There’s a really great interview with Vince Gilligan over at Vulture in which the Breaking Bad showrunner discusses everything you could possibly want to know about the past, present, and future of the series, but it is filled with spoilers (of multiple shows) and I really don’t feel like getting yelled at on a Monday morning by people who still have not carved out a few weekends to get caught up on one of the best dramas of the past 15-20 years, so I am just going to post this excerpt instead.
Are there any honest-to-God nice characters on TV that you still find interesting?
SpongeBob SquarePants is a great show, and it centers on a character that is courageously nice. Why is SpongeBob interesting? It’s because he has passion. He has a passion for chasing jellyfish. I’m very glad people love Breaking Bad, but the harder character to write is the good character that’s as interesting and as engaging as the bad guy. My hat is off to the SpongeBob showrunners. It’s like how Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backward and in high heels. That’s kind of the struggle you face when you’re writing the good guy now instead of a bad guy.
So, yeah. If anyone needs me I’ll be picturing Walter and Jesse cooking meth inside a giant underwater pineapple.
