Breaking Bad 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
ABQ (Breaking Bad) collision over his home, and the pink bear landing in his swimming pool. The episode was written by Vince Gilligan, and directed by Adam Bernstein. It aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 31, 2009. The plane crash at the end of the episode was inspired by the 1986 Cerritos mid-air collision. Oddly enough, Walter White, "Breaking Bad"'s protagonist, shares a name with an air traffic controller involved in the Cerritos collision. The episode received critical acclaim. Donna Bowman, writing for "The A.V. Club", commented that the episode "was horrific perfection". ABQ (Breaking Bad) "ABQ" is