WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.160 It is January 20th, 2008. Okay. It is a freezing 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:08.839 cold Sunday evening. And if you are a sports 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:11.259 fan, your eyes are probably just absolutely glued 00:00:11.259 --> 00:00:13.039 to the television. Oh yeah, without a doubt. 00:00:13.220 --> 00:00:15.619 You are watching the New York Giants take on 00:00:15.619 --> 00:00:17.519 the Green Bay Packers. Right, the NFC Championship 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:20.859 game up at Lambeau Field. Exactly. And it's Brett 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:23.940 Favre's last game as a Packer. So the whole world 00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:26.300 is basically watching football. It was a massive 00:00:26.300 --> 00:00:29.679 night for sports. Just a cultural event. And 00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:32.219 yet, if you happen to have the remote. Yeah. 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:34.439 And you flipped away from the game to a cable 00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:36.700 channel that honestly at the time was really 00:00:36.700 --> 00:00:39.340 only known for airing old movies. Right. American 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:43.390 movie classics. AMC. If you flipped over, you 00:00:43.390 --> 00:00:45.409 would have seen something deeply, deeply confusing. 00:00:45.710 --> 00:00:47.390 You would have seen a pair of beige trousers. 00:00:47.729 --> 00:00:49.409 Just flying through the air. Just flying through 00:00:49.409 --> 00:00:51.549 the air in slow motion against this incredibly 00:00:51.549 --> 00:00:54.649 bright blue desert sky. It is such a striking 00:00:54.649 --> 00:00:57.149 image. And then an RV crashing into a ditch. 00:00:57.850 --> 00:01:00.310 Driven by a middle -aged man in his tighty -whities 00:01:00.310 --> 00:01:03.270 wearing a gas mask. And just like that, with 00:01:03.270 --> 00:01:06.489 almost no fanfare and very few viewers, Breaking 00:01:06.489 --> 00:01:09.950 Bad was born. So welcome back to The Deep Dive. 00:01:10.230 --> 00:01:12.870 Today we are unpacking the pilot episode of what 00:01:12.870 --> 00:01:15.609 many consider to be the greatest television drama 00:01:15.609 --> 00:01:17.829 of all time. Or at least certainly the most influential 00:01:17.829 --> 00:01:20.689 of the modern era. Absolutely. But we aren't 00:01:20.689 --> 00:01:22.750 just going to recount the plot of how Walter 00:01:22.750 --> 00:01:25.849 White broke bad. We have a massive stack of source 00:01:25.849 --> 00:01:28.010 material here. Yes, we do. We have production 00:01:28.010 --> 00:01:30.510 notes. We have cast and sheets, plot summaries, 00:01:30.689 --> 00:01:33.569 reception history, critical essays, all regarding 00:01:33.569 --> 00:01:36.209 this specific premiere episode. Sometimes titled 00:01:36.209 --> 00:01:38.450 Breaking Bad on the home media releases, actually. 00:01:38.469 --> 00:01:41.329 Right. Our mission today is to tear apart the 00:01:41.329 --> 00:01:43.709 mechanics of how this specific episode was made, 00:01:43.849 --> 00:01:46.829 how it launched a historic series by transforming 00:01:46.829 --> 00:01:49.870 a mild -mannered teacher into a criminal mastermind. 00:01:50.170 --> 00:01:52.049 And honestly, when you look at the history of 00:01:52.049 --> 00:01:54.329 this specific hour of television, it is a miracle 00:01:54.329 --> 00:01:56.750 it ever made it to air. It really is. The story 00:01:56.750 --> 00:01:59.829 of the pilot is a story of rejection, bad auditions, 00:02:00.010 --> 00:02:03.109 financial shortcuts, and a creator who fundamentally 00:02:03.109 --> 00:02:05.510 wanted to break the rules of television. We have 00:02:05.510 --> 00:02:08.849 so much to cover. We are going to look at the 00:02:08.849 --> 00:02:12.080 Mr. Chips to Scarface philosophy. The casting 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:14.180 struggles. I mean, wait until you hear who they 00:02:14.180 --> 00:02:16.560 wanted before Bryan Cranston. The what -ifs are 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:18.879 incredible. They really are. And we'll look at 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:21.539 the specific science, both chemical and narrative, 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:24.120 that made this episode work. It is a fascinating 00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:27.180 case study for anyone listening who loves the 00:02:27.180 --> 00:02:31.080 craft of television. Because if you change one 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.319 variable, if they film in California instead 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:35.159 of New Mexico, or if the studio gets their way 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:37.400 on casting. We're talking about a completely 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:39.340 different show. A show that probably would have 00:02:39.340 --> 00:02:41.599 been canceled after six episodes. Without a doubt. 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:44.060 So let us start with the vision. Because before 00:02:44.060 --> 00:02:47.039 you have the RV and the meth, you have an idea. 00:02:47.419 --> 00:02:49.819 And according to the notes we have here, Vince 00:02:49.819 --> 00:02:52.479 Gilligan's idea was actually a joke. It is true. 00:02:52.580 --> 00:02:54.439 It is one of those great origin stories that 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:57.740 sounds totally kike, but it isn't. Right. Vince 00:02:57.740 --> 00:03:00.500 Gilligan was talking to a fellow writer, Thomas 00:03:00.500 --> 00:03:02.949 Schnauz. They had worked together previously 00:03:02.949 --> 00:03:04.990 on The X -Files. Which is a crucial connection, 00:03:05.150 --> 00:03:06.969 by the way. We will definitely get to that later. 00:03:07.210 --> 00:03:09.370 Oh, absolutely pivotal. Yeah. But at this particular 00:03:09.370 --> 00:03:12.889 moment in time, they're just two unemployed writers. 00:03:13.469 --> 00:03:16.090 They're chatting on the phone, commiserating 00:03:16.090 --> 00:03:18.889 about how hard it is to find work. Just the classic 00:03:18.889 --> 00:03:21.449 Hollywood struggle. Exactly. How the industry 00:03:21.449 --> 00:03:23.830 is grinding them down. And they started joking 00:03:23.830 --> 00:03:26.530 about their plan B. The nuclear option. Right. 00:03:27.219 --> 00:03:30.020 Schnauz cracks a joke that the only solution 00:03:30.020 --> 00:03:32.419 to their financial problems is to buy an RV, 00:03:32.620 --> 00:03:34.979 drive it into the woods, and put a meth lab in 00:03:34.979 --> 00:03:38.240 the back. It is that dark, cynical humor you 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:39.939 have when you are just desperate, like, well, 00:03:40.020 --> 00:03:43.419 we can always sell drugs. Precisely. But while 00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:45.840 Schnauz was joking, something actually clicked 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:48.240 for Gilligan. He hung up the phone, but the image 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:50.520 stayed with him. A desperate man. A mobile lab. 00:03:50.699 --> 00:03:53.699 A life of crime born out of sheer financial necessity. 00:03:54.300 --> 00:03:56.659 He realized that this wasn't just a funny visual. 00:03:56.780 --> 00:03:59.539 It was a tragedy waiting to be written. But here's 00:03:59.539 --> 00:04:01.379 where it gets really interesting for me. Taking 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:03.939 a regular guy and making him a criminal isn't 00:04:03.939 --> 00:04:06.479 entirely new. No, it's been done. But Gilligan 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:09.319 had a specific structural goal that went completely 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:11.960 against everything television stood for in 2007. 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:16.399 This is the Mr. Chips to Scarface concept. And 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:18.259 to understand why this was so revolutionary, 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:20.480 you have to look at the landscape of television 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:23.699 before 2008. We are talking about the era. of 00:04:23.699 --> 00:04:26.040 the procedural. Right. Television was built on 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:29.060 a machine called stasis. The economic model of 00:04:29.060 --> 00:04:31.519 TV back then was syndication. You want to sell 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:34.120 100 episodes to a network so they can air them 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:37.300 in literally any order. Exactly. And for that 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:39.660 to work, the characters cannot fundamentally 00:04:39.660 --> 00:04:42.139 change. Homer Simpson has to be dumb every single 00:04:42.139 --> 00:04:44.180 week. Dr. House has to be a curmudgeon every 00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:47.060 week. Yes. If they learn a lesson and actually 00:04:47.060 --> 00:04:48.920 change their personality, the whole show breaks. 00:04:49.100 --> 00:04:51.500 You reset the status quo at the end of every 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:53.680 hour. But Gilligan walked into these pitch meetings 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:56.459 and basically said, I want to do the exact opposite. 00:04:56.579 --> 00:04:59.279 He explicitly stated that his goal was a fundamental 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:02.060 drive toward change. He didn't want to sustain 00:05:02.060 --> 00:05:04.730 Walter White. He wanted to destroy him. He wanted 00:05:04.730 --> 00:05:07.310 to take Mr. Chips, the beloved mild -mannered 00:05:07.310 --> 00:05:09.790 schoolteacher archetype, and slowly morph him 00:05:09.790 --> 00:05:13.670 into Scarface, a ruthless gangster. And that 00:05:13.670 --> 00:05:17.689 terrified executives. You are pitching a show 00:05:17.689 --> 00:05:21.050 where by design the audience is supposed to stop 00:05:21.050 --> 00:05:23.209 liking the protagonist. Right. You are promising 00:05:23.209 --> 00:05:25.629 them that the hero will become the villain. That 00:05:25.629 --> 00:05:28.329 is an incredibly hard sell. It is a massive risk. 00:05:28.490 --> 00:05:31.250 And to pull that off, you need an actor who can 00:05:31.250 --> 00:05:33.189 straddle that line. You need someone who can 00:05:33.189 --> 00:05:36.730 be Mr. Chips and Scarface. And this brings us 00:05:36.730 --> 00:05:39.209 to the what ifs of the casting process. Because 00:05:39.209 --> 00:05:40.930 looking at the casting notes you have there. 00:05:41.660 --> 00:05:44.439 The studio had a very different idea of who Walter 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:47.180 White should be. Oh, this list is wild. So we 00:05:47.180 --> 00:05:49.779 all know Bryan Cranston is the guy. He is the 00:05:49.779 --> 00:05:53.339 one who knocks. But in 2007, he was Hal. He was 00:05:53.339 --> 00:05:55.339 the dad from Malcolm in the Middle. Yes. He was 00:05:55.339 --> 00:05:57.420 the roller skating, speed walking, high pitched 00:05:57.420 --> 00:06:00.319 screaming dad. It is hard to unsee that once 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:02.639 you know it. And the executives at AMC couldn't 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:05.100 unsee it either. They were reportedly very wary 00:06:05.100 --> 00:06:07.600 of him. They saw a comedic actor. They did not 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:10.060 see a meth kingpin. So naturally, they offered 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:12.129 the role to movie stars. Of course they did. 00:06:12.250 --> 00:06:14.029 The notes say the role was actually offered to 00:06:14.029 --> 00:06:16.230 John Cusack and Matthew Broderick first. Can 00:06:16.230 --> 00:06:19.029 you imagine? I really can't. Matthew Broderick? 00:06:19.329 --> 00:06:22.069 Ferris Bueller as Walter White? It changes the 00:06:22.069 --> 00:06:24.889 entire DNA of the show. Completely. If you cast 00:06:24.889 --> 00:06:27.149 Broderick, it becomes a dark comedy. It becomes 00:06:27.149 --> 00:06:30.029 quirky. Broderick has this natural boyish charm. 00:06:30.970 --> 00:06:34.089 Even when he is sad, he is sort of adorable. 00:06:34.529 --> 00:06:37.110 And what about Cusack? Cusack is too cool. Yeah, 00:06:37.149 --> 00:06:40.620 he is. Even when he plays a loser. He has that 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:43.660 intense boombox over the head energy. You root 00:06:43.660 --> 00:06:45.899 for him to get the girl. You don't look at John 00:06:45.899 --> 00:06:48.759 Cusack and see a man who has completely evaporated 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:52.160 into beige mediocrity. Beige. That is the key 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:55.720 word. Walter White in the pilot isn't cool. He 00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:58.519 isn't charming. He is pathetic. And that is exactly 00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:01.839 why. Gilligan fought so hard for Cranston. He 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:03.740 knew Cranston could do pathetic, but he also 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:05.699 knew he could do dangerous. And he knew this 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:07.519 because of their previous work together. Yes, 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:09.300 the X -Files connection we mentioned earlier. 00:07:09.540 --> 00:07:12.680 The episode titled Drive. Season six, Gilligan 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:14.600 wrote the episode. Cranston played a character 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:16.660 named Patrick Crump. Now, this is a deep cut 00:07:16.660 --> 00:07:19.540 for sure, but it is essential to the story of 00:07:19.540 --> 00:07:22.860 this pilot. It is. In that episode, Crump is 00:07:22.860 --> 00:07:26.279 a virulent anti -Semite. He kidnaps Fox Mulder. 00:07:26.300 --> 00:07:29.360 He is just entirely nasty. So he is a villain. 00:07:29.620 --> 00:07:32.899 On paper, yes. Yeah. But he is also dying. He 00:07:32.899 --> 00:07:34.920 has a condition where the pressure in his head 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:38.860 builds up unless he keeps moving west at a high 00:07:38.860 --> 00:07:43.180 speed. Oh, wow. He is in excruciating pain. And 00:07:43.180 --> 00:07:46.279 Gilligan watched Cranston play this role, a role 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:49.160 that should be purely hateable. and realized 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:51.259 that Cranston could make the audience feel sorry 00:07:51.259 --> 00:07:53.939 for him. It is the duality. You have to be loathsome 00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:56.519 and sympathetic at the exact same time. Exactly. 00:07:57.480 --> 00:07:59.579 Gilligan noted that the role required someone 00:07:59.579 --> 00:08:02.459 who could project that specific duality. He needed 00:08:02.459 --> 00:08:04.319 an actor who could hold a gun to someone's head, 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:06.000 and you still kind of want to give him a hug. 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:08.379 So he actually showed the executives that episode. 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:12.110 He did. He sat them down, played drive. And essentially 00:08:12.110 --> 00:08:14.490 said, forget how. Look at the eyes. Look at this. 00:08:14.569 --> 00:08:16.370 And that was the turning point. They were convinced. 00:08:16.589 --> 00:08:18.550 Thankfully, both movie stars had turned it down 00:08:18.550 --> 00:08:21.160 anyway. So Cranston got the part. But getting 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:23.639 the role was just step one. Cranston didn't just 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:26.139 show up and read the lines. The prep work for 00:08:26.139 --> 00:08:29.379 the pilot was intense. It was method acting before 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:32.480 he even got to the set. He met with actual chemistry 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:35.500 teachers. To learn the subject. Right. He wanted 00:08:35.500 --> 00:08:37.679 to know how to hold the beakers, how to light 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:39.759 the burners. He didn't want to look like an actor 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:42.000 playing a chemist. He wanted to look like a man 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:44.960 who had done this every single day for 20 years. 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:47.539 But the physical transformation is what really 00:08:47.539 --> 00:08:50.730 sells it for me. I think we forget because later 00:08:50.730 --> 00:08:53.190 in the show, he looks so fierce with the goatee 00:08:53.190 --> 00:08:55.149 and the bald head. The Heisenberg look. But in 00:08:55.149 --> 00:08:58.590 the pilot, he looks incredibly soft. He actually 00:08:58.590 --> 00:09:01.730 gained weight for the pilot. 15 pounds. Which 00:09:01.730 --> 00:09:03.490 is the opposite of what you would expect for 00:09:03.490 --> 00:09:06.769 a cancer patient role. True. But remember, at 00:09:06.769 --> 00:09:07.990 the start of the episode, he doesn't know he 00:09:07.990 --> 00:09:10.509 has cancer yet. He is just a middle -aged man 00:09:10.509 --> 00:09:14.360 who has given up. Right. Cranston wanted to reflect 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:17.639 that internal decline externally. He wanted a 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:20.019 doughy waistline. And the hair, too. He dyed 00:09:20.019 --> 00:09:22.399 his hair brown to hide his natural red highlights. 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:25.620 He wanted to strip away any vibrancy. He wanted 00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:27.399 to look like he was fading into the wallpaper. 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:31.220 He practically disappears when he stands next 00:09:31.220 --> 00:09:34.740 to a beige wall. So we have our Walt. But a chemistry 00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:37.580 teacher talking to himself is just a monologue. 00:09:37.909 --> 00:09:39.889 We need a partner. We need Jesse Pickman. The 00:09:39.889 --> 00:09:41.809 other half of the equation. And the struggle 00:09:41.809 --> 00:09:43.889 to cast Jesse was just as difficult, if not more 00:09:43.889 --> 00:09:46.570 so. The audition process was wild. The list of 00:09:46.570 --> 00:09:48.769 people who auditioned is basically a who's who 00:09:48.769 --> 00:09:53.070 of mid -2000s TV actors. We have Reed, Scott 00:09:53.070 --> 00:09:55.649 Colin Hanks, Penn Badgley. Penn Badgley is the 00:09:55.649 --> 00:09:57.429 one that really sticks out to me. The guy from 00:09:57.429 --> 00:10:01.009 Gossip Girl and later you. If you cast Penn Badgley, 00:10:01.090 --> 00:10:04.360 Jesse becomes smart. Or at least sharp in calculating. 00:10:04.659 --> 00:10:07.120 Right. Penn Magidly projects intelligence. He 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:10.379 projects calculation. Jesse Pigman needs to be 00:10:10.379 --> 00:10:13.360 frantic. He needs to be a little bit, well, not 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:16.240 bright. Street smart in a way, but a mess. And 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:18.580 Aaron Paul was a mess. Aaron Paul describes his 00:10:18.580 --> 00:10:21.259 own audition as awful. He was desperate for work. 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:23.600 He was tense and he felt like he just stumbled 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:25.299 through the whole thing. But that desperation 00:10:25.299 --> 00:10:28.299 actually worked. It worked perfectly for Gilligan. 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:31.440 He saw that frantic, cornered animal energy. 00:10:32.330 --> 00:10:34.610 But it did not work for Sony Pictures Television. 00:10:34.950 --> 00:10:37.190 What was their beef with Aaron Paul? They said 00:10:37.190 --> 00:10:39.269 he didn't look like a meth dealer. They argued 00:10:39.269 --> 00:10:41.830 he was too pretty. The classic Hollywood problem. 00:10:42.049 --> 00:10:44.129 He's too handsome to be a criminal. Basically, 00:10:44.269 --> 00:10:47.350 they refused to hire him initially. They wanted 00:10:47.350 --> 00:10:50.429 someone who looked grittier or maybe just different. 00:10:51.029 --> 00:10:54.090 But Gilligan and the casting director, Don Steinberg, 00:10:54.250 --> 00:10:57.509 saw something. They dug their heels in. The notes 00:10:57.509 --> 00:11:00.350 say Gilligan actually gave them an ultimatum. 00:11:00.409 --> 00:11:03.230 He did. He told the studio I'm not making the 00:11:03.230 --> 00:11:05.370 show if Aaron Paul is not picked for the role. 00:11:05.490 --> 00:11:08.250 That is a massive bluff for a writer on an unproven 00:11:08.250 --> 00:11:10.750 pilot. If they call that bluff the show is dead 00:11:10.750 --> 00:11:13.590 before it even starts. It shows how clear Gilligan's 00:11:13.590 --> 00:11:16.190 vision was. He knew that the chemistry between 00:11:16.190 --> 00:11:19.210 Cranston and Paul was the engine. If that engine 00:11:19.210 --> 00:11:21.909 didn't fire. The car simply wouldn't move. So 00:11:21.909 --> 00:11:23.750 they have the cast. They have Walt and Jesse. 00:11:23.990 --> 00:11:26.029 Now they need the setting. And this is another 00:11:26.029 --> 00:11:29.629 huge what if. Because the script was not originally 00:11:29.629 --> 00:11:32.110 written for Albuquerque. No. If you look at the 00:11:32.110 --> 00:11:34.730 original draft, it is set in Riverside, California. 00:11:34.870 --> 00:11:37.370 The Inland Empire. Which makes total sense for 00:11:37.370 --> 00:11:39.490 a myth story. It does. It fits the stereotype 00:11:39.490 --> 00:11:42.409 perfectly. Yeah. But Sony came to Gilligan and 00:11:42.409 --> 00:11:45.100 said, hey. New Mexico is offering a favorable 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:48.600 financial tax incentive. A 25 % rebate. Yes. 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:51.379 So they suggested Albuquerque purely to save 00:11:51.379 --> 00:11:53.679 money. So is it completely financial reality? 00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:56.480 100%. They moved the production to Albuquerque 00:11:56.480 --> 00:11:58.500 just for the tax break. Yeah. But this is where 00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:00.460 serendipity comes in. Because that financial 00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:03.820 decision changed the entire visual identity of 00:12:03.820 --> 00:12:06.240 the pilot and the series. How so? Think about 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:08.950 it. If you shoot in Riverside. You are shooting 00:12:08.950 --> 00:12:11.190 in suburbs. You are shooting in traffic. It is 00:12:11.190 --> 00:12:13.389 claustrophobic. But Albuquerque gives you the 00:12:13.389 --> 00:12:16.009 Sandia Mountains. You have these massive, wide 00:12:16.009 --> 00:12:18.889 -open skies. You have the desert mesas. It turned 00:12:18.889 --> 00:12:21.769 it into a western. Exactly. It gave the show 00:12:21.769 --> 00:12:25.090 a mythic quality. You see the RV isolated in 00:12:25.090 --> 00:12:27.610 this vast, empty landscape, and it emphasizes 00:12:27.610 --> 00:12:30.230 how alone these characters truly are. You simply 00:12:30.230 --> 00:12:32.879 cannot get that shot in Riverside. It is amazing 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:35.139 how a tax break created one of the most iconic 00:12:35.139 --> 00:12:37.559 visual styles in television history. And also 00:12:37.559 --> 00:12:39.700 influenced the casting of the supporting roles. 00:12:40.220 --> 00:12:42.120 We have to talk about Dean Norris, who plays 00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:44.940 Hank Schrader. The authoritative DEA brother 00:12:44.940 --> 00:12:47.720 -in -law. Dean Norris is a fantastic actor. Yeah. 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:49.559 But he brought up a really interesting point 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:52.580 about typecasting in his notes. He said he is 00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:55.870 always cast as a cop or a military guy. Because 00:12:55.870 --> 00:12:58.529 he has a specific, authoritative law enforcement 00:12:58.529 --> 00:13:01.409 type look. He definitely has the cop face. He 00:13:01.409 --> 00:13:03.929 does? He noted that he was often typecast in 00:13:03.929 --> 00:13:05.649 those roles before getting a chance to really 00:13:05.649 --> 00:13:07.629 act. Usually he gets the part before he even 00:13:07.629 --> 00:13:10.570 opens his mouth. But for Breaking Bad, Gilligan 00:13:10.570 --> 00:13:12.690 actually wanted to flesh out the character. He 00:13:12.690 --> 00:13:14.509 didn't want Hank to just be a two -dimensional 00:13:14.509 --> 00:13:17.250 prop. Gilligan even consulted with an actual 00:13:17.250 --> 00:13:20.190 DEA agent to give Norris details on how these 00:13:20.190 --> 00:13:22.769 guys actually talk and operate. So we have the 00:13:22.769 --> 00:13:25.950 cast, the location, the RV. Filming starts. Production 00:13:25.950 --> 00:13:29.970 dates were March 6th, 2007 to March 21st, 2007. 00:13:30.289 --> 00:13:32.570 So roughly two weeks to shoot this thing. That 00:13:32.570 --> 00:13:35.049 is a very tight schedule for something this complex. 00:13:35.330 --> 00:13:38.009 Extremely tight. Let us dive right into the narrative 00:13:38.009 --> 00:13:40.710 itself then. We have set the stage. Now let us 00:13:40.710 --> 00:13:43.210 look at the story. The episode is titled Pilot. 00:13:43.409 --> 00:13:45.750 But as we mentioned, some home media releases 00:13:45.750 --> 00:13:49.250 call it Breaking Bad, which is a southern colloquialism. 00:13:49.580 --> 00:13:52.700 To break bad means to raise hell or to turn against 00:13:52.700 --> 00:13:55.299 the law. And we start by establishing Walter's 00:13:55.299 --> 00:13:59.460 status quo. And man, is it bleak. It is a master 00:13:59.460 --> 00:14:01.919 class in humiliation. We don't just see that 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:04.039 Walt is bored. We see that he is fundamentally 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:06.860 disrespected. He is a high school chemistry teacher, 00:14:07.019 --> 00:14:09.879 clearly overqualified teaching students who are 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:12.120 quite literally sleeping in his class. And then 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:14.389 he goes to his second job. The car wash. And 00:14:14.389 --> 00:14:15.990 this is where the visual storytelling really 00:14:15.990 --> 00:14:18.289 kicks in. He isn't just working at the register. 00:14:18.529 --> 00:14:21.710 He is down on his knees scrubbing tires. And 00:14:21.710 --> 00:14:24.029 his boss, Bogdan Wollinetz. The man with the 00:14:24.029 --> 00:14:26.950 eyebrows that defy gravity. He is so condescending, 00:14:26.950 --> 00:14:30.129 exploring that scene where he forces Walt to 00:14:30.129 --> 00:14:32.370 go back out and scrub, even though Walt's supposed 00:14:32.370 --> 00:14:34.389 to be done for the day. And then Walt actually 00:14:34.389 --> 00:14:37.809 collapses. Right. And lashes out at Bogdan. But 00:14:37.809 --> 00:14:40.370 before that, the ultimate indignity is when Walt 00:14:40.370 --> 00:14:42.750 sees his own students at the car wash. Chad. 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:45.500 The student who was being a jerk in class earlier, 00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:48.320 he sees his teacher wiping down his car. He takes 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:51.279 a picture. It strips Walt of every single ounce 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:53.559 of authority he has left in the world. We also 00:14:53.559 --> 00:14:55.840 see the family dynamic. He has a pregnant wife, 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:58.419 Skylar, and a son, Walter Jr., who has cerebral 00:14:58.419 --> 00:15:01.600 palsy. The house is cramped. The money is tight. 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:04.100 The water heater is broken. It establishes the 00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:07.679 pressure cooker perfectly. And then the lid blows 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:11.100 off. The diagnosis. Inoperable lung cancer. Two 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:13.440 years to live. That is the pivotal moment. And 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:16.039 I love how they film this scene. Walt isn't even 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:18.299 listening to the doctor. He is staring at a mustard 00:15:18.299 --> 00:15:21.419 stain on the doctor's lapel. It is such a profoundly 00:15:21.419 --> 00:15:24.659 human detail. Your brain shuts down the trauma 00:15:24.659 --> 00:15:27.340 and focuses on the trivial. But the key here 00:15:27.340 --> 00:15:29.700 is Walt's reaction. Instead of telling his family 00:15:29.700 --> 00:15:31.799 immediately, he internalizes it. He gives it 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:33.779 a secret. Why do you think that is based on the 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:37.019 character notes? Control. Walt is a man who feels 00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:39.779 he has lost control of every aspect of his life. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:42.960 If he tells his family, he becomes the victim. 00:15:43.139 --> 00:15:46.059 He becomes the dying man who needs pity. He hates 00:15:46.059 --> 00:15:48.139 that. He wants to solve the problem. And the 00:15:48.139 --> 00:15:50.440 solution literally falls into his lap during 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:52.620 the turning point of the episode, the ride along 00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:55.059 with Hank. Again, connected to the Mr. Chip's 00:15:55.059 --> 00:15:57.279 life. He is only there because his brother -in 00:15:57.279 --> 00:15:59.620 -law invited him. Hank is showing off a drug 00:15:59.620 --> 00:16:02.000 bust on the local news. Right. Hank shows off 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:04.899 the $700 ,000 confiscated. And Walt sees that 00:16:04.899 --> 00:16:07.139 money on the TV. You can see the wheels turning. 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:10.330 I need money. I know chemistry. So Walt joins 00:16:10.330 --> 00:16:13.450 a ride along. He sits in the car and he sees 00:16:13.450 --> 00:16:16.009 a neighbor's window open and a body fall out. 00:16:16.210 --> 00:16:18.850 Fleeing a meth lab bust. Yeah. And it is Jesse 00:16:18.850 --> 00:16:21.590 Pinkman. His former student. And this is the 00:16:21.590 --> 00:16:23.490 catalyst for everything. He doesn't turn him 00:16:23.490 --> 00:16:26.090 in. He tracks him down. The proposal scene is 00:16:26.090 --> 00:16:28.690 fascinating because it is not a request. It is 00:16:28.690 --> 00:16:30.610 straight up blackmail. You know the business. 00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:33.519 I know the chemistry. It is completely transactional. 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:36.799 Walt is already using leverage. He tells Jesse, 00:16:36.940 --> 00:16:39.200 either you help me cook or I turn you in. That 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.539 is not Mr. Chips. That is already a shade of 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:44.259 Scarface. Exactly. He is using his authority 00:16:44.259 --> 00:16:46.580 as a former teacher and his knowledge of the 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:49.419 crime to force a kid into a felony partnership. 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:52.559 So they acquire the RV. Walt steals chemistry 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:54.399 supplies from the high school. They drive out 00:16:54.399 --> 00:16:56.860 into the desert. And this is where we get to 00:16:56.860 --> 00:16:59.059 the science of the cook. This is where the show 00:16:59.059 --> 00:17:02.320 establishes its competence porn. We love watching 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:04.500 people be really good at things. And Walt is 00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:06.900 very good at chemistry. Chemistry has a superpower. 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:10.039 Jesse is absolutely stunned by the quality. He 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:12.079 is used to cooking in a bathtub with chili powder. 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:15.000 Walt is measuring crystals. He is talking about 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:17.519 chiral centers. And the product, the crystal 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:21.680 meth, is unusually pure. Glass grade. This establishes 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:24.380 Walt's value immediately. He isn't just a warm 00:17:24.380 --> 00:17:27.960 body. He is a maestro. But the art eventually 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:30.309 has to meet the street. The conflict arises when 00:17:30.309 --> 00:17:33.289 Jesse tries to sell to crazy eight Molina. But 00:17:33.289 --> 00:17:36.430 he runs into Emilio Coyama instead, the guy who 00:17:36.430 --> 00:17:38.789 got busted during the ride -along. Emilio thinks 00:17:38.789 --> 00:17:41.730 Jesse snitched on him. They force Jesse to take 00:17:41.730 --> 00:17:43.890 them to the cook. The confrontation moves to 00:17:43.890 --> 00:17:47.049 the RV. And Emilio recognizes Walt. Hey, you 00:17:47.049 --> 00:17:49.210 were in the car with the DEA. And suddenly the 00:17:49.210 --> 00:17:51.849 comedy is entirely gone. It is a matter of life 00:17:51.849 --> 00:17:54.630 or death. They hold Walt at gunpoint. This is 00:17:54.630 --> 00:17:57.009 the climax, and this is where Walt uses his wits. 00:17:57.130 --> 00:17:59.569 He knows he can't outshoot them. He can't outfight 00:17:59.569 --> 00:18:01.990 them. He has to outthink them. He offers to teach 00:18:01.990 --> 00:18:04.670 them his recipe. He appeals directly to their 00:18:04.670 --> 00:18:07.950 greed. They go inside the RV, and Emilio, being 00:18:07.950 --> 00:18:10.569 a careless criminal, tosses a lit cigarette out 00:18:10.569 --> 00:18:12.869 the window. That is the chaos factor. It starts 00:18:12.869 --> 00:18:15.509 a brush fire outside. The clock is ticking. But 00:18:15.509 --> 00:18:18.710 inside, Walt is mixing chemicals. The phosphine 00:18:18.710 --> 00:18:21.509 gas trick. Yes. He grabs the red phosphorus. 00:18:21.750 --> 00:18:24.329 Right. He synthesizes phosphine gas using red 00:18:24.329 --> 00:18:26.730 phosphorus and the hot water mixture. The resulting 00:18:26.730 --> 00:18:29.809 explosion in toxic gas is deadly. I have read 00:18:29.809 --> 00:18:32.190 a bit about this scene. Is the science actually 00:18:32.190 --> 00:18:35.549 accurate? Mostly yes. Red phosphorus reacting 00:18:35.549 --> 00:18:38.130 with moisture and heat can create phosphine gas, 00:18:38.309 --> 00:18:40.950 which is incredibly toxic. It attacks the respiratory 00:18:40.950 --> 00:18:43.369 system violently. It is chemical warfare. It 00:18:43.369 --> 00:18:45.490 is. Think about that. In his very first criminal 00:18:45.490 --> 00:18:48.309 act, he doesn't just punch someone. He synthesizes 00:18:48.309 --> 00:18:50.750 a nerve agent and asphyxiates Emilio and Crazy 00:18:50.750 --> 00:18:54.029 8. Allowing Walt to escape the RV, it is brutal 00:18:54.029 --> 00:18:56.630 and it works. The men go down, Walt escapes, 00:18:56.910 --> 00:19:00.009 he puts the gas mask on Jesse, and then he crashes 00:19:00.009 --> 00:19:02.130 the RV. And now we are caught up to the opening 00:19:02.130 --> 00:19:04.940 scene of the episode. The resolution begins. 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:07.859 The false alarm. Walt crashes the RV into a ditch. 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:10.339 He stumbles out. He is in his underwear. He hears 00:19:10.339 --> 00:19:12.359 sirens approaching. Believing the police are 00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:14.579 coming, he records a video message to his family. 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:18.740 The famous opening shown in medias res. He grabs 00:19:18.740 --> 00:19:21.940 the camcorder. To my wife Skylar, to my son Walter. 00:19:22.059 --> 00:19:24.700 No matter what it may look like, I only had you 00:19:24.700 --> 00:19:26.680 in my heart. It is a heartbreaking confession. 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:29.059 He thinks it is all over. And then he decides 00:19:29.059 --> 00:19:32.240 to go out on his own terms. The suicide attempt. 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:35.619 He grabs a gun. He puts the gun under his chin. 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:38.339 He pulls the trigger. And the gun fails. He is 00:19:38.339 --> 00:19:41.059 unsuccessful. He fumbles with it. He is trying 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:43.900 to kill himself. And while he is fumbling, the 00:19:43.900 --> 00:19:46.839 sirens get louder. He looks up, expecting a squad 00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:49.660 car. The twist. The sirens aren't police. They 00:19:49.660 --> 00:19:51.640 are fire trucks responding to the brush fire 00:19:51.640 --> 00:19:54.019 caused by the cigarette. It is the ultimate cosmic 00:19:54.019 --> 00:19:56.519 joke. He prepared for death. He confessed his 00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:58.680 sins. He tried to commit suicide, and nobody 00:19:58.680 --> 00:20:00.839 is actually coming for him. He is spared by a 00:20:00.839 --> 00:20:03.470 technicality and a brush fire. He stands there, 00:20:03.529 --> 00:20:05.809 gun in hand, watching the fire trucks drive away. 00:20:06.009 --> 00:20:09.069 He is alive. So what does he do? Returning to 00:20:09.069 --> 00:20:11.589 normalcy, he goes home. And this resolution is 00:20:11.589 --> 00:20:15.410 crucial. He returns to his normal life. He crawls 00:20:15.410 --> 00:20:17.230 into bed with Skylar. But he is a completely 00:20:17.230 --> 00:20:21.250 changed man. Yes. The change is immediate. He 00:20:21.250 --> 00:20:24.309 meets Skylar's mundane queries, not with fear, 00:20:24.490 --> 00:20:27.009 with new sexual vigor. It catches Skylar entirely 00:20:27.009 --> 00:20:29.990 off guard. She literally asks, Walt, is that 00:20:29.990 --> 00:20:32.900 you? Emphasizing the very start of his transformation, 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:36.640 the thematic question of the episode, Walt, is 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:39.380 that you? And the answer is no. The old Walt, 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:41.579 the beige Walt, died in the desert. This is a 00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:44.279 man who just killed two people, survived a suicide 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:46.759 attempt, and walked away. He feels invincible. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:49.099 It is the adrenaline. He feels alive for the 00:20:49.099 --> 00:20:51.480 first time in years. The cancer didn't kill him. 00:20:51.539 --> 00:20:53.859 The drug dealers didn't kill him. He realizes 00:20:53.859 --> 00:20:56.819 he has actual power. So the episode airs. The 00:20:56.819 --> 00:20:59.900 credits roll. Let us move to Section 8. Reception 00:20:59.900 --> 00:21:03.059 and Legacy. What was the critical response to 00:21:03.059 --> 00:21:05.500 this masterpiece? The reviews were extremely 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:08.339 strong. USA Today calls Cranston riveting. The 00:21:08.339 --> 00:21:10.099 AV Club had a great review, too. They called 00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:13.819 the performance mesmerizing and nihilistic. That 00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:16.559 word nihilistic is perfect. It captured the bleakness 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:18.779 of the show perfectly. The Philadelphia Inquirer 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:21.059 praised the unpredictability of the plot, so 00:21:21.059 --> 00:21:22.980 the critics were totally on board. But what about 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:24.819 the ratings? The ratings were a flop initially. 00:21:25.369 --> 00:21:26.829 The football game we talked about at the top 00:21:26.829 --> 00:21:29.329 of the show. The football game absolutely crushed 00:21:29.329 --> 00:21:32.009 them. Vince Gilligan recalled viewership being 00:21:32.009 --> 00:21:34.789 under a million due to that game airing simultaneously. 00:21:35.329 --> 00:21:38.109 But fact check, later reports showed it actually 00:21:38.109 --> 00:21:41.890 pulled 1 .41 million viewers. Which is still 00:21:41.890 --> 00:21:44.109 fairly low. It was not an overnight sensation. 00:21:44.390 --> 00:21:46.769 It was a slow word of mouth builder. The industry 00:21:46.769 --> 00:21:49.130 noticed right away. The awards started rolling 00:21:49.130 --> 00:21:51.769 in immediately. The pilot won two Emmys right 00:21:51.769 --> 00:21:54.680 out of the gate. outstanding lead actor for Bryan 00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:57.460 Cranston. Which is incredibly rare to win for 00:21:57.460 --> 00:22:00.319 the very first episode. It speaks to the undeniable 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:03.839 power of the performance. And it also won outstanding 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:06.680 single camera picture editing. Vince Gilligan 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:08.859 also won a Writers Guild of America award for 00:22:08.859 --> 00:22:12.119 this specific episode. So the quality was undeniable, 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:13.940 even if the audience took a little while to catch 00:22:13.940 --> 00:22:16.210 up. So let us summarize and wrap this up. We 00:22:16.210 --> 00:22:18.109 have looked at how a mix of financial incentive, 00:22:18.210 --> 00:22:21.009 filming in New Mexico, risky casting with Cranston 00:22:21.009 --> 00:22:23.710 and Paul, and a highly scientific approach to 00:22:23.710 --> 00:22:27.710 crime created a perfect pilot episode. It really 00:22:27.710 --> 00:22:30.849 is the perfect structural loop. The learner takeaway 00:22:30.849 --> 00:22:33.930 here is that the episode wasn't just about drugs. 00:22:34.170 --> 00:22:37.549 It was a profound character study of a man waking 00:22:37.549 --> 00:22:41.390 up via a nightmare scenario. And here is a provocative 00:22:41.390 --> 00:22:44.619 closing thought to leave you with. We talk about 00:22:44.619 --> 00:22:47.559 the Mr. Chips to Scarface journey as a slow burn 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:50.380 over many seasons. That is the standard reading 00:22:50.380 --> 00:22:53.380 of the show. But consider this. Gilligan's goal 00:22:53.380 --> 00:22:56.039 was to turn him into Scarface. And look at how 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:59.119 quickly Walt utilized chemical warfare and blackmail 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:01.319 in just the first hour. On the first few days 00:23:01.319 --> 00:23:03.400 of his break. So I have to ask you, the listener, 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:06.819 to ponder this. Was Walt effectively Scarface 00:23:06.819 --> 00:23:09.279 all along just waiting for an excuse to let it 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:11.539 out? Did the cancer change him or didn't merely 00:23:11.539 --> 00:23:13.740 reveal him? Maybe he was never ginge at all. 00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:15.480 He was just holding his breath. We encourage 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:17.500 you to go back and rewatch the pilot with these 00:23:17.500 --> 00:23:19.880 production secrets in mind. Watch Cranston's 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:21.799 eyes when he's looking at that mustard stain. 00:23:22.140 --> 00:23:24.460 See the show that almost wasn't. Thank you for 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:26.539 diving deep with us today. We will see you on 00:23:26.539 --> 00:23:27.240 the next one. Goodbye.