Jump to content

Breaking Bad season 1

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rswallis10 (talk | contribs) at 15:57, 28 January 2016 (→Episodes). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Breaking Bad (season 1)
Season 1
Season 1 DVD cover
No. of episodes7
Release
Original networkAMC
Original releaseJanuary 20 –
March 9, 2008 (2008-03-09)
Season chronology
Next →
Season 2
List of episodes

The first season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on January 20, 2008 and concluded on March 9, 2008. It consisted of seven episodes, each running approximately 48 minutes in length, except the pilot episode which runs approximately 58 minutes. AMC broadcast the first season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States. Season one was to consist of nine episodes, but was reduced to seven by the writer's strike. The complete first season was released on Region 1 DVD on February 24, 2009[1] and Region A Blu-ray on March 16, 2010.[2]

Plot

Walter "Walt" White (Bryan Cranston) leads a mundane, timid life as a high school chemistry teacher whose students are uninterested and disrespectful. The job pays so poorly that Walt needs to work at a car wash for additional income, making him the subject of ridicule for his students. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his pregnant wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), and his high school aged son, Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte), who has cerebral palsy. Walter's life is further complicated when, while working at the car wash on the day after his 50th birthday, he collapses. At the hospital, he is diagnosed with stage-three terminal lung cancer. Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), his DEA Agent brother-in-law, offers Walt the opportunity to go on a ride-along to bust a meth lab. While at the scene, Walt notices former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) fleeing the scene. Walt uses student records to trace Jesse down and blackmails him into letting him join the drug business; Walt wants to make drug money to provide for his family after his death from the cancer.

Jesse attempts to sell their product to a drug distributor, "Krazy-8", who believes Walter is an undercover cop and attempts to kill him. Walter manages to defend himself, killing Krazy-8's cousin Emilio and eventually Krazy-8, who is ironically revealed to be a police informant for Hank. Walter, deeply disturbed by the ordeal and disappointed by Jesse's unreliability, breaks his ties with Jesse. Upon returning home, Walter and his family discuss long-term plans towards dealing with his cancer. While Walter originally wishes to slowly succumb to his disease rather than suffering the side-effects of chemotherapy or spending $90,000 out of pocket for an uncertain treatment outcome, his family eventually convinces him to undergo treatment.

Walter is offered financial assistance by Hank and his wife Marie (Betsy Brandt), and from his wealthy former business partners Elliott and Gretchen Schwartz, but turns down both offers. Instead, Walter decides to return to producing meth and tells his family the money he earns is actually from the Schwartzes. Walter then convinces Jesse that they should start selling their product to Tuco (Raymond Cruz), a powerful but psychopathic drug distributor. The two begin to expand their operations by stealing a large drum of methylamine, thereby allowing them to produce large quantities of meth for Tuco. Walter begins to come to terms with his secret lifestyle, and creates the pseudonym "Heisenberg" (named after Werner Heisenberg, a Nobel Laureate, German physicist who died of kidney cancer) to conceal his identity.

Cast

See also: List of Breaking Bad characters

Main

Recurring

Episodes

See also: List of Breaking Bad episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
11"Pilot"Vince GilliganVince GilliganJanuary 20, 2008 (2008-01-20)1.41[3]
22"Cat's in the Bag..."Adam BernsteinVince GilliganJanuary 27, 2008 (2008-01-27)1.49[4]
33"...And the Bag's in the River"Adam BernsteinVince GilliganFebruary 10, 2008 (2008-02-10)1.08[5]
44"Cancer Man"Jim McKayVince GilliganFebruary 17, 2008 (2008-02-17)1.09[6]
55"Gray Matter"Tricia BrockPatty LinFebruary 24, 2008 (2008-02-24)0.97[7]
66"Crazy Handful of Nothin'"Bronwen HughesGeorge MastrasMarch 2, 2008 (2008-03-02)1.07[8]
77"A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal"Tim HunterPeter GouldMarch 9, 2008 (2008-03-09)1.50[9]

Music

Breaking Bad's original score is composed by Dave Porter. The show also uses music from other recording artists with Music Supervision by Thomas Golubić. Select songs from Season 1 are featured on the Breaking Bad Soundtrack available through iTunes and Amazon.com.[10]

Home video releases

The first season was released on DVD in Region 1 on February 24, 2009,[1] in Region 2 on December 14, 2009,[11] and in Region 4 on July 8, 2009.[12] It was released on Blu-ray in Region A on March 16, 2010.[2] Special features on the DVD and Blu-ray include two audio commentaries—"Pilot" by creator Vince Gilligan, cast members Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, and RJ Mitte, and editor Lynne Willingham and "Crazy Handful of Nothin'" by Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, and writer George Mastras; "The Making of Breaking Bad"; "Inside Breaking Bad"; AMC Shootout – Interview with Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston, and Mark Johnson; deleted scenes; screen tests; and Vince Gilligan's photo gallery.[13]

Reception

Reviews

The first season of Breaking Bad received generally favorable reviews, scoring 74 out of 100 on Metacritic.[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]

Awards and nominations

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]

References

  1. ^ a b "Breaking Bad - The Complete First Season (2008)". Amazon.com. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Lambert, David (January 15, 2010). "Breaking Bad - Slight Delay for Season 2 DVD and Blu-ray (and also Season 1 Blu-ray)". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  3. ^ O'Connell, Michael (September 30, 2013). "TV Ratings: 'Breaking Bad' Finale Smashes Records With 10.3 Million Viewers". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  4. ^ Yanan, Travis (January 29, 2008). "Sunday original finals: 1/27/08". The Programming Insider. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  5. ^ Yanan, Travis (February 13, 2008). "Sunday original finals: 2/10/08". The Programming Insider. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  6. ^ Yanan, Travis (February 20, 2008). "Sunday original finals: 2/17/08". The Programming Insider. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  7. ^ Crupi, Anthony (September 30, 2013). "Breaking Bad Finale Draws 10.3 Million Viewers". Adweek. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  8. ^ Berman, Marc (January 31, 2010). "Breaking Bad Ratings". Mediaweek. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  9. ^ Levin, Gary (March 11, 2008). "Nielsens: 'Runway' finale rules on cable". USA Today. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  10. ^ "Music From Breaking Bad Season 1". AMCTV.com. January 18, 2008. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  11. ^ "Breaking Bad - Season 1". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  12. ^ "Breaking Bad - The Complete 1st Season (2 Disc Set)". EzyDVD. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  13. ^ "Breaking Bad - 1st Season DVD Set Gets Detailed in the Studio's Press Release". TVShowsOnDVD.com. December 16, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  14. ^ "Breaking Bad: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  15. ^ Stasi, Linda (January 17, 2008). "TOUR DE PANTS, Breaking Bad is Not Your Typical Drama". New York Post. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  16. ^ Bianco, Robert (January 17, 2008). "'Breaking' is far from bad; it's fantastic". USA Today. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  17. ^ "Awards for "Breaking Bad" (2008)". IMDB. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Breaking_Bad_season_1&oldid=702121442"