1000 Breaking Bad Facts E-Book

Scott Ambrose

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 176

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

1000 fascinating facts all about the classic AMC television show. his fact book delves into the world of Breaking Bad, providing readers with fascinating insights about the making of the show, behind-the-scenes trivia, and details about the unforgettable characters that made it a cultural phenomenon. So, grab yourself a Schraderbräu and pimento cheese sandwich and prepare for 1000 facts all about Breaking Bad!

Leseprobe

1000 Breaking Bad Facts    

Scott Ambrose© Copyright 2024 Scott Ambrose

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CONTENTSIntroduction1000 Breaking Bad FactsINTRODUCTIONBreaking Bad is a critically acclaimed television series that captivated audiences with its gripping storyline and complex characters. Created by Vince Gilligan, the show follows the transformation of high school chemistry teacher Walter White into a ruthless drug kingpin. Set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad explores themes of morality, power, and the consequences of one's actions. This fact book delves into the world of Breaking Bad, providing readers with fascinating insights about the making of the show, behind-the-scenes trivia, and details about the unforgettable characters that made it a cultural phenomenon. Join us as we journey into the world of Breaking Bad and uncover the secrets behind this groundbreaking series.1000 BREAKING BAD FACTS(1) Mike Ehrmantraut is a United States Marine Corps veteran - which would explain why he's a handy person to have on your side and a dangerous person to have as an enemy. (2) The bell used by the wheelchair bound Hector Salamanca in Breaking Bad sold for $26,750 at an auction in 2013.(3) Madrigal executive Lydia is very fond of chamomile tea and takes it with soy milk and artificial sweetener. This could be considered unconventional because chamomile tea doesn't really need anything to be added to it. Chamomile tea gives us an insight into Lydia's character because it is a mild relaxant and sedative. If you are wondering why Lydia puts milk in her chamomile tea it is because Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan also does this - which he admits is a strange thing to do. (4) After the death of Gale Boetticher, Hank is much amused by a DVD found in Gale's apartment of Gale performing karaoke - though Walter White is (for understandable reasons) obviously not amused at all when he views it. The song that Gale is performing is the sci-fi themed Major Tom (Coming Home) by Peter Schilling from his album Error in the System. This song was released in 1983 and a huge hit in Europe - well, apart from Britain (where it stalled at 42 in the charts). Peter Schilling is a German synthpop musician. There are Thai subtitles on Gale's performance - which obviously means he was on vacation abroad at the time.(5) The 1983 gangster film Scarface, which we see Walt and Walt Jr watching in Breaking Bad, featured two Breaking Bad actors - Steven Bauer (who played Don Eladio Vuente in Breaking Bad) and Mark Margolis (who played Hector Salamanca in Breaking Bad). There is another connection too as Míriam Colón, who played Tony Montana's mother in Scarface, also played Abuelita Salamanca in Better Call Saul.(6) A pink teddy bear is used as a motif in Breaking Bad. The teddy ends up in Walter's pool after the plane crash caused by the grief stricken air traffic controller Donald Margolis - which Walter White had a hand in himself given that he watched Donald's daughter die. The pink teddy bear represents Walter's guilt and all the damage he has done.(7) The pink of the fallen teddy bear in the b/w scenes in Breaking Bad is inspired by the little girl with the red coat in Schindler's List.(8) Mike Ehrmantraut is clearly a fan of old movies because he's often watching them when we see him at home in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Among the films we see him watching are The Big Heat, The Caine Mutiny, His Girl Friday, The Mouse That Roared, and The Awful Truth. The films we see Mike watching are ones owned by Sony - the parent company behind Breaking Bad. By using Sony owned films they obviously didn't have to pay anyone to get the rights for these clips. (9) ABC, NBC, Showtime, TNT, FX and HBO were among the networks who rejected Breaking Bad.(10) Jesse's full name is Jesse Bruce Pinkman.(11) Mike's beloved granddaughter Kaylee Ehrmantraut is portrayed by Kaija Roze Bales in Breaking Bad. Three different child actors then portrayed the character in Better Call Saul. As some fans noted, the two shows are a trifle inconsistent when it comes to Kaylee's age. She is said to be ten in season five of Breaking Bad but in Better Call Saul - which is supposed to be several years earlier - still looks about the same age as she did in Breaking Bad. (12) Gus Fring poisons Don Eladio Vuente via the vintage tequila he brought as a gift. The brand of tequila is Zafiro Añejo. This is a fictional brand they made up for the show. Real life brands were unsurprisingly not too keen on having their product poison someone in a television show! Zafiro Añejo also features in Better Call Saul. Jimmy buys a bottle of Zafiro Añejo in one scene - which costs him $495. (13) In preparation for playing Walter White, Bryan Cranston sat in on some classes at a real high school so that he could observe teachers at work.(14) Marie compares Walter to Ted Kaczynski in the last ever episode. Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematician who carried out a nationwide bombing campaign from 1978 to 1995. He targeted individuals involved in modern technology and aviation, killing three people and injuring 23 others. Kaczynski was eventually arrested in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole(15) In the season five episode Granite State, we see that the New Hampshire cabin Walter is hiding out in only has two DVDs on the shelves - both of which are Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium. This is a 2007 fantasy film which got terrible reviews. No wonder Walt has cabin fever!(16) It is sometimes reported that John Cusack turned down the part of Walter White but this is not true. Cusack, in response to a question about this, said on social media that he was never offered the part. (17) Vince Gilligan more or less likened the arc of Walter White to a supervillain origin story. Walter is a sympathetic character at the start of Breaking Bad and we root for him. However, as we go deeper into the show we see that Walter is not really a very nice person and are increasingly forced to question our feelings towards him.(18) Walter uses Lily of the Valley to poison Brock. The Lily of the Valley plant (Convallaria majalis) contains toxic substances called cardiac glycosides, which can be harmful if ingested in large quantities. Eating any part of the plant, including the leaves, flowers, or berries, can cause symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, and a slowed heart rate.(19) The season three episode Fly is what is known as a bottle episode and revolves around Walter and Jesse in the lab, making meth, talking, and trying to catch a pesky fly. A bottle episode is a term used in television to describe an episode that takes place primarily in one location, typically due to budget constraints. The term originated from the idea of a ship in a bottle, where all the characters are trapped in a confined space for the duration of the episode. Fly was a consequence of the show going over budget and having to do an episode that wouldn't cost much money. You could probably describe Fly as one of the more divisive episodes of Breaking Bad but most people seem to like it.(20) Ozymandias is a sonnet written by the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and was first published in 1818. The poem was inspired by the discovery of a statue of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II (also known as Ozymandias) in the ruins of the ancient city of Thebes. The poem explores themes of power, pride, and the inevitable decay of all things. It tells the story of a traveler who encounters a ruined statue in the desert, which serves as a reminder of the fleeting nature of human achievements. The inscription on the statue reads, "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Despite the grandiose claims of the statue, all that remains of Ozymandias' empire is a fallen statue in the desert, surrounded by vast and empty sands. The poem serves as a stark reminder of the transitory nature of power. Ozymandias is also the superhero name of Adrian Veidt - a pivotal character in the classic Alan Moore comic book series Watchmen.(21) A few years before Breaking Bad there was a Showtime drama called Weeds which had a similar sort of premise. The show was about a widowed mother named Nancy Price Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) who begins selling marijuana to support her family. As the show goes on, Nancy gets deeper and moves higher up in the drugs racket. Vince Gilligan said that if he'd been aware of Weeds he probably wouldn't have written Breaking Bad for fear that he was copying that show.(22) Gus Fring's name was inspired by the German footballer Torsten Frings. (23) The character Mike Ehrmantraut was written into Breaking Bad as a sort of substitute for Saul Goodman when Bob Odenkirk had a schedule conflict. Bob Odenkirk obviously returned to Breaking Bad when his schedule was clear again and - happily - Mike Ehrmantraut stuck around too. The scene they created Mike for was where he cleans up the apartment and tells Jesse what to do after Jane's death. Saul was originally going to be the character who did this. (24) Gus Fring has fourteen branches of Los Pollos Hermanos restaurants. The business, though profitable, is used as a disguise by Fring so that he can pose as a respectable businessman and pillar of the community. In reality he uses Los Pollos Hermanos trucks to smuggle drugs. His poultry farm on the outskirts of Albuquerque serves as a secret distribution/business headquarters.(25) It is implied that Gus Fring was connected to Pinochet's regime in Chile. Augusto Pinochet was a military general and dictator who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. He came to power in a military coup that overthrew the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende. Pinochet's regime was marked by widespread human rights abuses, including political repression, torture, and killings of political opponents. He implemented economic policies that greatly benefited the wealthy elite but led to social inequality and poverty for many Chileans.(26) Methamphetamine is a powerful and highly addictive central nervous system stimulant that is commonly abused for its euphoric effects. It can be smoked, snorted, injected, or swallowed, and is known by various street names such as meth, crystal, ice, and crank. Meth has been called the 'poor man’s cocaine' due to the fact it is more affordable. (27) Although you see Walter and Jesse make a lot of meth in Breaking Bad you never see the whole process or get the whole process explained to you. The writers on the show were advised by the DEA on meth production but the DEA didn't tell them the whole process. The people making the show and the DEA obviously didn't want to teach people watching at home how to make methamphetamine! (28) Walter White and his team rob a train to steal methylamine in Breaking Bad. Some science buffs have suggested this could be seen as a bit of a goof because a clever man and chemistry expert like Walter White should know how to synthesize methylamine (and thus make robbing a train unnecessary).(29) Jesse Pinkman is a big fan of Funyuns. Funyuns are a popular snack food that consists of onion-flavored rings made from cornmeal and seasoned with various spices.(30) The top rated episode of Breaking Bad on IMDB is Ozymandias with a perfect 10/10.(31) The second highest rated episode of Breaking Bad on IMDB is Felina with a score of 9.9(32) A Colombian remake of Breaking Bad called Metástasis ran in 2014. It followed the original closely and was basically a remake in Spanish - only on a much lower budget. Metástasis got terrible reviews on IMDB and is more of a curiosity than anything. Bryan Cranston did praise the show though for being inventive with its modest budget. Walter is called Walter Blanco in the show. The Jesse Pinkman character is called José Miguel Rosas.(33) Walter is given a new identity by Ed Galbraith when he has to go into hiding. His new surname is Lambert. This is the maiden name of his wife Skyler.(34) Giancarlo Esposito was born in Denmark to an Italian father and African-American mother. He moved to the United States when he was six. This is why native speakers of Spanish say you can tell that Gus Fring's Spanish isn't natural. Giancarlo Esposito obviously isn't a native Spanish speaker.(35) If you want a new identity from the vacuum cleaner repairman Ed Galbraith you have to call his shop and ask for a dust filter for a Hoover Max Extract Pressure Pro, Model 60. This product doesn't need a dust filter because it is a carpet cleaner. No one would actually ask for this - unless they wanted Galbraith's 'real' services. (36) Vince Gilligan got his break writing for The X-Files. It was actually an appearance in The X-Files by Bryan Cranston that gave Gilligan the idea of casting him as Walter White. (37) Gus Fring constructs a high tech 'superlab' under a laundry business as a place where Walter White can produce methamphetamine of a high quality and on a large scale. The idea of a secret methamphetamine superlab is not fiction but something which comes from real life true crime. The Sinaloa Cartel were one of a number of criminal gangs who constructed superlabs to produce drugs on an industrial scale. The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the most powerful and notorious drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. It was founded in the 1980s by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, who became one of the most famous and powerful drug lords in Mexico. The cartel is known for its involvement in the production, trafficking, and distribution of drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine. It has operations in several countries, including the United States, and has been responsible for a significant amount of violence and corruption in Mexico. Superlabs tend to operate outside of the United States for obvious reasons. The chemicals used to make meth are more tightly controlled in the United States than Mexico. In reality these superlabs would be larger than the one Gus has in Breaking Bad and not as pristine.(38) Jesse says the word 'bitch' 54 times in Breaking Bad. (39) One of the things that makes Mike Ehrmantraut so good at his job as an enforcer/right-hand man for Gus Fring and 'clean up' operator/spy for Saul Goodman is that Mike used to be a cop in Philadelphia. His years in the police have given him extensive knowledge on the way law enforcement works and also how criminals think and operate. (40) Walt's secret is revealed in Breaking Bad when Hank finds the Walt Whitman book Leaves of Grass that Gale gifted Walt. Walt Whitman was an American poet, essayist, and journalist who is often considered one of the most influential and innovative poets in American literature. Whitman was born in 1819 in Long Island, New York. Gale Boetticher is very taken with the poem When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer. When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer reflects on the limitations of scientific knowledge and the beauty of nature. The speaker describes sitting in a lecture hall listening to a knowledgeable astronomer speak about the stars and planets, but feeling disconnected and removed from the wonder of the natural world. Instead of finding fulfillment in the academic discourse, the speaker yearns to go outside and experience the beauty of the universe firsthand.(41) There was actually a fan theory early on that Steve Gomez was a DEA plant and was really working for Gus Fring. This obviously didn't turn out to be true though. (42) Giancarlo Esposito said his yoga classes helped him to develop the very calm and controlled persona of Gus Fring. (43) The museum that Jesse and Jane go to is celebrating the work of Georgia O'Keeffe. Georgia O'Keeffe was an American modernist artist known for her large-scale paintings of flowers, landscapes, and other natural forms. She was one of the most influential and innovative female artists of the 20th century, and was a pioneer of American modernism.(44) SaveWalterWhite.com., the website that Walt Jr sets up to fundraise for his dad, is actually online and a page you can visit. If you click on the donate page you are simply taken to the AMC website. You obviously can't really donate money!(45) There was going to be a plot in season three where Walter tries to persuade an incarcerated South American drug baron to help him take down Gus Fring. In the end they decided not to do this plot because there simply wasn't room for it.(46) Jesse is a fan of the Grand Slam breakfast. The Grand Slam breakfast is a popular menu item at Denny's restaurants. It typically includes two eggs, bacon strips, sausage links, hash browns, and pancakes or toast. (47) Walter and Jesse had to dispose of a victim in acid early in the show. This is something that cartels and some killers do in real life. Jesse makes a mistake when he puts hydrofluoric acid in the bath rather than a plastic container. The TV show Mythbusters said the sequence where Jesse's bath melts and falls through the ceiling is not accurate because hydrofluoric acid would not melt through a bath like that.(48) 4 Days Out was supposed to be a money saving bottle episode which took place almost entirely in the RV. In the end though a lot of outdoor shooting took place - making the episode considerably more expensive than planned. (49) Walter White prides himself on making a very pure version of meth. This is what makes him successful when it comes to crime - the drug he produces is better than the competition. Some crime journalists have suggested this business model would not really work in reality because desperate meth addicts would probably not notice or even care. It's not like comparing a fine wine!(50) DEA stands for Drug Enforcement Administration. The Drug Enforcement Administration is a United States law enforcement agency responsible for combating the illegal drug trade and enforcing federal drug laws. The DEA investigates drug trafficking organizations, enforces drug laws, and works to disrupt the flow of illegal drugs into the country.(51) Aaron Paul named 4 Days Out as his favorite episode. This is the episode where Jesse and Walt have RV trouble and get stranded in the desert.(52) Mike's surname Ehrmantraut was only made known in episode 11 of Season 4.  (53) The real shooting location for Walter White's house was 3828 Piermont Drive in Albuquerque. This is a real house. The owners of the house got so fed up with Breaking Bad tourists in the end that they put a steel fence around the front. Apparently, some fans even tried to recreate the scene in Caballo Sin Nombre where an angry Walt throws a pizza and it lands on the roof.(54) Bryan Cranston was not told by the writers that Walter had poisoned Brock before he played the scene where Walter denies doing this to Jesse. This made Walter seem very convincing during the scene - which was the whole point. Walter has grown into a very accomplished liar.(55) Gray Matter Technologies was the company that Walter White founded with his college classmate Elliott Schwartz. Schwartz means black in German - which blended with White makes Gray. Walter was engaged to his lab assistant Gretchen at the company. However, Walter backed out of the relationship because he was intimidated by Gretchen coming from a wealthy family. He sold his share in the company for $5,000 and ended up as a high school chemistry teacher. Gretchen married Elliot Schwartz and Gray Matter Technologies became a highly successful company worth a couple of billion. Walter's shares would have been worth millions in the end if he hadn't sold them. Walter White plainly regrets this decision as it would have given his family financial security for life - even if he wasn't around.In the spin-off show Better Call Saul, Walter cites selling those shares as his biggest regret. When he is exposed as Heisenberg and a wanted man, Walter is enraged when he sees Elliot and Gretchen on television downplaying his role in the company and saying he did nothing except come up with the name. Elliot and Gretchen are plainly distancing themselves from Walter for company PR and feel safe to say whatever they want about him now. That rather backfires because Walter pays them a visit and uses them as a means to get his money to Walt Jr.(56) Robert Forster, who played Ed Galbraith (the vacuum salesman/repairman who can give you a new life and identity), was actually a vacuum cleaner salesman in real life at one point.(57) Jesse is very impressed by the green beans with almonds when he has dinner with Walter and Skyler. Turns out though that Skylar got them from the deli. If you want to make this recipe all you have to do is add lemon, garlic, and season with salt and pepper. (58) Vince Gillgan said that one of the endings they considered for Breaking Bad was having Walt, Skylar, and Walt Jr all given a new identity by Ed Galbraith and leave town together. The reason why they decided not to do this ending is that they didn't think it was credible that Walt Jr would have agreed to do this.(59) Saul Goodman tells (an unimpressed) Walter White that he can be his Tom Hagen in Breaking Bad. Tom Hagen was the consigliere and lawyer for the Corleone family in the first two classic Godfather films.(60) The character Ted Beneke breaks his neck in Breaking Bad. The ironic thing about this is that Christoper Cousins, who played Ted, had just had spinal surgery in real life.(61) Bryan Cranston came up with Walter's look at the start of the show - his hairstyle, moustache, and slight paunch. He wanted Walter to feel like a weary, mundane, and average man so that his transformation into Heisenberg would be more effective. It was also Cranston's idea for Heisenberg to wear a hat.(62) Jonathan Banks had a long and eclectic career before Breaking Bad. He was in films like Beverly Hills Cop and 48 Hrs. On television he was in everything from Hill Street Blues to Diagnosis: Murder to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The specific thing that got him cast in Breaking Bad was apparently his role in Wiseguy. Wiseguy is an American crime drama television series that aired on CBS from 1987 to 1990. The show follows undercover operative Vinnie Terranova as he infiltrates various criminal organizations to gather intelligence for his bosses at the Organized Crime Bureau. Created by Stephen J. Cannell, Wiseguy was praised for its complex storytelling, well-developed characters, and gritty realism. Banks played senior FBI agent Frank McPike in 74 episodes of Wiseguy. (63) Vince Gillgan said that the darkest ending to Breaking Bad would have been for everyone to die - all except for Walter White!