This interview was originally conducted on March 25, 2007.

Now a co-executive producer on House and an Emmy award winner for directing the episode “House’s Head”, three years ago Greg Yaitanes was an executive producer on the short-lived FOX series Drive.  Here he discusses his role in the show.

Pasha: There are three executive producers on Drive, two of whom are writers.  As the non-writer one, what do your duties consist of as an executive producer?

Greg Yaitanes: My role as a Non-Writing EP?   Teacher.

Drive’s late pick up meant that most of the original crew was unavailable to come to the show.  They had booked other jobs.  While we designed a hell of a pilot, it was a road map of how to do the show on an episodic schedule.  The original pilot was 14 days of shooting with a very long prep.  Normal episode schedule is 8 shooting days and 7 prep days.

So.

Two things happened.  We recast a lot of the pilot (with everyone we made offers to originally) and redeveloped the material.  So most of old pilot was out the window.  Meaning someone new would have to come in and try to recreate what we had done (production wise) or I had to come back and shoot it.  And if I was going to do that, why not stick around and help the show get off the ground.

That all said, I see the role on a show like this as a teacher.  Since I designed the look of the show, I need to teach the new production how to think about the show.  What things to look for.  How to break a script apart and physically make it.  This is NOT to say I was teaching anyone how to do their job.  We have talented filmmakers at every level of our production.  I simply need to teach everyone how to get their heads around this particular show since the needs of it are very specialized and unlike anything on TV or even movies for that matter.

I also wanted the crew to learn a pace and an economy to how to get such an ambitious show done in such a short schedule.  So I did that by staying on to direct not just the new pilot but also the first episode that followed.

Once the production is up and running then my next job is to teach the show to the directors.  Again… NOT teach anyone how to direct.  We have FANTASTIC directors coming to the show.  Creative talents that will bring new and fresh ideas to Drive. I help the directors understand the needs of the series.  What to look out for on this particular show.  What elements are 2nd unit or visual effects. How the show is photographed.  How it’s not photographed.  What the tone of the show is.  Help them get ready during their prep.  Answer any questions they may have.

Tim is also extremely busy with the scripts and post production.  So I am the hands on when he wants or needs something at a creative level.  He comes with an idea and I translate that into how physically we are going to accomplish it.  I work with our producer John Moranville on accomplishing that.

Since Tim and I spent days upon days in the edit room together on both pilots we collaborate on the cuts.  Both on my own episodes and other directors.  Since we are all here to ultimately serve Tim’s vision of the series I try to be the other half of his brain since he can not be in all places at all times.

Other things I handle is making sure the crew is taken care of and keep up morale since they are working so hard and often late into the night (we are shooting an episode right now that is all at night).  I also stay plugged into our amazing actors and make sure they are also getting what they need.

As someone says in the new pilot “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”  We have to keep everyone going at a steady speed and not burn them out.

So that’s it in a nutshell.  If I have done my job right Drive will have a solid stable of directors that know the show and a production that can pull off innovative episodes of TV every week.

That said I’ll be back at the end of the season to direct episode 11 and 13 to enjoy the fruits of my labor.  An amazing team that gels.

P: The original pilot had very frenetic camera work unlike a lot of other TV shows at the moment.  What was the thought process that went into creating that style for the show?

GY: Three things.

First.  I took a cue from The Fugitive, which always felt like a chase even in the non-chase moments.  If you watch again you’ll see we are always traveling with the main charter.  Same for Drive.  The camera is not passive.  We are participating in the scenes along with everyone else.  We are in the race.

Second.  The idea of using a lot of stedi-cam was also inspired by trying to keep a large group of people interconnected who didn’t know each other.  The camera had to be able to move around a room to find people who were otherwise not talking to each other.

Third.  Tim’s writing lends itself to a fluid and beautiful camera.  When I read Drive it reminded me of what I loved about Spielberg’s movies.  They were entertaining and the camera work supported the buoyancy of the writing.  Drive is fun.  The camera work should support that feeling and not work against it.

Chris Manley is our director of photography and he has the challenge of lighting a show that sees 360 degrees most of the time and still make it look amazing.  Bud Kremp is our hero stedi-cam operator.  Both make a huge contribution to the look of Drive.

P: What challenges have you faced when directing actors who are spending most of their time in cars in front of a green screen?

GY: None.  It is the easiest part of the show.  Everyone knows where they are at and what they are doing.  We can just work on performance.  Production wise we move very quickly.  Up to 14 pages a day (twice the days work on a normal TV show).  The idea behind it is that the characters, acting and writing will hold our interest.  Plus when the show gets out of the cars the camera work and locations get big.  When you are inside of a car the world is just what you see out the window.  If there is any challenge it’s remind yourself and the actors about the urgency of the race.  It’s easy for everyone to forget that while they are doing pretend driving.

P: How has directing Drive differed from directing other shows?

GY: It exercises every creative muscle you can think of.  The show is enormously ambitious and does not follow a set formula.  Each week presents completely new relationships, conflicts and obstacles.  Every week we are making the pilot.  Meaning every week we are making a unique story.

Our cast is fifteen main characters.  The closest I’ve come to a cast that big is Grey’s Anatomy, which is twelve.  A show like that is more performance oriented than visual.  Whereas shows that I have done for Bruckheimer are more visual than actor friendly.  Drive needs and has it all.  Compelling characters and the fun visuals.

Drive is also enormously technical.  Nesting the characters into the action and danger is something no other TV show can boast.  To do this however takes a lot of teamwork.  We have an amazing visual effects company in Zoic and an amazing special effects team that work with us.

P: In an interview Tim Minear said Drive would be a different show each week depending on who the central character was that episode.  Will this be reflected in the directing style?

GY: Yes and no.  Each episode will reflect the tone of the script but the show will still be shot like the show; the characters still in character.  For example episode five that we are shooting now has some dark tonal elements.  We are supporting this by introducing some new visual elements.  Drive always remains organic and honest to the situation at hand.  Tim is also a master of changing tones on a dime.  So the directors and direction needs to support that as well.

Kevin: How do you plan to show changes in location as the race progresses?

GY: We evolve the look of the series each week depending on what state of the country we are in.  Every state has a unique look.  In the new pilot you get a tease of different parts of the county that we will return to in series.  Also if you watch them all on DVD back to back you’ll feel the journey even more.  But still watch on April 15th and 16th.

P: How easy is it co-coordinating with a second unit that is traveling around America while you’re in California with the actors?

GY: Everything is shot in LA.  After directing Alias I was convinced you can make any look from any state or country here in LA.

That said, Spiro Razatos is our 2nd unit director and brilliant.  He shoots the driving sequences.  Loni Peristere designs our visual effect sequences, which integrate with Spiro’s driving work.  They are a great team.

P: Finally, from the moment you receive the script from the writers, what is the process you go through in preparing it for filming?

GY: We scramble! Seriously, the show is so ambitious it’s like prepping a movie in seven days.  When the script comes out we have to get it cast, find locations that reflect the part of the country we are in.  Nail down the visual effects.  Break it up as to what 2nd unit is going to shoot.  See what the director or “first unit” is going to shoot.  Each week is a huge task.  We do not have any standing sets other than the cars.  We do not have “headquarters” or a “hospital” to count on.  So it keeps us on our toes.  One thing is the same every week.  Each script is a page-turner.  And you are dying to find out what happens next.

This interview was conducted on July 30, 2007.

Tim Minear worked on Angel for four out of its five seasons, penning such seminal episodes as “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been”, “Reprise” and “Lullaby”.  Here he reflects on his time on the show.

Pasha: In the past you’ve mentioned that you initially refused the job to write for Angel several times. What was the reason for this and what made you eventually change your mind?

Tim Minear: When Angel came along, I’d started to make a bit of a name for myself. Well, that is to say, I was no longer begging for work and there were some other options. Also, I’m notorious for saying no before I say yes. Sometimes I say no even after I say yes. I just wasn’t sure. The thing that made me finally say yes was something Howard Gordon said to me: “You should always try to work with people who you think you can learn something from. You should be with Joss.” Howard wasn’t the first person show said I should be working with Joss Whedon. Others had been saying it to me long before I’d seen Buffy or met Joss. Back when I was doing The X-Files people were saying it to me. They were right.

P: Beginning with the first season you wrote many of the key episodes such as Doyle’s death, the key flashback episodes and the majority of the second season arc. Forgive the wording, but what was the reason for this?

TM: I can’t forgive the wording. Why me, or why at all? Me because… lucky I guess? I was the only guy — the only new guy — that stuck. Because a lot of the heavy lifting at first was done by Buffy writers, the new Angel writers were kind of red-headed step children at first at that shop. By the time the other new kids had fallen away, I was about the only original “exclusive to Angel” guy left, so in a way I was the only “actual” Angel guy in those early days. I guess since Angel was my only focus, I got to burrow my way deeper into its DNA than some others. Also, if you plan to stay in the game, you have to want the ball. I wanted the ball. I took the ball.

P: Looking at the episodes you’ve written, it seems you have an affinity with some characters in particular. Angel, Kate and Darla especially. Was there anything about these characters that appealed and you related to or was it just luck that you wrote many of their pivotal episodes?

TM: A bit of both. I knew we couldn’t compete with what Buffy and Angel had as a couple. Darla was a bit of an enigma, and therefore one could take more liberties with creating something new. I saw that we could do something that in no way stepped on Buffy but was unique to Angel. It would always be hard on the legacy of Buffy to say “Angel met someone new!” But, our show wasn’t called “Buffy” it was called “Angel.” One had to first and foremost service THAT character. We had to find a way to give the writers on Angel room to move without everything being about Buffy — but while still respecting everything that came before. So how do you give your titular character a relationship without saying “Oh, and that deathless one-of-a-kind romance you saw on Buffy is now null, ‘cause we need some good shit for our new show, too”? Well, the way to give him a complicated romance that didn’t discount Buffy was to make it an OLD relationship. Something that pre-dated Buffy. And when your guy is more than two hundred years old, there’re places to go for that. Angel and Darla are every bit as one-of-a-kind as Angel and Buffy — but not the same nor in competition. I always saw them as a combo of George and Martha from “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?” and Bonnie and Clyde. Buffy and Angel were so epic because it was so pure but so doomed. Angel and Darla were, for me, epic because it was so corrupt and so doomed. Darla and Angel are in many ways the negative image of Buffy and Angel.

I always liked Kate because, like me in those early days, she was an outsider trying to get a handle on this insular, magical world. Also she was Mulder and Scully rolled into one, and I never felt like I got enough of a chance to work out my X-Files fetish while I was on that show.

P: Did you have further plans for Kate had Elisabeth Rohm not left for Law and Order? One rumor was that the character of Justine was created to replace her.

TM: I don’t recall. I think we’d taken her as far as we needed to. But I’m sure had she been available we would have found reasons to bring her back.

P: What was the original ending for season two intended to be had Julie Benz and Christian Kane been available?

TM: I have to be honest. I know that some people recall Pylea as a reaction to those actors not being available. I remember it differently. I could be wrong. I remember that we were sitting around and thinking about the next few episodes and we were all a little weary of the Darla drama and someone said, “can’t we just do something totally unexpected and go to Oz?” And we did. Now, it may be that they weren’t available and we still planned on telling that beige Angel arc without those characters and that’s when the “Oz” of it was mentioned, but I don’t remember it that way.

P: Before Charisma Carpenter fell pregnant, what were the plans going to be for season four? I understand Cordelia was still going to be evil — would this still have led to a similar Jasmine arc, what would Cordy’s motives have been?

TM: It was still going to be Cordy as big bad, if I recall, but it would have built to a throw down between Angel and Cordelia. But because of Charisma’s pregnancy, we made Cordelia pregnant too and had her “give birth” to an actress who wasn’t laboring (sorry for the pun) under a medical condition. But before we made that choice, there was even talk of shooting the Angel/Cordy battle scenes early in the year… but the idea of getting far enough ahead on breaking stories so we’d know exactly what those scenes needed to be turned out to be a pipe dream.

P: Along these lines, I have to ask if there were ever plans to bring Doyle back in any capacity?

TM: Every once in a while I’d bring it up — but I’d get shot down. Rightfully so. I thought Doyle would have been a great Big Bad for season three. But the problems and demons that the actor wrestled with in the real world, which in the end took his life, ruled that out as an option.

P: Prior to its airing, I read you were pleased with the script for “That Old Gang of Mine” — yet the pleased went away once it was produced. What changed?

TM: No. I always pretty much always loathed that script. But I felt, weak as the script was, that had it been shot differently that it would have made a huge difference. As it happened, it was my weakest script coupled with the most unfocused direction. Just painful all the way around.

P: Angel famously changed tone and was reinvented a lot, especially after season one when Los Angeles became less of a character and the ensemble dynamic changed. Was the WB responsible for this or was it something that the writers felt was necessary?

TM: Joss and David at first thought we’d be doing a stand alone procedural show. When they saw “Eternity” and realized that when the guest cast member (good as she was) fell out and it became about our people, it all changed. In the end, we started writing to our and the show’s strengths — and no one argued.

P: Likewise, was the lightened tone of the show and Angel’s character at the beginning of season three, which coincided with the Cordelia pairing and arrival of baby Connor, a network mandate or was it a creative decision designed to magnify the effects of “Sleep Tight”?

TM: We’d get network notes in those first four years, but the creative direction was always Joss and us. We always looked to him and he pretty much never looked to anyone else.

P: After killing several characters you earned the monicker of the Tim Reaper and you’ve since joked about killing people off on your later shows. Did you actively set out to kill characters in Angel or was it just a thing you did that unbeknownst to you developed into a pattern?

TM: Somehow I’d end up with some of the big, pivotal moments. And in those moments, people die.

P: How did the storybreaking process evolve as the show shifted from its anthology format to the more arc heavy, serialized format?

TM: Frankly, the biggest change was that I was more involved. It was Joss, David and me for a lot of it. Then as we started building our staff and adding people who stuck, it would be the whole room, or permutations of various combinations. Sometimes just me and Joss, sometimes Jeff Bell and I, etc.

P: Incidentally what format did you prefer — MOTW or arcs — and why?

TM: Arcs. When the show started feeling like a novel and you couldn’t wait to get to the next chapter it rang like a gong. However, every once in a while when I’d get to do something like “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been…” it would be my inner gong that got rung. So that’s deeply personal on a different level, being able to indulge in a delicious just-for-me treat.

P: What are your thoughts on the academic study devoted to Angel? How much focus was placed on symbolism, social commentary, gender politics and the many other things discussed in these papers when you were breaking the stories?

TM: For me, virtually none. It’s almost all I can ever do just to make a story track and not be boring. If something makes me go “eww, that might be offensive” I try to compensate. But mostly, I just wanna spin a corker of a tale.

P: Were there ever any stories you wanted to tell and never got the chance to?

TM: Yeah. But then they pretty much got told later by other people once I left, so it’s all good.

P: Chances are you know now, but when the series ended what ideas had you come up with for what happened after the alley?

TM: Well, Jaye was going to be considered a messiah, and then Sharon… see, I was doing Wonderfalls by then and didn’t spend a whole lot of time breaking stories for a show I hadn’t been on in a year.

P: Finally, do you foresee yourself returning to the Angelverse in any of its incarnations in the future?

TM: I’d love to. I just adore Angel.

After the Dollhouse episode “True Believer” aired, the writer and consulting producer Tim Minear was kind enough to chat with me a bit about this episode, his contributions to the show and what he’s got coming up in development. Enjoy.

Pasha: “True Believer” was conceived as one of the “seven pilots”, as Joss has called them. With this in mind, what was the process of breaking the episode like?

Tim Minear: Well, Joss wanted to do a cult episode. The only real edict was that the culties should have a point of view — that they shouldn’t just be crazies. In fact, they should be right. I liked that notion. I don’t recall who came up with the “blind Echo” angle — I think it was Andrew. Anyhow, we were behind in scripts and I just said “let me do it.” Took what little we had and worked it out on my own. In terms of my thought process I wanted to make sure there was a real reason why only the Dollhouse could do what needed to be done in this instance and I wanted the story turns to be rooted in the Dollhouse premise so I used the sci-fi angle to make a scientific miracle.

They could create a real woman who had really experienced a divine vision. And the fact that she was really blind proved that she wasn’t lying. That’s why she could recognize Sparrow through touch because the vision she experienced was no lie. Granted, Topher put it in her head, and we saw the 3-D model of Sparrow’s head and understood how this was accomplished, but to Echo/Esther, all was true. So when Sparrow knocked the cameras loose and her vision was restored, this was also really a miracle… to her.

P: How do you write Echo in such a way that the audience relate to her when her persona is so different week to week?

TM: Well, that’s always going to be the trick with this concept. We know she’s not really that person, so there is a distance there, for the viewer. One can only keep that element in mind when working out the story. So as I mentioned, the “miracle” is always double-edged — they work on that level, but they also always must illustrate the show concept. Hopefully if that happens, then even with the emotional distance, it’s compelling enough to hold the interest.

P: Once you’ve overcome those obstacles, what about the premise most interests you?

TM: What interests me most are questions of memory and identity. These are difficult to really dig into in the “case of the week” episodes. But once we get all mythology-y… ka-pow with the existential conundrums.

P: The theme of identity was quite prevalent in The Inside and in many ways Echo’s arc isn’t dissimilar to Rebecca Locke’s. Has anything from The Inside spilled over into your Dollhouse input?

TM: Uh, I’d say so, yeah. Writing the FBI stuff is pretty easy for me, because of The Inside. You may have detected a shout out to myself in there tonight. Also, I may have suggested the Elizabeth Smart thing to Joss in the hostage expert thing.

P: A ha, thought that plot seemed like a you-thing.

Who did you enjoy writing for in “True Believer”? I’m thinking it wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest Topher?

TM: I think it took me as long to write the Topher/Saunders stuff as it took to type it. Kind of a snap, actually. I also like writing for Adelle. And I have affection for Boyd.

P: The cast for “True Believer” featured a few Drive alums — Brian Bloom and Mark Totty of the healing staple gun. Did you have a hand in the casting and were you writing with them in mind?

TM: Oddly, I wasn’t really thinking of Brian when I was writing. I was kind of writing for Jeremy Renner (Penn from “Somnambulist” [Angel]). When he wasn’t available, I heard that Brian had been submitted. Joss and I both thought he would be great. In the back of my mind, I was kind of thinking of Mark Totty for Agent Lilly. And I asked for casting to bring him in. I cast the episode myself.

P: Aside from casting, how involved were you in the production and post-production of this episode?

TM: Pretty involved. I prepped it with my old friend Allan Kroeker, I was on set much of the time, and I was in the editing room until it was done.

P: What’s it been like consulting on the show during episodes you weren’t involved in? What duties did you take on?

TM: “Consulting” is just a title. I do the same thing I do on any show where I’m a producing writer — when not the actual show runner. I’m in the writer’s room, breaking stories. Writing scenes when needed, writing episodes, going to casting, goofing off, making wisecracks and eating pie.

Lots of pie.

P: How have you approached the theme of exploitation on the show? Even though “True Believer” was bereft of some of the bra-shots of the last few episode, how conscious do you have to be of causing offence when writing a show that is so near the mark?

TM: It’s difficult. We are talking about a whorehouse on some level. Happily I’ve been able to skirt around it a bit on my episodes.

P: Finally — now that the show’s wrapped and the introduction phase is over, what can we expect from the rest of the series? And what can we expect from you in a post-Dollhouse world?

TM: Well, you’ll get juicy arc stuff coming up soon. We just ram headlong into it all by the end, and it’s fun.

As for me, working on a few things. Two pilot ideas that I’m developing with the studio. One is science fiction — based on an old title. And the other is a dark thriller. Also have some movie stuff going. And I assume before Dollhouse resumes, assuming it does, the studio will have me consulting on some other ongoing concern of theirs. I’m on an overall deal, recall.

This interview was originally conducted on February 2^nd, 2009.

Dichen Lachman first became well known for starring in the Australian soap opera as Katya Kinski. After spending a few years on Neighbours she left and moved to LA, where she now stars on Dollhouse as Sierra, an active in the Dollhouse who can be imprinted with any personality or skills. Dichen was recently kind enough to answer a few questions with us.

Pasha: Having worked on the Australian soap Neighbours, what has the transition to Los Angeles and working on a primetime Fox show been like?

Dichen Lachman: It’s been fantastic. Obviously when I arrived in LA there were challenges getting settled, making friends, and negotiating the new territory was an experience, but an experience that will no doubt add to my character.

Working on Dollhouse has really been incredible. I love the people I work for and with, I look forward to going to work everyday and the challenges that come with it.

P: What are the main differences in how the two are filmed?

DL: When I was working on Neighbours we shot 25 to 26 pages a day. On Dollhouse we do on average about 8. It is nice to have more time I have to say. The scale… The production value is much higher as you might have noticed and I have my own dressing room They are really very different.

P: Your character in Dollhouse, Sierra, has a new personality or two each week. As an actress, do you try and create continuity between personalities so that it’s clear Sierra is at the heart of each of them?

DL: I think one of the challenges is to not do that for the most part, as she is not as aware as Echo. So the lack of continuity is really what I have to endeavour to create for now, so you believe I am these different people…

P: How do you approach playing Sierra when she is in blank slate Dollhouse-mode? Is it difficult getting into the head of a character who has no desires or freewill?

DL: It is and it isn’t. That’s a tough question I don’t really have an answer to… I enjoy it…

P: Has it been easy using an American accent in the show? Do you use the American accent in between takes or is it easy alternating between American and Australian?

DL: I enjoy doing an American accent. I tend to just do it when the camera is rolling but sometimes I do it in between. It depends how much dialogue there is.

P: Were you familiar with any of Joss Whedon’s other shows before getting the role?

DL: Yes. I was a fan which made it all the more nerve-racking when I met him.

P: Have you had any crazy or surreal fan experiences yet?

DL: Only with Neighbours fans. Are Joss fans more intense?

Yesterday the UK Government announced intentions to crack down on internet piracy of films, music and television. While this is a threat the government rolls out on a seemingly bi-monthly basis, one must wonder if anything will ever come of it. And if something does I, for one, do not think it will be a good thing.

I am not going to justify the downloading of movies and music. I think those things should be paid for legally. Nor will I justify the downloading of television that has been released on DVD. My intention is instead focused solely on television that has yet to be released on DVD.

As the internet creates an increasingly globalized world, people from all walks of life are able to meet each other and get in contact to discuss common interests. As technology continues to involve this will become more and more common and cultural divides will inevitably erode as a result. What does this have to do with piracy? It’s simple.

The television business model shows seemingly little appreciation for the notion of globalization. Just this past television season, Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse debuted on FOX in America in February. Coming from the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer there was much hype and anticipation behind the show and if you’re a fan of cult television that uses the internet the hype and news were unavoidable.

However if you were a British fan, you were royally screwed.

The show didn’t start airing in Britain until at least three months after it aired in the States. By which point, even the most careful of fans who uses the internet would be thoroughly spoiled on all the major plot points.

And what of the aired versions? Sci Fi, the cable station that airs Dollhouse season one in the UK, would change the act breaks, due to OFCOM’s arcane rules about advertising, and cut a couple of minutes out of each episode. As a television purist I’m a big fan of seeing the final product as the creator intended. I like act breaks where they’re supposed to be. I don’t like sloppy network cuts of episodes. So short of waiting even longer and getting even more spoiled until the DVD is released, what is a fan to do but pirate?

With films and music this problem does not arise. Release dates are roughly the same and none are arguably as good for watercooler (read: internet forum) conversation as discussing your favorite television shows. However with television this is very much an ongoing issue.

At this point I will give props to Sky One and Channel Four for airing Desperate Housewives, Lost, Bones and 24 mere days after they are shown in America. But what of the Dollhouses of the world where you have to wait months and months only to be subjected to an edited and diluted version of the show?

If Dollhouse and similar shows were shown within a week of their US airdate… If the act breaks were left in tact… If they were left uncut… If there was a Hulu-esque service on a par to the one offered Stateside… If all these conditions were met, which in this day and age aren’t out of the question, I would condemn people who pirate TV as I do people who pirate other forms of media. But the fact is there is a huge chasm between the wants of fans of US imports and the UK stations’ ideas of what their viewers want and until this chasm is closed I can’t get behind the idea of prosecuting and punishing people who download television.

The sixth season is set to premier in Wednesday 14th October on FX. The season will feature the return of Vanessa Redgrave as Julia McNamara’s mother, Erica Noughton.

Singer made a name for himself by directing The Usual Suspect in 1994.  He’s since been associated with comic book franchises such as X-Men and Superman.

And, yes, I’m sure another updating of Battlestar is just what everyone wanted this decade.

Teacher. Husband. Father. Cancer patient. On paper, Walter White (the brillaint Bryan Cranston) is an incredibly sympathetic man who you can’t help but feel sorry for. Season One of AMC’s spectacular Breaking Bad worked hard in establishing its protagonist as an ultimately good guy, someone to root for. He gave up on the opportunity to be a rich scientist, instead working as a high school chemistry teacher, not being paid enough to afford his cancer treatment. His son (RJ Mitte) suffers from cerebral palsy, and we are left cheering when Walter turns to violence to stand up for his son. All of his aggressive little acts merit a smile, actually… From taking out his frustration on a smarmy business man’s car, to blowing up an insane drug dealers room, it’s hard not to be on Walt’s side. Even his violent murder of a chained up drug dealer in his basement was justified… Hey, that guy had a shard of broken plate, it was him or Walt. Season Two, making the best move it could have, heads in the opposite direction to Season One. Meet Heisenberg, an inverse of Walter White’s identity, and at the same time perhaps the man he’s been all along.

We ended Season One prematurely, perhaps, due to that ever-soul-destroying writers strike. It closed on Walter and his protégée Jesse Pinkman (the Emmy-nominated, and deservedly so, Aaron Paul) making a deal with the devil, the vicious and unpredictable Tuco (Raymond Cruz). Much like any Faustian arrangement, it quickly falls apart. Tuco, after beating a lackey to death on a whim, has dragged Walter and Jesse into his business, and now they’re a threat to him. This story actually fits very well into S2’s arc, despite the conclusion of it in “Grilled” feeling more like a season finale. Tuco, descending into a paranoid crazy son of a bitch who kidnaps the pair with wild dreams of having them shipped off to Mexico to cook meth for him there, really does lose sight of why he is dealing. His uncle, a wheelchair bound man who can’t or won’t appreciate his grandsons efforts, serves as a bleak reminder of Walter’s own situation. Both men, in the space of one episode, risk a loved one for their own sick need to dominate in the drugs trade. Tuco almost loses his grandfather to poison intended for himself; Walter almost loses his brother-in-law (Dean Norris) to a bullet meant for him. Eventually, Tuco dies much like he deserved to… Gunned down to stop him from a fit of intense rage. You could say the threat is now over. Everyone got away safely. As the pink toy bear in the opening scene of the season tells us: no fucking way.

Following this almost-season-finale, we begin a new journey into the depth of identity. For Hank, it is not only having a chink in his armour revealed, but having the entire helmet pulled off of him. Having faced what isn’t short of a monster, suddenly the man who laughed at a dead body crushed beneath a car is jumping from a bursting bottle of beer. His bravado is utterly annihilated in perhaps one of the most jaw-dropping scenes I have witnessed on television, as he is faced with a mans head on a tortoise and a fellow agent with his leg blown off, a horrific glimpse into the true hell of the drug world. And despite the devil being dead, Walter is still bound for this hell, walking directly into it of his own accord.

Walter’s identity undergoes multiple changes, contrasting with the guy we forgave for dealing back in the first season. Does he cover up the terrible climax of his encounter with Tuco by going back to his family, ready to make up for sins past? Not at all. He figures faking amnesia in an elaborate scheme involving walking around a supermarket naked is the way to go. Who knows, perhaps he’s naked because he’s a newborn again… Heisenberg has officially been born. Lying to his pregnant wife (which he does over and over again throughout the season, even though it is tearing their relationship to pieces) is the best option in his eyes.  Skylar (Anna Gunn) has every right to turn on Walter after his actions this season.  She even goes back to work, showing she is willing to lead an honest life and try to scrape through that way.  She’d never accept the money Walter is making if she knew the source.  Her reaction to her new boss, who she seems tempted to have an affair with, breaking a fairly minor law is telling.  She almost walks out of her job because of it.  Walter’s lies in turn leads to the eventual disintegration of their relationship, concluding with her leaving him in the finale. His own son changes his identity to Flynn, which amusingly Walter objects to completely despite doing the same thing to himself in his dealer lifestyle. His handling of his son is generally awful, from corrupting the innocence of his sons appeals website by replacing the kindness of strangers for money made on the back of fuelling drug addicts. The image of Walter hiding a gun and drug money in his own impending child’s bedroom shows the sick contrast between the two sides of his personality. His overwhelming need to dominate leads to him literally making his son drink himself ill, whilst arguing with Hank over his “territory”, foreshadowing the eventual fate of another “kid” he will encounter later in the season. By the end of the season, we see not a family man, but a man alone, watching the sky literally fall down because of his actions. Alone.

His role as a teacher is also looked at in good detail this season, and ultimately he fails completely as one. Jesse Pinkman, despite no longer being at school, is no doubt Walter’s student. Except this time he isn’t asking for homework, he is asking for a thieving addict to be punished for stealing from him. This leads to the disturbing “Peek-a-Boo”, in which Jesse’s life is put in danger undergoing that very task for Walter. The most important thing to note, perhaps, is Jesse actually looking out for a kid in need, trying to protect him as opposed to exploit him. This isn’t where Walter’s going to lead Jesse over the season, unfortunately. Another lie leads Jesse and Walter into the desert, with nobody there to help them, where Walter rips Jesse apart with words rather than encouraging his better side. The fact remains, however, that on some level Walter does care… This isn’t some one-dimensional asshole who only uses Jesse for drugs. The teacher/student dynamic is still there, but it is one torn between that of Walter caring for Jesse and Heisenberg’s frustration. In a way, Jesse’s friends make up a class. One of them being shot dead by a child, and the other arrested, shows where it’s all going to end up for the students of Heisenberg. With the entrance of Jane (an excellent turn by Krysten Ritter), we finally hit a tipping point. She’s a threat to Heisenberg, and she brings out the worst in Jesse. She’s the real catalyst that leads to the tragedy looming in the distance, inevitable, since the first scene of the season. Ultimately we see Walter White, the father figure, in a scene where he talks to Jane’s father (John de Lancie) in a cruel quirk of fate in which Jane’s fathers love for his daughter ultimately convinces Walter of what must be done. Realizing that she’s going to drag Jesse down into the depths of addiction, and towards death, Walter finally finds the two sides of his identity meeting in one devastating scene as she chokes on her own vomit. Walter, protective of Jesse, needs her gone to save his student, hell, his family, and Heisenberg is well aware that she is blackmailing him. At the same time, this moment is a complete inverse of any other scene in which we witnessed Walter’s darker side… He lets a damaged girl die in front of him, his close friends girlfriend. She doesn’t have broken glass to stab him with, she isn’t threatening him with a gun. In this moment, we see the old Walter fighting beneath the surface, revealed in a tear. But what’s done is done. There’s no way back for him now.

In an interesting but ultimately needed twist, we also begin to move away from Walter’s role as a cancer-ridden man. I mean, a cancer patient doing it for his family? Yeah, we’ll make some exceptions. But now? He has the money, he is getting better physically and yet he doesn’t stop. His very reason for becoming what he has is gone and yet he doesn’t stop. In one scene we see him standing in a queue waiting to buy some paint with the everyday people, and walking out from their ranks to threaten some fledgling dealers to stay out of his territory. He’s becoming a territorial animal in many ways, and this in turn works well when he’s growling at small animals to get out of his way, but sooner or later he’s going to run into something a lot bigger. Be it the far more cautious and savvy Gus (Giancarlo Esposito), or the cartel who cut a man’s head off then blew up an entire group of police, it is going to happen eventually. There was a backlash against the final scene in which we found out those dead bodies looming in Walt’s future were just unknowns thrown from the wreckage of a plane crash Walt unwittingly orchestrated because it was expected that thugs had gone after someone in the White household… I wouldn’t rule out that fate for any of them just yet.

Going into S3, we will be moving into new territory yet again. Season One introduced us to a normal man who turned to crime out of desperation and a series of cruel circumstances. Season Two focused on the consequences of taking the route he chose, transitioning the man we had all grown to root for into a very different man, now deep in the drug trade and having driven everyone he cared for away… His family have left him, Jesse is devastated and in rehab… The movement of identity from Walter White to Heisenberg will no doubt continue, with his own brother-in-law beginning to really go on the search for Heisenberg whilst raising charity for Walter at the same time. Both family member and nemesis, father figure and corrupter, crime lord and fragile school teacher… Walter White is a man of contrasts, and I can only see S3 bringing the two worlds closer and closer together. There can’t really be a happy ending for Walter now… The events are still in motion, the plane crash was just some shock and awe to alert us to it even moreso. If anything I expect S3 to be even darker than what came before, from the man who took a deal with the devil in S1 to a member of the damned deep in the circles of Hell. And I can’t wait.

AMC are confident that, despite the genre element of the project, it will be a perfect fit on their schedule, which already includes Breaking Bad and Mad Men.

Oceanic 815… Landing in LAX?

The Lost season six premier (which will be 2 hours long, by the way) is going to be entitled “LA X” as revealed by this source.

After the final scene of season five’s finale, and recent casting rumours, it looks like we will indeed be visiting an Oceanic 815 that didn’t crash onto the island, but knowing Lost can things really be that simple? The space between LA and X also raises some questions as to what the title really means. Typo or complex mystery?

Lost returns in the new year.