A 'Curb'-Like Comedy And The Return Of 'Breaking Bad'

Transcript

DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:

This is FRESH AIR. I'm TV critic David Bianculli. This weekend, the AMC cable network begins showing the final episodes of its acclaimed drama series "Breaking Bad" and also launches a new series, "Low Winter Sun." Meanwhile, HBO presents its newest made-for-TV movie - this one a comedy, starring and co-written by Larry David. We'll start with "Breaking Bad."

"Breaking Bad," Vince Gilligan's series about a central character going from milquetoast mild to remorseless killer, returns this Sunday after an extended, midseason break. And something fascinating happened during the interim. While the show itself was on hiatus, interest in it kept building. By now, anticipation for the final eight episodes of "Breaking Bad" has achieved the status of a true pop-culture phenomenon. Walter White, welcome to the TV zeitgeist.

Part of the reason is because Gilligan and company have crafted one of TV's most compelling storylines in years. Bryan Cranston has been nothing short of astounding as Walter White, a high school science teacher who reacts to a diagnosis of terminal cancer by making crystal meth, to provide a nest egg for his family. The rest of the cast, too, has been remarkably good at portraying the other characters' complicated emotional trajectories.

As ensemble casts go, "Breaking Bad" is as good as "Mad Men" and "Justified" - which means it's as good as TV gets. But great storytelling and terrific acting isn't the only reason "Breaking Bad" has suddenly grabbed so much attention. My theory is that it's because of DVD releases and streaming services, and the chances for audiences to catch up on prior episodes before the new ones begin Sunday.

The new availability of old television makes it possible, even easy, for latecomers to join the party while on the other hand, AMC's massively publicized rollout of the final eight episodes ensures there will be a party. For the old, existing episodes, there's binge-viewing. For the new ones, there's a once-a-week treat and the increasingly rare sensation of water-cooler conversation, where people are sharing the same TV experience at the same time.

If you sit on the last episodes of "Breaking Bad" to watch them later, spoiler alert: The main thing you'll be spoiling is your own enjoyment. In that spirit, all I'll say about the first episode in this final eight - the only one provided for critics - is that it not only met my high expectations, but surpassed them. If "Breaking Bad" maintains that high quality to its self-imposed finish line, it'll be one of the best series finales, and one of the best series, period, in TV history.

Following the return of "Breaking Bad" on AMC this Sunday is a new series, called "Low Winter Sun." It's an Americanized version of a British series of the same name, transplanted to Detroit but featuring the same star - Mark Strong. He plays a cop who in the opening scenes, does what Vic Mackey did so memorably in the first hour of "The Shield"; he kills a fellow officer in cold blood.

In "Low Winter Sun," the drama has to do with both why he did it, and whether he can get away with it. Strong is an intense actor and so is Lennie James, formerly of "The Walking Dead," who plays another cop with a secret or two. But this series, adapted by executive producer Chris Mundy of "Criminal Minds" and "Cold Case," starts out as unexceptional, and as forced as those CBS crime series. Having "Low Winter Sun" occupy the time slot after "Breaking Bad" is a wasted opportunity - and it certainly won't be helped by any direct comparison.

Saturday night on HBO, though, Larry David serves up a winner. While we're all waiting for him to decide whether to produce another season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," he and his writing partners, and director Greg Mottola, have teamed up for a summer TV delight - a one-shot, made-for-TV movie comedy.

It's called "Clear History," and stars David as Nathan Flomm, the marketing director for a start-up electric car company headed by Will Haney, played by Jon Hamm from "Mad Men." The boss wants to name the new car Howard, after the character Howard Roark in "The Fountainhead." But Nathan objects, as only a character played by Larry David can.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "CLEAR HISTORY")

LARRY DAVID: (As Nathan) Howard? You can't - you can't call a car Howard. Come on. Seriously.

JON HAMM: (As Will) I'll tell you what. Everybody, let reconvene in 15. Nathan and I are going to have a quick discussion about the marketing of this. Let's move forward.

DAVID: (As Nathan) You like this name?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) It's a great name, man.

HAMM: (As Will) Grab that door on your way out, OK?

DAVID: (As Nathan) All right. Let me just say this, OK? You brought me into this company for my marketing expertise. Correct?

HAMM: (As Will) Yes.

DAVID: (As Nathan) OK. You know, I hate to toot my own horn, but you know, I was the brains behind Edible Arrangements - 1,030 percent growth in three fiscal quarters.

HAMM: (As Will) I'm aware.

DAVID: (As Nathan) I'm not making that up. Call Patrick Lyons. He'll tell you. He'll tell you that.

HAMM: (As Will) Nathan, I'm aware of your success. It's why we hired you.

DAVID: (As Nathan) OK. You're making it impossible for me to market this car. I can't do it. Nobody's going to buy a car named Howard. It's like naming a restaurant Hepatitis.

HAMM: (As Will) It's a name.

DAVID: (As Nathan) It's not a good name. Call it a Dewey. That's a good name. A Duncan - call it Duncan.

HAMM: (As Will) Nathan, your job is to come up with the marketing. Marketers market. Inventors invent.

DAVID: (As Nathan) By the way...

HAMM: (As Will) It's a slam dunk.

BIANCULLI: Nathan owns 10 percent of the company but after that argument, ends up selling it back. The Howard becomes a billion-dollar hit, and Nathan becomes the biggest laughing-stock in business history since music publisher Dick James rejected an unknown rock group named The Beatles. [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: It was Decca Records' Dick Rowe, not music publisher Dick James, who declined to sign The Beatles.] Cut to 10 years later, and Nathan is living on Martha's Vineyard under an assumed name, doing odd jobs and seething with resentment.

Like "Curb Your Enthusiasm," this movie, "Clear History," is both largely improvised and carefully plotted. What has to happen in each scene is outlined in advance, but how the actors get there is up to them. It's a wonderful way to work if you have the right actors, and David does.

The cast of "Clear History," in addition to Jon Hamm and "Curb" regular J.B. Smoove, includes Michael Keaton, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Kate Hudson, and even an unaccredited but very funny appearance by Liev Schreiber. The music of the rock band Chicago figures prominently in "Clear History," as do Larry David's strangely sensible comic ideas - among them, in this case, the eye-level electrical outlet.

It's a sight-gag that by the end of the movie had me laughing out loud - like so much of "Clear History," especially when Smoove, Keaton or Hudson share the screen. Whether Larry David is writing movies or series for HBO, it turns out to be impossible for me to curb my enthusiasm.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BIANCULLI: You can download podcasts of our show at freshair.npr.org; and follow us on Twitter @nprfreshair, and on Tumblr at npr.freshair.tumblr.com. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.