艾美大贏家《絕命毒師》魅力大盤點
Breaking Bad ended honorably last September after five seasons. But after swiping five trophies at this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards on Aug 26, AMC’s hit drama series has again been put in the spotlight.
去年九月，《絕命毒師》成功播完五季後華麗收尾。今年8月26日的艾美獎上，這部美國有線電臺的熱播劇橫掃五項大獎，再次備受矚目。I’m one of many people who have been turned on to Breaking Bad following its huge success. It seems impossible not to notice when something is given the title “one of the greatest American TV dramas of all time”.
和許多人一樣，我也被它的成功點燃熱情。畢竟，誰又能對“美國有史以來最偉大的電視劇之一”熟視無睹呢？
So, this reaction leads me to believe that Breaking Bad must have something that these other great dramas don’t. After binge watching it over the past week (I’m still catching up on its fourth season), I’ve made a list of where the series’ appeal might come from.
因此，我堅信它一定有與衆不同之處。上週狂補數季後，還在看第四季的我將它的魅力總結如下：
Darkness rising
黑暗崛起Breaking Bad tells the story of Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with cancer. To make sure his family is well taken care of after he’s gone, White begins making crystal meth, an illegal drug.
《絕命毒師》講述了身患癌症的高中化學老師沃爾特•懷特（又名：老白）的故事。爲了讓家人在自己離世後也能衣食無憂，老白踏上了製造冰毒的不歸路。It sounds like a ridiculous idea with no good value, but as the show goes on, we watch the main character slowly change from the protagonist to the antagonist. The drug business turns the timid, sympathetic chemistry teacher into an evil, greedy, self-centered and violent man.
雖然劇情聽起來荒誕可笑，但隨着劇情的發展，老白慢慢從正面人物轉爲反派。毒品生意讓這位昔日膽小、富有同情心的化學老師，變成了邪惡、貪婪、自私且暴力的另一個人。However, because of the viewers’ attachment to White from the start, it’s easier to sympathize with him. The relatability of White has made him an iconic character, which is what most separates Breaking Bad from other great dramas such as Mad Men and The Wire.
但是，由於觀衆最初對老白的同情，很容易產生惻隱之心。這也使他成爲該劇的核心人物，這也是該劇與《廣告狂人》、《火線》等優質美劇最大的不同。Top-tier acting
演技精湛Bryan Cranston plays White with extraordinary subtlety. He transforms from the blunt and awkward husband to the ruthless drug dealer as easily as changing a shirt. Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman shows the hidden depth of the character, while delicately interpreting his love-hate relationship with White.
老白的扮演者布萊恩•科蘭斯頓演技十分精湛，從遲鈍笨拙的丈夫到殘忍無情的毒販，巨大的轉變對科蘭斯頓而言彷彿換件襯衫一樣簡單。傑西•平克曼（又名：小粉）的扮演者亞倫•保爾也將角色演繹得淋漓盡致，細微地詮釋出他對老白的愛恨交加。The two meth-cooking lead characters are well-supported by a strong cast of secondary characters. White’s wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) and his brother-in-law Hank (Dean Norris), all have plenty of depth and complexity on their own.
此外，劇中的次要角色也很給力：飾演老白妻子斯卡麗的安娜•岡和老白連襟漢克的飾演者迪恩•諾里斯，都表現出了角色的深度與複雜性。Colorful camerawork
高超的攝影技巧Breaking Bad places much emphasis on visuals and color. There are no wasted frames in the show — almost every scene balances its mood and tension on its use of color. In US pop culture writer Alyssa Rosenberg’s words, the show “has raised the bar for cinematography on television: the way it uses light and color makes me look at everything else differently”.
《絕命毒師》十分重視視覺效果和色彩運用，每個鏡頭都不可或缺，幾乎每個場景的色彩運用都與劇中的情緒和緊張的劇情配合得當。美國流行文化作家阿麗薩•羅森博格評價道：“《絕命毒師》成爲電視攝影技術的新標杆，劇中燈光和色彩的運用改變了我對其他事物（劇）的看法”。Chemistry class
化學課堂Not many shows can be both popular and informative. But in Breaking Bad, besides the meth-cooking, science is used for all sorts of fun things, for example, building homemade batteries or creating poison out of beans. The small science lessons have made fans realize that chemistry has never been so fun.
很多劇都難以兼顧流行與科普，但《絕命毒師》做到了。除了製造冰毒，科學知識還被用到了各種各樣的趣事中，比如：造個家用電池，從豆子中提取毒素等。這堂小科學課讓粉絲們認識到，化學其實並非那麼枯燥乏味。Visionary writing
創意劇本The show possesses a unique vision, which we have the writers to thank for. And meanwhile, the writers manage to take a long story-arc and not let it get away from them. This makes Breaking Bad one of the few TV series that improved creatively from start to finish. Shows like Lost or Desperate Housewives that started out strong were ultimately left bereft of ideas.
《絕命毒師》獨特的願景要歸功於它的編劇們。與此同時，編劇成功地勾勒出整個故事的脈絡，並保持故事不偏離主線。《絕命毒師》從頭到尾都在不斷創新，而《迷失》和《絕望主婦》等劇雖然開頭不錯，但到最後卻沒了新意。
