Review - Breaking In Season 1 Episode 6 Breaking Out

You probably read by now that Breaking In was cancelled yesterday. I was leaning on the side of renewal, but I was wrong. Here was my thinking: Breaking In had okay ratings (a bit less than 2.5), but that was probably because of the American Idol lead-in. Still, FOX may have renewed it for a 13 episode season to see what would happen without AI as a lead-in, considering that Traffic Light bombed and Raising Hope has been doing worse than Breaking In.

The pacing of "Breaking Out" through me for a loop, defying my expectations for once. The KFC problem is resolved quickly and the show usually has the team redoing the job. Instead, Oz traps them inside the HQ where they have to break out. As the episode wound down, it seemed like the team would break out themselves, but Oz shows up to reveal how he'd been inside the whole time. This would normally be the end of things, but no, the writers throw another twist, making Oz fake-panic and cause the team to work together.

Score: 8.8/10

Review - Breaking In Season 1 Epiosde 7 21.0 Jump Street

There it is, the series finale of Breaking In. After only seven episodes the show is gone forever (unless those rumors floating around at correct, though I surely wouldn't hold out hope), and I'll miss it. Breaking In is unique and very, very weird in self-acknowledging sort of way. "21.0 Jump Street" is a perfect example of how the show operates. It takes a situation, high school cyber-bullying, and spins it into something really silly, overblown, and ultimately, funny. There are exaggerated high school stereotypes, the nerd jokes, and a wrong but somehow right handling of the bully, humiliating him more than the bullied kid. There's some unrealistic about the show, with Dutch still acting crazy and Oz with God-like abilities, but there is always something relatable under there.

Score: 8.8/10

Review - Breaking In Season 1 Episode 5 Take The Movie And Run

It takes a while for patterns to establish on shows, but we're starting to see a certain set of events the writers always turn to. First, Melanie and Dutch have some sort of problem and it's always resolved in the end. Second, the initial job is complicated midway through the episode and the characters have to regroup at HQ to fix the problem. There are a couple others that the writers return to frequently--flashbacks and Cash's geek creations--but none that are in every single episode.

Since the season is only seven episodes and the episodes are as wacky as they are, this isn't really a problem yet. The show is still fresh enough that these repeating patterns take secondary roles in each episode. Still, if the show does get renewed (there's a decent chance of that happening), I'd like to see some changes.

As for "Take The Movie And Run," the whole setup of having to transport the DVD was ridiculously stupid, but the episode, like the rest, has an upbeat tempo and makes good use of the Comic-Con setting.

Score: 8.7/10

Review - Breaking In Season 1 Episode 4 White on White on White

After tonight's episode, I thought to myself how bizarre Breaking In is. Melanie and Dutch are nearly crazy while Oz, somewhat crazy himself, is a God-like figure with complete control over anything. Meanwhile, we see a bunch of clips of a one-man Star Wars, a random Nerf fight in the middle of the office, and the tiniest bit of plot tacked on towards the end. The episode hits zero emotional notes and is confined to the same jokes over and over again. Somehow, this mix of pure wackiness is enjoyable to watch.

Score 8.5/10

Review - Breaking In Season 1 Episode 3 Need for Speed

Because Breaking In is very surrealistic at times, it's hard to judge characters like Melanie and Dutch who are on the fringes of regular behavior. They fail to notice obvious signs and react very differently to every situation than other characters, including Oz. This causes lots of randomness to go on, which kind of translates into humor.

I'm not sure what the writers intended, but the sentient copier was probably the least subtle thing I've ever seen. It was obvious from the beginning that Oz was behind it, taking away the mystique of a killer copier.

Score: 8.3/10

Review - Breaking In Season 1 Episode 2 Tis Better to Have Loved and Flossed

So far, I'm really liking Breaking In. It's not something that's deep or even that funny, but for a mere half hour you get a USA show without a lot of the exposition. The team jumps into job, there are some good lines thrown in, Oz is the master of everything, and all is well in the end. As the handling of the situation with Cam and Oz's wife shows, the writers are definitely not taking things seriously and it makes for a fun time.

Score: 8.6/10