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{"id":2434,"date":"2013-11-01T00:57:30","date_gmt":"2013-11-01T05:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/?p=2434"},"modified":"2013-11-04T13:29:59","modified_gmt":"2013-11-04T19:29:59","slug":"viewers-block-breaking-bad-ruined-television-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/11\/viewers-block-breaking-bad-ruined-television-for-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Viewer’s Block: Breaking Bad Ruined Television For Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

From Geek Goes Rogue TV Editor Zach W. Lorton, breaking his code of silence after nearly a month\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Why am I still talking about\u00a0Breaking Bad<\/em>?<\/p>\n

The end of\u00a0<\/em>this landmark drama took its toll on me. \u00a0Battlestar Galactica<\/em> excited me. \u00a0Heroes<\/em> held me in awe, at least in the first season, anyway. \u00a0Chuck\u00a0<\/em>entertained me and prodded the geek in me to be proud. \u00a0Boston Legal<\/em> was an all-around knockout of a show that featured some of the best actors in television history. \u00a0Breaking Bad<\/em>, on the other hand, cause me to become invested emotionally.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>My pastor\u2019s wife will sometimes begin praying for the characters in a movie she\u2019s watching if they\u2019re facing a seemingly impossible situation, and after having followed Walter White and Co. for 5 seasons, I completely empathize with her. \u00a0Walter White was as real as you or I, a person who faced a horrible situation, who made the wrong choice and was forced to deal with the consequences. \u00a0It was a heavy, uncompromising look at the darkness of the human soul, the depths of depravity to which a man can sink, and a life of hopelessness.<\/p>\n

It was a hard show to watch, but it sucked me in. \u00a0And now that it\u2019s over, I haven\u2019t been able to engage as fully with many other television shows in the same way. \u00a0That shouldn\u2019t surprise me \u2014 my relationship with television was that way before. \u00a0I had lots of casual friendships with shows, but none that I ever really got close to. \u00a0I always wanted to know what was happening with the gang on\u00a0The Big Bang Theory<\/em>,\u00a0but I\u2019m not sure I would have accepted an invitation from them to one of their parties. \u00a0As much as the writer in me likes the character of Richard Castle in the comic crime drama Castle<\/em>, I would never hang out with him. \u00a0I am more than satisfied with watching Dethklok pummel their way through their brutally stupid antics to the point that I have no desire to become an animated character and visit Mordhaus.<\/p>\n

All other television shows have been casual acquaintances. \u00a0Breaking Bad<\/em> was the first show I ever really\u2026<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure I can even say it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

So now what? \u00a0What\u2019s the answer now that our relationship is over? \u00a0Am I to fling myself into a string of meaningless TV trysts with attractive single doctors who have odd quirks, misfit police detectives who don\u2019t take their jobs seriously, rookie government agents and their disavowed informants, and 4 chefs who battle each other by creating great meals from mystery ingredients in a basket? \u00a0How many of these casual relationships will carry me through the loss of such a meaningful viewing experience? \u00a0How can I be sure that at the end of each episode won\u2019t be the empty longing of a heart yearning for the depth of emotion that once penetrated my viewing soul?<\/p>\n

Sorry,\u00a0Blacklist,\u00a0<\/em>as great as you are, I can\u2019t forget about my last. \u00a0You\u2019ve been great,\u00a0New Girl,<\/em> but I don\u2019t see us going anywhere. \u00a0Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,\u00a0<\/em>you\u2019ve been nothing but exceptional to me, and I can\u2019t ever thank you enough for your kindness and escapism. \u00a0And\u00a0Almost Human,<\/em> even though you\u2019re not on the air yet, I\u2019d like to think that you could give me the complexity and sophistication that I want in another TV show\u2026 but I\u2019m afraid that you won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

The truth is that nothing will ever be the same. \u00a0Today, I saw too many pictures on Facebook of people dressed in\u00a0Breaking Bad<\/em> themed costumes, and the only thing I could think was, \u201cNo! \u00a0You take it off!! \u00a0You don\u2019t deserve to be Heisenberg!\u201d \u00a0<\/em>I almost can\u2019t stand to look in the mirror, knowing that the face I\u2019ll see will eventually have to forget about\u00a0BB<\/em> and move on to another show, hoping that I\u2019ll be as taken, as hooked as I was when I first saw the desert outside of Albuquerque, those white briefs reflecting the sunlight, that frantic face recording a message to the authorities and his family.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll try to get into it, to learn to love again\u2026 but It just won\u2019t be the same.<\/p>\n

Zach W. Lorton is a media producer and professional DJ\/MC by trade, and a comedian, actor, and musician by default. \u00a0His debut music project is set to begin recording in 2014, and will likely take the world by storm, possibly in the form of a Sharknado.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"