User Reviews

I've heard a lot about this show from numerous friends, and reading multiple times online that it's among the greatest shows ever, if not the greatest. This first episode already has me hooked. Walter White has already shown that he's a mad genius. I'm intrigued by the Jesse Pinkman character, as I see a lot of potential for a lot of character development on his part. It was a great first episode.

1)The Good - This is one of those really strong pilot episodes that does a tremendous job of selling itself to viewers.The choice to begin things with a dramatic sequence in the desert worked out well. It gave Walt a memorable introduction and raised intriguing questions. The cooking montage managed to include both characterisation (Jesse goofing around) and the authenticity of good chemistry. I liked the shot of Walt drying his money, giving us the perspective of the back of the dryer as he collected his first ill gotten gains. The sound and camera work was also clever when we saw Walt's disoriented reaction to his cancer diagnosis.

2)Best Moment: I particularly enjoyed the scene where Walt attacks some arrogant boys making fun of Walter Jr as he struggles to try on clothes in a store. That scene seemed to capture the contradiction at the heart of Walt's transformation.

3)The Bad: Nothing really.

4)The Bottom Line: Breaking Bad is a show with huge potential and this was a hugely enjoyable and well executed first episode.

The image of a show's main character in the middle of the road, without pants, ready to shoot it out with the approaching police . . . that's some ace cliffhanger material. Yet it's the first thing anyone sees!

An exhilarating hour of television, this pilot deals effortlessly with the unenviable amount of setup that "Breaking Bad" requires. Portrait of a man beaten down by mediocrity suddenly liberated by a cancer diagnosis, Walter White is the guy you feel sorry for, but you also desperately want the guy to snap out of his suburban malaise and grab life by the balls (played with no shortage of intensity by Bryan Cranston). This intro lays out the conflict and colorful supporting characters and laces it with excellent dark humor. As fun as it is to see this guy at the end of his rope, it also demands that you return for next week.

I've been telling people for years to ignore the hype and just give the first episode a shot. And for good reason; it's one of the best pilots I've ever seen.

9/10

Breaking Bad comes RIGHT out of the gate: with Walt driving a filthy RV in the New Mexico desert, in his underwear. A television phenomenon starts right here in a bald, absurd and beautiful fashion. Bryan Cranston is a man freaking out about the current predicament he's in, and we get how difficult everything's become for him, before we even get to the title of the show. Vince Gilligan doesn't try to second-guess his audience's smarts. He starts the series where the story's already started, and then he takes us back to catch our breaths.

This pilot single-handedly launched the classic television show that has come to be the template of writer-driven television and its potential to have PHENOMENAL storytelling. The pilot gives us a taste-test of what we're to expect from the rest of the show, but it leaves us wanting more: in the most satisfying way. We're EAGER to see what happens next instead of begrudgingly thinking we should. This show is its own drug.

If you haven't already seen the Breaking Bad series please do yourself a favour and watch asap! You're missing out on pop-cultural history right here!

Everything is perfect about the opening to Breaking Bad. The first scene catches your attention, the impeccable acting by Cranston keeps you watching, and the wonder how it got to that point sucks you in. Perfectly paced, written and acted. A wonderful start for one of the greatest shows of all time.

Walter White and Jesse Pinkman are an interesting combination. Bryan Cranston and Aaaron Paul give us a hit of some outstanding chemistry (no pun intended), and this episode was a perfect beginning for one of TV's greatest shows.

Walter White is a 50 year old over-qualified high school chemistry teacher. He discovers one day while working at his second job ( washing cars, embarrassingly), that he has 3rd stage Lung Cancer. He goes on a ride along with his brother Hank, a DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) agent to bust a methamphetamine lab. This is where all the action begins, with the end of the episode being iconic: Walt, in his underwear with a gun pointing at the screen.

How one situation leads to another is incredible in this show. In the opening episode, the set-up for astounding character development is laid: it followed through magnificently in the following seasons.

Bryan Cranston gave an Emmy-winning performance for this episode. His performance was a visceral revelation, and Aaron Paul is outstanding as Jesse Pinkman. This show is one to binge-watch, and due to account of this episode, one to admire forever.

'Breaking Bad' is one of the most popular rated shows on IMDb, is one of those rarities where every season has either been very positively received or near-universally acclaimed critically and where all of my friends have said nothing but great things about.

Very few shows in recent memory had me so hooked from the very start that before the week was over the whole show had been watched, especially when for a lot of shows now airing watching one episode all the way through can be an endeavour. 'Breaking Bad' had that effect on me, and its reputation as one of the best, consistently brilliant and most addictive shows in many years (maybe even ever) is more than deserved in my eyes. Its weakest season is perhaps the first season, understandable as any show's first season is the one where things are still settling.

Actually everything is established remarkably from the very start, but once the writing and characterisation becomes even meatier the show reaches even higher levels.

"Pilot" though has to be up there with one of the finest pilot episodes for any show ever, and there are a good deal of great ones.

Visually, "Pilot" is both stylish and beautiful, with photography and editing that are cinematic quality and put a lot of films today to shame, where there are a lot of visually beautiful ones but also some painfully amateurish looking ones. The music always has the appropriate mood, never too intrusive, never too muted.

The writing for "Pilot" is a fine example of how to have a lot of style but also to have a lot of substance. The dialogue throughout is thought-provoking and tense, while also have a darkly wicked sense of humour and heart-tugging pathos. The story texturally rich, intimate, tense and layered, with the pace of it consistently deliberate but taut. The direction couldn't be better.

Can't say anything bad about the acting. Bryan Cranston is phenomenal as one of the most fascinating anti-heroes, or even of any kind of character, in either film or television. Aaron Paul has never been better and Anna Gunn is affecting. The characters are compelling in their realism.

Overall, a couldn't be better start for a show that got better and better. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I am a huge fan of AMC. I consider Mad Men to be the best show airing on TV, and The Walking Dead and Rubicon from this year were also very impressive. I decided to catch a glimpse of the Pilot for Breaking Bad, since it is so far the only show I had never watched.

The Pilot was an amazing hour of television. It had subtle and effective writing, introduced characters, and had an amazing performance by Bryan Cranston. I know he has won the Emmy three times in a row, so I was glad I was able finally able to watch him in this show. Absolutely amazing! His facial expressions, the change in his actions and character throughout the Pilot was perfectly portrayed. He has created an absolutely interesting and emerging character, and whenever he on screen one is determined not to look away.

Seeing as how this was the first episode, I cannot start raving about the entire show, but the Pilot and the second episode were both amazing, and dare I say it, perhaps had the strongest Pilot from any AMC show.

Finished Better Call Saul S5 and just when I thought it was better than BB - I had the pleasure to rewatch this incredible pilot. As I've learned more about script structure I can safely say that this is maybe the best pilot I've ever seen. Most pilots are slow and clunky - this one was absolutely masterful from start to finish. It's basically a short movie. Cranston is magnificent as Walter and the whole show just opens with such a bang. Breaking Bad will go down as top five best shows ever made and the Breaking Bad universe maybe the best series ever.

After all this time this still remains one og the greatest TV pilots that perfectly sets the tone for the series as well as establishing premise, story and characters! The journey of Walter White begins here and I love how they manage to make it convincing by showing us his Daily life and adding some extra layer of conflict to set things on motion!

The episode perfectly balances humor amd serious issues with a couple of.dramatic sequences to give you a taste of whats to come! Knowing how it ends i also love how much can be Tracey back to this episode!

Breakimg Bad is one of my favorite shows as well as one of the best written shows along with Better Call Saul and Attack on Titan! Always loves to come back to it!

Breaking Bad is one of the greatest television series to have graced our planet, and you can see hints of that from this pilot episode, which very well may be the greatest television pilot of 2008. What I really liked is how the show used its dark subject matter, dealing with subjects such as terminal cancer and drug abuse, as well as murder and creating a meth lab. As evidently seen in this episode, Vince Gilligan decides to use dark humor to combat these subjects. For example, when Walt learns he has cancer, he absent-mindedly points out the mustard on the doctor's jacket. It was one of the few quite funny scenes. The episode begins and ends with a fast pace. The story needs to be told, so definitely pay attention so you don't lose any details. The cinematography is gorgeous, as evident during the scenes in the New Mexico desert.

Now as the plot goes, it's a rather simple one. But the plot is executed in such wild ways in the episode. We are already told the plot twist within the first five minutes, so all we get for the rest of the episode is the events leading up to the twist. Anyhow, we meet Walter White who is a high school chemistry teacher just celebrating his 50th birthday. Life goes south when he finds out he has terminal lung cancer. He decides to recruit one of his former students, a druggie named Jesse Pinkman to help him start a meth lab, so he can provide for his pregnant wife and his crippled son after he is deceased. When Jesse puts him in contact with one of his distributors, Walt and Jesse fear they may be too far in up their sleeve.

This show introduces some rather interesting characters. There is Walter White, who is played by the amazing Bryan Cranston. Cranston is known for his comedy, but he does a great job handling drama and in particular, the average-looking, intelligent man. Anna Gunn plays Skylar, Walter's rather suspicious wife. She does a good job in playing the confused part, while Walt is out and about with his criminal activities. R.J Mitte does a rather good job as Walter Jr, who suffers from cerebral palsy. Aaron Paul does a good job as Jesse Pinkman, although his character is just a tad whiny. There is just a funny scene involving him and the neighbor while a drug bust is going on. Dean Norris does a wonderful job as Walt's DEA brother-in-law, Hank Schrader. He seems to be the witty member of the family. Though not much screen time is involved, Betsy Brandt plays Hank's wife, Marie.

So this pilot episode ends up being one of the better pilots in recent memory, thus beginning television's golden age, which we are currently in the midst of. This episode is not only full of action and how it sets the stakes high from the get-go, but it also is a funny episode. Some favorite scenes of mine involve Walt flipping out at his surprised car wash manager, and Walt protecting his son from bullies at a clothing store. Although Walt's first attempt at meth ends in failure, he is convinced that road will still go on.

My Grade: A

Never expected that even the first episode would be such great. This show also has comedy.

Absolutely intense, unpredictable and creative. Novel premise, challenges perception of what can be done in television, and draws the viewer into heightened awareness. It's the only show I can recall which demanded my attention within the first seconds. The show takes such a hold that it feels like being on the drug in question.

I wish the show had stopped at the end of the 3rd or 4th season, it was SO good. The early episodes were experimental and, as I understand from various interviews, relatively low budget. This combination some times encourages the best work, and the first few seasons reflect this. Corporate sponsors weren't present, unlike later seasons. It shows.

This episode has one of the best first scenes to a show. It's gets you hooked onto the show or at least the episode because you want to know how he got into this situation and then when you find out how he got into that situation you are interested about how he gets out and finally after that you are probably already interested in the rest of the show. Other shows and movies have done something like this but I think this show does it better than the other shows and movies.

That was definitely different than what I expected. I knew the base premise going in, so I sort of had an idea of what would happen. I have to say this episode has some really great moments, especially in the second half. My favorite is when they get confronted by the two guys and WW makes a compound that will cause an explosion. They have some great use of music in intense moments like when a fire starts outside, and it drives up the stakes. I also appreciate the showing of titties with that lady in the window. The first scene with Bryan in the desert in just his underwear felt like something from his other major show, Malcolm in the Middle. It really made me think of that right off the bat! Some of these things are a little weird, but they didn't bother me.

But there's one big catch. There are some REALLY awful scenes. In the middle of the episode, there's a scene that goes on for a FULL THREE MINUTES of Walter White talking with his wife in bed as she beats his dick. It's the most uncomfortable I've ever felt watching a show- worse than the South Park episode with the live sex change footage. It feels so out of nowhere and unnecessary that it takes away majorly from the rest of the episode. The ending scene started to turn me off too, where it was fine at first but went on a bit too long and especially how the sound effects continued in the end credits. Like I said, the rest of the episode is great but I'm going to remember the discomfort of these types of scenes more than the great other aspects. I seriously considered giving up on watching through the show at that point. Apparently the rest of Season 1 has a lot of similar scenes, so oh boy! Outside of that there were some other things I disliked such as some more technical stuff like dialogue and pacing issues. I wanted to like this episode more than I did, but I wouldn't say it was a negative experience overall. The negatives I pointed out weren't enough to disinterest me from watching the rest of the series, so I'm hoping it picks up to become the great show everyone says it is.

When you watch the first 20 minutes you're hooked. There is enough going on to keep you in suspense - guessing and wondering. THAT is how you write a pilot. Excellent and deserves all the credit and accolades it has received.