Breaking Bad Season 1
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series' first season has an approval rating of 86% based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Though at times it feels forced and its imagery can be gruesome, Breaking Bad is darkly gripping and features a strong sympathetic lead in Bryan Cranston."[13] The first season of Breaking Bad also received generally favorable reviews on Metacritic, scoring a 73 out of 100.[14] New York Post critic Linda Stasi praised the series, particularly the acting of Cranston and Paul, stating "Cranston and Paul are so good, it's astounding. I'd say the two have created great chemistry, but I'm ashamed to say such a cheap thing."[15] Robert Bianco of USA Today also praised Cranston and Paul, exclaiming "There is humor in the show, mostly in Walt's efforts to impose scholarly logic on the business and on his idiot apprentice, a role Paul plays very well. But even their scenes lean toward the suspenseful, as the duo learns that killing someone, even in self-defense, is ugly, messy work."[16]
Breaking Bad Season 1
The first season received numerous awards and nominations, including four Primetime Emmy Award nominations with two wins. Bryan Cranston won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Lynne Willingham won for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series. Vince Gilligan was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the pilot episode and John Toll was nominated for Outstanding Cinematography for a One-Hour Series for the pilot episode. Cranston also won a Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series. The series was nominated for Outstanding New Program of the Year at the Television Critics Association Awards. The series also received three Writers Guild of America Award nominations with one win. It was nominated for Best New Series, Patty Lin was nominated for Best Episodic Drama for "Gray Matter", and Vince Gilligan won for Best Episodic Drama for his work on the pilot.[17]
During the course of the series, 62 episodes of Breaking Bad aired over five seasons. The pilot episode was first aired on January 20, 2008, and the series finale, was broadcast on September 29, 2013. Breaking Bad: Original Minisodes, which consisted of several one- to five-minute clips, released 17 short episodes over the course of three years throughout Breaking Bad's run.[1]
On February 17, 2009, five "mini-episodes" were made available online before the premiere of the show's second season.[54] These five were eventually included with Breaking Bad: The Complete Second Season.
For the first season, see Crupi, Anthony (September 30, 2013). "Breaking Bad Finale Draws 10.3 Million Viewers". Adweek. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
For the second season, see Hibberd, James (July 16, 2012). "'Breaking Bad' returns to record premiere ratings". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
At Walt's house, Skyler poses vague questions about marijuana to her sister Marie Schrader, who jumps to the conclusion that they're discussing Walter Jr., despite Skyler's denials. Shortly thereafter, Marie persuades her husband, Hank Schrader, a DEA agent, to scare the boy straight. Marie is breaking the law herself, however, having stolen a pair of shoes from a store where she felt the sales clerk was ignoring her.
[Editor's note: Last year, RogerEbert.com contributor Dave Bunting began editing a series of video essays that arrange images from seasons of "Breaking Bad" in ways that highlight the show's motifs, colors and textures. His latest piece, about the cinematography of Season 1, is embedded below. You can also view the video and an accompanying essay by Max Winter at Press Play. Bunting previously published videos about Season 3, Season 4, and the first half of Season 5 at Press Play, and is finishing the series as a coproduction between that site and RogerEbert.com. You can find his video essay and the transcript of an interview with series cinematographer Michael Slovis about Season 2 here or at Press Play, with an accompanying essay by Arielle Bernstein. Bunting's concluding video, about the second half of Season 5, will run after the series finale.]
While cinematographer Michael Slovis has, since he came aboard in season two, helped define the visual signatures of "Breaking Bad," the show's aesthetics were firmly established from the beginning. Over the course of its maiden seven episodes, AMC's hit series set itself apart from much of its small-screen competition via a distinctive and daring look, one whose bracing realism evolved to include ever-more-inventive stylization.
Further action movie-ish embellishments become prevalent as the season advances. Those include the monster-movie silhouette of Walt at the top of a staircase in episode three, the whiplash editing used for Walt's homicide in that same episode, and the clichéd sight of Walt not turning around or flinching as he walks away from a car explosion in episode four. That stylization reaches an apex in episode six, whose first fifteen minutes boast almost as many flamboyant strokes as the previous five episodes combined: an opening view of sparkling columns of light shining through a door's bullet holes; cross-cutting between Walt laying down the law to Jesse and forthcoming curbside chaos, highlighted by a dramatic zoom out from bald Walt's bloody face; a series of hallucinatory time-lapse views of the city, highway and desert; and a schizoid montage of Jesse slinging dope to a variety of colorful customers.
Breaking Bad season 1 was much shorter than the other four seasons within the AMC series. The debut season consisted of just seven episodes that aired in the first few months of 2008. Vince Gilligan's series was initially planned to have 9 episodes in season 1; however, the 2007 Writers' Strike forced the season to be cut short - a fortuitous turn of events, according to Gilligan.
Breaking Bad's first season focused on Walter White's (Bryan Cranston) transition from depressed high school science teacher to underground meth cook. Walt's cancer diagnosis pushed him toward manufacturing illegal narcotics in the hope of financially supporting his family. With the help of a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), Walt learned how to make an impressive product; however, his problems were far from over. After run-ins with the Mexican drug cartel, Walt adopted the name Heisenberg and decided to grow his own empire with his "blue sky" signature product. He conducted his illegal activities in secret in order to hide the truth from his family, as well as his brother-in-law Hank Schrader, who happened to be a DEA agent.
The series was written and developed by Vince Gilligan. When AMC greenlit Breaking Bad, the network ordered nine episodes to comprise the debut season. During production on season 7, the Writer's Guild of America went on strike. The strike occurred in early November, 2007, and halted production on the series for four months. The nine-episode order was then cut to seven episodes, which caused Gilligan to rethink how he wanted to shape the series. The writer's strike had a negative impact on many in the industry, but Gilligan credits it as a "godsend" in an interview with Esquire. If it wasn't for that strike, Breaking Bad could have turned out much differently.
Gilligan and the rest of the creative team also had time to look at Breaking Bad's bigger picture. They realized that they were running out of scripts because they were blowing through big moments too fast. During the strike, the team figured that they should slow down the pace of the series. They also threw out the scripts from the final two episodes planned for season 1, and went in a different direction when developing the follow-up season. Gilligan believed that Breaking Bad wouldn't have lasted so long if they went with the original plan, thinking it would have been a "less rich experience."
The call to adventure trope had been done numerous times in many different formats. From sci-fi soap operas to fantasy quests across treacherous terrain, Breaking Bad breaks that mold by introducing this very same trope to the drug trade, bringing with it some incredible writing, fleshed out characters and an Oscar-worthy performance from Bryan Cranston. Although a little slow to begin with, the second half to this first season sets into motion a chain of events that propel this series to become the exciting phenomenon it ultimately ends up as.
By mid-May Lalo is in prison and Jimmy has successfully got him a $7 million bail. Jimmy has to head off into the desert to retrieve that $7 million and encounters a couple of issues to say the least. The season ends a few days later with Jimmy and Kim plotting to take down Howard and Lalo surviving an assassination attempt.
Lydia Rodarte-Quayle (Laura Fraser) is a significant enemy of Walter White in the fifth season of Breaking Bad. She seems like the type of person who would smile to your face then shoot you in the back when you turn around, or would snitch on her best friend if she was in prison.
"Better Call Saul," which is currently airing its final episodes at the time of this writing, has always been a show with extreme attention to detail. Creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have taken advantage of the shared universe of "Better Call Saul" and its critically acclaimed forebearer "Breaking Bad." What's more impressive is that a spin-off show is of the same caliber, if not better, than its predecessor. The incredible tension, drama, and character work of "Better Call Saul" has helped to make the show progressively better each season. Moreover, its connection to "Breaking Bad" and the six years that it takes place before that show occurs helps to create an exciting through-line that eagle-eyed viewers can pick up on if they're paying attention. 041b061a72