Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul

[SR]

Well, episode 3 has aired. Don't carry on.

[creep]

three in and i'm liking it. not breaking bad great but good. tonight's episode was the best yet.

[JOEinPHX]

This seems like it's going to be kind of a dark show.

[Jasper]

Very entertaining. The camping Kettlemans were over the top, but so were the skater twins. Mrs. Kettleman is easy on the eyes.

[SR]

I was kind of waiting for the magic realism in the show. Touches with the space blanket and 'did you ground yourself', but.....it's showtime!

[Hype]

I wasn't that impressed with the latest episode. It feels like they're intentionally drawing things out to create a whole season out of something that could be covered in a single episode (how Jimmy becomes Saul...). There's also a distinct lack of interesting, and female, characters so far.

The only thing keeping me watching is that the cinematography is still great, and the hope that the writing gets better.

[SR]

Oh no you don't. No! You read/heard them. No criticisms this early. You'll upset people!

I agree.

[Hype]

This is why spin-offs are almost always a bad idea.

How many successful spin-offs have there been? The only one I can think of quickly is Frasier.

That's not to say that spin-offs are actually bad shows. Some of them might even be excellent. Like they're Porno For Pyros after Jane's Addiction...

[SR]

Mmm, the show's not on life support just yet. I mentioned my disdain for sequels (prequels) earlier in the thread, but if anyone can do it, it's VG. Part of the problem is the inevitable comparison to BB en masse v. 3 episodes.

You and I have dramatically different tastes where 22 minute sitcom comedy is concerned. Seinfeld and Frasier.....

Off the top of my head.....Modern Family, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Taxi are all excellent....The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad are all excellent animated shows

[Hype]

I didn't say Frasier was good, just that it was successful (it's the most successful sitcom spin-off of all time, I think). The Cleveland Show was a bad spin-off from Family Guy. I don't really like any of Seth Macfarlane's shows. Nor do I like Modern Family. But anyway, Better Call Saul *is* good so far, so I didn't mean to suggest that it wasn't. But it's impossible NOT to compare it to BB (you could try not to, but ... that's like not comparing Satellite Party to Jane's Addiction... it's got one of the same people in it... your brain just goes there...)

[SR]

That's it. Gimme the remote

[creep]

the best spinoffs were the jeffersons and gomer pyle. the andy griffith show is technically a spinoff too i guess.

but you are right....spinoffs usually suck but i like the idea of this being a prequel so our favorite breaking bad characters can show up at any time.

[SR]

This is why spin-offs are almost always a bad idea.

Yes, and always money grabs. Here, with BCS I think VG has demonstrated some serious stones in that BB was so good and so well received by so many. Because BB was so good, I think (hope) his best effort will yield some very good things.

[SR]

Here we gooooo.....!

[creep]

good episode.

james mcgill is becoming saul goodman more and more every episode.

[Jasper]

Nacho's gonna come back to get him, then somehow something something Mike. And his brother dies or doesn't die. Plus something about the rival law firm. I've got it all figured out.

[Hokahey]

This is why spin-offs are almost always a bad idea.

How many successful spin-offs have there been? The only one I can think of quickly is Frasier.

That's not to say that spin-offs are actually bad shows. Some of them might even be excellent. Like they're Porno For Pyros after Jane's Addiction...

Oddly, I'd thought about Saul being the P4P to Breaking Bad's JA.

Not quite as epic. A bit more silly. And yet still very enjoyable in it's own way.

[Essence_Smith]

Part of the problem is the inevitable comparison to BB en masse v. 3 episodes.

You and I have dramatically different tastes where 22 minute sitcom comedy is concerned. Seinfeld and Frasier.....

Off the top of my head.....Modern Family, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Taxi are all excellent....The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad are all excellent animated shows

The bold part is THE problem...I'd rather give it some time...don't know if I've ever mentioned before but I love StarTrek...the different shows have different feels to them, but even my favorites started off SHITTY...I mean it's almost a given that the first season of everything TV wise since Shatner has taken at least 2 seasons to get good...this feels like a Star Trek thing for me, I mean that's all I can compare it to...it's still gotta find it's place in the universe, but it's set in a framework we're all familiar with...

And I LOVE Taxi always have...but if you have to go back that far to find what you think is an excellent sitcom...you need to watch more TV...

Seinfeld was great...I think All in the Family gets slept on a lot...I am still a HUGE fan of the Cosby Show...those I could pretty much watch forever and not tire of them...

[SR]

Part of the problem is the inevitable comparison to BB en masse v. 3 episodes.

You and I have dramatically different tastes where 22 minute sitcom comedy is concerned. Seinfeld and Frasier.....

Off the top of my head.....Modern Family, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Taxi are all excellent....The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad are all excellent animated shows

The bold part is THE problem...I'd rather give it some time...don't know if I've ever mentioned before but I love StarTrek...the different shows have different feels to them, but even my favorites started off SHITTY...I mean it's almost a given that the first season of everything TV wise since Shatner has taken at least 2 seasons to get good...this feels like a Star Trek thing for me, I mean that's all I can compare it to...it's still gotta find it's place in the universe, but it's set in a framework we're all familiar with...

And I LOVE Taxi always have...but if you have to go back that far to find what you think is an excellent sitcom...you need to watch more TV...

Seinfeld was great...I think All in the Family gets slept on a lot...I am still a HUGE fan of the Cosby Show...those I could pretty much watch forever and not tire of them...

You think that's far....how's this? (And Seinfeld is the most over rated show eva)

Hot L Baltimore? GREAT SHOW.....Pre All In The Family

[creep]

pretty funny episode tonight.

i'm looking forward to the show getting in to the whole mike back story. it should be pretty good with jimmy being his lawyer.

oh and by the way the cinematography is pretty great on the show.

[Jasper]

Yeah, it was a good episode, and the cinematography is definitely good. I imagine they've got a lot of the same crew working on it. Those mountains around the house of the guy who wanted to secede from the U.S. were beautiful. That transition from night to day when Mike was sitting in his little booth was good too, especially since you saw the same car driving away as it happened, or at least that was what I saw. Maybe it's one of those "American Night" things, which is a term for filming in daylight, but adjusting brightness (and whatever else) to make it look like night. But who the hell knows with all of the fancy digital tricks they've got now. Oh, and that part last week with the brother running out to steal the paper with his space blanket under the electrical poles was done perfectly.

Aaaand also that shot through the peephole in this episode was great, though it was surely some kind of digital composite.

[SR]

Im having a hard time with this show.

[Hype]

House of Cards S3 is too incredible right now for me to pay much attention to Better Call Saul. They've got equally good cinematography imho, though the latter allows some great outdoor/scenic shots, for obvious reasons.

[nausearockpig]

so far every ep of BCS has been engaging & interesting. This is more than can be said of every episode of BB. Time will tell..

[creep]

so far every ep of BCS has been engaging & interesting. This is more than can be said of every episode of BB. Time will tell..

i agree. i think they are getting better. either that or the show is growing on me. bb had some bad episodes but easily the worst one was "fly" where they chased around a stupid fly all episode.