A scrubby landscape. A pair of white pants floating through the air. A large vehicle driven by an overexcited man in a pair of tighty whities and a gas mask.
You seem to be watching the opening minutes of the first episode of “Breaking Bad,” but you notice a few differences. The vehicle full of drug-lab paraphernalia and dangerous fumes is not an RV; it’s a decrepit school bus. When the driver staggers out for a breath of fresh air, he puts his shirt on so that he can play the rest of the scene semi-modestly. And when he picks up a video camera to record what he thinks will be his last testament, he doesn’t say, “My name is Walter Hartwell White.” He says, “Mi nombre es Walter Blanco.”
What you’re actually watching is the first episode of “Metastasis,” the Spanish-language telenovela version of “Breaking Bad.” The premiere is posted online at Hulu, and seven episodes are available for Hulu Plus subscribers, at the same time that the series is having a broadcast run on UniMás. On television, where it plays every weeknight, the telenovela — which encompasses the entire story line of five seasons of “Breaking Bad” — will play out in about three months.
“Metastasis,” shot in the high desert in Colombia, is an episode-for-episode, practically shot-for-shot remake, done with considerably less time and money than were spent on the American original on AMC. (The show’s creator, Vince Gilligan, had no input in the adaptation.) A “Breaking Bad” fan will be aware that this is a lesser version, but there’s an interesting halo effect: The pull of the original is so strong, and you’re so busy making connections between the two, that the more routine (though quite competent) cinematography and staging aren’t really bothersome.
A greater impediment for many American viewers will be the lack, for now, of English subtitles, even on Hulu. It seems likely that fan-subtitled versions will appear in obscure and illegal quarters of the Internet. But if you know the original, it’s surprisingly easy to follow along. When Walter Blanco looks into the camera and tells his wife — Skyler, in the original — “Cielo, tu eres el amor de mi vida,” there’s no mistaking what he means.
Salsa.
Hulu.
I saw the first episode and it's almost word by word like BrBa. The actors are great (they're well known Colombian actors), music, cinematography, everything is good. Maybe fans will get bored because it's the same show but in Spanish.
