"A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal" is the seventh and final episode of the first season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. Written by Peter Gould and directed by Tim Hunter, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on March 9, 2008.
Breaking Bad Season 1 (E 1 7)
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 for approximately 58 minutes. AMC broadcast the first season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States. The first season was originally going 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]
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]
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]
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."
Walt meets up with Jesse, who is happy to announce that he got all the supplies Walt asked him for, except for the methylamine, which turns out to be the key ingredient for Walt's new recipe. Jesse had found some professionals who were willing to steal it from a secure warehouse, but their price was too steep. Walt, however, devises a plan for himself and Jesse to steal it themselves: by breaking the lock with thermite, produced with aluminum powder extracted from "Etch-A-Sketch" toys.
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.
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.
At the baby shower, though, once he spots the expensive diamond and ivory baby tiara Marie has supposedly bought for the coming baby, he needs a stronger drink to endure staying there and pretending all is fine in his house. And in the first season there are many ironies surrounding his talk, showing how little he gets about the meth trade when he thinks he understands so much.
but Jesse feels emotional hurt from betrayed ties (in Season 1, his family, later Jane, and now Andrea [Emily Rios] and Brock) that he will not cast aside. In season 4 Walt refuses to work unless Jesse is with him, Jesse refuses to cooperate in the business of meth at all if Gus has Walt killed.
This episode was so intense! I love how the last episode in a season can simultaneously tie up some loose ends from previous episodes and also leave you wanting more and hoping that further seasons of the show will be released.
I absolutely love the many ways that Breaking Bad embraced science. I love it so much, in fact, that I wrote a book about it--"The Science of Breaking Bad" from MIT Press--along with my co-author and Breaking Bad science advisor, Dr. Donna Nelson. It's crazy to think that a science-explainer article that I originally wrote way back in 2013 during the show's fifth and final season is now a published tome that includes insider insight, in-depth research and explanations, and lots of fun trivia about how Breaking Bad pulled off all those stunning yet scientifically accurate sequences with the help of Hollywood's special effects.
[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. 2ff7e9595c
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