 Tagline: Change [the] Equation (season 1). Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston stars as Walter White, a down-on-his-luck chemistry teacher struggling to make ends meet for his wife (Anna Gunn) and physically challenged son (RJ Mitte). Everything changes when Walter receives a startling diagnosis: terminal lung cancer. With only a few years to live and nothing to lose, Walter uses his training as a chemist to cook and sell crystal meth with one of his former students (Aaron Paul). As his status grows, so do his lies, but Walt will stop at nothing to make sure his family is taken care of after he's gone, even if it means putting all their lives on the line. Executive produced by Vince Gilligan and Mark Johnson. Storyline: When chemistry teacher, Walter White, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given only two years to live, he decides he has nothing to lose. He lives with his wife and teenage son, who has cerebral palsy, in New Mexico. Determined to ensure that his family will have a secure future, White embarks on a career of drugs and crime. He proves to be remarkably proficient in this new world as he begins manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with one of his former students. The series tracks the impacts of a fatal diagnosis on a regular hard working man and explores how a fatal diagnosis affects his morality and transforms him into a major player of the drug trade. Written by WellardRockard 1.01 Pilot - Walter White, a 50-year old chemistry teacher, secretly begins making crystal methamphetamine to support his family when he finds out that he has terminal lung cancer. He teams up with a former student, Jesse Pinkman, who is a meth dealer. Jesse is trying to sell the meth but the dealers snatch him and make him show them the lab, which is in an old RV that Walt and Jesse have purchased. Walt knows they intend to kill him so he poisons them while showing them his recipe. 1.02 Cat's in the Bag... - Walt and Jesse try to dispose of the two bodies in the RV, which becomes increasingly complicated when one of them, Krazy-8, wakes up. They eventually imprison him in Jesse's basement. Meanwhile, Skyler grows suspicious of Walter's recent behavior and discovers that their baby is a girl. Jesse disposes of the body of the other dealer, Emilio Koyama, using hydrofluoric acid as per Walt's instructiions, but ignores Walt's warning to use a plastic bin and instead destroys his bathtub in the process. 1.03 ...And the Bag's in the River - Walt cannot decide whether or not to kill Krazy-8. Meanwhile, Marie believes that Walter Jr. is smoking marijuana and asks Hank to scare him straight. Walt brings Krazy-8 something to eat, but things turn bad when Walt collapses while descending the steps into the basement. When Walt wakes up, he tells Krazy-8 that he has lung cancer and they start talking and get to know one another better. Eventually, Walt decides to release Krazy-8 but, upon realizing he intends to stab Walt upon his release, strangles him instead. 1.04 Cancer Man - Hank starts looking for the new drugs kingpin around town (unaware that it is Walt). Walt reveals that he has cancer at a family barbecue. Jesse goes to visit his family, and finds out that his young brother is smoking marijuana. Jesse covers for him and is forced to leave his parents' house. 1.05 Gray Matter - An old friend of Walt offers him a job to help pay for the chemotherapy, and when Walt turns it down, outright offers to pay all of Walt's medical bills, and offer which Walt also refuses. When Walter tells Skyler about this, she doesn't respond well. Jesse attempts to cook meth on his own but cannot replicate the quality of Walt's product, while Walter Jr. gets in trouble when a cop catches him trying to buy beer. 1.06 Crazy Handful of Nothin' - Walt and Jesse come to an agreement: Walt will cook the meth while Jesse is the one who sells it on the streets. Skyler asks Walt about his missing hours and he explains that he just wants to be alone sometimes. Walt almost faints while cooking meth and Jesse discovers that the real reason why he is cooking meth is that he has lung cancer and is trying to help his family. Walt and Jesse search for a new distributor; despite initial problems, they make a deal with a new drug dealer named Tuco after Walt causes an explosion in Tuco's hideout using fulminate of mercury. 1.07 A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal - Walt and Jesse face difficulties producing the large amount of meth promised to Tuco. Skyler confronts Marie about her shoplifting after being detained at the jewelry store where Marie stole an expensive tiara that she gave to Skyler for her baby shower. Walt and Jesse use thermite to gain entry to a warehouse, where they manage to steal a large barrel of methylamine, which is necessary for a new recipe that can produce much more meth in a shorter period of time. They deliver the promised amount of meth to Tuco, but during the transaction, one of Tuco's associates makes a seemingly innocuous comment, prompting Tuco to beat him until he is bloody and unconscious.. ------------------------------Cast Notes: Bryan Cranston (Walter White [62 episodes, 2008-2013]), Anna Gunn (Skyler White [62 episodes, 2008-2013]), Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman [62 episodes, 2008-2013]), Dean Norris (Hank Schrader [62 episodes, 2008-2013]), Betsy Brandt (Marie Schrader [62 episodes, 2008-2013]), RJ Mitte (Walter White, Jr. [62 episodes, 2008-2013]), Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman [43 episodes, 2009-2013]), Jonathan Banks (Mike Ehrmantraut [28 episodes, 2009-2012]), Steven Michael Quezada (Steven Gomez [28 episodes, 2008-2012]), Giancarlo Esposito (Gustavo 'Gus' Fring [26 episodes, 2009-2011]). User Comment: thebrainflow from USA, 21 January 2008 • The age of Bryan Cranston has returned. Once universally lauded for his work in Malcolm In The Middle, there had yet to be a good vehicle for this man's particular talents. He has that rare gift of generating sympathy and manic-energy at the same time. For those that would be content to label this show a Weeds knock-off, bear in mind that Breaking Bad is a new kind of monster. It touches on the very same themes, "living realistically as a middle class in the United States" which often makes us resort to extremes to survive. Like the mother and daughter team that robbed that bank. But the weed selling antics of Showtime's hit show is really nothing like "Bad." The Pilot was about as perfect a Pilot as I've ever seen, and much of it rests on Bryan Cranston's shoulders. Cranston plays Cheimstry teacher Walter White. He has a loving wife, a child with Cerebal Palsy and another is on the way. He also happens to be dying from an inoperable lung cancer situation, which happened although he "never smoked." His finances in disarray, the once great student of science turns to crime to solve his problems. He cooks Crystal Meth with a good for nothing ex-student. From the antics of the first episode, the show is leading towards a dark place, but a place of truth. This is a no nonsense black comedy. For people that love Tarantino or the Coen's, this might be your cup of tea. Summary: Brilliant Character Work In Pitch Black Comedy-Drama. IMDb Rating (11/19/12): 9.4/10 from 145,593 users
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