Breaking Bad: Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot

Allow me to introduce you to Walter White, the two-job genius man, a man with a chronic cough a pregnant wife and a witty son. Walter White is the anti-vivacious, a man so trodden on and depressed that to pity him is only natural. And so, his steps toward becoming a meth-maker (?) are very believable, with the steps culminating in him finding out he has terminal lung cancer. You've probably heard of Breaking Bad, as every critic from here to Bangkok has written about it. Spoilers (and the review of the first episode) are down below, so I'll make my point and try to get a show, that is seemingly underwatched so much it should be a crime, some new viewers. Bryan Cranston, a fantastic actor who did a stand-out job as the father on Malcolm in the Middle plays Walter White, and does a (you guessed it) fantastic job. White's life is tough, and Cranston makes you feel his pain. It's a very intriguing show that's acted well by varying characters, and introduces some interesting moral questions.

Convinced?

-REVIEW-

The first episode begins with a very intriguing scene of chaos and mayhem as White is fleeing in an RV from police, somewhere in the desert outside Albuquerque. There are two dead guys in the back, and White and an unconscious guy next to him are wearing gas masks. White crashes, he gets out, dons a green shirt that he apparently dried by hanging up on the rearview mirror (not a bad idea as long as it stays on) and films a little video for his family. He addresses law-enforcement officials, saying it isn't an admission of guilt, then professes his love for his family. It's heart-breaking, and the frenetic pace is excellent. The scene ends with the pudgy (those clothes are so unflattering) White wearing no pants and holding a gun in the middle of the road. Naturally, it flashes back 3 weeks, and we get to see everything that led up to that point. I figured more than one episode would lead up to that scene, as that seemed like an arc or even season-ending season, but by episode's end I was proved wrong. The episode does a good job of introducing the players in the show, White, a contributor to some Nobel Prize effort, his pregnant wife, his handicapped son (who was hilarious in the veggie bacon scene, I hope that wasn't a one- time deal) his naggy sister-in-law and her husband Hank, a DEA agent. 

Of course the Hank conflict seems like it'll be a lot of fun to play out, as he's the cocky doucher and Walter will inevitably be dodging him as the show goes on. However, in this episode, Walter is examining the option of making a meth lab, so Hank comes in handy so Walter can see what a meth lab is like. At the lab, Walter sees his old (and failed) student fleeing the neighbour's house, and it's revealed that the student is Jesse Pinkman, a well-known meth dealer. Anyways, they team up and make a batch of meth. Of course, because Walter is a wiz chemist (the scene in his class revealing his love of chemistry was very well-done and nice to watch) the meth is great, and when they go to sell it, it attracts attention. Negative attention, ultimately. The kind of attention that gets two guys threatening Jesse and Walter with guns. The kind of attention where Walter has to do super agent-chemistry to kill the guys.

The pilot was very, very good and I'd been looking forwarding to starting this series for a while. The aforementioned realization of lung cancer has made Walter quite a bit bolder, as evidenced by his outburst at his second job at the car wash place, and when he attacked the kids that were teasing his son. And I guess the fact that his clock is ticking and he's one bad ass mofo means he gives good sex. The characterization is this episode worked very well, and I'm damned excited to watch the next episode. Which, in fact, this write-up is stopping me from doing. Look for my review tomorrow. In the meantime, it's time to plunk down on the couch and watch some quality TV. It's in short-supply these days.

Sidenote: The credits incorporating the chemical formula names is a cool touch, and a fun game to see if I can quickly and correctly identify the chemicals.