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Timeless Appeal
May 28, 2006
Howdy! So, you’ve strolled into the Breaking Bad thread. Maybe it’s because you’ve heard that Breaking Bad is a good show worth checking out.

Well, you’re wrong. Breaking Bad is the best show, and watching it should be mandatory viewing upon entering adulthood. I’m not going to explain this, just go to Netflix and start watching.

Let me quickly say that you should ignore any expectations you have for the show. Whatever elevator pitch you’ve received for it does not do it justice. I will say in advance though, do not go into this expecting The Wire. Breaking Bad is never a show about drugs, and it’s never a show that really concerns itself with gritty realism. It is a pulpy, sometimes absurd, oftentimes hilarious show, and, above all, it’s really not comparable to anything else I’ve seen on television.

Leave this thread and watch it. Even if you think you’re the type of person who doesn’t mind being spoiled, you’re wrong. Watch it. Now. Do not read anything about the show until you are done.

:siren: Do not read any further than this sentence unless you have watched! I AM LITERALLY GOING TO SPOIL THE ENTIRE END OF THIS SHOW IF YOU DON'T CLOSE THIS loving TAB RIGHT THE gently caress NOW! :siren:
















Frequently Asked Questions and Topics Not Really Worth Discussing

Is Walt dead?

Yes.



What happened to Jesse?

The end monologue for Terminator 2, basically.

Basically, Jesse’s end is deliberately vague. But he’s free. He’s not just free of the Nazi labor camp, but of Walt, his sins, and meth all together. Wherever Jesse goes now is his choice and his choice alone. That’s why his screams are cut off so abruptly. Breaking Bad is ultimately Walt’s story, and he has freed himself of that story.

His screams of course give mixed messages. I see excitement and glee towards his new freedom. I see a poor carpenter making an okay living in Alaska. Other people could see manic psychosis and meth and more pain.

It’s not clear, but either way, it’s up to Jesse.




What probably doesn’t happen to Jesse?

Jesse probably doesn’t get to live happily ever after with Brock. I mean once again, if you want to imagine that happens, that’s fine, but it’s unlikely. Brock is with his grandmother. She either sold the house Jesse bought or moved into it. Either way, Brock is no longer in danger. He has been afforded a life where he won’t end up like Tomas, Andrea, or Jesse. Even if Jesse doesn’t get to play Sonic games with him, he’s fine.

Jesse is also pretty safe in terms of anyone coming after him. The cops found Heisenberg dead in the lab, and the Nazis probably burned the DVD because it implicated Todd in a high profile murder of a child. Let me reiterate, there is no reason to assume the DVD is still there.

As far as the law is concerned, the public have their sacrificial lambs. The Nazis are dead. Heisenberg is dead. Hank and Gomez’s bodies have been found. And Skyler will serve some minimal jail time. There is literally no one who cares about this case lasting any longer than it needs to. Nobody cares about Jesse Pinkman.

What’s a ricin?

Ricin is a poison created from castor beans. When ingested, ricin will kill a person within a few days. They will suffer from flu like symptoms, making the death seem natural and not suspicious. On Breaking Bad, ricin has been created three times. Its use has been attempted in every single season since 2, but it’s only been successfully used once.



Here is a timeline or Ricin on the show:

    -Walt and Jesse think Tuco is going to kill them
    -They try to sneak the ricin into a sample of meth for Tuco to try
    -Tuco kidnaps them before their plan comes into action
    -They still try to get Tuco to try the tainted meth, but he refuses when its odd smell is explained by Jesse as being caused by chili powder which Tuco hates
    -Hank kills Tuco, Walt and Jesse escape, that poisoned meth is abandoned, Hank shoots Tuco
    -Walt has Combo, Skinny Pete, and Jesse expand their meth distribution into rival territories
    -Combo is killed by Andrea’s brother, Tomas on the behalf of rival dealers
    -Jesse finds out that Tomas killed Combo when he begins his relationship with Andrea
    -Jesse asks Walt to make new ricin to kill the dealers, but Walt refuses
    -Jesse obtains a second batch of ricin
    -Jesse attempts to poison the dealers using Tomas by having a prostitute feed them a ricin filled burger, it fails
    -Gus intervenes as the dealers are under his control, and he tells them to stop using children
    -The dealers take this too literally, and they kill Tomas
    -Jesse tries to shoot the dealers, but Walt kills them instead
    -Gus tries to kill Walt and Jesse, but they avoid this by killing Gale
    -Walt produces new ricin, the third batch, and the one being used for the rest of the series
    -Walt has Jesse hide it in a cigarette with the plan that Jesse will poison Gus when he gets the chance
    -Fearing that he is losing Jesse, Walt has Saul steal the cigarette from Jesse
    -He then poisons Brock with Lily of the Valley which is less poisonous than ricin, but has similar flu like symptoms
    -Walt convinces Jesse that Gus poisoned Brock
    -The doctors discover Brock was actually poisoned by Lily of the Valley
    -Walt plants a fake ricin cigarette in Jesse’s Roomba to make him think he had dropped it
    -Walt makes Jesse think he destroyed the cigarette
    -Walt hides the real ricin cigarette behind an electrical outlet casing in his bedroom
    -Walt attempts to use the ricin on Lydia, but he changes his mind when she offers him distribution in the Czech Republic
    -Jesse figures out that Walt stole the ricin from him and most likely poisoned Brock, Saul confirms this
    -Walt retrieves the ricin from his abandoned home
    -Walt somehow gets the ricin into Lydia’s stevia which she mixes into her tea and consumes
    -Lydia slowly dies of ricin

How do I spell?

Jesse-his name is spelled, “Jesse,” no “i”

Skyler-her name is spelled, “Skyler” with an “e” and no “a”

Gray Matter-it's "gray" as in the color not the surname. Lesson for life (In the US): "Gray" is the color and sometimes a surname, "Grey" is always a surname.


Why did Walt leave Gray Matter?

Walt dated Gretchen. Walt and Gretchen visited her family. Walt got upset about something—most likely her parents’ wealth—and he checked out.



Do you want to hear about the plot hole I found?

No, I do not.

So, what’s the timeline of the show?

The scope of the show is roughly two years, beginning and ending on Walter White’s birthday. Seasons 1-4 completely take place in the first year. Season 5 almost entirely takes place in the second year with several major jumps in time during “Glide Over All” and “Granite State.” It’s probably not worth thinking about specifics as the show primarily ignores holidays and seasons.

Someone mentioned Walt speaking with Mike’s voice? What?

A poster innocently commented on Walt sounding like Mike in this scene. To be fair, he kinda does. It’s taken as shorthand for mocking people who posted something stupid.

What’s with Flynn and breakfast?

Flynn has a good amount of breakfast scenes. Internet noticed it and ran it into the ground. It’s a metaphor for Flynn liking eggs.

Why does Flynn call himself Flynn?

Because gently caress calling himself Walt, and Flynn is a balla name. gently caress haters.

I love Walt? Who else loves Walt?

Lots of people love Walt, root for Walt, or just enjoy when Walt does cool things despite the fact that he’s a monster. Don’t worry about it, and definitely don’t post about it like loving Walt is some revolutionary contrarian idea.

Also, if you think Walt did everything for his family, even Walt disagrees with you.

I hate Skyler because she's a loving bitch putting my main man Walt down!

You're an rear end in a top hat.

I dislike Skyler because I think she's not a well written and/or well acted character; Alternatively, while I recognize that Walt "objectively" does worse things than her, there are certain actions (Smoking while pregnant for example) that trigger a really negative reaction from me

There are some merits to at least the first thing you said and you can join our wonderful rainbow of discourse.

I love Todd!

Stay the gently caress away from me.

The Complete Series

To be released November 26th. Currently on sale for 30% on Amazon.
Includes:



    -Collectible replica money barrel for your drug money
    -55 Hours of Special Features including a 2 hour documentary about the series
    -16 page booklet with letter from Vince Gilligan :allears:
    -A nifty apron
    -Some kinda coin thing? I dunno

Insider Podcast
For anyone who hasn't listened, the Insider podcasts are amazing. They'll full of small details that you won't notice as well as some insight into how this amazing show was produced.

Timeless Appeal fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Jan 22, 2014

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Timeless Appeal
May 28, 2006
:negative: There is no more Breaking Bad? Should I just kill myself? :negative:

Sad that your favorite show is over? Filled with an empty void? Looks like you…



Pitch

A one hour dramedy that is either a sequel, prequel, midquel, or all-of-the-above-quel to Breaking Bad. We know that it will feature some of the Breaking Bad cast in cameos with Jonathan Banks reprising his role as Mike as a series regular.

So, this is definitely happening?

So, Sony and AMC are on board. So are Odenkirk and Gilligan. It also seems that there is going to be no pilot, and AMC is going to go straight to episode order. With the said, until you hear that episode order has happened, nothing is definite.

Right now, they have not written anything, but filming starts in May.

Of course, if you just want to watch Breaking Bad again while it not being Breaking Bad, there is…



Pitch

A Spanish-language remake of Breaking Bad produced by Sony.

Trailer



I'll be updating this post with more info as it comes.

Timeless Appeal fucked around with this message at 01:43 on Jan 29, 2014

Wizard Master
Mar 25, 2008

I am the Wizard Master

Capntastic
Jan 13, 2005

A dog begins eating a dusty old coil of rope but there's a nail in it.

Breaking Bad is, to me, a gleaming beacon of what a creative effort can become when everyone involved is both at the top of their game and enthusiastic about the work.

Vince Gilligan was unrelenting when it came to the purity of his product.

Civilized Fishbot
Apr 3, 2011

Timeless Appeal posted:

Gray Matter-it's "gray" as in the color not the surname. Lesson for life: "Gray" is the color and
sometimes a surname, "Grey" is always a surname.

British English uses "Grey" as both a colour and a surname.

Example: 50 Shades of Grey.

Capntastic posted:

Breaking Bad is, to me, a gleaming beacon of what a creative effort can become when everyone involved is both at the top of their game and enthusiastic about the work.

Vince Gilligan was unrelenting when it came to the purity of his product.

This is what makes me think that Better Call Saul is going to be good - it's not like Gilligan struck gold with the idea of "good person does bad things until bad person," he just created a team that could execute it really well, and it looks like Better Call Saul is going to have that same benefit.

Civilized Fishbot fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Oct 7, 2013

Rageaholic
May 31, 2005

Old Town Road to EGOT

Like I said in the last thread, I'm really bummed that there's never going to be a new episode of Breaking Bad, despite being satisfied with how the series ended :smith:

Oh well, I'm still excited to see how Better Call Saul turns out. And I hope to be able to relive the series through friends and family that go through it themselves. I'll probably do a full rewatch of the series when the Blu-Ray barrel set comes out, too. That 2 hour documentary sounds very interesting from what Vince and Bryan have said about it.

Metastasis looks pretty loving bad, though. The actors chosen for the roles don't look distinctive like they do in Breaking Bad, and from the trailer that I saw of it, it looked like the production values had taken a big hit and that this looks to be more of a cheap soap opera than a marvel of cinematography. It's probably better for those Spanish speakers who have never seen Breaking Bad and are looking forward to Metastasis (does anyone actually fall under that category?) to just watch Breaking Bad with Spanish subtitles instead. But maybe it could actually turn out to be alright. Who knows. The trailer and the casting choices make it look like some community theater retelling of Breaking Bad, though.

Civilized Fishbot
Apr 3, 2011

Rageaholic Monkey posted:

Metastasis looks pretty loving bad, though. The actors chosen for the roles don't look distinctive like they do in Breaking Bad, and from the trailer that I saw of it, it looked like the production values had taken a big hit and that this looks to be more of a cheap soap opera than a marvel of cinematography. It's probably better for those Spanish speakers who have never seen Breaking Bad and are looking forward to Metastasis (does anyone actually fall under that category?) to just watch Breaking Bad with Spanish subtitles instead. But maybe it could actually turn out to be alright. Who knows. The trailer and the casting choices make it look like some community theater retelling of Breaking Bad, though.

On the other hand it looks like they're copying as much of the cinematography and plot points as possible - if they keep the major lines too, the show can't be that bad by virtue of not having much to fail at while copying a lot of what made the original show great.

Timeless Appeal
May 28, 2006

Civilized Fishbot posted:

British English uses "Grey" as both a colour and a surname.
So, is "Gray" just a surname for you guys, or is "gray" and "grey" interchangeable?

V Done V

Timeless Appeal fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Oct 7, 2013

Rageaholic
May 31, 2005

Old Town Road to EGOT

It should also be noted that if you start watching the series and you really enjoy it, the podcasts for each episode are a wealth of information. The crew and some of the cast reveal a lot of what went into making each episode. Guests are rotated with each one. They start at about half an hour long and get longer as the series goes on, but they're worth it. There weren't any recorded for Season 1, but they start at the first episode of Season 2 and from there there's one for each episode until the very end of the series.

Here's the link to them: https://www.amctv.com/shows/breaking-bad/insider-podcast

Timeless Appeal, maybe add this to the OP? Those who have already gone through the series but didn't know about these can still get lots of info out of them :)

get that OUT of my face
Feb 10, 2007

Another thing to keep in mind is that Norm Macdonald's "theory" about the end of Breaking Bad (see his Twitter timeline) was just another example of Norm doing what he does best- trolling people.

Civilized Fishbot
Apr 3, 2011

Timeless Appeal posted:

So, is "Gray" just a surname for you guys, or is "gray" and "grey" interchangeable?

I'm not British :911: but quick research indicates that "grey" is far more prominently used in Britain just as "gray" is far more prominently used in America.

Pictured: British actor Adam Godley, who probably uses "grey."

Civilized Fishbot fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Oct 7, 2013

Mira
Nov 29, 2009

Max illegality.

What would be the point otherwise?


Production values aside, I'm still probably going to keep up with Metastasis just for the little quirks they'll have to change because of the disparate setting.

Like what's going to be their answer to Saul Goodman? I can't imagine a shifty bus bench lawyer having the same kind of resonance for Latin-American audiences.

Lutha Mahtin
Oct 10, 2010

Your brokebrain sin is absolved...go and shitpost no more!

Mira posted:

Like what's going to be their answer to Saul Goodman? I can't imagine a shifty bus bench lawyer having the same kind of resonance for Latin-American audiences.

There aren't crooked lawyers in Latin America?

Pimparoo
Jul 29, 2013
Is it fair to say that Breaking Bad was the best show in television history? My hope is that BB raised the bar for future TV shows and that we're going to see an overall increase in quality. Maybe I'm being too idealistic...

Mira
Nov 29, 2009

Max illegality.

What would be the point otherwise?


Lutha Mahtin posted:

There aren't crooked lawyers in Latin America?

I meant it in the vein of America being perceived as ridiculously litigious.

That DICK!
Sep 28, 2010

Civilized Fishbot posted:

I'm not British :911: but quick research indicates that "grey" is far more prominently used in Britain just as "gray" is far more prominently used in America.

Pictured: British actor Adam Godley, who probably uses "grey."

Richard Grey from Fallout hosed me all sorts of up on spelling Gray correctly.

2house2fly
Nov 14, 2012

You did a super job wrapping things up! And I'm not just saying that because I have to!

Pimparoo posted:

Is it fair to say that Breaking Bad was the best show in television history? My hope is that BB raised the bar for future TV shows and that we're going to see an overall increase in quality. Maybe I'm being too idealistic...
It's up there, certainly. I'll have to rewatch The Shield to see how it stacks up to the version in my memory, but that's probably BB's biggest competition for second place behind The Wire.

MrBims
Sep 25, 2007

by Ralp
Fan videos!

Breaking Bad Jr.
If 'Breaking Bad' Was Made for Kids
Previously on Faking Bad 1/2/3
Fixing Breaking Bad 1/2/3/4/5/6
Breaking Bad: The Middle School Musical
Making Good
Bill Nye in Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad RPG
Walking Dead Mashup
Breaking Bad as a Sitcom
"Joking Bad" - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Simpsons Couch Gag
Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Gonna Cook Together

Rageaholic
May 31, 2005

Old Town Road to EGOT

Pimparoo posted:

Is it fair to say that Breaking Bad was the best show in television history? My hope is that BB raised the bar for future TV shows and that we're going to see an overall increase in quality. Maybe I'm being too idealistic...
Gonna echo another thing I said in the previous thread: Seinfeld is one of my all-time favorite shows, but even it wasn't as consistently high quality as Breaking Bad. There were certainly bad episodes of Seinfeld and episodes that were okay but not nearly as good as others. There was never a drop in quality over all 5 seasons of Breaking Bad. Never a single bad episode. That definitely makes it either my all-time favorite show or at least in the top few.

Pimparoo
Jul 29, 2013

Rageaholic Monkey posted:

Gonna echo another thing I said in the previous thread: Seinfeld is one of my all-time favorite shows, but even it wasn't as consistently high quality as Breaking Bad. There were certainly bad episodes of Seinfeld and episodes that were okay but not nearly as good as others. There was never a drop in quality over all 5 seasons of Breaking Bad. Never a single bad episode. That definitely makes it either my all-time favorite show or at least in the top few.

Seinfeld was certainly hilarious but the acting in it was terrible. Specifically Seinfeld himself is a poo poo actor. We just let it slide because he was funny. The entire show was held together by Larry David's genius writing ability. BB is excellent on all fronts: acting, cinematography, and storyline. As for the guy who mentioned "The Wire" as #1 -- I've never seen it but this gives me a good reason to check it out.

Rageaholic
May 31, 2005

Old Town Road to EGOT

Pimparoo posted:

Seinfeld was certainly hilarious but the acting in it was terrible. Specifically Seinfeld himself is a poo poo actor. We just let it slide because he was funny. The entire show was held together by Larry David's genius writing ability. BB is excellent on all fronts: acting, cinematography, and storyline. As for the guy who mentioned "The Wire" as #1 -- I've never seen it but this gives me a good reason to check it out.
I tried watching The Wire a few years ago and I couldn't get into it at all :( I'm sure I need to give it another chance, though. Everyone praises it as being one of the best shows ever.

The Shield was also brought up a lot in previous BB threads, I think because people were saying the main character is similar to Walt in some ways? I need to check that one out too because I've never seen a single episode of it.

computer parts
Nov 18, 2010

PLEASE CLAP

Mira posted:

I meant it in the vein of America being perceived as ridiculously litigious.

They could probably make a Levy from The Wire type of character and it'd be more or less the same (less billboards, but still scummy).

freebooter
Jul 7, 2009

This is from a while ago, but if you haven't read it, a very thoughtful and interesting review of the series as a whole (well, halfway through s5) by James Meek in the London Review of Books:

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n01/james-meek/its-the-moral-thing-to-do

ballistics statistics
Nov 27, 2003

:shepface:God I fucking love Diablo 3 gold, it even paid for this shitty title:shepface:


Rageaholic Monkey posted:

I tried watching The Wire a few years ago and I couldn't get into it at all :( I'm sure I need to give it another chance, though. Everyone praises it as being one of the best shows ever.

The Shield was also brought up a lot in previous BB threads, I think because people were saying the main character is similar to Walt in some ways? I need to check that one out too because I've never seen a single episode of it.

I wish I had never watched The Shield, just so I could have the pleasure of watching it fresh all over again. You will not be disappointed. Season 1 is mostly self contained episodes, the show finds it's footing in season 2 and just like BB it gets better all the way up to the last scene of the last episode. Not that season 1 is bad, but compared to what's coming in later seasons with multiple series long stories and character arcs, it's worth noting.

The Wire also starts a little slowly. It's great TV but the first season takes a bit to pick up.

grading essays nude
Oct 24, 2009

so why dont we
put him into a canan
and shoot him into the trolls base where
ever it is and let him kill all of them. its
so perfect that it can't go wrong.

i think its the best plan i
have ever heard in my life
As far as legacy goes, I think you can make a solid case for Breaking Bad as the #2 drama of all time behind The Wire (I know at least one critic - Tim Goodman - already has, and I agree with him.) I think the general argument will go, The Wire is the best show ever because no other show was as ambitious, and successful in its ambition. However, as much as I love The Wire, BB beat it - and many other of the great dramas - cleanly on two important counts - consistency (it's difficult to name, off the top of my head, weak episodes of Breaking Bad, and there were no prolonged stretches of weakness) and cinematography. Probably acting too, come to think of it.

Ultimately it's an utterly meaningless debate but I like to have it anyway.

Civilized Fishbot
Apr 3, 2011
I feel like The Wire shouldn't be evaluated as a TV show so much as some sort of bizarre series of 5 incredibly long movies, because a season of The Wire is so much more valuable than the sum of its parts.

Jack Skeleton
Dec 7, 2006
If you want to know more about real life meth manufacturing, use and how it's fought criminally, this Frontline special on it is well worth watching and does give you a lot of insight on Breaking Bad
http://video.pbs.org/video/1933783731/

Going into the topic of why purity matters. The short of it is that the more pure the meth is, the more addicting it becomes and meth use and the purity levels go hand in hand.

BlackJosh
Sep 25, 2007
I think this show is it for me. I know it's my favorite show of all time right now, and I don't know if I'll ever watch anything I enjoy as much as Breaking Bad. I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

People talk a lot about the show's place in TV history, but how about Walter? Where is Walter White/Heisenberg in the pantheon of great TV characters? He's gotta be number #1, right?

freebooter
Jul 7, 2009

cletepurcel posted:

As far as legacy goes, I think you can make a solid case for Breaking Bad as the #2 drama of all time behind The Wire (I know at least one critic - Tim Goodman - already has, and I agree with him.) I think the general argument will go, The Wire is the best show ever because no other show was as ambitious, and successful in its ambition. However, as much as I love The Wire, BB beat it - and many other of the great dramas - cleanly on two important counts - consistency (it's difficult to name, off the top of my head, weak episodes of Breaking Bad, and there were no prolonged stretches of weakness) and cinematography. Probably acting too, come to think of it.

Ultimately it's an utterly meaningless debate but I like to have it anyway.

There was a really great article a while ago - can't remember who wrote it or what it was from, it was Grantland or EW or Time or something - which made the case that of the accepted big four (The Wire, The Sopranos, Mad Men and Breaking Bad), BB was the best because it was fundamentally about choices. In The Wire everyone's a product of their environment, ditto The Sopranos, in Mad Men everyone's a product of their time. Breaking Bad is the only one that examines the concept of evil and wrongdoing as a matter of deliberate choice. I thought it fitted in neatly with the fact that the show doesn't ever particularly condemn Walt or Jesse for the production of meth (because imbibing meth is a user's own choice), only for the actual evil associated with the criminal trade and ruthless climb to the top.

I'm currently approaching the end of the Wire season 2, and I think comparing them in terms of quality is apples and oranges. Breaking Bad is a stark, Shakespearean, moral-driven chess game with a very small cast; The Wire is more of a sprawling Dicknesian epic which doesn't, as far as I can tell, appear to have any particular moral - it's just about all kinds of different people struggling to survive against institutions, living in the cracks.

The Wire also doesn't have many edge of your seat moments the way BB does. It's definitely a quality show that I'm enjoying, but I'll finish an episode and happily not watch another for several weeks - it's doesn't have that same now, now, now gimme quality that BB did. The exception is in season 1 with the episode culminating in Kima getting shot but that's all. And that's appropriate, for The Wire, because that's what real life is like.

WickedHate
Aug 1, 2013

by Lowtax

Timeless Appeal posted:

I love Todd!

Stay the gently caress away from me.

Does it make it any better that I completely stopped enjoying him after Andrea?

I repented. :(

The Mutato
Feb 23, 2011

Neil deGrasse Highson
My dad is still convinced Walt is a good guy who did everything for his family and he just said otherwise to placate Skyler :eng99:

spacing in vienna
Jan 4, 2007

people they want us to fall down
but we won't ever touch the ground
we're perfectly balanced, we float around
til no one is here, do you hear the sound?


Lipstick Apathy

Mira posted:

Production values aside, I'm still probably going to keep up with Metastasis just for the little quirks they'll have to change because of the disparate setting.

With Walter White now being Walter Blanco, they can't keep the Walt Whitman initials as a way of Hank finding out. I'd be curious how they tweak that; is there a famous Mexican poet with initials WB?

freebooter
Jul 7, 2009

Oh, and I still haven't figured out how I feel about the finale, but I do think: the flashforwards in season five were a mistake. The first one was shocking and cool at the time, because it revealed that Walt's empire had fallen apart and he was on the run. In retrospect that wasn't a good move. Without showing that, the possibilities for the show's ending were limitless - but since they did show that, we knew that the show was ultimately going to end in a certain way. I would have preferred not to.

It was still an absolutely amazing piece of television and I enjoyed season five a lot. I just think those two flashforwards were a bad move.

Civilized Fishbot
Apr 3, 2011

The Mutato posted:

My dad is still convinced Walt is a good guy who did everything for his family and he just said otherwise to placate Skyler :eng99:

Have you asked your dad about Walt turning down the Grey Matter job, which would have given Walt's family incredible financial stability while keeping them from any exposure to crime?

animal math
Oct 2, 2012

As disappointed as I am that Breaking Bad is over, I'm kind of relieved as well. Everybody's story wrapped up neatly and succinctly and there wasn't much of a need to continue these character's lives. I'm mostly curiou to see how Skyler, Flynn and Holly turned out, but I'm also grateful for ambiguity. It also means not having to almost have a heart attack every week.

WickedHate
Aug 1, 2013

by Lowtax

Civilized Fishbot posted:

Have you asked your dad about Walt turning down the Grey Matter job, which would have given Walt's family incredible financial stability while keeping them from any exposure to crime?

We're not doing this again are we?

Jack Skeleton
Dec 7, 2006
On the topic of Breaking Bad vs. The Wire. I think that it should be noted the differences between West coast and East coast settings makes. While I loved the writing and story of The Wire and how it encompassed Baltimore as a whole, I'm a west coaster, so there's a good amount that is just not ingrained into me about it.

Breaking Bad's Southwestern setting strikes a perfect chord with me. I'm really glad they decided ABQ instead of Riverside, Ca. The city and setting of wide open skies works so loving well with the show. Seeing those montages with wide skies, sometimes with clouds, other times without for miles and miles around really helped the show and ABQ became a character in it.

Civilized Fishbot
Apr 3, 2011

WickedHate posted:

We're not doing this again are we?

Fair enough. It's just ludicrous to me that someone could be enthralled enough by a show to watch 50+ hours of it without comprehending the motivations of the main character.

freebooter posted:

There was a really great article a while ago - can't remember who wrote it or what it was from, it was Grantland or EW or Time or something - which made the case
I'm currently approaching the end of the Wire season 2, and I think comparing them in terms of quality is apples and oranges. Breaking Bad is a stark, Shakespearean, moral-driven chess game with a very small cast; The Wire is more of a sprawling Dicknesian epic which doesn't, as far as I can tell, appear to have any particular moral - it's just about all kinds of different people struggling to survive against institutions, living in the cracks.

The Wire could also be called a Greek tragedy in its portrayal of flawed people who try to do the right thing, and end up either forced into doing the wrong thing or suffering greatly from defying their assigned roles in life.

One can also say that Breaking Bad is about events happening and people changing, while The Wire is just about people and institutions existing in a stagnant deadlock.

With me, comparing The Wire and Breaking Bad in terms of quality is just as absurd as comparing Thai and Pizza as Elliot points out in the finale. If I want The Wire, I'll watch The Wire. If I want Breaking Bad, I'll watch Breaking Bad. The two aren't nearly similar enough to compete any more than Baskin-Robbins tries to compete with Indiana University.

Civilized Fishbot fucked around with this message at 06:15 on Oct 7, 2013

Bubba Smith
Sep 27, 2004

Is tonight the greatest moment in Dominick Cruz's life?

No.

The greatest moment in my life was realizing that I didn't need a belt to be happy.

BlackJosh posted:

People talk a lot about the show's place in TV history, but how about Walter? Where is Walter White/Heisenberg in the pantheon of great TV characters? He's gotta be number #1, right?

Not really. There have been characters who were more evil, more clever, cooler looking, bigger cultural impact, whatever. Walter White was basically a pushover for the first 1/3rd of the show.

His transformation was great to watch and we all loved (hated) Walt, but I'd still pick Tony Soprano as a character I enjoyed watching more than Walter White. Hell, there were times in the show that I was more interested in Gus Fring than I was Walt.

freebooter posted:

Oh, and I still haven't figured out how I feel about the finale, but I do think: the flashforwards in season five were a mistake. The first one was shocking and cool at the time, because it revealed that Walt's empire had fallen apart and he was on the run. In retrospect that wasn't a good move. Without showing that, the possibilities for the show's ending were limitless - but since they did show that, we knew that the show was ultimately going to end in a certain way. I would have preferred not to.

It was still an absolutely amazing piece of television and I enjoyed season five a lot. I just think those two flashforwards were a bad move.

Vince Gilligan addressed this with an answer I felt was satisfying: the very first episode of Breaking Bad we find out that Walt has cancer. From the first episode of the series we know that Walt is going to die, so the ending wasn't necessarily "limitless." What we didn't know was what were the circumstances going to be around his death, and there was no way to figure that out from the flashforward at the start of season 5. All we knew was the poo poo finally hit the fan for Walt, so the fun was seeing how did he lose control.

Bubba Smith fucked around with this message at 06:30 on Oct 7, 2013

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2house2fly
Nov 14, 2012

You did a super job wrapping things up! And I'm not just saying that because I have to!
Walt is a great character, though I sympathised with Jesse more; he kind of reminded me of D'Angelo from The Wire, clearly cut out for a more compassionate life but stuck in the heartless world of drug dealing. Something about that character gets me right in the emotions.

Re The Wire, I lived in the north of England when I watched it and that probably means I identified with it more than a fair chunk of western Americans. I was familiar with dilapidated old factories and poor areas full of people of different ethnicities, so it was easy to feel that The Wire wasn't just talking about America, but about my home too.

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