Dream Stream: The Boys, The Mandalorian, Breaking Bad
Looking for a brilliant box set binge? Check out our streaming selections of the week.
The Boys
Seasons 1-3 – Amazon Prime
You can have superpowers all right, but that doesn’t make you a hero...
Developed by Eric Kripke for Amazon Prime, The Boys is a superb TV gem that will shock your vision of those who go to work in capes.
Based on the comic-book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the series follows the titular team of vigilantes as they combat superpowered individuals who abuse their abilities.
The series premiered in 2019, and has so far yielded three seasons that have all received critical acclaim.
Graphically violent and touching on some seriously dark themes, The Boys is not for the faint of heart. But if your stomach is strong, you may well be unable to tear yourself away...
When mild-mannered Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid) witnesses his girlfriend brutally killed in a careless accident caused by a reckless superhero, his outrage quickly leads him to the company of vigilante Billy Butcher (Karl Urban).
A man with a vendetta against all those with superpowers, Butcher seeks to expose them for the narcissistic, selfish and corrupt monsters they really are, and The Boys are going to help him to do it.
Butcher’s primary targets are ‘The Seven’, the world’s premier superhero team, led by the publicly noble but secretly sadistic Homelander (Antony Starr), who is joined among others by the cocky and arrogant A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), the man responsible for death of Hughie’s partner. As Hughie becomes a member of Butcher’s vigilante crew, his path collides with that of Starlight (Erin Moriarty), the newest member of The Seven and one yet to be corrupted by her peers.
As their relationship evolves, lines are blurred, stakes are raised, and the question of hero and villain becomes ever more uncertain.
Absolutely binge-tastic, The Boys will keep you hooked until the end.
The Mandalorian
Seasons 1-3 – Disney+
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian is a ‘space western’ series born of the grittier side of Star Wars that was always the best part of the saga.
The first live action series in the Star Wars franchise, it is set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi and 25 years prior to the events of The Force Awakens.
The action follows the title character, Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), and his exploits beyond the reaches of the galaxy’s New Republic.
As the series begins, Djarin hands his latest bounty to intergalactic gangster, Greef Karga (Carl Weathers), who also offers him an under-the-table commission from an enigmatic client with apparent Imperial connections.
The mission – track down and capture an unnamed fifty-year-old target.
Djarin accepts the commission with his usual indifference, though as the identity of the target is revealed, he finds himself questioning the morals of the contract, and of bounty hunting in general.
Finding himself as a target after failing to deliver his quarry, Djarin begins to discover that there is much more to his target than first meets the eye…
With a fantastic turn from Pascal, The Mandalorian captures the grungier elements of the original Star Wars trilogy that contributed in waves to making it the biggest sci-fi phenomenon of all time.
With a superb vision from Favreau, and excellent supporting work from Werner Herzog and Taika Waititi, The Mandalorian has taken us back to a classic side of the Star Wars universe with gusto, and paved the way for a number of fantastic spin-offs that have already followed.
Breaking Bad
Seasons 1-5 – Netflix
Searching for ‘box set nirvana’? Look no further than one of the greatest TV shows ever made.
The incredible story of an underachieving chemistry teacher whose life changes following a devastating medical diagnosis, Breaking Bad sits deservedly atop the cult TV throne.
When mild-mannered Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is diagnosed with cancer, he turns to chemistry in the hope of ensuring his family’s future security.
However, in a move at odds with his beige existence, Walter applies his knowledge of the subject to the cooking of crystal meth, which he then begins to sell among the New Mexico drug scene with his partner and former student Jesse (Aaron Paul).
As the duo’s expertly prepared brand of meth begins to grow in reputation, and their exploits attract the attention of both rival drug dealers and the DEA, Walter’s life is catapulted into a world he could never have imagined, but one that he may not find so distasteful after all.
With multi Emmy award-winning performances from Cranston and Paul, Breaking Bad is a drama of desperation, moral disintegration and – though not in the manner that would be expected – addiction.
Cranston’s five-season portrayal of his character’s transition from protagonist to antagonist is sublime, and his *ahem* ‘chemistry’ with Paul cements one of the greatest dramatic double acts ever to grace the small screen.
With superb supporting work from R.J. Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Giancarlo Esposito, Dean Norris and Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad demands binge viewing.
