...charms to soothe the savage breast

In the interview with the Music Supervisor for Breaking Bad (see here: http://blogs.amctv.com/breaking-bad/2008/03/interview-with-thom), he speaks of his mindset with regard to choosing the music for the show and offers some hints of things to come.

If you were to choose a song or music genre for a character on the show, what would it be? Please list the character by name and then a song or style of music that you think best represents him or her.

Walt's 50... how about the rest of them?

indulging one of my usual fan quirks-- getting to know and love the characters is a complicated process for me -- I find myself very curious on the ages of some of these characters.

We know Skylar's younger as its unlikely she'd be pregnant at 50 but how much younger?

How long do you figure Jessie's been out of High School? A couple years or is he in mid twenties already?

Which sister is older?
How much younger than Walt does that possibly make Hank?

I need any and all speculation so don't hesitate to throw in your .02 cents

The Gretchen Connection

I'm sure I'm not the only person out there intrigued by the crucial question:

Why is Walt where he is now? Why he is hustling for meth money when he should be sitting in an upholstered office in downtown ABQ watching his stock returns pile up? In other words: WHY DID HE LEAVE GRAY MATTER?

And I'm equally sure I'm not the only person who has fixed on the lovely Gretchen as a likely answer.

But if she IS the reason Walt and Elliot parted ways, what are the details? Two broad possiblities strike me as likely:

Walt and Gretchen were involved pre-Elliot, and Elliot stole/attracted her away from him (i.e., he actively seduced her, or she spontaneously fell in love with him and left Walt).

OR. Elliot/Gretchen was the original relationship and Walt had a thing with her on the side, and Elliot may or may not have found out. If the second case, Walt may have deliberately distanced himself from Elliot out of guilt.

I lean toward scenario 2b, imagining that in any of the other above plot lines, the open bitterness between the two men would have been too deep to be bridged by an occasion like a corny gift at a birthday party. But I could be wrong. In fact it might have nothing to do with Gretchen at all. We have virtually no information on the matter.

The point is, I want to know what you all think. :D

By the way, it's great to join the discussion. I've been a fan since before the first episode, actually, just from watching the previews, but I only discovered this talk forum recently. Breaking Bad is easily one of the best television shows ever made, and I'm on tenterhooks awaiting Season 2.

Character Development Challenge

Which character (not a main one) would you like to have more information about? Or, is there a character that you think should be introduced to more fully develop the story? Who is this person, and how will they contribute to what we already know?

You're My Big Man

This is what Walt says, in part, in the videotaped message he plans to leave for his wife and son in the pilot episode. Anybody else think that's kind of weird thing to say to a child in his mid-teens?

Walt's Son

Is this kid for real or is he an extremely gifted actor? My wife and I love the sideline of the sticky-handed sister. I personally loved the episode where the Brother in Law takes the son to the Meth Motel, dead nuts on and hilarious. The tell-tale rotting teeth says it all.

Skyler Finds Out: For Non-Majors

First, I want to give a brief explanation of my post title. When I was in college, there were several elective courses labeled as subjects for non-majors. To my knowledge, they were mostly science courses. It wasn't intended to be a lighter version of a subject, but rather a survey for those who were interested from an avocational point of view. Also, I saw it as taking the pressure off the professor, allowing him or her to present the topic in a more casual manner.

I won the RV about the 5th week of the season, but I've still been interested in some of the questions. It's not fair for me to be in with those who haven't won yet, so I'm setting up this topic for others like me. Also, we can continue to discuss it after the week is up.

For me, the easy answer is that Skyler can't find out about Walt's moonlighting. That's too simple, though. Another thing to think about is WHEN she finds out. If another principal figure (Hank, Marie or Walt Jr.), figures it out first, that will likely soften the blow, because that person will be able to offer their opinion to Skyler.

If Skyler finds out first, it's going to be a big blow to their relationship. Like any big secret revealed, it will be a shock and she will have to figure out what to do with the information. Unless Walt is also caught by the police or turned in, he's not off the hook. He has obligations to his family. If he can't take care of those, they'll have to develop a different strategy to survive. Any way it happens, it will be unpleasant.

Walt and Jesse: Take 2

When I was watching the pilot for the second time tonight, with the knowledge of all that's to come fresh in my mind, I couldn't help but reflect on how much Walt and Jesse's relationship evolved over the course of these very few episodes. In the premiere Walt approaches Jesse not with hints at perhaps paternal affection, like we see in the finale, and not even with tolerance, but almost with downright disgust and condescension.

The scene where he approaches Jesse at night was remarkable to me in that Walt doesn't even give Jesse a choice: he simply informs him the way things are going to be. I can't believe how far the two came in their relationship over the course of the next six episodes.

The other thing that occurred to me while I was watching is that the show never really returns to Skyler's two hobbies: her e-bay selling and her short story writing. I suppose that's a credit to the character's selflessness in the face of the events that are about to unfold in her life, but I hope that Vince Gilligan returns to these facets of here character -- they're interesting, and I think they could make for some great plot points.

What if Walt began "selling" on eBay? What if Skyler took some creative ideas from Walt's activities for her short stories?

Anyways, those were my impressions. What did you all think about the second time around?

Hank: Snitch or Sneak?

There is a reason why Hank is a DEA agent and his main focus is on meth. This is not just a coincidence. The question is, what will Hank do once he realizes how involved Walt is in the meth scene? I think Hank will discover that Walt was responsible for the missing chemistry lab supplies, then it snowballs from there and he finds out how involved Walt really is.

Does Hank look the other way? After all, Walt's dying and won't be around long. (not likely) Will Hank arrest him on the spot? It is his job to protect and serve. Or will he become involved? Once he sees how well Walt and Jesse are doing, he may want a piece of the pie.

We all know Hank isn't a saint, considering he accepted illegal cuban cigars for doing a favor for somebody else, and he even laughed it off when he found out Walt is smoking pot. So it seems he doesn't care about the little things if nobody is getting hurt. So, how will he respond to the fact Walt is becoming a meth kingpin? It will happen and I would imagine it will happen early or mid-way through next season. So do you agree? I'd love to hear everyone's take on this.

Tuco is on Walt's List

Tuco is too evil to live. The end of the Finale was Tuco huffing some of Walt's super-potent Blue meth and then winding up into psychotic brutality whereby he assaults one of his henchman within an inch of his life, all because Walt asked him to mellow out.

Remember that Walt's primary consideration upon entering into the meth business a second time was "No Bloodshed". Whoops. The problem with Tuco is that he is going to kill Walt or kill somebody else in such a way that it gets Walt implicated and arrested. Walt knows this and he also knows that he hates Tuco. And he knows that Tuco is very careless about how he samples the product when he buys it.

So here's how I think it goes down: Walt is going to produce a batch of something that when Tuco sticks his face into the bag it will so severely incapacitate him Tuco will either die or be reduced to a harmless zombie. At that point either of two things will happen: Jesse will take over the selling part of the operation or the henchman who Tuco messed up in the Finale will take over, now beholden to Walt for his destruction of Tuco. You won't see this coming and it won't be easy, it will just create a bunch of new problems and the chemical mixture of this show will remain as volatile as ever. This despite the very satisfied feeling we will all have when we see Tuco get the ultimate morality play.

Walt's Lot in Life

I think this has been the most engaging, horrifyingly hypnotic show to come along in many seasons. Having caught up fully, I decided to browse some discussion boards to gauge others thoughts on Breaking Bad.

I found some great insights, and angles I hadn't really considered, but the one comment that I saw again and again that really troubles me is the idea that Walt is a fantastic failure for choosing a career as a high school chemistry teacher.

Granted, given the fragments we know of his background in science (assistance in research that led to a Nobel prize, a mind for problem solving that is still vividly remembered at a pool party more than two decades later), it does seem clear that Walt could have remained in the collegiate world, or swallowed his heartbreak and found corporate riches as a partner in Gray Matter.

But, (and here to me is the crux of the brilliant social commentary of the show), the idea that being a highly educated and clearly dedicated (he remembers things about even a very poor student like Jesse that many teachers would not have) high school teacher is an automatic mark of failure is appalling.

What's more appalling is the vividly rendered situation that Walt is in even before he is diagnosed with lung cancer -- that of a tenured, educated high school teacher who is forced to take a bad part-time job to afford a very modest middle-class existence.

This is not Walt's fault (though it is clearly his building frustration); this is the fault of a country where the burgeoning divide between the haves and have-nots is expanding at a reckless pace, and in which a man who has inarguably one of the most important professions in this country cannot possibly make ends meet if there is a bump in his road.

Pity Walt for his poor choices, puzzle over his indulgence of pride in refusing charity, abhor him for reuniting with Jesse even after the horrific events of their first endeavor, but don't lose sight of the poignant and powerful social commentary at work here -- a man of Walter White's profession, living frugally and responsibly, and with the need for a medical procedure that appears neither radical nor "experimental" should never have been in this position in the first place.

Cameras and More

This last episode is another example of the excellence that is Breaking Bad. This is honestly one of the most poignant shows I have ever watched. And I am a little hesitant to say I love it for fear it will be canceled (that seems to happen to good shows... Anyways, a few things that are excellent:

1) The camera work is truly unique. I loved the single shot of Walt in his bathroom, about to shave his hair off- truly unique and forward-thinking, but also nostalgic in a way.

2) Walter, jr. deserves an Emmy already. My younger brother has similar disabilities and it is amazing to see a realistic, punk-kid trying to buy beer, who also has a disability. But I didn't appreciate the playing of reggae music when Walt was getting together the glassware supplies. People who smoke weed associate with reggae and think meth is scary. I'm sure that isn't true for everyone- but I personally didn't appreciate it.

On that note- I think that Walt's character should be doing much more pot-smoking. Seriously, there are the obvious benefits- but also think about chemo and all of the relief it might offer. Those are my thoughts. I'll be looking forward to next Sunday!

The Badger Problem

Jesse, what are you thinking? You can't leave Badger out there roaming the desert with his crossbow! The guy's a moron and an ass to boot, but you've got to either go back and make friends or run him over.

Easy Way Out

I think Walt got the easy way out when he discovered that Krazy 8 had a weapon and was planning on killing him first chance he got, thus making the murder much more palatable in his mind.

It would have made things much more interesting if Walt noticed the missing piece of the broken plate, killed Krazy 8 thinking it was self-defense and then discovered the missing piece had skidded away or was hidden under the furnace or something. Then he would've been stuck with the knowledge that he had killed a man who might , in fact, have meant him no harm.

I just think that would've been a much more interesting way to go.

Breaking Bad Is Great Television

Just like Deadwood, (speaking of which Anna Gunn played Seth Bullock's wife, and now Walters wife) and The Sopranos, this is classic television drama.

The storyline particularly resonates with me because I have just turned 50, quit smoking, and have an obligation to care for someone that is handicapped. (pulling up the young boys pants in Episode 1 and seeing Walt largely ignored on his 50th Birthday, you get a sense of the end of something that is never coming back.)

So I immediately saw Walt in myself, and feel the desperation he feels, trying to hold it together financially working two jobs in America circa 2008 where there is no respect for what you do.

Watching Walt become passionate for a minute in his lecture, only to be rudely interrupted by the kid flirting, the owner of the car wash having Walt scrub tires for minimum wage, the inevitability of an untimely death due to Cancer pull us in to a world that could happen in real life.The drama is heavy.

Stellar acting and great writing and production!

Wonder Woman 1969, the premeire episode was uncut and uncensored I am not sure why the second airing censored the language, some scenes were cut for commercials for the encore airing which you saw.