Television Breaking Bad

Solius said:
The realism depends on each show. As long as it is grounded within its own reality then it works.

If certain things from the BB universe happened in a Sopranos episode it would stick out massively but it works within BB. A show sets the ground rules and your expectations of 'realism' are then bound by these.
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Bang on.

Some fans of this show come across as incredibly sensitive of any criticisms towards it.

The show goes to great lengths to show a realistic portrayal of the chemistry and science around cooking meth. It goes to great lengths to emphasize Walt's attention to detail.

It doesn't give as much detail to the policing side of things, despite Hank being pretty central to the plot. However that's done to show Walt's ruthlessness and how he's willing to sacrifice and betray anyone in his ultimate goal.

Within its own far fetched idea of good guy "breaking bad" it creates some pretty relatable and believable scenarios. But will often ignore the rules of its own universe to advance the plot. Walt blowing up Gus and him walking away, Mike surviving multiple rounds being shot into a van, various times Jesse is beaten to near death, the ending. That doesn't make the show inherently bad, just pulls the viewer out of the narrative somewhat as it goes against the rules they've created.
 
Spoony said:
it's pure escapism. And it's bloody amazing.
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That fair enough. I wouldn't use hyperbole such as amazing but it is very good.

Honestly the way some defend the smallest criticisms of the show you'd think I was likening it to fecking Emmerdale.
 
b82REZ said:
Bang on.

Some fans of this show come across as incredibly sensitive of any criticisms towards it.

The show goes to great lengths to show a realistic portrayal of the chemistry and science around cooking meth. It goes to great lengths to emphasize Walt's attention to detail.

It doesn't give as much detail to the policing side of things, despite Hank being pretty central to the plot. However that's done to show Walt's ruthlessness and how he's willing to sacrifice and betray anyone in his ultimate goal.

Within its own far fetched idea of good guy "breaking bad" it creates some pretty relatable and believable scenarios. But will often ignore the rules of its own universe to advance the plot. Walt blowing up Gus and him walking away, Mike surviving multiple rounds being shot into a van, various times Jesse is beaten to near death, the ending. That doesn't make the show inherently bad, just pulls the viewer out of the narrative somewhat as it goes against the rules they've created.
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This is the weirdest one for me that always stuck out. It doesn't affect the plot at all but it seemed unnecessary based on how the show is the rest of the time.
 
b82REZ said:
That fair enough. I wouldn't use hyperbole such as amazing but it is very good.

Honestly the way some defend the smallest criticisms of the show you'd think I was likening it to fecking Emmerdale.
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I loved it, it's a lot of fun, the main characters are not particularly full of depth and are probably more Tony Montana than deep meaningful character studies. I suspect you'll like Better Call Saul more though. I think it's superior and possibly my fav series.
 
b82REZ said:
I'm currently rewtaching it now. Approaching the end of the first season.

I do remember there being some filler episodes in later seasons, as was the nature of the beast with TV shows then. However it feels more jarring in BB because the first two seasons go at a pretty fast pace and then the brakes are pulled at the start of season 3 and it feels like a real slog to get through.

I've used the term comicy before, and I stand by that even more so. There's a lot of Deus ex in BB and convenient situations. Like Mike in the back of the van only getting grazed when it's shot up. Also as well as Gus is portrayed, I forgot how much of a comic book villain he becomes.

It's a good show. Like I've said it's just in the tier below the absolute best. That's not a slight on it as the shows I'd place above it, while not perfect in their own right, are just better overall.
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Yeah don't disagree with any of that. I do think that Breaking Bad had some pacing issues - in part due to the writers' strike, which I believe forced them to compress a lot of the first two seasons (though ultimately as you say that might have been a better pace for the show).

Solius said:
I’m rewatching it right now and I find some of the characters so compelling I couldn’t give a shit if it’s ‘filler’. I could watch Edie Falco and James Gandolfini act for two hours about a potato peeler.
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Oh I don't disagree at all. I don't think filler is necessarily a bad thing if it serves the immersion of the world or character development. I just think Sopranos has more of it than Breaking Bad.
 
Spoony said:
I loved it, it's a lot of fun, the main characters are not particularly full of depth and are probably more Tony Montana than deep meaningful character studies. I suspect you'll like Better Call Saul more though. I think it's superior and possibly my fav series.
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It was actually me wanting to start Saul that lead to me re-watching. During that rewatch I found out my missus had never seen Sopranos so I bought the blu ray to educate her ass. Now our evenings are spent watching Sopranos and BB has fallen by the wayside.
 
Have just started a re-watch of this, with the recontextualisation of Better Call Saul in mind. Plus the new missus has never seen it but has always wanted to so that's given me an excuse.

Don't understand anyone who says Season 1 is slow. I'm three episodes in and he's killed two people already...
 
Zebs said:
Have just started a re-watch of this, with the recontextualisation of Better Call Saul in mind. Plus the new missus has never seen it but has always wanted to so that's given me an excuse.

Don't understand anyone who says Season 1 is slow. I'm three episodes in and he's killed two people already...
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I rewatched it recently too with the "recontextulisation" (no wonder you found a new missus with such a vocabulary)

I like the idea that the two dead bodies are buried under that lab (from the end of BCS) the whole time Walt is cooking in there
 
Zebs said:
Have just started a re-watch of this, with the recontextualisation of Better Call Saul in mind. Plus the new missus has never seen it but has always wanted to so that's given me an excuse.

Don't understand anyone who says Season 1 is slow. I'm three episodes in and he's killed two people already...
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I’ve always found that a ridiculous notion.

Also thinly veiled way of telling us you have a new girlfriend.
 
Me three, I almost never rewatch anything. I don't have the patience. But when a carrot like Better Call Saul was dangled I quite enjoyed the re-viewing. Need to get a new missus though, still running with the old one. :(
 
b82REZ said:
It was actually me wanting to start Saul that lead to me re-watching. During that rewatch I found out my missus had never seen Sopranos so I bought the blu ray to educate her ass. Now our evenings are spent watching Sopranos and BB has fallen by the wayside.
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@rimaldo
 
I saw that the creator said he's done with the BB universe for now (understandable after almost 15 years of it, including 2 series and a film) but that he might come back to it one day in the future

Obvious route to go with any reboot in the future would be with Jesse being the lead, running out of money and needing to cook again, leading to him breaking bad naturally.

Would people watch that? Or is it best left as it is now?

I just feel we haven't seen the end of Jesse and Saul's stories yet.
 
LawCharltonBest said:
I saw that the creator said he's done with the BB universe for now (understandable after almost 15 years of it, including 2 series and a film) but that he might come back to it one day in the future

Obvious route to go with any reboot in the future would be with Jesse being the lead, running out of money and needing to cook again, leading to him breaking bad naturally.

Would people watch that? Or is it best left as it is now?

I just feel we haven't seen the end of Jesse and Saul's stories yet.
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I kind of hope the BB universe is finished as I think they've done all they can. The only story that appeals to me would be a young Gus Fring but obviously not played by Giancarlo Esposito.

I want to see what VG can do with other stories.
 
Just finished watching the whole show again as I had watched BCS and then El Camino earlier. A rewatch was very much required after those. I hate rewatching anything but I couldn't turn this off. Incredible writing, absolute top notch. Saul even
foreshadowing himself being a Cinnabon manager in Omaha within the month
. :lol:
 
Dumbstar said:
Just finished watching the whole show again as I had watched BCS and then El Camino earlier. A rewatch was very much required after those. I hate rewatching anything but I couldn't turn this off. Incredible writing, absolute top notch. Saul even
foreshadowing himself being a Cinnabon manager in Omaha within the month
. :lol:
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The connection to Lalo is so good too. From one throw away line in BB when they take Saul out to the desert when he’s first introduced, to a major key character in BCS.
 
Rado_N said:
The connection to Lalo is so good too. From one throw away line in BB when they take Saul out to the desert when he’s first introduced, to a major key character in BCS.
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Absolutely. Attention to detail and creative use of continuity. Vince is the man!
 


Isaac "Hank" Schrader.
 
LawCharltonBest said:
I don’t get either post

What am I missing
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In relation to mine, a poster on here was talking about Hank's death and referred to him as "Isaac 'Hank' Schrader". He thought Isaac Schrader was Hank's actual name and that Hank was just a nickname. He was confusing "ASAC" (Assistant Special Agent in Charge) with Isaac. It's gone down in Caf folklore.
 
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JaffyJoe said:
Watched a the episodes at once. The last episode was predictable but still great viewing. We knew Walt would die and he would clean things up before he did. There was not much left to do honestly.

Some great moments.

Isaac 'Hank' Schrater's death was a great one. Walt's emotion when he was killed poured through the screen, that was Cranston at his best. Todd was an interesting character I always felt he had the potential to betray his uncle and the others, almost like he wasn't as sadistic, but he just went about his job in a different way. That poor kid who's mother he killed. Jesse will most likely look after the kid. Would have been great to her Jesse and Walt have it out they hadn't really spoken one on one all season. Walt loved him though.....
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@LawCharltonBest the original post.

(Sorry @JaffyJoe)
 
LawCharltonBest said:
I am. What is the joke?
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So helium is an inert gas that rises in Earth's atmosphere. So when Walter hands over a bag of 'helium' and not meth, then it just rises up. It's the same element that makes balloons fly away as well.
 
The Corinthian said:
So helium is an inert gas that rises in Earth's atmosphere. So when Walter hands over a bag of 'helium' and not meth, then it just rises up. It's the same element that makes balloons fly away as well.
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Oh I watched the video half cut off. I didn’t realise it floated away. And I was waiting for squeaky voices
 
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