Uno (Better Call Saul)

"Uno" is the series premiere of the AMC television series Better Call Saul, the spinoff series of Breaking Bad. The episode aired on February 8, 2015, on AMC in the United States. The episode was written by series creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, and directed by Gilligan. Outside of the United States, the episode premiered on streaming service Netflix in several countries.

"Uno"
Better Call Saul episode
Jimmy McGill argues with parking attendant Mike Ehrmantraut over a parking sticker.
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 1
Directed byVince Gilligan
Written byVince Gilligan
Peter Gould
Featured music"Address Unknown" by The Ink Spots
Original air dateFebruary 8, 2015 (2015-02-08)
Running time53 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

The series mainly takes place in 2002, approximately six years prior to the title character Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) meeting Walter White (Bryan Cranston). In "Uno", Jimmy McGill (Saul), is a struggling lawyer working at the back of a nail salon. Jonathan Banks also reprises his role as Mike Ehrmantraut, a retired cop working as a parking lot security guard. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, and it also broke the record for being the most-watched series premiere for a scripted series in U.S. cable history at the time, with 6.9 million viewers.[1]

Plot

Opening

Saul Goodman, now going by the name "Gene", is managing a Cinnabon at a shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska in 2012. He has grown a mustache and is balding. He suspects that a customer recognizes him, but this proves to be incorrect. In his apartment that night, Saul watches a VHS tape of his old television advertisements.

Main story

In May 2002, James Morgan "Jimmy" McGill is a struggling public defender in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After representing three teenagers who broke into a morgue and had sex with a severed head, Jimmy is paid $700 for the defense, which he complains to be too little. Later, he gets a call from a prospective client, to whom he pretends to be his own mild-mannered British secretary. On his way out of the parking lot, Jimmy is stopped by Mike Ehrmantraut, the parking lot attendant, who refuses to let him exit without either a payment or a court-supplied parking sticker.

Later that day, Jimmy meets at a diner with the prospective clients, county treasurer Craig Kettleman and his wife, Betsy, who are being investigated for the disappearance of county funds. They are hesitant to hire Jimmy, and when later trying to order them flowers while driving, Jimmy hits a man on a skateboard. The skateboarder's twin brother records the incident on a video camera and threatens to call the police unless Jimmy pays them hush money. Recognizing their ruse, Jimmy refuses to pay and leaves. Afterward, he returns to his "office" – the boiler room of a Vietnamese beauty salon, where he finds a check for $26,000 from Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill (HHM), his brother Chuck's law firm. Jimmy proceeds to tear the check into several pieces and later confronts the partners, accusing them of trying to cheat Chuck out of his rightful share of the partnership. On his way out of the HHM office, he sees the Kettlemans going in, which causes him to become agitated over losing a potentially lucrative client.

Jimmy visits Chuck, who has had a mental breakdown and believes he has electromagnetic hypersensitivity. He requires visitors to leave their remote car door-opening keys and cellular phones in his mailbox and ground themselves before entering his house. He has no working lights or refrigerator and works from home by lantern on a manual typewriter. Chuck refuses a buyout and also suggests that Jimmy stop using the name "McGill" for his personal firm to avoid public confusion with HHM.

Jimmy tracks down the two skateboarders, Cal and Lars Lindholm, and suggests a partnership, telling them how he got the nickname "Slippin' Jimmy" as a young man by faking "slip and falls" to get easy money. He arranges for one of them to be hit by a car driven by Betsy Kettleman, which will enable him to make another pitch to defend the Kettlemans on the embezzlement charge. Instead of stopping to check Cal's status after hitting him, the motorist just drives off. Cal and Lars give chase, but when the car stops, an elderly Hispanic woman exits. They try to get her to pay and follow her into her house. Jimmy arrives moments later to try and save them, trying to get in by referring to himself accurately but misleadingly as an "officer of the court", but is pulled into the house at gunpoint by Tuco Salamanca.

Production
Series co-creator Vince Gilligan, who also created predecessor Breaking Bad

In July 2012, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan hinted at a possible spin-off series focusing on Goodman.[2] In April 2013, the series was confirmed to be in development by Gilligan and Gould; the latter wrote the Breaking Bad episode that introduced the character.[3] In a July 2012 interview, Gilligan said he liked "the idea of a lawyer show in which the main lawyer will do anything it takes to stay out of a court of law" including settling on the courthouse steps.[4]

Filming

The show is filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Breaking Bad was also shot.[5] As filming began on June 2, 2014,[6] concerns were expressed regarding the possible disappointment from the series' turnout, in terms of audience reception.[7][8] On June 19, 2014, AMC announced it had renewed the series for a second season of 13 episodes to premiere in early 2016, with the first season to consist of 10 episodes, and that the series premiere had been delayed to early 2015.[9] The first teaser trailer debuted on AMC on August 10, 2014, and confirmed its premiere date of February 2015.[10]

In the opening scene from the episode, Saul (now hiding his real identity under the Gene Takavic alias), is working at a Nebraska Cinnabon. This scene is set in Omaha, but it was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the Cottonwood Mall.[11] The scene is predominantly shown in black and white, except for a brief moment where a Saul Goodman commercial in color reflects on Gene's glasses.[12]

Cultural references

As Jimmy barges in to a partner's meeting at HHM, he shouts "You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Hamlin, and I won't have it!", paraphrasing a quote from the film Network.[13] As Jimmy exits HHM's offices after arguing with the partners, he shouts "You Will Atone!" When no one understands the reference, he says "It’s Ned Beatty from Network. For Christ’s sake, guys."[13]

Reception

Critical response

The episode received generally positive reviews and exceeded expectations. Erik Kain of Forbes said of the episode and series: "[It] isn't just a spin-off of a popular TV show. So far, it's a terrific TV show on its own merits. It covers familiar ground, but it still manages to be its own unique snowflake."[14] Hank Stuever of The Washington Post graded it a "B+" and wrote the series "is right in line with the tone and style of the original, now-classic series" and that it "raises more questions in two hours than it will readily answer".[15] Stephen Marche of Esquire wrote that the first few episodes were better than Breaking Bad.[16] Kirsten Acuna of Business Insider declared the initial episodes "everything you could possibly want from a spinoff television series".[17]

Roth Cornet of IGN gave the episode an 8.7 out of 10, saying "Can Saul compete with Walter White? No. But he doesn't have to. Better Call Saul poses one simple, but fascinating question: What happened to Jimmy McGill that forced him to transform himself into the ruthless, hardened, yet entirely entertaining *criminal* lawyer Saul Goodman? The man that we came to know and love on Breaking Bad. I, for one, look forward to watching that story unfold."[18]

Michael Star of The New York Post gave the episode a 3 out of 4 rating, saying:

Sunday's premiere episode moves along at a brisk clip, with moody cinematography that, like Breaking Bad, somehow makes the bright New Mexico sunlight, set against a brilliant azure sky, seem like stormy foreboding—lifted by Odenkirk's confident performance and Jimmy's snappy dialogue .... I'm always interested to see how/if a new show carries its premiere momentum forward, especially with a show like Better Call Saul, which was hyped so relentlessly by AMC that you began to wonder.[19]

Some critics addressed skepticism prior to viewing the episode. Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times said "It's common to dread a spinoff; some succeed, but plenty disappoint. There is absolutely no need to worry about this prequel to the Breaking Bad canon. Better Call Saul traces in loving, if corrosive, detail how Jimmy McGill, a debt-ridden, ambulance-chasing loser, changed his name to Saul Goodman and became a drug-lord consigliere. Better Call Saul is better than good: It's delightful—in a brutal, darkly comic way, of course."[20] Chris Jancelewicz of HuffPost gave the episode a highly favorable review despite his initial skepticism, saying: "It is so good, right from the get-go, that I almost feel ashamed for ever doubting creator/writer Vince Gilligan, his writers, and lead actor Bob Odenkirk (Saul). Better Call Saul is a return to the tried-and-true New Mexico environment, the sweeping shots of wide-sky desert mixed with strip-mall extravagance, the lushness juxtaposed with the dark comedy, which, as it was with Breaking Bad, both jarring and hilarious at the same time. You'll find yourself laughing in spite of yourself."[21]

Robert Bianco of USA Today said "Face it: When AMC announced it had ordered a prequel to Breaking Bad, odds are many of us saw it as a callow move by a network bereft of new ideas to milk an old one for all it was worth. Well, we were right—but what we failed to factor in were the gifts star Bob Odenkirk and creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould would bring to Better Call Saul ... and their ability to transform what looked to be a sow's ear into something pretty much approaching a silk purse."[22] He ultimately gave the episode a 3.5 rating out of 4.[22] One of few negative reviews came from Tony Wong of The Toronto Star, saying "It is beautifully and lovingly shot. It is funny and it is dark. But it's a lot to ask Bob Odenkirk to carry the show without help."[23]

In her review of the series premiere, Mary McNamara of The Los Angeles Times summarized that "the beauty of Saul was his unflappable nature; no matter how dire or dreadful the circumstances, he was able to identify the next logical step and take it. Jimmy McGill doesn't know how to do that yet; Better Call Saul will show us how he learned."[24]

Ratings and accolades

Upon airing, the episode became the highest-rated series premiere for a scripted series in U.S. cable history up to that date, with 6.9 million viewers.[1] The show placed second for the night among U.S. cable networks, behind only its lead-in show The Walking Dead, which as of February 9, 2015, ranks as the second-highest rated entertainment broadcast with adults 18–49 in the U.S., behind The Blacklist episode "Luther Braxton" which aired after Super Bowl XLIX.[1][25][26]

Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama for this episode.[27]

References
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  2. "Comic-Con Q&A: Vince Gilligan on 'Breaking Bad'". Deadline Hollywood. July 15, 2012. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (April 9, 2013). "AMC Eyes 'Breaking Bad' Spinoff Toplined By Bob Odenkirk". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 19, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  4. Andreeva, Nellie (September 11, 2013). "'Breaking Bad' Saul Goodman Spinoff A Go At AMC, Will Serve As Prequel To Original". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
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  6. O'Neal, Sean (June 3, 2014). "It's time to begin overanalyzing the first Better Call Saul set photos". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  7. Toomer, Jessica (June 3, 2014). "Vince Gilligan Admits His 'Breaking Bad' Spinoff Might Be A Mistake". HuffPost. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  8. Roberts, Katie (June 3, 2014). "Vince Gilligan Says 'Better Call Saul' Might Be a 'Mistake'". Moviefone. Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
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  10. Hooten, Christopher (August 11, 2014). "Better Call Saul: First teaser trailer shows younger Saul, confirms release date". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  11. "The 11 Most Iconic ABQ Locations From 'Better Call Saul' Season 1". NewsCastic. April 7, 2015. Archived from the original on June 26, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  12. VanDerWerff, Emily (February 9, 2015). "Better Call Saul's brilliant first episode, explained in 9 shots". Vox. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
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  17. Acuna, Kirsten (January 21, 2015). "Breaking Bad Fans Will Love Better Call Saul". Business Insider. Business Insider Inc. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
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  20. Stanley, Alessandra (February 5, 2015). "Meth King's Lawyer: The Early Years". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  21. Jancelewicz, Chriss (February 4, 2015). "'Better Call Saul' Review: 'Breaking Bad' Fans Will Not Be Disappointed". HuffPost. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  22. Bianco, Robert (February 6, 2015). "'Better Call Saul' does right by 'Bad'". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  23. Wong, Tony (February 6, 2015). "Better Call Saul a prequel no one asked for: review". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
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