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'Breaking Bad' Returns With More Darkness

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By WALT BELCHER wbelcher

@tampatrib.com

Published: March 6, 2009

The troubling and intriguing "Breaking Bad" returns for a second season on AMC at 10 p.m. Sunday, with sad sack anti-hero Walt White sinking deeper into desperation, paranoia and darkness. Not for the faint of heart or those looking for happy endings, "Breaking Bad" is a character study of a good and unassuming man who, when faced with a terminal illness and financial ruin, turns to crime and murder.

Starring "Malcolm in the Middle" dad Bryan Cranston, who gives an Emmy-winning performance, this series seems more suited for HBO, Showtime or FX. But it's on AMC, home to old movies and the stunning "Mad Men" series (which returns in July).

Last summer, Cranston's character was an underpaid and underappreciated high school chemistry teacher living a mundane suburban life.

In short order, he learned that he has terminal cancer and that his younger wife is unexpectedly pregnant. He fears she and their teenage son, who has cerebral palsy, will be left penniless.

Faced with costly medical bills and frustration over his unaccomplished life, Walt snaps and secretly begins making and selling crystal meth. As the money rolls in, he begins a downward spiral of moral decay, leading to murder.

Set in New Mexico, where the stark desert landscape fits the tone, "Breaking Bad" is not easy to watch. Creator Vince Gilligan ("The X-Files") wants viewers to be uncomfortable with Walt's decision to "break bad" after a lifetime of playing by the rules.

WILD, WILD WELK: Singer Mary Lou Metzger, best known for her 12-year stint on "The Lawrence Welk Show," is scheduled to be in the WEDU, Channel 3, studio Saturday to host a fundraising special.

"Welk Stars: Through the Years" at 7 p.m. profiles Welk performers, including Metzger, who danced polkas with the band leader at the close of each show.

Lawrence Welk reruns continue to run on PBS, even though the series went out of production in 1982 and the host has been dead nearly 17 years.

CELTIC CALL: Scottish singer Jillian Isbister, 20, a rising star in the Celtic music world, will be at WEDU Saturday to host "Highland Heartbeat" at 9 p.m. The concert features new and traditional music by Scottish musicians.

WHITER THAN WHITE: The offbeat and often hilarious skit comedy troupe Whitest Kids U' Know is scheduled to perform at the Tampa Improv in Ybor City on Sunday night. Trevor, Zach, Sam, Darren and Timmy have a cult following thanks to their outrageous, testosterone-driven series on The Independent Film Channel, or IFC.

Two of the group, Zach Cregger and Trevor Moore, wrote and star in "Miss March," a comedy film debuting in theaters March 13. In the film, Cregger plays a clean-cut nerd who abstained from sex with his virginal high school sweetheart only to slip into a coma on prom night. He wakes up four years later and discovers she's a Playboy Playmate. Lunacy ensues.

Cregger and Moore are scheduled to attend a sneak preview, invitation-only screening tonight at a theater in New Tampa.

SOAP CALL: The CBS daytime drama "Guiding Light" will be casting for people of all ages, types, ethnic backgrounds and gender to appear as extras when the soap opera goes on location in Orlando later this month.

"Guiding Light" star Murray Bartlett (Cyrus) and casting director Rob Decina will hold an open casting call from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Universal CityWalk, 1000 Universal Studios Plaza, Orlando. The series will be taping at Universal Orlando Resort from March 16 to 21.Get more information at www.guidinglight.net/universal.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

"20/20: Siegfried & Roy,"

9 p.m. ABC

Elizabeth Vargas covers the farewell performance of illusionists Siegfried and Roy, who share the stage with a Bengal tiger that mauled Roy and ended their careers.

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