User Reviews

When Walt made a deal to supply Tuco with two pounds of methamphetamine he had no idea that one of the key ingredients is impossible to get hold of in the quantities he needs... Jesse of course knew this but by the time he learns about it the deal has already been made. Jess is in for an even bigger surprise when they turn up for the deal with Tuco and even though they provided much less than promised Walt offers to supply four pounds the next week! To do this he proposes to change the recipe; it still won't be easy though as it still contains a hard to obtain ingredient that they must steal before they can start cooking again. Walt and Jess aren't the only ones stealing stuff; Skyler learns about her sister's proclivity for shoplifting when she tries to return a present and almost gets arrested.

This was an excellent episode; once again it is shown that despite his scientific skills Walt really has no idea how the drug trade works nor does he realise how casually violent it can be... he learns this though when he sees Tuco beat one of his own people to death for a trivial reason after sampling Walt's latest batch. It isn't all grim though; in fact there are quite a few laughs; the scene where they steal a thirty gallon drum of chemicals is hilarious... and not just because Walt was only expecting to take a gallon but there were no small containers. The scenes where Skyler learnt about Marie's shoplifting were interesting but didn't really go anywhere; clearly that plot thread will be developed in future episodes. The morality of Walt's new business were nicely raised in a couple of scenes; first when he talks to Hank about why some drugs are legal and others aren't and later when he talks to Skyler about whether it is okay to break the law if it is to help your family.

As testament to how good this opening season was; I was given the DVDs as a present and was really unsure whether I'd like it at all but once I'd started I was hooked and had ordered the second season before I'd got to the end of the first.

"Yeah, Mr. White! Yeah, SCIENCE!"

It is worth bearing in mind that 'A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal' was not originally supposed to be the season finale, which explains why there is no real sense of finality at all here. Having said that, it works well as an episode and if its purpose was simply to leave the viewer desperate to see what happens next, it certainly succeeded.

The closing scene of the episode and indeed the season is certainly nothing less than memorable, as Tuco beats the hell out of his henchman simply for telling Walt and Jesse to remember who they work for. It's arguably the first moment in the show that is really quite disturbing. In just two episodes, Tuco has established himself as the craziest character we've seen so far and it will be intriguing to see if Walt and Jesse can and will continue to work with him.

Other great moments here include the robbery of the methylamine, which is almost reminiscent of the three Stooges, and Skyler returning the tiara only to find out it is stolen. Marie's kleptomania is clearly quite a serious issue and her refusal to admit it puts Skyler in an awkward position. The baby shower scene is mildly amusing with Hank again mentioning Shania Twain and Walter Jr. pointing the camera at something else entirely. Walt's little message to the baby is rather touching too.

One thing I've found about this season is that the sex scenes between Walt and Skyler always make me feel rather uncomfortable, although there's no denying that 'Because it was illegal." is a hilarious line.

'A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal' is far from the best episode of Breaking Bad, but it's a good ending to a great season. Looking back, the first season is almost definitely the weakest of the show, but it's still something quite special. Episodes like '...And the Bag's in the River' and 'Crazy Handful of Nothing' are unbelievably good and even the weaker episodes are well worth watching.

Episode: 9.1/10

Season: 9.3/10

I remember when Breaking Bad came out in the UK. From memory it was to be on Sky at a time when I wasn't sure if I'd keep my subscription but the main thing that stuck in my mind was that poster. The advertisements all focused on the image of Walter in his pants with a gun - essentially the opening few minutes of the first episode. I didn't have any other information about the show but it seemed an odd selling point and, alone like that it made the show appear to be wacky in some way, or goofy. As a result I skipped it and since then have seen reviewers and IMDb users putting it "up" there with shows I love such as The Wire, Deadwood, Dexter - or at least, those that love these shows also love Breaking Bad. So, as the fourth season starts in the US, I finally got around to picking up the first.

The first thing to say was that the first episode surprised me because I expected the scene at the start of the first episode to be worked back to across the season, not to be reached within the episode as it was. This was a positive for me because the show covered a lot of ground and had plenty going on, and this mostly continued throughout the short season. The downside of this is that it feels like it is in a rush and at times the confidence of Walt seemed to come on too quickly without really having an even pace in terms of him growing what he is capable of and also the risks he is willing to take. In terms of content and tone the season gets a good mix of family and drug-dealing drama and the balancing of the two; at times it is tense, at others it is darkly funny, at others it is a little sad, but it does them all pretty well. The blend isn't quite there though and it felt like the show was maybe feeling out what worked and what didn't without really having a full understanding of what it is itself. You get this with pilot episodes but in this case this first season felt very much like all seven episodes were the pilot.

It interested me though and I liked what it did even though I didn't love what it did. Problems seemed to be dealt with quite quickly, which made for a solid episode but didn't build particularly well and I kept hoping for challenges and problems (beyond the very obvious, headline ones) to be extended and given more tension. To pick one, I'd say them deciding to rob a chemical plant (something experts were charging them big for) and then minutes later they have done it, seemed a little too pat for me - and although it was amusing as a scene, it wasn't played enough for laughs to make me forget this other side. This is one example but I found it a frequent problem and again it is associated with the show not totally seeming to have a firm grip on what kind of beast it is. Even with this though, it was still good television and the plot mix was good.

The performances are solid but out the front is of course Cranston. Nearly unrecognisable from Malcolm in the Middle, he is great in the lead and each emotion is really well delivered and he convinces even at times when the script is perhaps not as even and consistent as his character requires. With a script that compliments his character better he can only do more on top of what is already a good performance. Paul has a simpler character but he works well with the type of character that could have annoyed me quite easily. Gunn had a quite difficult job because she doesn't have the more dramatic scenes that Cranston and, although it isn't this way, there is an element of being lumbered with the more emotional content - she carries it well and in a manner that is realistic. Norris, Mitte and many thugs all fill the supporting cast well.

Breaking Bad is better than I expected but at the same time I don't feel like this first season is really the best it can do. It has plenty going on but at times it is a little inconsistent and unsure of itself in regards its tone and to a point the season as a whole feels like a pilot testing the waters of the viewer to see what works and how far it can take things in terms of plot and characters. The first season was strong enough to interest me though and it will bring me back for the second, where hopefully it will be a lot more confident in itself.

The last episode of the first season and it's the best one yet. The quality just seems to be getting better and better in this show, with the stakes constantly raising, the drama building, the character work and acting excellent throughout. Plus, it gets funnier than ever, with the impromptu drug-making session in the basement a highlight. The ending leaves it on a strong, vibrant note that makes you eagerly look forward to the second season.

The Season One finale of Breaking Bad is a doozy. While not as effective and "perfect" as the previous episode, this is not one to scoff at either. The episode provides some tense moments and even some good ol' action. My favorite part of this episode is the very last scene and the look on Walt's face is just too perfect and quite a way to end a season.

This episode, "A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal" has Walt and Jesse buying ingredients for their business, but they realize they have to break into a pharmaceutical supply center to get some of their supplies. Meanwhile, Skylar finds out that her sister many be a thief.

Overall, this is a very good episode that is the fitting finale of one heck of a first season. The ending of this episode has me wanting more and more. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are becoming TV favorites of mine. This episode is nothing short on drama, which makes this another fabulous episode. I rate this episode 9/10.

A no Rough Stuff Type Deal is a solid episode. White who arrogantly believes he knows everything has a plan! White does not realize there are many different types of intelligences. During a drug deal White takes a risk of getting a down payment up front for a meth deal. White, who has no people skills, has the crazy notion that he can control Tuco! White and Jesse go through an ordeal because of the White's recklessness. One of the plot's themes of false fronts and double lives reveals that Skylers sister has a major problem. One sees the cause and effect theme in this episode. The biblical concept of what one reaps they sow is a recurring theme as the shows characters plunge deeper and deeper into the abyss. I give A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal an eight out of ten!

Walter decides to get in bed with Tuco, who is about as psychotic as they make them. He is cracked and unpredictable. Walter makes a promise of four pounds of meth and Jesse can't believe him. The problem is they can't get their hands on Sudofed which is critical in the process. Walter sets up shop back in Jesse's basement. They have to stop stealing from the school and this episode is mostly about what they do. Walter, being the skilled chemist, finds an alternative but they must steal a particular chemical by breaking into a warehouse. Meanwhile, Skylar, long pregnant, gets a really expensive tiara for her not- yet-born daughter. When she tries to return it, the accuse her of shoplifting it. This will be leading to complications down the road. This episode has an incredibly violent conclusion which will add to the tension.

And so the first season ends. I was expecting a more outrageous ending based on what every episode was, but it was pretty calm. Still, a great episode that didn't disappoint me and still makes me want to watch the next season to see what Walt White and Jesse Pinkman are about to do next.

And there seems to be some crazy stuff to come. Their new business partner Tuco is insane. the way he beat up his own guy was horrifying. Just shows what he is capable off and I don't even want to think what he will do next. Although while I don't want to think about it I sure want to see it!.

An interesting part was Walt and Hank discussing the legality. It is kind of sad that a man like Hugo is in jail for a joint and have all the suburb parents talk about him in such a nasty manner while all of them are also doing illegal things. Even if it is as small as smoking a cigar. But it is still illegal, right? And is marijuana really that much worse...

And Marie's shoplifting is brought back into the picture. To be honest though I don't care too much about it, mainly because I dislike Skylar and don't care what happens to her.

Walt decides that he and Jesse will up their game by producing more of the meth for Tuco each week. This will prove to be challenging, as some of the ingredients they need are not exactly easy to acquire (at least legally). And while this is going on, a baby shower for Skyler and her unborn child leads to a revelation about Marie.

If this first season of this well-regarded series is indeed the weakest, then it only means that there is going to be some excellent television in store for this viewer. He was hooked pretty much from the get-go by the characters and their situations. The acting, as always, is superb, with Bryan Cranston as Walt settling more into his new alias of "Heisenberg" (complete with the hat). One particular sequence successfully walks the line between being very amusing and unbelievably tense as Walt and Jesse are forced to cook the meth in Jesses' basement - while an open house (Jesse was planning on selling his place) is going on upstairs!

The main theme of the episode seems to be that "forbidden fruit is always the sweetest"; Hank even utters that line, in reference to some Cuban cigars he's obtained. We see it at the start, as Walt & Skyler slip away from a school conference to have some sex in the family vehicle, and later, as Skyler learns that Marie did NOT obtain her baby shower gift by purchasing it. Later, Marie completely feigns ignorance / innocence.

This all leads to a riveting finish wherein Walt & Jesse complete a transaction with Tuco, and the kingpin shows once again just how brutal and psychotic he can be. As Walt & Jesse walk off (clearly very uncomfortable), it very well sets the stage for the second season.

Eight out of 10.

Today is the first day for the rest of your life.

So Walt informs Jesse about their new partnership with the volatile Tuco, with the obvious freak out in return. Walt unwisely negotiates 4 pounds with Tuco despite not having the equipment and chemicals in their possession, with Jesse securing just about everything except a particular substance kept in a heavily guarded (well, not so heavily guarded; Walt and Jesse raid the place when the security guard hits the john!) warehouse. Walt grinds beads from those Etch A Sketch toys into a chemical explosive (talk about creativity!), and it provides the necessary kick to unlock the door to the warehouse. That cumbersome Winnebago doesn't start so Jesse and Walt will have to retreat to the basement of Jesse's "on the market" house, eventually, during their meth cooking process, having to keep out those who answered the "open house" invite! Tuco further establishes his monstrous temper that can explode at any moment, having his "Joe Pesci – Goodfellas" moment at the end, when a member of his entourage speaks out of turn and is given a serious pummeling for doing so. Also this episode addresses Marie's kleptomania as she stole a pricey broach at a dept store for Skyler's baby shower! Skyler feels it is too much and wants to get money back for it, returning it to a jewelry store, the owner almost has her arrested (this is where Skyler's abilities to finagle out of predicaments (not unlike her hubby) is established for the first time)!

Great ending to a great first season. The color palette was purposeful and intricate as always. We end the first season with Holly's baby shower and Heisenberg and Jesse's new business relationship with the deranged Tuco. There is no going back.

We were introduced to Walter as a frantic man wearing nothing but an apron, his shoes, and his tighty wighties, recording a goodbye message to his family. Then were taken back shortly before that event when Walter White was still an effeminate and cowardly chemistry teacher who was dealt the "s*** hand" of late stage terminal lung cancer. Throughout the first season, we have seen him detach from the small life he built for himself, completely overshadowed by his genius and the life he ran away from, transform into both a murderer and enterprising meth cook, and in turn, finding a grasp on both his secret persona, Heisenberg, named after Werner Heisenberg who is known for his uncertainty principle regarding particles, and his role in his family, which he never had a firm grasp on to begin with. So begins his new life of crime and the equilibrium between Heisenberg and Walter White. As Heisenberg develops, Walter White metamorphoses and dies.

The baby shower, as most of you know, will come back later in the show, specifically when Walter speaks to Holly through Walter Jr.'s camcorder. This little moment is one of the most potent of the first season. Skyler may be in disbelief about Walter's mortality, but he is well aware and speaks to Holly accordingly. He tells her that he is proud of her and even though he finds his family is unbearable at times, he knows that they are incredibly loyal to one another and he affirms her that she has a family that loves her.

The baby shower also includes a few interesting color changes for those who have been paying attention. Skylar, who predominantly wears blue, is seen in a purple dress. Purple has been used in the show to possibly display pride, naivety, and false innocence. Marie, Skylar's sister and Hank's wife, has only a handful of scenes without purple clothing. On the color wheel, purple is opposite of green, which is predominantly Walter's color. In "Breaking Bad", green may be used to display greed, growth, and drug money. Since purple is complementary (opposite) to green on the color wheel, it is reasonable to theorize that it may indicate innocence. Marie is the furthest thing from Walter, yet they share more in common than they probably realize.

They both live conscientious lives on the surface, yet both have criminal secrets. It's just that Marie's dirty little secret, shoplifting, is a lot less extreme than Walter's secret life as a soon to be drug kingpin. They are both somewhat critical of the person who they married and want more out of the life they live. Walter wants money but he wants money so that his family does not have to worry about his cancer treatment or life after his death. Marie, on the other hand, wants luxury and she wants to appear more opulent than she actually is. She overstates her role in the medical field and she shoplifts an tiara for Skylar. In contrast, Walter's selfishness is not as vain. Rather, he simply wants to be in control of his life because he felt like he has been out of control for so long. Simply put, Walter White is Satan and Marie is merely an imp. She is the "lesser of two evils". The more socially acceptable evil. In a sense, green represent the bold pursuit of power and wealth, while purple represents a fake display of royalty. As Vince Gilligan, the director of "Breaking Bad", said, "Well, Marie would say purple is the color of royalty".

It's interesting that Hank pulls out the Cuban cigars at the baby shower. It is during this scene that Walter and Hank discuss the subjectivity and evolution of legality. How certain things that were once legal are now illegal and vice versa. Hank ends the conversation by saying that meth was once legal and easily attainable but it is good that it is now illegal. Hank, Skylar, and Marie all draw a firm line between right and wrong, while Walter's lines are becoming thinner and thinner.

Hank, who is married to Marie, predominantly wears the colors brown, red, and orange. These colors are separated from green by the color yellow. It's quite possible that yellow represents danger and drugs, more specifically, meth. Marie, constantly draped in purple, is completely removed from the turbulent and criminal world of Heisenberg by both Hank (red) and Skylar (blue).

Yet, at the baby shower, Skylar too is dresses in purple. All of them are oblivious to Heisenberg at this point. He is still the mundane and innocent Walter White. His last name, White, indicates his apparent purity. While his clothing is green, his surname is White. In other words, Heisenberg is hiding in plain sight. Hank nearly caught on to his operation and shut it down before his metamorphosis but because of his jaded view of the ferocity of drug culture from years working for the DEA, the thought of the emasculate Walter White as a meth cook hardly crossed his mind. Instead, he let his racism get the best of him. Maybe this is why he wore black to the baby shower, signifying his loss.

Anyways, this is my fourth or fifth go through of the show. I plan to catch up on "Better Call Saul" once I finish this run. As with every other viewing I've had, I cannot help but binge through the show, lost in the Vince Gilligan's Albuquerque. This go round I have been increasingly interested in the story within the story told by the color placement. It seems to convey certain abstract themes, such as the mental and symbolic transformation of each character. I'm not sure "Breaking Bad" is the best show of all time but it sure as hell is the jack of all trades. It's definitely one of the best pieces of entertainment ever created, as I don't see the entertainment itself ever going away.

Episode rating: 9/10 Season 1 rating: 9/10.

That Esmerelda/Holly scene is so much sadder when you've already seen how the series ends. Just one of the many reasons why this show is so rewatchable.

On the surface, "Breaking Bad" is not the type of show I would have watched on my own accord. I'm usually into science fiction and mystery, not people cooking meth and drug cartels. However, I have had a number of people tell me that the show may just be the greatest they ever watched. In fact, I hadn't come across a single person who didn't absolutely fawn over it. Well, I must be the exception to the rule. While not giving up on the show (I will certainly begin the next season), I am nowhere near ready to put it into my all-time favorites running.

For a basic summary, "Breaking Bad" is the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher who learns that he has inoperable lung cancer (basically a death sentence). With very little money, Walt makes the odd choice to begin cooking crystal meth after he sees a drug bust on TV yield thousands of dollars. Walt knows the chemistry, but he needs a partner who knows "the business". That is where Jesse (Aaron Paul) comes in, a young man well-versed in the drug business. Of course, things aren't quite so simple for Walt. He must deal with an overbearing wife (Anna Gunn), a disabled child (RJ Mitte), and a brother-in-law (Dean Norris) who just so happens to be a drug enforcement officer.

There are moments in this first season of "Breaking Bad" that are truly great. The first couple of episodes are probably the best, as they really set the improbably stage of Walt's existence. You really feel for him and his family, and Jesse is such an interesting character in his own right that the foundation seems set up for a great show.

However, after those first two or so episodes, I felt like the show was very uneven in tone. Perhaps this is because I obviously do not share the wit/humor of creator Vince Gilligan. He was great writing X-Files episodes, but in this first season of "Breaking Bad" I can't really identify what he is going for in terms of tone. For example...

-Skyler (Walt's wife) is almost the caricature of the domineering wife in some episodes, yet in others she seems quite serious.

-Sometimes, Walt can be as sharp and intense as nails, while at other times he is a bumbling idiot...almost farcical.

-Walt's disabled son seems to have no purpose on the show (at least up until now). It looks like (in the first few episodes) he will have a decent role, but then it is completely marginalized.

To be honest, my two favorite characters from this initial campaign were Jesse and Hank (the brother-in-law). I could see reality in those characters, and so I was drawn to them. The rest, however, I'm still not sure if they are supposed to be taken seriously or laughed at.

Overall, I'm still searching for "what this show is about". Is it a man trying to beat cancer? A man trying to support his family? A sort of tragic, macabre comedy? A story about drugs and the drug business? Maybe Vince Gilligan's goal is to do all of those things at the same time, but if that is the case he hasn't sucked me in completely yet. Instead, I'm a bit frustrated by the changing tone of the show, sometimes from scene to scene.

I'll give this season 3.5 stars out of five. It is a bit disappointing considering the expectations I had for it, but maybe that isn't fair. It is interesting enough to watch and I am intrigued to see what the creators cook up for their second effort.