Breaking Bad: The Complete Third Season comes to Blu-ray with all 13 episodes courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Critically acclaimed from the start, season three saw the series receive seven Emmy Award nominations and two wins. Bryan Cranston took home Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series once again (that makes three straight), and Aaron Paul received Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (he was nominated last year but did not win). Also, Cranston scored nominations for acting from the Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globes.
For those not familiar with the series, at the start, we are introduced to Walter White (Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with lung cancer. In an effort to make money to leave to his wife Skylar (Anna Gunn), son Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte), and newborn daughter, he convinces a former student and drug dealer named Jesse (Aaron Paul) into partnering with him in a scheme to manufacture crystal meth. As time wore on, Walt discovered he had a talent for making meth, and an unexpected criminal acumen. He was able to maintain his own unique brand of a moral compass, while evading his brother-in-law Hank (Dean Norris), a DEA agent.
As season three begins, things are in disarray. It’s just after the plane crash that ended season two. A girl Jesse was seeing overdosed and died, leaving her father, an air traffic controller, utterly distraught. His insistence on returning to work almost immediately led to a mid-air collision in the skies above Albuquerque, and Jesse can´t help but feel guilty. Meanwhile, Walter, having left hope at his wife’s request, realizes he must get out of the drug business to save his marriage and family. To make matters worse, Skylar let’s her husband know she’s aware that he’s a drug dealer.
When Walt’s business partner (and essentially his boss) Gus (Giancarlo Esposito), gets word that Walt intends to quit, he offers him a small fortune to oversee three months of cooking in a high-tech, industrial lab. Gus has ties to some powerful Mexican cartels, who fight with him for control over the drug trade. This leaves Jesse, fresh out of rehab, desperate to get into the meth game again, with or without Walt. Naturally, when Walt discovers what Jesse’s been up to, a whole new set of troubles begin.
Creator Vince Gilligan and his writers continue to brilliantly explore all the complexities of the relationships between characters. Walt and Skylar’s collapsing marriage is finally pushed to the breaking point; she demands a divorce, and their uncomfortable power struggle becomes one of the season’s most powerful plot threads. The writers also continue to probe the Walt/Jesse relationship, which changes on a dime, from protective to fed up.
Through and through, Breaking Bad feels like one of the most authentic shows on the air today. Aided by powerful performances from Cranston and Paul, the show deals with several issues most of us can relate to in one way or another: drugs and drug use, troubled relationships, family, careers and morality.
Shown in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, this transfer is slick. The image is grain free throughout. The colors of the New Mexico desert are extremely vivid. Camera work is particularly well done. Angles used are creative but not overdone. Sony has provided an impressive visual experience.
The English 5.1 DTS-High Definition Master Audio soundtrack uses its background music carefully to establish emotion and mood. Vocals are equally emotional, adding to the punch of it all. Subtitle options are English, French and Spanish.
Breaking Bad: The Complete Third Season contains a large collection of special features spread across all three discs. Below is a breakdown of what’s included on both an episode-by-episode and disc-by-disc basis.
Disc One, episode-specific features:
Episode One, No Más:
- Audio Commentary: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Skip Macdonals, Dave Porter, and Michael Solvis
- Deleted Scenes (480p, 2:04): School Assembly Announcement and I Should Have Called First.
- Unused Footage (480p, 3:15): Explosion #1, Explosion #2, and Explosion #3.
Episode Three, I.F.T.:
- Deleted Scene (480p, 0:30): The Cousins Strike Again
Episode Four, Green Light:
- Deleted Scenes (480p, 7:24): I Gotta Go Babe, He Definitely Had Tan Pants, and Glad You’re Back Dad.
Episode Five, Más:
- Audio Commentary: Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, and Moira Walley-Beckett.
Disc One, individual features:
- White Heat: Cranston on Fire (1080p, 3:13): A brief look at Brian Cranston’s enthusiasm to set himself ablaze for a scene.
- Pizza of Destiny: Cranston’s Greatest Shot (1080p, 2:23): A humorous look at the story of the pizza that winds up on the White’s roof.
- BD-Live.
Disc Two, episode-specific features:
Episode Six, Sunset:
- Audio Commentary: Vince Gilligan, Dean Norris, John Shiban, Kelly Dixon, and Thomas Golubic.
- Deleted Scene (480p, 2:12): Stop Chasing Your Tail.
Episode Seven, One Minute:
- Audio Commentary: Dean Norris, Michelle MacLaren, Thomas Schnauz, Dave Porter, Daniel Moncada, and Luis Moncada.
Episode Eight, I See You:
- Audio Commentary: Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, and Gennifer Hutchison.
Episode Nine, Kafkaesque:
- Audio Commentary: Vince Gilligan, Betsy Brandt, George Mastras, and Michael Slovis.
- Deleted Scene (480p, 0:34): Talking Shop…Teachers.
Disc Two, individual features:
- Silent But Deadly: The Brothers Moncada (1080p, 8:36): A look at the roles played by Luis and Daniel Moncada.
- Team S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (1080p, 4:03): This digital/animated “Jesse Pinkman Production” looks at a make-believe world where he and Walter are scientific superheroes.
- Inside Breaking Bad (1080p, 1:15:07): A series of brief behind-the-scenes featurettes that cover each season three episode as well as a few specific scenes and additional content. The non episode-specific featurettes include The Opening of Season 3, The Hay Truck, The Cousins Visit Walt, Walt’s Aztek, The Cast on Season 3, Bryan Cranston Answers Fan Questions, and Aaron Paul Answers Fan Questions.
- Better Call Saul Commercials and Testimonials (1080p, 10:21): Tiger Trouble? Better Call Saul!; Wayfarer 515: We’re All Victims (A Message From Saul); Saul Says: “Sue ‘Em Now;” Letters to Saul: Did I Murder an Old Man?; Another Satisfied Client of Saul Goodman: Badger; and Three Satisfied Clients of Saul Goodman.
Disc Three, episode-specific features:
Episode Ten, Fly:
- Audio Commentary: Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Moira Walley-Beckett.
- Deleted Scene (480p, 1:00): How Can You Not See That?
Episode Eleven, Abiquiu:
- Deleted Scenes (480p, 1:31): The Routine and It Could Be Awhile.
Episode Twleve, Half Measures:
- Audio Commentary: Bryan Cranston, Adam Bernstein, Bill Powloski, Peter Gould, Jonathan Banks, and Michael Slovis.
- Deleted Scene (480p, 0:35): I Gotta Go.
Episode Thirteen, Full Measure:
- Audio Commentary: Vince Gilligan, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, and Jonathan Banks.
- Deleted Scenes (480p, 5:31): Our Future’s So Bright…, Who Do?, Option A, and Behooves Us.
Disc Three, individual features:
- The Breaking Bad Family Photo Album (1080p): A slideshow containing photographs of cast and crew.
- The Music of Breaking Bad (1080p, 4:34): Composer Dave Porter and others discuss the importance of music in the series and the various sounds, and themes it elicits.
- Hit and Run (1080p, 3:19): A look at the process of creating a “brutal, realistic, and horrifying” visual effect featuring a car running over people.
- AMC News Visits the Breaking Bad Writers’ Room (480p, 3:33): AMC’s Jacob Soboroff visits with series Creator/Executive Producer Vince Gilligan and others as they discuss what makes the show successful and the process of writing the stories for each episode.
- Gag Reel (480p, 3:17).
- Mini Video Podcasts (1080p, 1:08:13): Episode 301:’ No Más;’ Episode 302: ‘Caballo Sin Nombre;’ Episode 303: ‘I.F.T.;’ Episode 304: ‘Green Light;’ Episode 305: ‘Más;’ Episode 306: ‘Sunset;’ Episode 307: ‘One Minute;’ Episode 308: ‘I See You;’ Episode 309: ‘Kafkaesque;’ Episode 310: ‘Fly;’ Episode 311: ‘Abiquiu;’ Episode 312: ‘Half Measures;’ and Episode 313: ‘Full Measure’.
- Previews: Additional Sony titles.