'Breaking Bad' is My Favorite TV Pilot of the Past Year

Here's a valuable tip: don't miss this Sunday's premiere of the new AMC drama "Breaking Bad," a tour de force for Bryan Cranston of "Malcolm in the Middle" fame that proves to be as sublimely entertaining as any new series premiere I've seen of late. It looks to be another bullseye for AMC, which last Sunday won two Golden Globe Awards for its first-ever homegrown hour, "Mad Men" (deservedly taking best TV drama and top lead actor for star Jon Hamm). "Breaking Bad" is, by contrast, less slick than brilliantly outrageous and memorably played by the wonderfully charismatic Cranston.

In the show, Cranston portrays a put-upon, straitlaced high school chemistry teacher who decided on a whim to become a manufacturer and dealer of crystal methamphetamine as a way to make a quick windfall after getting diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Get all of that? The series has already been compared to Showtime's "Weeds" due to its narcotics storyline and wiggy sensibility. But trust me that it's far different -- more artful, more disturbing, more outrageous. The big question is if it can sustain the cinematic promise of its opening hour, which plays like a great sleeper indie flick in both tone and production values.

It's already turning me into a Bryan Cranston fan for life. Can't wait for episode two.