FINALLY, the "Breaking Bad" Season 4 premiere comes tonight

Breaking Bad Extended Season 4 Trailer
To play the video, go to this link.

by Ken

I have to say that AMC does a better job of e-mailbox stuffing than almost any entertainment content provider I know. All through the long waits for new episodes of Mad Men and Breaking Bad they provide a steady stream of news, interviews, thematic discussions, and quizzes -- all intriguing enough to this fan that I almost always click through.

Oddly, I only get nervous when we're in countdown mode to the new season, as in the case of Breaking Bad, which launches tonight at 10pm ET/PT, 9pm CT. I seem to be unusual among show fans in resolutely not knowing what's going to happen -- ferchrissakes, that's why I'm looking forward to watching the damned shows, to find out what happens. When you've got a team of producers and writers we trust to keep us entertained, why can't we just let them do their damned job? We have the rest of eternity to watch these shows knowing what's going to happen; we get a maximum of one shot at watching them without knowing.

Of course I gave a wide berth to the preview of tonight's episode, the "inside" look at the new season from the cast (surely they're not allowed to reveal anything of substance, but still . . .), and even the "unanswered questions" video. (This last one sounds safe-ish, but I still want to get at least one Season 4 episode under my belt before I take a chance on it.)

I was even uneasy about the above video teaser, which was supposed to be just a recap of where we are, but in fact, while being very low-key, still tells me more than I would have wished to know. What I'm kicking myself about, though, is not having availed myself of the opportunity, made possible by posting of episodes online and on cable "On Demand" services, to actually rewatch the last season, to bone up on all the detail I've forgotten and also register all the detail I didn't take in properly before. Once again I have to chide myself for not watching nearly enough television. Sure, I'm perennially pressed for time, but this is where a person has to establish priorities -- if it's important enough, you find the time.

As for Mad Men, Season 5 is still far in the future. Jon Hamm has signed on for three more seasons, but they don't start shooting Season 5 till August. However, I notice that AMC is beginning a repeat of what I assume will be all the episodes from the first four seasons: three episodes at a pop Sunday mornings 6am-9am ET starting July 31.

FYI: There doesn't seem to be a link for signing up for the AMC e-newsletters, but if you go to the network website and go to the EXTRAS menu for any of the shows, you'll get a popup to sign up for any or all of the newsletters.

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