It all started with a news article. Show creator Vince Gilligan and writer Tom Schanuz who wrote together for the X-Files were talking about an article in the New York Times on a meth cook who was making kids sick while cooking. A week later Gilligan told Schanuz that he had an idea about a show featuring a chemistry teacher cooking meth.

What would later become one of the most critically acclaimed shows of all time almost didn’t make it on air. Many networks turned down the project not because they didn’t like it, but because of its risky content. It wasn’t until AMC began airing original content with Mad Men that the show was finally picked up. Originally AMC wanted someone like John Cusack or Matthew Broderick to play the titular character, Walter White. When both actors turned down the role, Bryan Cranston, who at the time was mostly known for playing the dad in Malcolm in the Middle, was chosen.

What starts with a chemistry teacher cooking meth to support his family, after learning that he has lung cancer, radically changes over the course of five seasons. Breaking Bad, untraditionally amongst many other TV series, dramatically changes many of the main characters through its storytelling. As the stakes in which Walter White faces becomes more challenging his actions become morally questionable. The creators of Breaking Bad were able to change Walter White from the protagonist of the show to the antagonist. What’s even more interesting is how the show really tests the viewers when trying to decide if they should support Walter White.

Walter White isn’t the only one to “break bad.” The show carries a cast of hard-hitting characters that are all brought down by the business Walter White maintains. Jesse Pinkman is a former student of Walter White’s chemistry class and the reason Walt starts cooking. Given that the meth production requires two people, Jesse becomes not only a cook for Walt, but his business partner. As the show continues, Jesse grows beyond the stereotype he has in the beginning of the show, appearing like the true protagonist of the show.  He’s flawed but he holds up certain qualities that make him more human.

Most interestingly, during the drafting process, Jesse Pinkman wasn’t going to stay on the show. According to Gilligan, they planned to kill him off early in the show. What saved him was the 2007 writer’s strike. Although the first season ran for a brief seven episodes, they couldn’t bring themselves to let him down yet. They are thankful for the decision now; Jesse Pinkman and Walter White are the two most important and popular characters on the show. Sklyer White, the loving wife of Walt, goes down a dark spiral as she realizes her husband is changing right in front of her. Hank Schrader, Walter’s conveniently related DEA Brother-in Law, quickly becomes involved in the mystery of a rising meth cook. The foil set up within the show leads to many episodes with Hank close to  discovering who this so called “Heisenberg” is.

Marie Schrader, Hank’s wife and Skyler’s sister, also faces a change within her husband when he becomes consumed in finding this new distributor. Saul Goodman, Walt’s shady lawyer who helps him with his drug empire and distribution, is also the show’s biggest form of comedic relief. As a popular character amongst fans, Saul is receiving a spinoff show. Called “Better Call Saul,” the show will follow Saul as a lawyer before he began working with Walter White.

So, what else makes Breaking Bad such a compelling show? It’s the way it’s handled by the entire crew making it. The show constantly features scenes that are completely unexpected.What Breaking Bad also does creatively is its cold openings. The first few minutes before the title screen features an anything goes use of time. These first few minutes could feature a flashback, symbolism, hints towards the future, or even scenes of the future. Not only can they be a series themselves as the episodes go by, they usually are deeply connected to the episode itself or what will happen in the season. With these aspects, the show differentiates itself from anything else on television, making it into a compelling, well-written, and innovative drama.

What has been nominated for countless Emmys, and the winner of Best Drama Series this year, the critical acclaim received for Breaking Bad rises with every season. On Metacritic, the fifth and final season of Breaking Bad carries a composite score of 99. Thus, entitling it the Guinness World Record holder for the most critically acclaimed television show of all time. While starting out slow, with every season, Breaking Bad has increased in ratings. The premiere of the second half of the final season this summer brought in 6.4 million viewers. With its innovative ways of destructing character development and use of tension as a major adrenaline supplier, many look forward to seeing how it will end. Everyone will finally witness the fate of all of the surviving characters on Sept. 29. With only one episode remaining, I’m glad to see it receive a proper ending and as a compilation of 62 hours, I’m proud to say I’ve stayed with it the entire time it’s been on air.