'Breaking Bad': Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum

Skyler White, meet Jesse Pinkman … 

GENERAL INTERESTS:
Fine herbage! Keepin’ it real, Jui Ryo Ki Kung-Fu (blue belt with shuriken certification). Banging the skins with my smoking band … European motocross (plan to attend Wheelie School in Vegas this summer).

EDUCATION:
J.P. Wynne High School, DeVry University data systems management… The STREETS, YO!

… your husband’s new business partner.

Whereas Jesse was first introduced to us last week when he stumbled naked out of a second-story bedroom window (the naked part seems to be the de facto entrance around here), Skyler had the pleasure of making his acquaintance this week. After overhearing a suspicious telemarketing call fielded by her husband, she pulled the ol’ *69 trick on her cordless and got the following voicemail: “Yo, yo, yo! 1-4-8, 3 to the 3 to the 6 to the 9! Representin’ the ABQ! What up … Leave it at the tone!”

Yeah, awkward. So she further investigated online and found Jesse’s MySpace -– er, “MyShout” –- page, which revealed the details mentioned above. Classic, yo.

Indeed, all things Jesse tickled the tummy Sunday night, especially the early scene in which the Indian comes to the rescue of Walter and Jesse in the New Mexico desert, pulling their RV out of that roadside ditch (an aside: With bulldozer-equipped Indians apparently roaming the middle of nowhere, who needs Roadside Assistance?). Job complete, the silent Indian stands there before our two fidgety heroes, Walter not wearing any pants and Jesse sporting an eye that’s swollen shut.

Walter: You’re a lifesaver.
Jesse: Yeah, man.
Walter: We can’t thank you enough.
Jesse: No, hey, mad … mad props.
Walter: Could have sworn the guy said south, but then all of a sudden we’re off the main road. And then I’m trying to read the map while I’m driving, which is a bonehead maneuver, and then all of a sudden, bam, we’re in that ditch.
Jesse: Yeah -– bam! I’m like … what the hell? You know?
Walter: Yes, oh, yes, and my coffee mug, my coffee? My mug of coffee spills all over my pants. I mean, just a nightmare.
Jesse: Dude, you so need GPS. I mean, for real! Hehe.

Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum. When “The Three Stooges” later appeared on Jesse’s TV set, we knew it wasn’t an accident. But it’s also now clear that watching these two over these next several weeks should keep the giggles coming.

Regarding Jesse, if you’re at all like me, you may have at some point during these first two shows had the following thought: I don’t know that actor’s name, but I know I’ve seen him somewhere. And so at show’s end I took a cue from Skyler and did a little online research myself. Turns out, the guy behind the guy is Aaron Paul, a 28-year-old Idaho-born-and-raised actor with a load of credits -– 44, by IMDb’s count –- already to his name. Among them: a four-episode stint on HBO’s “Big Love,” along with appearances on “Bones,” “Veronica Mars,” “ER,” “Third Rock From the Sun,” “Melrose Place” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” So it turns out I had seen him before, but I’ll refrain from admitting where.

Other scattered tidbits: He’s a snowboarder, loves anything by Paul Thomas Anderson and his “favorite vice,” according to a Variety Q&A, is smoking (Jesse’s too!).

A MySpace search for the actor turned up nothing, though whaddayaknow, I did find Jesse Pinkman. “CapnCook” is what he goes by, scattered marijuana leaves make for his layout background and “breaking bad in the ABQ!” is his quote.

Yep, that’s our guy. He has yet to accept my friend request, but I get the feeling Walter White would tell me that that’s a very good thing. 

-- Josh Gajewski

(Photo courtesy AMC)