better than movies. Such comparisons do not appear to make much sense as TV shows and movies are completely different forms. By its nature, TV shows are a long form narrative arc which span multiple seasons. The average cable TV show season (such as AMC) contains about 13 episodes, with each episode lasting anywhere from 42-50 minutes. Taking an average of 45 minute per episode means an entire season would consist of 585 minutes or 9.75 hours. Multiplying this over 4 seasons would yield a total running time of 39 hours. Such a length ensures one can follow some characters’ development in fine detail, ranging from their personal life to career, affairs to relationship issues. On the other hand, an average film runs under 2 hours. Since 2012, many Hollywood movies have come close or exceeded the 3 hour mark but an average 1 hour 45 minutes running time is still common. Given their length, most movies will not dig too deep into a character’s psyche and will instead illustrate a snapshot of their lives or a critical period in their lives. While, TV shows have the luxury to go as far back into a character’s life as they want and also have ample time to focus on multiple events in their lives. So a comparison between TV shows and films is never a like for like comparison not only because of the length but the differing approaches they take to character development and plot.

David Bordwell put these differences best a few years ago:

We get to know TV characters with an informal intimacy that is quite different from the way we relate to the somewhat outsize personalities that fill the movie screen. We learn TV characters’ pasts, their hobbies, their relations with kin, and all the other things that movies strip away unless they’re related to the plot’s through-line.

That is why TV shows with the best developed characters end up being engaging and mesmerizing as they manage to draw audience into their world and can hold their attention for long periods. Shows such as Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Justified, House of Cards (2013) & Homeland have electrifying lead characters and an excellent supporting cast that help support the framework created by the writers and directors.

A show's creative life

Although, as excellent as these TV shows are, each show still has a shelf life with an expiration date. There is a point beyond which a show’s framework cannot support the characters and still maintain a fresh, invigorating spirit. A creative story with multiple subplots can go a long way in determining how long a show can continue on air but ideally a show should end just as it reaches its creative zenith. In this way, the show will go out on top and leave audience clamoring for more. But if a TV show overextends itself, then a natural decline will start which will end up undermining all the creative work done in the past.

Mad Men is a perfect example of a show that appears to have continued past its shelf life. Season 4 of Man Men was excellent and it finished with an open ended future, with the characters looking out of the window at the wide world they wanted to conquer. It offered a perfect end point yet the show has continued for 2 more seasons and next year’s 7th season will be the final one. Season 5 of Mad Men headed off in a different and even darker direction with death and suicide thrown in with a seductive song. S5 didn’t offer the same high dramatic points as many of S1-S4 did but it was still intriguing. However, Season 6 of Mad Men has largely been a letdown. With the exception of a few episodes, including an excellent Episode 6, Season 6 has managed to reduce Mad Men to a glorified soap opera with predictable sequences of affairs and break-ups. For the most part, Season 6 lacked the creativity and spark that made the show such a riveting watch. It remains to be seen if Breaking Bad can avoid this downfall. Season 4 of Breaking Bad was also the show’s high point when Gus, probably one of the best villains ever seen on TV, was eliminated. It was natural to expect a dip after Season 4 and the first half of Breaking Bad’s Season 5 has tried to maintain the same level of excellence in terms of acting and script but the driving force has not been there. It may be premature to judge the show with the second half of Season 5 still to be played out but atleast Breaking Bad will not return for a 6th season, which means it will avoid the soap opera path that Mad Men has gone on.

And finally...an AMC Pattern

There is an interesting pattern in both AMC shows Mad Men & Breaking Bad with regards to the shows strongest and weakest moments. Both shows have magnetic leads and the best moments of each show usually occur when the camera is focused on Don Draper and Walter White. And the weakest moments in both shows take place when the camera starts to follow the character’s wives. When Breaking Bad takes a diversion to examine Skylar’s (Anna Gunn) dealings with her company, the show loses some traction. While, Mad Men loses all energy and drive when Don’s first wife Betty (January Jones) is highlighted. Interestingly, both women have an affair with men who look similar in appearance. In Breaking Bad, Skylar has an affair with her boss Ted Beneke (Christopher Cousins) while Betty falls for Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley), a politician who she first starts to work with. However, the outcomes of the affairs takes a different turn as Skylar still stays with Walter while Betty divorces Don.