PaleyFest 2010 Wrap Up: Dexter and Breaking Bad

*NO SPOILERS* (however, there are potential spoiler warnings on the videos linked here)

The 2010 PaleyFest event wrapped up a week ago at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills and I’m already jonesing for next year’s schedule to be announced. I’ve been going to select events hosted by the Paley Center for the last few years and the PaleyFest is easily the pop culture highlight of my spring. I can only afford to hit up a few of the events, so I was happy that I was able to snag tickets to two of the best: Dexter and Breaking Bad. Both are shows with stellar, award-winning casts and creators/writers that take astounding storytelling risks, not just season to season, but episode to episode. They fall into a sub-genre of television that I like to call “Consequence Television”, where the characters are in a constant state of change and the events that shape the characters are not forgotten by the time the next episode airs a week later. I’m not the first person to make this observation (certainly the producers are aware of what they’re doing and why they’re doing it), but it needs to be said. This is not “safe”, friendly television that you cozy up to after work (well, they do air on Sundays). These shows are tense, thrilling heart-and-mind benders that make Mondays in the office seem not so bad in comparison. These are the types of shows that you expect to be affected by. After watching the season 4 finale of Dexter, I was shaken for days afterward. I have friends that still have trouble talking about it. And Breaking Bad usually sets up the beginning of each episode with a visual cue, a mystery that is either solved by episode’s or season’s end, but never in a way you see coming. And I love it. Going to editorialize and put it right out there. I enjoy being made uncomfortable by television. I LOVE it (and hate it and love that I hate it) when the characters I care so much about, like Breaking Bad‘s Walter White (portrayed with such engrossing rage and subtlety by Emmy-award winning Bryan Cranston) make such bad decisions… even if it’s for all the right reasons. Most people can’t handle this type of storytelling. They want their heroes pure and their decisions true and just. And if there is a wrongdoing, it’s done by mistake or it’s done to the hero by the clearly defined bad guy. Dexter and Breaking Bad are not those types of shows.

So it was with great pleasure that I got to witness the PaleyFest events/screenings featuring Dexter and Breaking Bad over the last 2 weeks:

The Dexter screening featured the season 4 episode “Hungry Man“, where Dexter is faced with possibly the worst Thanksgiving day ever. Afterward, the primary cast, including Golden Globe-winner Michael C Hall (Dexter), his real life wife (and on-screen foster sister, Deb) Jennifer Carpenter, and cult tv favorite Julie Benz (Rita), mostly spoke about the devastating season 4 finale and what the future holds for Dexter as a result of that game changing episode. Between the sometimes usual awkward questions, the cast opened up about their favorite moments on set, the show’s odd connection to Lost, and the need for humor on a serial drama where the hero is a serial killer.
[Dexter pictures are available at the popculturegeek Flickr site]

The Breaking Bad event wasted no time in giving the packed house what it wanted: the season 3 premiere, directed by star Bryan Cranston, almost 2 weeks before it’s official debut on AMC (Sunday, March 21st at 10pm). I won’t give anything away, but it starts with one of the most bizarre openings I’ve ever seen anywhere, introducing us to 2 new characters that will likely play a big part in Walt and Jesse’s futures in the coming weeks. The main cast chatted about the often shocking turns that their characters are faced with and why main character Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) had not been killed off in the first season as originally planned. But what stood out most through that evening’s discussion was that Bryan Cranston is an astoundingly funny story teller.
[Breaking Bad pictures are available at the popculturegeek Flickr site]

The videos show some of what was discussed much better than I can. There are 6 videos for Dexter and 7 for Breaking Bad and they are all worth watching, especially if you’re already a fan. Just make sure you’re caught up on each series or you might be in for some unsettling surprises.

Bryan Cranston talks about directing the two new “bad guys” in the Season 3 premiere (no story spoilers).

The Dexter cast talks about their favorite moments of the series so far.

Breaking Bad season 3 returns to AMC on Sunday, March 21st, 2010 at 10pm.
Showtime rolls out Dexter season 5 on Sunday, September 26th, 2010.

For more videos and information on the Paley Center and its very busy event schedule that goes year round in Los Angeles and New York City, go to paleycenter.org.