Breaking Bad

Plot synopsis:
Season 1A struggling high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston), is diagnosed with inoperable, advanced lung cancer. On a ride along with his DEA agent brother-in-law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), Walter sees a former student of his, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), fleeing the scene of a meth lab. He later contacts Jesse and devises a scheme to become partners in an attempt to combine their skills to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, with Walter cooking the product and Jesse using his street connections to distribute it. Walter says he wants to provide financial stability for his pregnant wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn) and disabled son, and to pay for his expensive cancer treatment. During Walter and Jesse's first days of selling Albuquerque's finest meth, they encounter a series of problems with local drug dealers. He continues to produce meth despite these setbacks using the alias 'Heisenberg'.Season 2Walter continues to find himself facing insurmountable medical bills from his cancer treatment. Despite having had several bad experiences while producing meth with Jesse, Walter agrees to rejoin his partner. The two begin producing meth but run into multiple problems. Jesse's friend Badger (Matt L. Jones) is arrested while selling meth in a sting operation. Walter hires a lawyer, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), to help Badger. Walter and Jesse drive a recreational vehicle into the desert and produce meth for four days. Later, Combo, another of Jesse's friends and distributors, is killed by a rival gang for selling meth in their territory. Saul suggests the two find a new distribution model. Throughout this, Jesse has been building a relationship with his neighbor and landlord, Jane Margolis (Krysten Ritter). Jane, who is a recovering addict, relapses and the two begin doing heroin. Saul finds them a new business partner, Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), who is willing to pay $1.2 million for the 38 pounds of meth they produced. Walter hastily delivers the product to Gus, but misses his daughter's birth. Walt withholds Jesse's half of the money because of his drug use, but Jane finds out about it and blackmails Walt. Walt visits Jesse's house and witnesses Jane overdosing and choking on her own vomit, but perceiving her as an enemy, sits idly beside her and lets her die. Skyler confronts Walter about his frequent absences and excuses. She begins to piece together his secret life and demands that they separate.Season 3Walter wishes to reunite his family, but Skyler is still suspicious of Walter's second life. Walter believes he can mend the tension between them by confessing to her that he has been producing meth. Skyler is appalled by the confession and demands a formal divorce. Meanwhile, Gus offers to pay Walter $3M for three months of his service. He even offers to provide Walter with a state-of-the-art production facility and a brilliant lab assistant, Gale (David Costabile). Jesse is continuing to produce and sell meth by himself.Hank is working with the DEA to investigate Jesse and is slowly gathering evidence to make an arrest. He survives an assassination attempt made by Tuco's twin cousins and manages to kill one of his assailants and critically injure the other, who later dies in the hospital. Hank suffers critical wounds but survives.Jesse threatens to report Walter to the police if he is arrested, but Walter offers him Gale's position at the lab. After obtaining the position, Jesse begins stealing meth from the lab and selling it in secret on the side. Jesse gets romantically involved with a woman he meets in his rehab group and learns her kid brother, age 11, was put up by Gus and his street dealers to kill Combo. Jesse decides to avenge Combo. Walter aids Jesse in escaping from Gus's wrath. Gus begins to lose trust in Walter and asks Gale to take over the lab. He orders his henchmen to kill Walter and Jesse. After he is abducted by the henchmen, Walter instructs Jesse over the phone to kill Gale in order to force Gus not to kill Walter (and, by extension, Jesse) lest he eliminate his only remaining trained chemist.Season 4Jesse follows Walter's instructions and murders Gale. Gus decides to discipline the two by enforcing stricter policies at the lab. He also tries to break Walter and Jesse's friendship by assigning them to separate work details. While Walter works in the meth lab, Jesse escorts Mike (Jonathan Banks), one of Gus's enforcers, to retrieve payments and provide back-up. Walter and Jesse become increasingly distant from, and hostile to, each other. Meanwhile, Hank, who has been recovering from his last engagement with the cartel, finds evidence linking Gale to Gus. He believes Gus is a major drug distributor and starts looking for tangible evidence to file charges. Gus realizes Walter's close ties with Hank could jeopardize his entire operation. Gus fires Walter and informs him Hank will be killed. He also warns Walter that if he intervenes his entire family will be murdered. Jesse and Walter put their differences aside and agree to murder Gus, convincing former cartel enforcer Hector Salamanca to detonate a suicide bomb; Hector succeeds in this endeavor, killing himself, Gus, and Tyrus, Gus's henchman. Walter and Jesse then destroy the meth lab and Walter declares to his wife, "I won."Season 5Following Gus Fring's death, Walter partners with Jesse and Mike to create a new meth production and distribution operation. Mike handles all business aspects of the partnership, while Walter and Jesse work with a team of house fumigators to produce meth in tented houses. Hank and the DEA are able to identify nine prison inmates and one lawyer with criminal ties to Mike. Walter kills Mike, and is fearful that the informants will flip on Walter's operation since Mike is no longer able to pay them to keep quiet. He hires Jack Welker, the leader of a neo-Nazi gang, to kill the ten informants from within prison. Walter's business continues unimpeded until he decides to retire after accruing $80 million, which he buries in the desert.Later, Hank is invited to the Whites' home, where he unintentionally stumbles upon one of Walter's books with a signed message from Gale Boetticher. He realizes that Walter is the infamous Heisenberg and secretly restarts the investigation. Hank forms an alliance with Jesse, who now despises Walter for all his wrongdoings. Left with no options, Walter hires Jack again to murder Jesse. Walter attempts to confront Jesse in the desert, but instead Hank traps and arrests him. The neo-Nazi gang arrives and engages Hank in a fierce firefight. Jack executes Hank despite Walter's pleas. Jesse is captured and forced into slavery, producing meth for the gang. Before leaving, Jack and his gang take a majority of Walter's money, leaving him with only $11 million.Skyler and Walter Jr. are distraught over Hank's death and hold Walter accountable. They refuse to leave Albuquerque with Walter and instead contact the police. Walter spends the next several months hiding in a cabin in New Hampshire while struggling with cancer. He returns to New Mexico in order to visit his family one final time and seek revenge against Jack. Later that night, Walter executes all of the gang's members and frees Jesse, who escapes from the compound before the police arrive. Walter realizes he is mortally wounded from a gunshot and slowly succumbs to his injury as the police search the compound.

Tags: violence, comedy, neo noir, murder

Review:
From an artistic point of view - performances, writing, direction, camera, music - this show is every bit as good as the other two mentioned above, but unlike those, 'Breaking Bad' just wants to entertain and therefore enjoys a lot more creative freedom.The show plays like the daydream fantasy of any underachieving, struggling middle class family man who's had to bury all his dreams (I mean: who wouldn't want to be a meth-kingpin for a little while?), before it turns into a nightmare.
One could almost say that 'Heisenberg' is Walter White's 'Tyler Durden'(for those who don't get the reference: watch 'Fight Club' - you won't regret it).For pure entertainment value, this is simply the best show I've ever seen.
"Breaking Bad" is possibly the best TV drama ever made - there isn't a wrong step, bad episode or miscast character throughout the whole series run.
It is probably not plausible to believe that anyone like Walter White could succeed as a meth chemist for even one season without being killed or caught let alone the 62 episodes the series has.
More then any other series, huge changes in plot, story and character arc take place so fast you are likely to be completely lost if you skip episodes.
And the show is the proverbial roller coaster, taking you to the low points and peaks right along with your favorite characters, you might not want to miss a minute in this original and daring TV drama once you start watching!.
Because this way you can entirely fall in love with the show, the characters and every tiny detail of the story and the best part of it, it is unbelievably addictive and makes you starve for more week after week!
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.
Acting 5/5 Plot 6/5 Score 4/5 Overall feel 22/10 There are no words to describe how great this show is so stop reading this review and start watching it...
As the clueless, hapless and hopeless father of four on the celebrated series MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, Bryan Cranston came into his own, as he did an amazing balancing act that juggled slapstick, pathos and insanity all at once, proving that not only did "father NOT know best", but more than likely never would.Now he essays the role of another father in the new series BREAKING BAD, but it's a shocking, bracingly refreshing turn that takes his 'Three Stooges' repertoire of grunts, shrieks, barks and neurotic ticks and virtually throws them out the window.
And the comparisons are aptly warranted.This is one of those series where the less you know about it going in, the better, but just to set your mind reeling with the possibilities, here it is in a nutshell: Cranston plays high school chemistry teacher Walter White, who is constantly battling the lackadaisical attitudes of his disinterested students, the looming specter of financial disaster - by supplementing his paltry teacher's salary with a second job at a local car wash, and trying to cope with the impending arrival of a new baby, even as he and his wife raise their disabled teenage son, whom unlike many stereotypical portrayals of handicapped kids is no Pollyanna-like angel.
This is sharp, biting, satirical social commentary that draws blood when it sinks its teeth in, and you are guaranteed to wince even as you laugh out loud at Cranston's dead-on portrayal of a MAN on the edge of a nervous breakdown (well, more like over the edge.)A caveat for would-be viewers, though, and a very ironic one at that: AMC has applied its ham-fisted method of editing its movies to this series as well, unfortunately, making the channel the LAST place you want to see it.
So, all that being said, I'll try to keep it short, and sweet.Breaking Bad, simply put, is one of television's best programs.
It excels in acting, writing, directing, character development, plot, etc.This is my favorite series, right alongside AMC's other cultural phenomenon; The Walking Dead.
Although I usually prefer dark, foggy, shadowy – could be said depressing – cinematographic atmosphere ("Twin Peaks," "the X-Files," Millennium," "the Sopranos"), I found myself amazed by crystal clear images of "Breaking Bad." Insignificant and empty on the surface, yet filled with dimness and despair; New Mexican sun that doesn't burn you, it gives chills and almost numbs you in the end.I'm not going to say anything about lead actor Bryan Cranston.
the BEST TV DRAMA SERIES of ALL TIME Breaking Bad After so many lugubrious turns, "Breaking Bad" came to an end on Sunday on an almost uplifting note.Running since 2008..5 Glorious SEASONS & 62 clinching EPISODES & rating of 9.5/10 on IMDb & 99/100 on Metacritic it ended with the MOST SATISFYING FinalE ever..Watched by 10.3 million viewers.A simple story of a chemistry teacher making blue meth for providing his family with his former student teaches us every important meaning of LIFE.With very REAL/GREAT/EXTRAORDINARY performance by Bryan Cranston & created by Vince Gilligan this TV Series blowned my MIND..totally.I have watched so many Great English TV Series like The Walking Dead, Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, Supernatural, Firefly & Sherlock also but this was PURE GENIUS.All Hail The King HEISENBERG!!!.
With the great Bryan Cranston in the role of his life.The show was perfect, all bad things must come to an end.
It is to this day, and always will be, the best Tv-series of all time.I could go into detail about all the things that are good with this show, but I fear then this review would be endless.
I don't know anyone who has watched it and didn't like it, or didn't argue that it was the best series ever made.
The writing is not rushed at all, the acting is perfect, but the camera work is probably one of the strongest points.Breaking Bad follows the formula of "show, don't tell".
Because of the good acting, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are some of my favourite actors, and I've noticed that their acting is just as good in other productions, if not better than ever.If you didn't know already, the plot is about a Chemistry professor who decides to use his expertise by producing the world's purest crystal meth in order to insure his family's financial status after his death, using a former student of his who deals drugs.This show begins with very mildly humorous, to dark, dramatic, fairly action-y, and just downright epic the more it goes on.
Each episode even has it's own brief OST in the credits after the first season.I have heard that some don't like it, usually because of the whole hype and "WOW BREAKING BAD IS SO GREAT" fans bothering them with it.
The way the plot unfolds with its ups and downs, exciting moments and slow moments, is PERFECT.I'm not going to go through every character, they all did a great job, but I have to single out Aaron Paul, who plays Jesse.
I was teased into watching Breaking Bad over the last few years but never took it up, but after recently joining Netflix picked this series.What a journey!
I'd only heard of Aaron Paul on Top Gear a while back in which Jeremy congratulated him on his acting, and I applaud both him and Bryan Cranston (who I watched in 'Why Him') are both spectacular - not too sure what can fill this void now!All the actors in this brilliant piece of art should be congratulated (loved his sons performance throughout (Roy Frank "RJ" Mitte))A truly amazing roller-coaster and would recommend spending the time to watch (don't let the first 2 or three episodes put you off).
"Breaking Bad" gives these themes new life with clear-eyed, pitiless characterizations, brilliant acting, gripping plot twists, imaginative visual style, and grim black humor.
Before i started watching this show i never really knew Bryan Cranston, i mean i've seen him couple of times here and there but nothing like this.
Breaking Bad was a radical type of television, and also a very strange kind of must-watch: a show that you dread and crave at the same time.
This is a series that I will always cherish, and not just for the obvious reasons like the superb acting and the high stakes narrative -- but also for the fact that it gave me hope for the future of television, and the media's potential overall, to serve as a platform for talented writers and actors who actually have something inspired to say about the world we live in.
Other people have written much about the characters in the show so it doesn't require me to add to that.However Breaking Bad has some of the cleverest writing I have ever encountered in the making of a television show.
Like the meth its protagonist cooked up, the creators of Breaking Bad cooked up something so unique, detailed and interesting that it became an addiction, and the greatest television drama of all time..
Bryan Cranston delivers a powerhouse performance for all five seasons as Walter White, a chemistry teacher who ends up becoming a powerful drug lord with the help of his ex-student Jessie.
Anna Gunn, as Skyler, makes you change your feelings towards her character, from love to hate, numerous times during the series.
RJ Mitte turns an ordinary "it's just the kid" character into a monumental performance during his 5 seasons as Walter Jr. Also a quick word for Giancarlo "Gus Fring" Esposito, bow down ladies and gentlemen for he is, in absence of proper words, splendid.Do not, in any case, leave this series unseen, you will be missing the most pure (I dare to say beautiful) drama / crime ever.
Generally, I only watch Sci-Fi, Horror and such-- but every once in a while I'm drawn to regular TV if it isn't run-of-the-mill Canned-Ha-Ha-Ha comedy or standardized Network Primetime Drama with the usual A-Z cast of Beautiful People pretending to mimic Real Life interspersed with Fun Commercials as the rest of us would Like it to be.The storyline is simple: Ordinary Middle-class Teacher in an Ordinary Burb with ordinary Financial problems with an Ordinary Sucky Life finds out he has Cancer.
There are no superlatives left in the English language that have not been showered on this series, it has won almost every award it possibly can and deservedly so.Bored of the usual drab I started watching Breaking Bad almost from the beginning after reading a favourable review of the pilot.
The events unfold with unease, shock and excitement, with intricate and fascinating characters, including dead-behind-the-eyes Gus, and hilarious sham lawyer Saul.If you are interested in morality, the ambiguity of relationships, have a dark sense of humour, and love a detailed TV series such as The Sopranos and The Wire, I don't need to tell you anymore: Go and watch it.
This was the case with nearly EVERY episode of EVERY season of Breaking Bad. We watched all of the seasons in less than a month.
I cannot imagine a better written, directed, acted, or cast series....I would not watch any for about 18 months after binge-watching Breaking Bad. I figured "what is the point?
For viewers out there who have never seen an episode of Breaking Bad, be prepared to sit at the edge of your seat throughout the entire 5 seasons.
This is the first time I have ever felt it necessary to write a review for anything on IMDb. I think that it's safe to say that I was ecstatic with the first episode of the new season after the end of the writer's strike.
Indeed, Breaking Bad brings a valuable contribution to the realm of quality Television Theater, and Aaron Paul's work here is among the finest to come forward in a long while.
Breaking Bad is a magnificent,outstanding and completely original television series that is filled with fantastic character development,action and an endless amount of highly intense and un-forgetful scenes .The series starts off fairly promising,and then as it continues it just gets better,over the course of five years,it never a goes downhill,and there isn't a single bad episode in the whole series.I think people were skeptical when the series first came around about the the dad from Malcolm in the Middle starring in a drama,but Bryan Cranston delivers an exhilarating performance in this,Walter White is nothing like Hal and thus proves that Cranston's range is amazing and he truly is a great actor,the change in Walter over the course of these five seasons proves that.But Cranston shouldn't have all the credit,no actor in this show comes across as unprofessional,but the outstanding actors have to be Anna Gunn,Aaron Paul,Dean Norris,RJ Mitte,Betsy Brandt,Bob Odenkirk,Jonathan Banks,Giancarlo Esposito,Charles Baker,Matt Jones,Jesse Plemons and Krysten Ritter are all some of the series best characters and incredible actors and they all deserve so much credit for making this's series so great,and of course,Vince Gilligan,for his incredible writing and directing skills,this show would be nothing without him.My favourite characters of the entire series are without a doubt Jesse and Mike,their personality are something that really appeals to me,and their development over the course of the series is very pleasing,I loved Walter as well,but I never felt like I could relate to him,not that I would want to.All in all,Breaking Bad is a fantastic series,it never disappoints and I would recommend it to everyone.Walter White (Bryan Cranston),a highly intelligent high school professor,joins the crystal meth business using his amazing skills in science to create a high quality and addictive product,after he learns he has lung cancer and wants to make enough money for his family to use when he's gone..
The bad news: it won't begin until July 2011.If you haven't seen this series, buy or rent the discs and watch it in order.
I know it was revolutionary and truly realistic but in the end I despised it for being great and the fact that I had to see it through to the end.I know people will think I am mad for writing this but does a show that is fantastic but sucks the soul and heart out of you make for as good TV as everyone believes; or was everyone else too caught up in the hype to admit their true feelings about Breaking Bad..
Of course one would have to be living under a rock these past few years to not have heard about Breaking Bad. Many suggested I see it, but the idea to me was absurd to watch a mild mannered science teacher descend into the world of drug dealing, while having his soul wither away.
To finish, Breaking Bad was the most unlikely program I would every imagine I would consider to be hands down the best television show I have ever had the pleasure to watch.
But Breaking Bad was every season high quality time.
I've never found a show that had me wanting to watch the whole series in one night.Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul had great chemistry (no pun intended) on screen, even for being two completely different characters.
I have watched a lot of tv shows, and I impressed many many series but I didn't watch any series like Breaking Bad. It changes my life in terms of many things.
I cannot say enough good things about Breaking Bad. The writing, the cinematography, the acting, the editing....all of it is top-notch.
and not taking anything away from those shows...i LOVE those series also....but something about Breaking Bad is just...
The only TV series 'Breaking Bad' can be compared with, in my opinion, is The Sopranos.I know they have completely different story lines, but still, they're both great Dramas.
The actors and performances are very good and intense (and that's at least a plus two in a TV drama), the writing is very solid and coherent, and the direction of each episode is masterfully done.Bryan Cranston was one of my favorite comedy TV actors of all time since Malcolm in the Middle (FOX), and it's very nice to see how he evolved in a very positive way to drama television.These are the seasons I give it a reasonable 10/10.
I, like many people, refused to watch "Breaking Bad" for the sole reason that I also erroneously believed it was a show about drug culture.
Once I saw through this I stopped watching them completely and have been seeking out quality American shows that are well-produced and equally well-written, and I am happy to say that Breaking Bad is one of these.Bryan Cranston is perfectly cast as Walt, the man who has to make tough choices to provide for his family.
If they can carry this program on for two or three more seasons and then end it without dragging past the logical closure point - and with Walt the way he is, this is crucial - it will be one of the greatest drama series of all time.If you haven't tried it, start from the pilot episode, keep an open mind, and you just might find your new favourite show.
Dear Breaking Bad non-watchers, you MUST watch it, or else, you have missed the true best masterpiece ever created on TV.
Breaking Bad has been held as the best thing to ever be put on television, but is it.
Character development and wondering whether you love or hate Walter White are the show's biggest strengths, on top of the exquisite writing, Breaking Bad is one of the greats.
As I write they're rolling out the final half of season 5; just saw episode 10, and it utterly rips your heart out.Breaking Bad will go down as classic television; amongst the best ever..