Episode 66: The Breaking Bad Store ABQ

Crystal Blue Christmas - Studying The Breaking Bad Store ABQ with owners Ed and MarqAdmittedly, Breaking Bad has little to do with the Christmas season, but considering how much fun I had making this episode, I felt compelled to release it before the mid-season break which will arrive towards the end of December.House museums, themed restaurants, amusement park rides that simulate real earthquakes; the desire to reenact, interact and be directly involved with the past or things that are out of reach in the present, has been a consistent theme ever since there’s been  American popular culture.  Ed Candelaria and Marq Smith, the creators and owners of The Breaking Bad Store ABQ in Albuquerque, New Mexico spent time speaking with me about their business, and how it is just as much of a reflection of the times as the TV programs it celebrates.Breaking Bad is an outstanding document of the period it was on the air, 2008 to 2013.  The cable show’s themes, characters, and storytelling style are all reflective of the confusing and often tumultuous times. And the fact that Netflix included the series in its pioneering streaming platform while the show was still being made for AMC, thus saving it from being cancelled, is something that could only have happened when it did.  It’s also, in this podcaster’s opinion, the greatest TV drama ever made.And I’m certainly not alone in that opinion.  The show and its spin-off prequel series Better Call Saul were both as successful as they were because of the connections millions viewers worldwide made with the shows.  That’s where Ed and Marq come in.  The Breaking Bad Store ABQ in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a  place that is perhaps misnamed as just a store.  It is more of a celebration of all things Walter White-related, with show props and photo opportunities that put visitors directly into the shows.  After all, isn’t this what people have always been, and always will be after, when they find deep meaning in something cultural?  It was a pleasure to speak with them for the EPS Podcast.