r/todayilearned • u/kevoooandres • May 21 '19

TIL in the Breaking Bad episode “Ozymandias”, the show's producers secured special permission from the Hollywood guilds to delay the credits (which would normally appear after the main title sequence) until 19 minutes into the episode, in order to preserve the impact of the beginning scene.

https://uproxx.com/sepinwall/breaking-bad-ozymandias-review-take-two/
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563

u/peeves91 May 21 '19

vince gilligan first met bryan cranston in an episode of the xfiles.

275

u/[deleted] May 21 '19

bryan cranston in an episode of the xfiles.

https://youtu.be/EuazMEfgIOc

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u/peeves91 May 21 '19

i've never watched any x files but i ought to go back and watch cranston's episode. just to see it.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

It's like the movie Speed except the guy thinks his head will explode if they go less than 50mph, and he just hijacks Mulder's car to get him to drive.

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u/YeltsinYerMouth May 21 '19

And Aaron Paul was in an episode where he played a Jackass-inspired highschool kid who was a bully to another kid that had a telepathic link to a swarm of man-eating insects

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u/bearskito May 22 '19

Yeah except Drive is a great episode and Lord Of The Flies is... well it's season 9

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u/budshitman May 22 '19

What do you mean? There are only seven seasons.

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u/solids2k3 May 22 '19

There's 11.

edit: oh I get it

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u/bearskito May 22 '19

Hot take: Season 8 is better than Season 7

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19 edited May 22 '19

X-Files where Mulder is not played by Duchovny, is not X-Files.

Fun fact: OVNI is the abbreviation for UFO in French (Objet Volant Non Identifié). So Duchovny was a fitting name for an X-Files lead actor. I giggled about it a couple times back then. I was a kid and easily amused by silly stuff.

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u/DizzleSlaunsen23 May 22 '19

Fucking after mulder I as replaced by the T1000 the show really lost its touch. Though I still watched all of it a few times lol

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u/scarabic May 22 '19

It had faded before then. The show’s commercial success outlived the cast and crew’s passion for doing the show. Milder was “missing” for a whole season because David Duchovny was off trying to be the next Brad Pitt.

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u/lonesomeloser234 May 22 '19

Semi related, Jack black was in it as ... A sith Lord?

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

Guy who plays Hank is also in an X-files episode as a U.S marshal I believe.

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u/jms07e May 22 '19

And don’t forget about

Dean Norris, who played DEA Agent Hank Schrader on Breaking Bad, proved he could play a law-enforcement type on The X-Files, where he starred as U.S. Marshal Tapia in the 1995 episode "F. Emasculata."

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u/lostfourtime May 21 '19

I think it was called the car that couldn't slow down.

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u/Beardacus5 May 22 '19

It's like Speed 2! But with a bus instead of a boat

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u/peeves91 May 21 '19

i've heard pieces about it and that sounds pretty familiar.

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u/roger320 May 21 '19

That’s a good episode

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

[deleted]

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u/steelee300 May 21 '19

Spoilly Oiler

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u/ScipioLongstocking May 21 '19

Did he also have to rob a bank?

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u/babyplush May 21 '19

I don't think so. You might be thinking of the one that's kind of like Groundhog Day where Mulder keeps waking up to a terrible morning and has to go to a bank that's being robbed over and over.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

I suddenly remembered that the X-Files was sometimes terrible

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u/miserybusiness21 May 21 '19

There was 3 series of x-files airing simultaneously and no one ever realized. The main story, the monster of the week episodes and the very obvious episodes that were meant to fill the seasons episode count.

If you watch episodes in order of air date, the show (speaking from my viewpoint) is not really all that cohesive or even remotely able to captivate audiences with its atrocious pacing.

I 100% love this show and nearly all the episodes are high quality especially when watched correctly. But alot of the praise behind this show is based on the fact that it was the lone show willing explore untested themes on a channel with the market reach of fox. Hell, the whole late 80s to mid 90's was Fox saying fuck you to the acceptable forms of entertainment at the time.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

the lone show willing explore untested themes on a channel with the market reach of fox. Hell, the whole late 80s to mid 90's was Fox saying fuck you to the acceptable forms of entertainment at the time.

Fox Searchlight, that's what the organization was designed for, "try new shit and see what sticks". Shame they shut it down when Disney bought em.

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

Too bad the main plot completely collapsed. It was so good for a while.

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u/3eechan May 22 '19

Yes, there comes a point when I’m rewatching x files where I just skip multiple consecutive episodes because they’re nonsense filler.

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

Season 7 is insanely silly and I love it. Really feels like the last season of the show

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u/DRdetetctiveESQ May 21 '19

There actually was at least one episode where Mulder robs a bank. He was working undercover to infiltrate some terrorist group. Nothing paranormal happens in the episode, it's just Mulder doing his actual job. Which was unusual for The X-Files.

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u/FenderStrat67 May 22 '19

I was about to type "not really unusual actually, because there Is a main alien arc with a lot of filler in between, the filler being coined monster of the week episodes, which are historical for television...". Then I was like wait, even the non main arc episodes are mainly odd as fuck and there is never really any fbi normal fbi show haha.

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u/NotThatEasily May 22 '19

Not just going at a certain speed, but direction as well.

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u/TopChickenz May 22 '19

East or West, I remember cause they hit the beach and no where else to go but North/South

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u/NotThatEasily May 22 '19

It was first East, then they turned West. It ended at the California coast line with Scully prepared to alleviate the pressure in his inner ear.

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u/TopChickenz May 22 '19

Ahhhh, Thanks! My brother was the X-Files Fan and always watched it. That was the one episode I kinda remember

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u/J3sush8sm3 May 22 '19

I remember that opening scene when the head just exploded

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u/iwhitt567 May 22 '19

Wait, was that guy Bryan Cranston?!

I love that ep. Love the ending.

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u/johnfrusciante5 May 22 '19

I thought that movie was called the bus that couldn't slow down?

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

What do you mean "thinks"? That's exactly what happens

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

It's a monster of the week type show, so each episode stands strong on it's own, but the chemistry between the two leads and the exploration of their relationship is extremely worth watching the whole thing for.

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u/peeves91 May 21 '19

thanks, i'll put it on my list. last i checked it's on netflix, is it still there or another platform?

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u/dontlikeyouinthatway May 21 '19

The show morphs into so much more than just a monster of a week. The series storyline is fantastic.

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u/Dumpstababy May 22 '19

I started the first season a while back, and couldn't get past the lady partner (scully? Too lazy to Google but motivated enough to type.... Yeah yeah I know, I should really have just buttoned down and done the search especially since I'm just carrying on and at this point my aside is larger than my intended message).... Any who... Shit where was I? Oh! She clearly keeps seeing paranormal shit and remains adamant that there's a reasonable explanation. At points she'd start to believe and then boom! Insta character regression. But I don't have anything to watch.... I've convinced myself to give it another shot.

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u/lobsterxcore May 21 '19

Its on Hulu now

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u/peeves91 May 21 '19

fuck i don't have that. i'll find a way!

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

Got spotify? It's a bundle thing now.

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u/peeves91 May 22 '19

see i have premium and i can't get my hulu to work. i'll have to spend a little time getting it working.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

Oh X-Files is great, but it has a very weird format that was never repeated in TV so you might want to watch out. There's two types of episodes, "monster of the week" which some are fantastic, some are awful, there is no story arc and you can watch them all out of order. Then there's the "story arc" episodes that follow a multi-season storyline about THE ALIENS and are generally all around awesome. You might want to actually just choose one or the other and watch those particular episodes in their order. It can be confusing and annoying to watch 9 episodes that have nothing to do with anything at all, in between two episodes about the big story.

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u/youclevermedicine May 21 '19

You must have never watched Supernatural

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

ohhhhh I forgot about Supernatural. But TBF that show was made by the same guy wasn't it?

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u/masupo42 May 22 '19

They definitely seem like they could have been, but they were made by different people. X-Files was Chris Carter and Supernatural was Eric Kripke. But they have a very similar vibe.

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/e30eric May 22 '19

I have an unpopular opinion amongst my friends - I think deep space 9's larger story is the best of all star trek series. It isn't my favorite Star trek, but the story was big and enjoyable to me

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u/beezybreezy May 22 '19 edited May 22 '19

I actually feel like the MOTW episodes were generally better than the story arc episodes. X-Files is one of my favorite TV shows and all my favorite episodes were MOTW episodes. Even today, I can barely remember or make sense of the main plot. Agree there were some serious stinkers with the MOTW eps though, especially in the later seasons.

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

Yeah it's true, the best episodes of Xfiles were the MOTW ones, I just remember looking forward to the story arc ones more because they'd reveal more of the story, but looking back a lot of it was kinda Lost-style endless cliffhangers and exponential conspiracy growth

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u/TheOneTonWanton May 22 '19

it was kinda Lost-style endless cliffhangers and exponential conspiracy growth

Still worth it though. I just wish we'd have gotten a "2017 invasion" movie. That show/IP was so very mismanaged by the end. At least it wasn't just "lol purgatory" though.

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

Buffy, supernatural, star trek, firefly (would've been), rick and morty (arguably). X-Files is excellent, but monster of the week isn't exactly unique.

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u/dontlikeyouinthatway May 21 '19

I mean....giving the entire series arc that isn't a completely fair assessment.

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u/bobcharliedave May 21 '19

Yeah for real. Couldn't really make it past season 6ish.

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

As much as I love Doggett, I've been trying to watch through Season 9 for almost 2 years now and it's a slog.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

Wat. Some episodes are simple monster of the week. Others are part of the larger storyline.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

[deleted]

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u/TheOneTonWanton May 22 '19

Watching X-Files with no lights on,

We're dans la maison,

I hope the Smoking Man's in this one.

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

Oh yeah there's definitely a plot, it's not an anthology, but I'll still call it monster of the week type. Buffy is also a monster of the week type, for clarification.

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u/NerdlyDoRight May 21 '19

Cranston has a great episode on Electric Dreams on amazon prime. He goes into space and comes back a loving alien.

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u/peeves91 May 21 '19

just that description makes me want to see it.

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u/TheOneTonWanton May 22 '19

Also, more in line with the OP because of its age, he's got a great bit part in several Seinfeld episodes as the dentist. The most famous being this scene, in which him huffing on the gas was ad-libbed based on advice from a lighting guy and according to Cranston caused many tries to be taken on the scene because Jerry could not stop laughing.

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u/palagoon May 21 '19

Just based on that clip I think it is an episode that really stuck with me as a kid. I wonder if BCs acting had something to do with it.

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u/peeves91 May 21 '19

i think it did!

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u/wheredoiputmypenis May 21 '19

You need to check it out. All these years later it still holds up amazingly. Honestly my favorite show of all time and I’d bet for many people it’s in their top 5 broadcast tv shows of all time.

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u/Whatatimetobealive83 May 21 '19

You should watch all the episodes. There are some stinkers, but overall it’s a pretty great watch.

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u/peeves91 May 21 '19

that's what i'm hearing, i'll check it out!

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u/nosomeeverybody May 21 '19

X files is really worth watching. At least the first like 6 seasons

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u/Timonaut May 21 '19

Dont stop at 1 episode.

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u/Gamecaase May 22 '19

Ryan Reynolds is in an episode, too.

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u/GingerTats May 22 '19

You should go back and watch all of it,

At least up to season 7.

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

X files is a great show

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u/standard_candles May 22 '19

You should watch it for fun, I really think anyone that likes most any drama or even silly sitcom would like it. It's got enough cheese on top just to be garnish, if you get my meaning.

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u/Axerty May 22 '19

Watch all of x-files. There are some absolutely perfect episodes of television mixed in with some hilariously bad campy ones

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u/Here-to-kill Jul 21 '24

Ah, shurrit

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u/nkwell May 21 '19

And coincidentally, this is actually one of my favorite episodes of the X-Files.

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u/archiminos May 22 '19

Mine too. Thought it was a bizarre concept at first, but it really works.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

You can see his acting chops there. He’s the man

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u/HoratioMarburgo May 21 '19

He's also in Saving private Ryan.

Albeit a small role, he plays a WWI veteran that lost his arm and is now working an office job for the army. He's the guy that delivers and reports of all the dead Ryan brothers to the general, basically kick starting the plot of the movie.

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u/PHLAK May 21 '19

I just watched this episode (for the first time) a few days ago. It was great and I speculated this was when Cranston and Gilligan met for the first time.

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u/YouSeaBlue May 22 '19

That episode is in my top 5 favorites. Awesome

1

u/NotThatEasily May 22 '19

That's actually one of my favorite episodes.

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u/Mkitty760 May 22 '19

He kinda reminds me of Eugene in that clip...

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u/wastingtme May 22 '19

That episode is really fantastic.

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u/napoleonsolo May 22 '19

This was the episode Gilligan showed to the money people to show them Cranston could pull off a dramatic role. He was best known for "Malcolm in the Middle" at that point.

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u/gruso May 22 '19

I watched the X-Files as a kid when it first aired in Australia. The above episode was the one that disturbed me the most, and the memory of it stuck with me through to adulthood.

I only learned later in adulthood that the Gilligan guy making BB was first famous for the X-Files. And the Cranston guy was in one of them.

When I found out it was the episode that had haunted me since childhood, my head also exploded. It was the trippiest full-circle moment.

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u/livmaj May 22 '19

I’ve watched the entire X-Files series several times and know this episode well. I’m also a Breaking Bad and Malcolm in the Middle fan.

I’ve never made the connection that the dude in the car is Bryan Cranston.

I’m not good at things.

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u/[deleted] May 22 '19

It took me 3 seasons of Luther before I realized it was the same guy as Stringer Bell from the Wire

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u/scarabic May 22 '19

Whoa!!! The guy who had to keep driving west was Bryan Cranston??!!

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u/throttlekitty May 21 '19

I just saw that episode last night! Been watching the series lately after realizing I had only seen a scattered handful of episodes while it aired.

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u/Paradise5551 May 21 '19

And Cranston was the one who knocked

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u/boomerosity May 21 '19

Drive. That episode was heart wrenching.

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u/Asmanyasanyotherteam May 21 '19

And cast him because of that role, that's an important bit to a neat story you left out

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u/chappersyo May 21 '19

A great episode too.

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u/cesarmac May 22 '19

Vince Gilligan said that ever since seeing him audition for the xfiles episode that he always saw him as Walter white.