Better Call Saul - New TV Series 2014

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Yamer

I still have no idea what people had against Skyler, Marie, and Walt Jr.

Anna Gunn won an Emmy for that role.

Walt Jr was a ####ty dancer.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Yamer

I still have no idea what people had against Skyler,

I think some people didn't like that Skyler was holding back Walt from cooking meth and murdering people.

[Stud_McCool]

The thing I don't get is... how can Jimmy McGill change his name to Saul Goodman in Albuqurque where the lawyer community likely knows they're the same person?

[Matata]

Originally Posted by troutman

I think some people didn't like that Skyler was holding back Walt from cooking meth and murdering people.

What were you tuning in for?


Skylar was also really repetitive and kept going through the same character arcs:
1. She find out/suspects Walt is lying to her, gets mopey and destructive
2. Get's herself into situations she doesn't understand, massively overestimates her ability to deal with situation, then screws everything up.

For the last few seasons her character was so dull and played out that every scene that featured her became an agony to watch. Whenever I rewatch BB, I usually skip any scene that focuses on Skylar, Marie or Jr.

[Manhattanboy]

Funny the chat re Skyler.

My gf would always get so mad at me during BB when I would ask out loud do we really need all the scenes with Mrs. Walt and her annoying sister?

But on this we agreed - Mike was/is our favourite.

[getbak]

Whenever I watch Life in Pieces, I'm amazed at how much more I like Betsy Brand on that show compared to Breaking Bad.

Sometimes I forget she's even the same actress.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by troutman

I think some people didn't like that Skyler was holding back Walt from cooking meth and murdering people.

I didn't like how her fly by night morality was written.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by getbak

Whenever I watch Life in Pieces, I'm amazed at how much more I like Betsy Brand on that show compared to Breaking Bad.

Sometimes I forget she's even the same actress.

She is understated in how funny she is in that show.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by Matata

Hadn't realized until now that BCS has no dead weight characters, guess they learnt that lesson.


I don't think BCS will ever hit the highs of BB, nor is it centered on a tour de force performance that redefines the genre, but it could end up being the all around superior show. I'd have to wait until the show wraps up before making that call, if it avoids having a weak final season like BB, then it could end up on top.

Weak final season on BB? I didn’t know that was a thing.

That was season was intense from start to finish.

[Wormius]

I think that people expected intense episodes every time, and when one got a Iittle too thoughtful or something, people lost it.

Anyway, I am really hoping Badger and Skinny Pete show up.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I think that people expected intense episodes every time, and when one got a Iittle too thoughtful or something, people lost it.

Anyway, I am really hoping Badger and Skinny Pete show up.

I would most certainly say it wasn't because it was too thoughtful.

There's two main reasons the final season of BB wasn't very good.

1. Season 4 and the Gus storyline was so epic. You go from cartels with these imposing bosses in Salamanca and Fring, everything was reaching fever pitch. It was a big deal but not out of control big. Cartel bosses and city/state level bosses seemed like logical growth from the previous season. Then you have lame ass bikers. Incompetent lame ass bikers. And a hilarious multinational conspiracy involving Germans...for some reason. It's like they wanted to make it bigger and crazier but instead it jumped the shark. We''d seen some pretty far fetched storylines on the show before but this felt like they just ran out of ideas (ugh the entire Skyler and Ted and the IRS thing was so dumb. It was nothing more than a lame plot device).

2. The need to have everything be a cliffhanger worked against them. Vince Gilligan has said the machine gun scene was written with no ending in mind. I think he's even expressed regret at the mountain they hinted at climbing and then admitted they had no way to get there. Killing Gus was the logical conclusion of that arc. Final season should have been exclusively Walt vs Hank and the DEA.

I also had problems with how they handled Walt but that's for another time. It's funny too because S5 had a few great episodes and moments. The train episode in particular was great. It just never lived up to the rest of the series.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

I would most certainly say it wasn't because it was too thoughtful.

There's two main reasons the final season of BB wasn't very good.

1. Season 4 and the Gus storyline was so epic. You go from cartels with these imposing bosses in Salamanca and Fring, everything was reaching fever pitch. It was a big deal but not out of control big. Cartel bosses and city/state level bosses seemed like logical growth from the previous season. Then you have lame ass bikers. Incompetent lame ass bikers. And a hilarious multinational conspiracy involving Germans...for some reason. It's like they wanted to make it bigger and crazier but instead it jumped the shark. We''d seen some pretty far fetched storylines on the show before but this felt like they just ran out of ideas (ugh the entire Skyler and Ted and the IRS thing was so dumb. It was nothing more than a lame plot device).

2. The need to have everything be a cliffhanger worked against them. Vince Gilligan has said the machine gun scene was written with no ending in mind. I think he's even expressed regret at the mountain they hinted at climbing and then admitted they had no way to get there. Killing Gus was the logical conclusion of that arc. Final season should have been exclusively Walt vs Hank and the DEA.

I also had problems with how they handled Walt but that's for another time. It's funny too because S5 had a few great episodes and moments. The train episode in particular was great. It just never lived up to the rest of the series.

Oh yeah, the bikers... I wish they handled that better. The bikers and slave Jesse was not very good. I think maybe if they could have stretched the Gus storyline into that final season, they could have good storylines to keep him in it.

[PostandIn]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

I would most certainly say it wasn't because it was too thoughtful.

There's two main reasons the final season of BB wasn't very good.

1. Season 4 and the Gus storyline was so epic. You go from cartels with these imposing bosses in Salamanca and Fring, everything was reaching fever pitch. It was a big deal but not out of control big. Cartel bosses and city/state level bosses seemed like logical growth from the previous season. Then you have lame ass bikers. Incompetent lame ass bikers. And a hilarious multinational conspiracy involving Germans...for some reason. It's like they wanted to make it bigger and crazier but instead it jumped the shark. We''d seen some pretty far fetched storylines on the show before but this felt like they just ran out of ideas (ugh the entire Skyler and Ted and the IRS thing was so dumb. It was nothing more than a lame plot device).

2. The need to have everything be a cliffhanger worked against them. Vince Gilligan has said the machine gun scene was written with no ending in mind. I think he's even expressed regret at the mountain they hinted at climbing and then admitted they had no way to get there. Killing Gus was the logical conclusion of that arc. Final season should have been exclusively Walt vs Hank and the DEA.

I also had problems with how they handled Walt but that's for another time. It's funny too because S5 had a few great episodes and moments. The train episode in particular was great. It just never lived up to the rest of the series.

Totally agree, with a twist. A season 5 arc that pegged a united Hank and Skylar (as Hank proposed) against Walt would have been epic. But not with the typical cop mop-up operation but some way for Skylar and Hank to manipulate all the cash from Walt (out Walt, Walt), distance herself, in the public eye and legally, to give Jr. a chance at a somewhat clean life, even if it meant both she and Hank die, along with Walt, in the end.

I loved the train episode.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

Weak final season on BB? I didn’t know that was a thing.

That was season was intense from start to finish.

The final season was weak because they airdropped in new villains and it felt cheap.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by nik-

The final season was weak because they airdropped in new villains and it felt cheap.

Air dropped in new villains? I assume you’re taking about Todd and his uncle? They only came to light at the end and I never thought it felt cheap and those guys were introduced in the season before so it didn’t feel forced to me.

That season was about Hank V Walt and then the fallout.

That show was destined for Walt to finally have a fall from grace and who better to do it than the man who was oblivious to him him for four seasons despite the fact he was elbows deep into the case the whole time. It had to be Hank to finally catch him.

I thought season 5 was excellent like the others and put a nice bow on a great series. I thought it was well received by most. But maybe I’m wrong.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

Air dropped in new villains? I assume you’re taking about Todd and his uncle? They only came to light at the end and I never thought it felt cheap and those guys were introduced in the season before so it didn’t feel forced to me.

That season was about Hank V Walt and then the fallout.

That show was destined for Walt to finally have a fall from grace and who better to do it than the man who was oblivious to him him for four seasons despite the fact he was elbows deep into the case the whole time. It had to be Hank to finally catch him.

I thought season 5 was excellent like the others and put a nice bow on a great series. I thought it was well received by most. But maybe I’m wrong.

I think it is being examined with more scrutiny as time passes. I think as people go back and rewatch and examine the series some of those S5 issues have become more of a talking point.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

I thought season 5 was excellent like the others and put a nice bow on a great series. I thought it was well received by most. But maybe I’m wrong.

Metacritic ratings:


S1 = 73
S2 = 84
S3 = 89
S4 = 96
S5 = 99

"Ozymandias" has been acclaimed since its initial airing as one of the finest episodes of Breaking Bad, and many critics regard it as one of the greatest episodes of dramatic television ever produced.

Wikipedia

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by troutman

Metacritic ratings:


S1 = 73
S2 = 84
S3 = 89
S4 = 96
S5 = 99


Wikipedia

In retrospect, the bikers/white supremacists seemed like a step back relative to the power of Gus and the Cartel, but I thought they wrote them really well as villains. I think I hated Todd and his uncle more than any other characters on the show.

The final few episodes, and especially Ozymandias, were absolute works of art. Gilligan and Co. say they worked themselves into a corner, but I was far from disappointed or let down with the tail end of that series.

[White Out 403]

I guess I'm in the minority here (but not with critics) that thought season 5 was a masterpiece of TV. The show ended just as it should, and the bikers were an incredible twist in the series, played by some really great actors and written well.

"Found him" that one scene with Walt who spotted Pinkman under the car. I mean, the whole show lead up to that in some aspects. Incredible.
The altercation between Skyler and Walt with his family turning on him, and him seeing it. Unreal.
The machine gun in the trunk. So delightful.
Pinkmans escape thru the fence? Perfect.
Hank dying with smirk on his face? Effing perfect.

Do I need spoiler tags?

[troutman]

The show jumped ahead a few months - Hector sitting up, Kim gets her cast off, the excavation is almost half done, and Jimmy can be a lawyer again in one month.

In the opening, there was a literal black line between Jimmy and Kim, even when in the same room. Kim is gorgeous even brushing her teeth.

Good use of music - Ex. Breeders on the car radio.

Jimmy - "Aspen"! Kim - "that was something". Why she hasn't kicked Jimmy all the way to the curb is a real mystery.

Gus knows Hector has recovered just enough, so that he can torment him like a cat does with a mouse.

Is Mike going to take the Germans to Tijuana?