KEY POINTS:
Pure methamphetamine - or P - is considered a modern-day plague upon our society, regularly cited as a contributing factor of violent crime, including some of New Zealand's most infamous murder cases.
So is it appropriate to screen a television series that takes a, well, sympathetic view towards drug manufacturing, with its central character and hero a methamphetamine cook?
C4's head of music and scheduling, Ged Mahony, said the network did consider the controversial nature of the show and its relevance to our society before deciding to screen Breaking Bad.
"Once you get into the series you realise pretty quickly that this is just a great, challenging drama," he says.
"Breaking Bad certainly doesn't glamorise or promote drug use in the way Weeds did. Quite the opposite really, telling the story of a man whose once normal life is spiralling out of control in a desperate struggle to provide for his family."
So, love is the drug. Still, it does seem C4's parent company TV3 may be covering its own hide by choosing to screen the programme on its smaller, youth-oriented channel.
However, Mahony says that is not the case.
"Given the younger male audience appeal of this gritty series, it sits very comfortably on C4."
