"included in media portrayals of drug abuse to demonstrate the scope of the drug's effects or to provoke disgust in the audience. Opponents argue that the term is used to negatively stereotype methamphetamine users, and that it is falsely portrayed as inevitable or characteristic. The drama series ""Breaking Bad"", which centres around the production of crystal meth, features a number of minor characters who have meth mouth. The series creator Vince Gilligan has said one of his regrets about the series is that one of the lead characters, Jesse Pinkman, (played by Aaron Paul), had perfect teeth because he felt"
"but due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike only seven episodes were filmed. It ran from January 20 to March 9, 2008. A struggling high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston), is diagnosed with inoperable, advanced lung cancer. On a ride-along with his DEA agent brother-in-law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), Walter sees a former student of his, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), fleeing the scene of a meth lab. He later contacts Jesse and devises a scheme to become partners in an attempt to combine their skills to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, with Walter cooking the product and"
"series are ""morality plays"" that are ""both interested in moral agency"". Douthat went on to say that Walter White and Tony Soprano ""represent mirror-image takes on the problem of evil, damnation, and free will"". Walter is a man who ""deliberately abandons the light for the darkness"" while Tony is ""someone born and raised in darkness"" who turns down ""opportunity after opportunity to claw his way upward to the light"". The show explores most of the main characters' connections to their families in great detail. Walt justifies his decision to cook crystal meth and become a criminal because of his desire"
"on Walt's 50th birthday, when he is diagnosed with Stage IIIA lung cancer. After this discovery, he resorts to manufacturing methamphetamine and drug dealing to ensure his family's financial security after his death. He is pulled deeper into the illicit drug trade, becoming more and more ruthless as the series progresses, and later adopts the alias ""Heisenberg"", which becomes recognizable as the kingpin figure in the local drug trade. Series creator Vince Gilligan has described his goal with Walter White as ""turning Mr. Chips into Scarface"", and deliberately made the character less sympathetic over the course of the series. Walt's"
"of meth, Walt and Jesse start using unregulated chemicals including methylamine, which tints their meth blue, a signature of Walt's product. Walt eventually tells his family about his cancer diagnosis, and they urge him to undergo expensive chemotherapy using money offered by Gretchen and Elliot. Walt secretly refuses the money, using his drug earnings to pay for treatment. The chemotherapy causes him to lose his hair, and he shaves his head and adopts the street name ""Heisenberg"", based on the theoretical physicist Werner Karl Heisenberg, which he uses when he interacts with drug dealers. By the end of the season,"
"begins using the pseudonym ""Heisenberg"". His signature ""blue meth"" soon gets the DEA's attention, and Hank begins investigating Heisenberg, completely unaware that he is actually searching for his own brother-in-law. He does discover that the equipment used to manufacture the meth came from a classroom at the high school where Walt teaches, but wrongly arrests the school's janitor. In the first few episodes of the season, Hank frequently dominates and pokes fun at Walt. When Walt tells the family that he is suffering from inoperable lung cancer, however, Hank promises to be there for him, and to take care of"
"lung cancer, he initially does not tell his family. When Skyler learns about the diagnosis, she is both devastated by the news and outraged that Walt withheld the information. Their relationship becomes strained, both from Walt's reluctance to seek treatment and from his unexplained absences following his diagnosis. Skyler figures out Walt's connection to his former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), and confronts Jesse at his house. When she confronts Walt, he claims that Jesse is his marijuana dealer. Unbeknownst to Skyler, Walt has taken up cooking methamphetamine with Jesse in order to ensure his family's financial security after he"
"provide for his family after learning he has terminal cancer into a ruthless player in the local methamphetamine drug trade. Initially making only small batches of meth with his former student Jesse Pinkman, Walter and Jesse eventually expand to make larger batches of a special blue meth that is incredibly pure and creates high demand. Walter takes on the name ""Heisenberg"" to mask his identity. Because of his drug-related activities, Walt eventually finds himself at odds with his family, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) through his brother-in-law Hank Schrader, the local gangs, and the Mexican drug cartels and their regional"
"meth batch. When Walt learns Hank has connected the blue meth to Mike, he contacts Todd's uncle Jack (Michael Bowen), a criminal with ties to the Aryan Brotherhood, to kill nine of Mike's associates simultaneously to defer suspicion; Walt gets into an argument with Mike, and shoots him dead in a fit of rage. After a few months, Walt has earned more than $80 million from meth, and Skyler convinces him to stop. Walter leaves the meth business, and the kids return home. The family seems to be in repair, with everything now finally perfect for Walt. During a family"
"As the Whites leave, Walt gives his in-laws a DVD of his ""confession."" Playing it at home, Hank and Marie discover it is really a form of blackmail accusing Hank of being the mastermind of the Heisenberg empire and forcing Walt to cook meth for him. A stunned Hank then learns that his surgery and physical therapy were paid at Walt's expense from Marie's unwitting receipt of his drug money, which Skyler had claimed were ""gambling winnings."" This lends credence to Walt's story and torpedoes Hank's credibility. Walt meets with Jesse in the desert and tells him that Saul can"
"the car wash and is taken to a hospital; there, he is told he has inoperable lung cancer and will likely die in two years. During the ride-along, Hank busts a crystal meth ring; Walt sees one of his former students, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), fleeing the scene, and deduces that Jesse is part of the operation. Looking to secure his family's well-being by producing and selling meth, Walt tracks Jesse down and blackmails him into setting up an operation. Walt gives Jesse his life savings to buy an RV that they can use as a rolling meth lab. Jesse"
"of Walter's meth for $1.2 million; the timing of the transaction forces Walter to miss the birth of his daughter, Holly. Shortly afterward, Gus is given a tour of the DEA's Albuquerque field office, along with other local boosters. While there, he discovers that Walter has lung cancer and that his brother-in-law, Hank Schrader, is a DEA agent. Gus is pleased with the quality of Walt's blue meth, and offers him $3 million for three months of his time to cook more in a high-tech ""superlab"" hidden under an industrial laundry that Gus owns. Walt initially refuses, but when Gus"
"writing short stories and selling items on eBay. She and her husband, Walter White (Bryan Cranston), have a son, Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte), who has cerebral palsy, and an infant daughter, Holly. Her sister, Marie (Betsy Brandt), is married to a DEA agent, Hank Schrader (Dean Norris). Skyler is approximately 11 years younger than Walt, whom she met when she was a hostess at a diner near Walt's former place of work, near the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Skyler is in the middle stages of pregnancy with Holly at the beginning of the show. When Walt is diagnosed with terminal"
"Jesse using his street connections to distribute it. Walter says he wants to provide financial stability for his pregnant wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn) and disabled son, and to pay for his expensive cancer treatment. During Walter and Jesse's first days of selling Albuquerque's finest meth, they encounter a series of problems with local drug dealers. He continues to produce meth despite these setbacks using the alias ""Heisenberg"". Walter continues to find himself facing insurmountable medical bills from his cancer treatment. Despite having had several bad experiences while producing meth with Jesse, Walter agrees to rejoin his partner. The two begin"
"pounds of meth a week. Walt leaves the building, and, once back in his car, gets an intense rush from what he has just done. The episode was written by George Mastras, and directed by Bronwen Hughes; it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2008. The episode title is a part of a line from the 1967 film ""Cool Hand Luke"". A ""handful of nothing"" means that one lacks valuable cards in one's poker hand and has two options: give up or bluff. This is also alluded to in a scene where Walter wins"
"Season 3, reaching a low Metacritic rating of 55 out of 100 (from 4 critics) for Season 6. Emmy Awards: Golden Globes: Screen Actors Guild: Satellite Awards Weeds (TV series) Weeds was an American dark comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan for Showtime. Its central character is Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker), a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family, after her husband dies of a heart attack. Over the course of the series, she and her family increasingly become entangled in illegal activity. The first three seasons are set primarily in the fictional"
"to provide for his family. In the third season he tries to exit the business because it has driven Skyler to leave him. Gus convinces him to stay, telling him it is a man's job to provide for his family, even if he is unloved. In the final episode of the series, however, Walt finally admits to Skyler that the main motivation for his endeavors in the meth business was his own interest, in spite of secretly securing the $9.72 million he had managed to salvage for her and the children. Jesse's loneliness in the early seasons of the show"
"evolution from mild-mannered school teacher and family man to ruthless criminal mastermind and murderer is the show's central focus. Although AMC officials hesitated to cast Cranston due to his previous comedic role on ""Malcolm in the Middle"", Gilligan cast him based on the actor's past performance in the ""X-Files"" episode ""Drive"", which Gilligan wrote. Cranston contributed greatly to the creation of his character, including Walt's backstory, physical appearance, and personality traits. Both the Walter White character and Bryan Cranston's performance have received critical acclaim, with White frequently being mentioned as one of the greatest and most iconic television characters of"
"with his fellow writer Thomas Schnauz regarding their current unemployment and joked that the solution was for them to put a ""meth lab in the back of an RV and [drive] around the country cooking meth and making money"". Before the series finale, Gilligan said that it was difficult to write for Walter White because the character was so dark and morally questionable: ""I'm going to miss the show when it's over, but on some level, it'll be a relief to not have Walt in my head anymore."" Gilligan later said the idea for Walter's character intrigued him so much"
"doped up prior to cancer surgery, he indicates the opposite by replying, ""Which one?"", when Skyler asks if he has packed his cell phone. After Walt recovers, Skyler confronts him about that and leaves him when he lies about it. In the third season, Walt has moved out of the house. Skyler appears at his apartment, having deduced that he is in the drug trade. When she confronts Walt with her idea that he is selling cocaine, he admits instead that he is a meth cook. Skyler demands a divorce in exchange for her silence about Walt's criminal activities. Skyler's"
"launder his drug money faster with his wife Skyler, with expansion of their car wash business as an aim. Lydia shows up at the car wash looking distressed and pleads for Walt to return, as the quality of the meth since his retirement has fallen below acceptable standards, jeopardizing their deal. However, Walt dismisses her and Skyler warns her never to come back. It is later revealed that Walt's cancer has returned, but he keeps this from his family and undergoes chemotherapy again. Meanwhile, Jesse Pinkman feels guilty over his role in Walt's meth business, and is particularly distraught over"
"steals supplies from the high school chemistry lab needed for the process. Walt and Jesse drive the RV into the desert and begin to cook. Walt's expertise in chemistry enables them to create crystal meth that Jesse claims is the purest he's ever seen. Jesse drives back into town to show a sample to his distributor, Krazy-8 Molina. He realizes too late that Krazy-8 is a cousin of Emilio Koyama, his partner that was busted on the earlier raid and now free on bail. Emilio believes Jesse abandoned him, but Jesse promises to prove his loyalty by driving them to"
"help from the show's creator, Vince Gilligan, Nelson volunteered to advise the show in regards to organic chemistry. Nelson checked scripts and provided dialogue for the show and also drew chemical structures and wrote chemical equations which were used as props. According to Gilligan, ""[Because] Walter White was talking to his students, I was able to dumb down certain moments of description and dialogue in the early episodes which held me until we had some help from some honest-to-god chemists. We have a [chemist] named Dr. Donna Nelson at the University of Oklahoma who is very helpful to us and"
"relapses and the two begin doing heroin. Saul finds them a new business partner, Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), who is willing to pay $1.2 million for the 38 pounds of meth they produced. Walter hastily delivers the product to Gus, but misses his daughter's birth. Walt withholds Jesse's half of the money because of his drug use, but Jane finds out about it and blackmails Walt. Walt visits Jesse's house and witnesses Jane overdosing and choking on her own vomit, but chooses to stand by and let her die. Skyler confronts Walter about his frequent absences and excuses. She begins"
"long been estranged from his parents due to his drug abuse and lifestyle as a drug dealer. After being forced to leave his parents' residence, Jesse moved in with his Aunt Ginny, for whom he cared until her death from cancer. Afterward, he was allowed to stay in her home, the ownership of which fell to Jesse's parents. Jesse was a poor student in high school who preferred hanging out with his friends and smoking marijuana to studying. Walt, whom Jesse almost always calls ""Mr. White"", was his chemistry teacher and flunked Jesse in his class. Walt himself later says"
"says that he knows a lot of upper-class people looking to score drugs and are willing to pay top dollar for the high quality meth he cooked. The next day, Jesse visits Walt to ""touch base,"" but he kicks Jesse out. Jesse then brusquely gives Walt his half of the meth profit $4,000. The oncologist tells Walt that the cancer has spread to his lymph nodes, but there is a chance it is still treatable with chemotherapy. At home, Walt expresses his doubts about the chemo since it will cost $90,000 and if he still dies, he will leave his"
"the cover of his 1996 ""Ironman"" album. His 2008 compilation album was also called ""The Wallabee Champ"". In the cult TV series, ""Breaking Bad"", lead character Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) morphs from a bland high school chemistry teacher into an all-powerful drug kingpin with trademark pork pie hat, black sunglasses and goatee, but he still wears Wallabees, just about the only shoe he wears from the beginning of the five-season series until its completion. The Shoe Museum was established in 1950 by Laurence Barber at 40 High Street near the Clark's headquarters in Street, Somerset. Today the museum"
"that he never thought Jesse would amount to much, although Jesse's mother (Tess Harper) recalls that Walt ""must have seen some potential in Jesse; he really tried to motivate him. He was one of the few teachers who cared."" When Walt is diagnosed with cancer and considers making methamphetamine to provide an income for his family, he tries to learn the illegal drug business by accompanying his brother-in-law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), a DEA agent, on a ridealong. During a drug bust, he spots Jesse running away from the scene but Jesse's partner Emilio Koyama (John Koyama) is arrested. Walt"
"in fact he is struggling to pay for the treatment and plans on using his meth profits to cover it. At a family counseling session, Skyler tells Walt that she is concerned about his missing hours, but he explains that he just likes to be alone sometimes and take walks. While cooking meth, Jesse observes a radiotherapy burn on Walt's chest and realizes he is trying to take care of his family before he dies of lung cancer. Jesse finishes their current batch and spends all night selling it, bringing Walt his share of $1,300, far less than he expected."
"for the ""Breaking Bad"" prequel spin-off, ""Better Call Saul"", and currently stars as a series regular. Walt, Mike, and Jesse meet with Declan, their Phoenix-based competitor. Instead of agreeing to Declan's offer to purchase the heisted methylamine for $15 million in exchange for removing Walt's blue meth from the drug market, Walt offers a counterproposal: to sell his superior product through Declan's distribution network in exchange for a substantial share of the business and a one-time, $5 million payment to Mike for his share. Frustrated with having to negotiate with Walt, Declan demands to know who he is. Refusing to"
"a crime. At the next meeting with Tuco, Walt supplies 4.6 pounds of meth. Despite its blue hue, it is still the same quality and Tuco hands over $91,000. When one of Tuco's men makes an offhanded remark to Walt, Tuco becomes furious and beats the man with his fists until he is unconscious. As Tuco drives away, Walt and Jesse look at each other in shock. The episode was written by Peter Gould, and directed by Tim Hunter; it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on March 9, 2008. The episode title is a reference to"
"White was talking to his students, I was able to dumb down certain moments of description and dialogue in the early episodes which held me until we had some help from some honest-to-God chemists,"" says Gilligan. According to Gilligan, Nelson ""vets our scripts to make sure our chemistry dialogue is accurate and up to date. We also have a chemist with the Drug Enforcement Administration based out of Dallas who has just been hugely helpful to us."" Nelson spoke of Gilligan's interest in having the science right: ""[He] said it made a difference to him."" In 2013, two scenes from"
"producer. In ""Breaking Bad"", the character is introduced to help Walter White launder the proceeds of his methamphetamine production, and later introduces White and Pinkman to drug kingpin Gus Fring. He is depicted as using tacky television commercials to advertise his practice, which is based in a strip mall office that features a giant rendering of the United States Constitution. Until the final episodes of the series, he is portrayed as a relatively light-hearted character, mainly interested in profiting while other characters are concerned with life and death. By the end of the series, when Walt's drug empire has collapsed,"