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Bryan Cranston Interview (featuring Major Dad references and an excellent defense of John Carter)

Apparently my DISH package recently switched out AMC for HDNet Movies without any kind of notification. Great.

The premiere will stream on AMC's website for Dish customers.

Holy shit, guys - this show just improbably got better

It was a very strong opening episode. Loved the magnet bit.

EDIT: There's a great promo article on The Hollywood Reporter about Breaking Bad. The article mentions that AMC execs originally made offers to Mathew Broderick and John Cusack to play the role of Walter White. Both passed.

While I wouldn't trade anything for last season's finale, I do think this episode struggled a little to get things back on track after such a bold break. In particular, getting Mike back into the mix so quickly was a little too convenient/haphazardly handled (especially the vague setup of the initial desert meeting with Walt and Jesse). That said, the cold open introduced just the right amount of ambiguity going forward, making Walt's presently unbearable degree of confidence in his own awesomeness a little easier to swallow, so I have every confidence that things will ramp up again soon enough.

Walt hasn't gone a long way since that embarrassing Blue lift in the first season.

New York Times article on the creation of last night's major set piece.

ianungstad wrote:There's a great promo article on The Hollywood Reporter about Breaking Bad. The article mentions that AMC execs originally made offers to Mathew Broderick and John Cusack to play the role of Walter White. Both passed.

In response to a question on Twitter if he ever ran into anything like this, Shawn Ryan responded that Eric Stoltz was FX's choice over Michael Chiklis for Vic Mackey.

I love Walt's god complex that's revealed itself.

I have to think that the series will end on Walt's 51st birthday...having begun on his 50th.

Murdoch wrote:

Spoiler

Didn't the bacon spell out 52 in the opening scene?

Yes.

Also, this is widely available information but since it might qualify as the teensiest bit of a spoiler,

Spoiler

The 4th episode of this season is entitled "Fifty-One".

It's so cruel that we're not going to see a conclusion to this show until July through September of next year.

Murdoch wrote:

Spoiler

Didn't the bacon spell out 52 in the opening scene?

Right, I completely blanked on that tidbit - sorry. Okay, I'll revise my statement to suggest that the entire series arc takes place over two years.

ianungstad wrote:It was a very strong opening episode. Loved the magnet bit.

How this show, which is so incredibly dark, filled with evil, loathsome people, can make me laugh each episode is amazing. I'm also thinking of the opening of last season's final expisode, which follows the white-knuckle tension of the previous episode ("So you brought the bomb into the hospital?") How the magnet bit was shot and played out was comic gold. Yet at the same time it shows the "God complex" Walt is building that Murdcoh mentions above since he unnecessarily overdid it. I think it's just a testament to the writing, the direction, and editing, all of which top most movies today, and everything on television.

Spoiler

And I love how the magnet was Jesse's idea.

mfunk9786 wrote:It's so cruel that we're not going to see a conclusion to this show until July through September of next year.

I'm pissed knowing that come mid-september it's going to leave off on what I'm sure will be a hell of a cliffhanger and then I have to wait until next freaking summer. I was so pissed at the conclusion of the third season. But the wait was worth it.

cdnchris wrote:

Spoiler

And I love how the magnet was Jesse's idea.

Spoiler

I think my favorite part of the episode was Mike and Walt ignoring Jesse while he repeats "yo, what about magnets?"

Here is the whole segment.

This hasn't been mentioned, but I'm glad this show has provided Jonathan Banks an opportunity to shine. I really thought he was going to just be a supporting player until I saw the "Half Measures" speech. If nothing else, tonight's episode lays out how important his character is and has been to the show.

I think the key to his effectiveness is just how believable he is in his role. Even during the silliest moments of his otherworldly tracking/killing ability, I've never ever sat there and said "Oh, come on..."

flyonthewall2983 wrote:

Spoiler

He's clearly showing mental and emotional chinks in the armor now, by finally beginning to trust Walt. And getting in bed with the Germans via Lydia will prove to be an interesting direction for the show this season.

Spoiler

He's certainly showing chinks, but it's nothing to do with trusting Walt -- it's purely based on his situation with his granddaughter and the DEA's info relative to the offshore accounts. His "tick tick tick" line was downright chilling, and clearly demonstrates that Mike has a far, far better idea of the true scope and stakes of the current situation than Walt does (he's by far the most sage character on the show now with Fring's removal, which makes the implications of his now clouded judgment brilliantly sticky for the rest of show's duration).

On a side note, Aaron Paul's performance after the roomba was inspected was devastating, and Gilligan continues to pull off tremendous cold opens.