By Tallyn Owens
Executive Entertainment Editor
Albuquerque, N.M. serves as the stage for two very polar opposite pop culture staples: Disney’s “High School Musical” franchise and AMC’s meth-centric juggernaut “Breaking Bad.”
For all the singing, dancing, and sugary sweet optimism that HSM has, “Breaking Bad” has blood, sweat, and suspense out the meth pipe.
The show’s leads, Bryan Cranston (Walter White, meth cook extraordinaire)  and Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman, the meth head with a heart of gold), have four Emmy awards between them, with Cranston winning three consecutive years for each season of the show and Paul winning his first in 2009.

However, the shows ridiculously talented cast is only a portion of the holistic package that makes “Breaking Bad” absolute brilliance.
The writing is tense in a way that frames the show as something reminiscent of an eighties crime drama.
If said eighties crime drama revolved around the transformation of a middle-class chemistry teacher who resorts to cooking meth as a way to provide for his family after he gets a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Of course, in the case of “Breaking Bad,” the story is told from the viewpoint of the criminals, rather than those trying to catch them. Those trying to catch Jesse and Walt do make a cameo in the form of Walt’s brother-in-law, a Drug Enforcement Administration officer, who was shot and temporarily crippled when a cartel killing meant for Walt went awry.
“Breaking Bad” also boasts a villain who is three times more terrifying than anybody found in a second-rate horror flick from the last year.
The character’s name is Gustavio Fring and as portrayed by relative unknown Giancarlo Esposito, his silent grit is played with such ambiguity on the part of both Esposito and the writers. You only ever feel two things in regard to Gus: sheer terror at what his next move might be or utter shock at whatever verbal or physical attack he’s just dished out to Walt, Jesse or another unlucky by-standing drug dealer.
The genius of “Breaking Bad” is difficult to describe to those who haven’t seen it, which is why tuning in on Sundays at 9 on AMC  is crucial to understanding the hype. You don’t even have to watch it in order; that’s what library DVDs are for.
Just watch it.
I can promise you, beyond a shadow of most doubts, that after your first viewing of “Breaking Bad,” you’ll like be just as addicted as the desperate people of Albuquerque – except for maybe the “High School Musical” kids – are after a dose of Walter White’s trademark blue meth.