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==Chemical Elements in the Credits==
==Chemical Elements in the Credits==
The credits feature symbols of chemical elements from the [[Periodic Table]] in green (for example, the symbols Br and Ba for [[bromine]] and [[barium]] in Breaking Bad). The only exception is the credit for Michael Slovis, the director of photography. There is no element with the symbol Ch.
The credits feature symbols of chemical elements from the [[Periodic Table]] in green (for example, the symbols Br and Ba for [[bromine]] and [[barium]] in Breaking Bad). The only exception is the credit for Michael Slovis, the director of photography.


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 18:23, 21 May 2009

Breaking Bad
File:Breaking Bad logo.PNG
GenreDrama
Created byVince Gilligan
StarringBryan Cranston
Anna Gunn
Aaron Paul
Dean Norris
Betsy Brandt
RJ Mitte
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes18 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersVince Gilligan
Mark Johnson
ProducerKaren Moore
Production locationTemplate:City-state
Running timeapprox. 47 min.
Original release
NetworkAMC
ReleaseJanuary 20, 2008 –
present

Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The series is broadcast in the United States and Canada on the cable network AMC. It premiered on January 20, 2008, and completed its first seven-episode season on March 9, 2008. The show's 13-episode second season premiered on March 8, 2009. A third season was announced in April 2009.[1]

Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad revolves around Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a struggling high school chemistry teacher with a teenage son who has cerebral palsy (RJ Mitte), and a pregnant wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn). When the already tense White is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, he breaks down and turns to a life of crime, and starts producing and selling methamphetamine with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) in a desire to secure his family's financial future.[2]

Breaking Bad has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its writing and Cranston's performance on the show, and won two Emmy Awards for its first season in addition to numerous other awards and nominations.

Production

The title comes from a Southern United States colloquialism "to break bad" which is defined as "when someone has taken a turn off the path of the straight and narrow, when they've gone wrong".[3] The series is set and filmed in and near Template:City-state.[4]

The AMC network, on which the series premiered January 20, 2008, originally ordered nine episodes for the first season (including the pilot), but the Writers Guild of America strike limited the production to seven episodes.[5]

Synopsis

Season one

Walter White, a chemistry teacher with a pregnant wife and a son with cerebral palsy, is diagnosed with stage-three lung cancer. Interested in leaving an inheritance with his family before his death, Walter enters the drug trade on the production side, using his chemistry knowledge to cook remarkably potent crystal meth with Jesse Pinkman, a former student. Operating out of an RV in the desert, the two must defend themselves against two dealers, formerly Jesse's distributors, who accuse Walter of being a DEA agent. At first offering them the recipe to his crystal meth, Walter instead gasses them with phosphine gas and leaves them to suffocate in the RV, before driving away with an injured Jesse in tow.

Walter and Jesse discover that one of the dealers is still alive, and restrain him in Jesse's basement. After a coin flip, Jesse is tasked with disposing of one dead dealer's body, and Walter with killing the other, a prospect that sickens him. Jesse dissolves the dead body in a bathtub of hydrofluoric acid, which eats through the tub and the floor beneath it, spilling dissolved entrails in the hall. Meanwhile, Walter has begun providing food and a latrine to his prisoner, Krazy-8, whom he also confides in, attempting to find any excuse to leave him alive. Walter passes out briefly while delivering food, breaking a plate. Awakening later, Walter picks up the broken plate and goes to get the key to set Krazy-8 free. However, while upstairs, Walt has a sudden realization that there is a large sharp piece of the plate missing, which Krazy-8 has hidden. Realizing that Krazy-8 intends to kill him the second he sets him free, Walt decides that has no choice but to kill the dealer, which he does by pulling back on the bike lock around his neck holding him in place until he chokes to death. Following the disposal of the body, Walter severs ties with Jesse and the drug trade.

Meanwhile, Walter's brother-in-law Hank, a DEA agent, aware of a powerful new drug producer in the region, follows a trail of evidence left at Walter's cook site. Skyler's sister, Walter's sister-in-law Marie is an occasional shoplifter. Walter finally reveals his cancer to Skyler, who implores him to visit specialist doctors and undergo chemotherapy. At first adamant to decide his own fate, to die honorably instead of suffering the indignities of chemotherapy symptoms, Walter finally agrees to treatment, and approaches Jesse to rebuild their business arrangement, to better pay for the treatments. Jesse, unable to replicate Walter's recipe, accepts Walter's partnership, and agrees to their clearly defined roles: Jesse the salesman and Walter the cook. Jesse learns that Walter has lung cancer and realizing his goals of helping his family after his death, develops a newfound respect for him.

Walt sends Jesse to negotiate with Tuco, a violent psychopath who has taken over local drug distribution. During their first meeting, Tuco refuses to pay up front for the product and savagely beats Jesse when he attempts to end the deal. With Jesse in the hospital, Walt confronts Tuco with the demand for up front payment, using the pseudonym "Heisenberg." As Tuco prepares to assault him, Walt detonates a concealed explosive (Mercury(II) fulminate), blowing out the top floor of the hideout and intimidating Tuco into surrendering payment with a promise for future business. Jesse recovers from his wounds and the two resume cooking meth, this time circumventing the restrictions on over-the-counter pseudoephedrine products by stealing a large drum of methylamine from a chemical warehouse, and using an alternate method of synthesis. Now able to produce four times as much crystal meth as before, the two begin steady business with the increasingly psychotic Tuco.

Season two

Tuco kidnaps Walter and Jesse, planning take them to a superlab in Mexico after the DEA raids his operation. The two manage to escape after Hank kills Tuco without seeing them. Walter's excuse for his absence has numerous holes and creates increased tension with Skyler. The DEA takes away Jesse's money, putting a strain on his partnership with Walter after he demands half of Walter's meth profit to save him from homelessness.

Jesse rents a new place and becomes romantically involved with his landlord, Jane, a recovering drug addict. He and Walter decide to become the new meth kingpins for the region themselves, but more problems come up as their enterprise expands. One of their dealers, Skinny Pete, is mugged, so Jesse is forced to intimidate the perpetrator. The addict is killed by his girlfriend, but Jesse receives the credit, earning him fear and respect and further solidifying "Heisenberg" in the area. Another dealer, Badger, is arrested by the DEA, forcing Walter to deal with a crooked lawyer named Saul Goodman (played by Bob Odenkirk), who can only offer an expensive solution to keep Badger from snitching while also keeping him alive. In addition, Saul tracks down Walter and demands a cut of the meth profit in return for being Walter and Jesse's legal counsel and advisor in their drug operation, further eroding their income.

Due to killing Tuco, Hank is promoted and sent to El Paso. In private, he suffers panic attacks and guilt over the killing. El Paso proves to be too much for Hank after he witnesses the severed head of a cartel snitch explode and severely injure fellow DEA officers. He is immediately sent back to Albuquerque. Meanwhile, Gretchen, Walter's former lover and co-head of Gray Matter, discovers Walter has been lying to his family about Gray Matter paying for cancer treatment. She is horrified when an angry and bitter Walter blames her and her husband, Elliott, for becoming rich off his research, although she still keeps Walter's secret for his family's sake. Skyler goes back to work for Ted Beneke, her former boss who apparently groped her when drunk, forcing her to quit. She increasingly relies on Ted for emotional support due to Walter's constant absence and strange behavior.

After Walter notices a large blotch on a scan of his chest, he believes the cancer has spread. Only having $16,000 remaining of the meth money after the numerous setbacks, he and Jesse spend several days in the desert cooking 42 pounds of meth to sell off before Walter dies. At the doctor, Walter discovers his tumor has shrunk 80% and remission may be a possibility. He plans to quit his meth partnership once the 42 pounds are sold off, but finds himself bored with his return to his mundane life, only finding pleasure when he is distracted or when dealing with dangerous situations.

After another one of Walter and Jesse's dealers, Combo, is killed by rival dealers, Jesse develops a serious drug addiction to cope with his friend's death, an addiction that drags Jane out of her sobriety. Saul connects Walter and Jesse with Gus, a cautious yet successful drug distributor, who is skeptical of Jesse. When a one-time deal with Gus is set up suddenly, Walt rushes to Jesse's house to get the crystal meth, but has to break in as Jesse and Jane are completely out of it on drugs. As he loads the drugs into a garbage bin, he gets a text message from Skyler: "Baby coming!" Walt rushes out of the house with only a short time to get to the deal while his wife goes into labor without him.

Characters

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Breaking Bad characters.
  • Walter Hartwell White (played by Bryan Cranston) is a 50-year-old high-school chemistry teacher who has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The diagnosis causes a change in Walter's mild-mannered nature. He decides that in order to provide for his family after his death, he will use his extensive knowledge of chemistry to manufacture and distribute crystal methamphetamine. He has a wife named Skyler and a son named Walter, Jr both of whom know nothing about his drug dealing.
  • Skyler White (played by Anna Gunn) is a published short-story writer who sells items on eBay. She and Walter have one son (Walter Jr). She is pregnant with the couple's daughter, Holly. Although she cares for Walter very much, she is growing emotionally involved with her boss and the sexual tension is intensifying and growing as her unborn child does.
  • Jesse Bruce Pinkman (played by Aaron Paul) is Walter White's partner in his meth business under the nickname "Captain Cook." Walter taught his high school chemistry class, which he failed. He comes from an upper middle-class family but was kicked out of his home as a result of his drug use. Jesse originally lived in his late aunt's house, but was evicted from it in season two by his parents, who legally own the house, when they discovered that he was making drugs in the basement. He has a much younger over-achieving brother named Jake with whom he gets along, despite their age difference and Jesse's reputation in the family.
  • Walter White, Jr. (played by RJ Mitte) is Walter and Skyler's teenage son. He was born with Cerebral Palsy, which causes some speech and motor difficulties in areas such as dressing and walking, for which he uses crutches as an aid. He looks up to his uncle Hank due to his status as a DEA agent but clearly sees through his boisterous and sometimes embarrassing attitude and embellished stories, and admires and shares his father's intelligence and growing independence as shown by his comment on his father's newly-shaved head ("Badass, Dad."). He has recently become distant due to his father's absence in his life, learning to drive from his friends and wanting to be called "Flynn."
  • Hank Schrader (played by Dean Norris) is a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent. He is Walter's boisterous brother-in-law, and Marie Schrader's husband. He is currently investigating a possible new meth "kingpin" in the area, unaware that it is Walter. Although loutish and lewd, he is highly competent at his job and seems to genuinely care about Walter and Walter Jr. Lately, after his gunfight with Tuco and encounter with an IED in Mexico, Hank has been suffering from panic attacks and seems depressed (possibly Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).
  • Marie Schrader (played by Betsy Brandt) is Skyler's sister, Hank's wife, and Walter's sister-in-law. She doesn't hesitate to offer advice to others, but she often fails to practice what she preaches. She shoplifts and may be a kleptomaniac, for which she sees a therapist. She is very self-centered and irrational.
  • Jane Margolis (played by Krysten Ritter) is Jesse's neighbor/landlord/lover. She is a tattoo-artist (without any tattoos) and recovering addict. Although she carries an aloof air she also has shown signs that she may be more deeply interested in Jesse than she lets on. She has now relapsed into drug addiction; and has introduced Jesse to heroin.

Episodes

Main article: List of Breaking Bad episodes
Season Episodes Premiere date End date
Season one 7 January 20, 2008 March 9, 2008
Season two 13 March 8, 2009 May 31, 2009
Season three ? early 2010 unknown

Season one

The first season consisted of nine episodes, but due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike only seven episodes were filmed.[5] The first season premiered on January 20, 2008, and concluded on March 9, 2008. Bryan Cranston won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Walter White.

Minisodes

On the 17th of February 2009, AMC and Sony teamed up to offer original Minisodes of Breaking Bad that take place between seasons one and two. These episodes were made available on the Minisode's home Crackle and AMC's site.[6] On March 6, Minisodes of each of the first seven episodes of the show were released on Crackle to help users refresh their memory of the first season before the season two premiere.

On March 5, a collection of five webisodes was released for free in HD 720p for download on the PlayStation Store via the PlayStation 3 system. These differ from the Minisodes in that they are original clips, never aired on TV.

Season two

AMC announced in May 2008 that Breaking Bad was renewed for a second, 13-episode season. Production began in July 2008 and the season debuted on March 8, 2009.[7]

"From critical praise to strong ratings and devoted audience, Breaking Bad further reinforced AMC as a top producer of high-quality, distinctive television", said Charlie Collier, Executive Vice President and General Manager of AMC. "Breaking Bad is a powerful, intelligent thought-provoking series that clearly resonates with viewers and critics alike. We're excited for a second season of Breaking Bad with a new provocative storyline that will delve deeper into the next chapter of the life of Walter White".[8]

Season three

On April 1, 2009, four episodes into Breaking Bad's second season, it was announced that AMC had renewed the show for a third season.[1] The number of episodes in the season was not announced.

Reception

Breaking Bad has received critical acclaim in addition to two Emmy Awards for its first season. It won the award for best editing, and Bryan Cranston won for best actor in a drama series.[9]

Linda Stasi of the New York Post stated "the acting is as good as you'll see on TV." Time said the series "has the elements of success".[10] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly rated season one a "B+".[11]

The pilot episode was watched by 1.4 million people, while the subsequent six episodes of the first season were watched by 1.1-1.3 million viewers each.[citation needed]

The second season opener was watched by 1.7 million people, up 21% from the previous season. [12]

International distribution

Breaking Bad premiered in Australia on the Showtime/Showcase Pay-TV network on August 28, 2008. The show debuted its first season in the United Kingdom on FX commencing September 28. On October 9, 2008, it premiered on Turkey's on e2 and on October 15, 2008 on New Zealand's C4. It debuted in Italy on November 15, 2008 on AXN and later in Brazil on on Sony Entertainment Television (Latin America). On January 1, 2009 the show began airing on Finland's Nelonen. The Franco-German culture TV channel Arte has recently acquired the rights to broadcast the show in France and Germany. Swiss television channel SF2 started airing Breaking Bad on May 17th, 2009.

Awards and nominations

2008

2009

Online promotion

An online customisable video was used to promote season one. Users would receive a webcam message from Walt urging them to live their life to the fullest, at the end of which he would score their name from a list. The promotion is still live at www.waltswisdom.com. A viral marketing campaign has also been produced for season two, users can experience meeting Walt from a first-person perspective. The promotion is located at www.waltswarning.com.

Chemical Elements in the Credits

The credits feature symbols of chemical elements from the Periodic Table in green (for example, the symbols Br and Ba for bromine and barium in Breaking Bad). The only exception is the credit for Michael Slovis, the director of photography.

References

  1. ^ a b AMC renews 'Breaking Bad'. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 7 April 2009.
  2. ^ "No. 93: Bryan Cranston." Esquire. Retrieved on 18 September 2007.
  3. ^ "Fans Chat With Bryan Cranston." AMC. 9 March 2008. Retrieved on 6 February 2009.
  4. ^ "Series 'Breaking Bad' to Begin Production at Albuquerque Studios." Albuquerque Studios. Retrieved on 23 August 2007.
  5. ^ a b AMC's "'Breaking Bad' mixes dark humor, drugs." USA Today. Retrieved on 16 January 2008.
  6. ^ ""Breaking Bad" hits the Web in mini episodes". CNBC. 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  7. ^ Gelman, Vlada."Breaking Bad Starts Shooting Season 2" TV Week. 8 July 2008. Retrieved on 6 February 2009.
  8. ^ "AMC Renews Breaking Bad for a Second Season" AMC. 8 May 2008. Retrieved on 6 February 2009.
  9. ^ "'Breaking Bad' Emmy Winner Brings Award To Albuquerque." KOAT. 23 September 2008. Retrieved on 6 February 2009.
  10. ^ "Downtime - Breaking Bad." TIME. 18 January 2008. Retrieved on 18 May 2008.
  11. ^ Tucker, Ken. Novelist Stephen King also praised the series as "the best scripted show on TV" in his "Pop of King" column in Entertainment Weekly."TV Review - Breaking Bad (2008)." Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 6 February 2009.
  12. ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3ibfbb102b9ca4ac6c88c949ddd1c902ba
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