Breaking Bad - Part 1

[Blackman]

thanks

[Call Me Darkman]

Originally Posted by The Riddler

the emotional weight, the suspense, the holy sht moments...there really isn't another series like breaking bad.

Seasons 1 & 2 of Dexter had all that. They even had Doakes who was awesome and found out about Dexter.

[Kane52630]

Vince Gilligan Talks Series Ending With Today; L.A. Times Likes Breaking Bad's Globe Chances

http://blogs.amctv.com/breaking-bad/...undup-1202.php

This week, Vince Gilligan tells Today.com that he has no idea how the show is going to wrap up, the Los Angeles Times forecasts Golden Globe nominations for both Breaking Bad and Bryan Cranston, and GoldDerby handicaps Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul's chances of nabbing SAG Award nominations. Plus, numerous publications give thanks for Breaking Bad, and HitFix names Giancarlo Esposito one of the year's 25 breakout stars. Read on for more:

• Vince Gilligan tells Today.com that he has no idea how the show is going to wrap up: "I have certain hopes and dreams for how the characters will wind up, but I don't have anything nailed down plot-wise."

• The Los Angeles Times predicts that Breaking Bad and Bryan Cranston will be nominated for Golden Globe Awards (no link). They also offer some possible reasons why Breaking Bad has only garnered a single Golden Globe nomination to date, and include Bryan Cranston in a look at actors who excel at both comedy and drama, noting that being good at both has "traditionally been next to impossible when it has come to television."

• GoldDerby handicaps Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul's chances of nabbing SAG Award nominations, as well as their chances of actually taking a statue home.

• Several publications gave thanks for Breaking Bad this week: The Orlando Sentinel is thankful for the acting on Breaking Bad, remarking "Bryan Cranston and his co-stars were exceptional last season," while TV Fanatic is grateful for "every moment Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are on the screen together." The Contra Costa Times is thankful for the show too, calling it an "incredibly addictive drama," while the Charleston (W. Va.) Gazette is thankful for both Breaking Bad and the creation of Jesse and Gus, and Hollywood.com is thankful for Bryan Cranston, dubbing him "the best actor ever."

• HitFix names Giancarlo Esposito one of the year's 25 breakout stars, saying "Esposito's work is going to be long, long remembered by anyone who watched one of the small screen's best villains ever." Esposito's local paper, Arts & Leisure, notes that his portrayal of Gus Fring "has raised Mr. Esposito's profile practically overnight."

• Aaron Paul talks to Australia's AdelaideNow about the show and its impending ending, saying "It's going to be very sad to say goodbye to this show."

• Screen Junkies includes Breaking Bad on its list of "5 AMC Shows That Are Better Than All Other Television Combined," noting, "Plain and simple a must watch for anyone who watches TV, or really anyone who ever might watch TV."

• Breaking Bad is OnMilwaukee.com's 2011 TV pick: "This show gets darker and better each season."

• The International Business Times includes Breaking Bad (and The Walking Dead) on its list of the year's top 10 TV shows.

• Australia's Melbourne Weekly spotlights Breaking Bad, calling it "as close to perfect television as you can find."

• Salon selects holiday gifts for "hard-to-please dad" Walter White, including a copy of Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince.

• Forbes wonders why all TV anti-heroes are men, finding themselves unable to think of any female anti-heroes on TV "in the same ballpark as the leads in Breaking Bad."

• The New York Times reviews Alan Alda's Radiance, saying Marie Curie is "gracefully portrayed" by Anna Gunn., while The Los Angeles Times reports that Bryan Cranston has joined the cast of a stage production of It's a Wonderful Life that will run for two performances only on Dec. 10 in Los Angeles.

• BuzzFocus highlights the show's encore run, which will begin airing on Dec. 5: "This is a good time to set your DVRs up so that you don't miss out on any of the fun (or carnage)."

• According to TVOvermind, Bryan Cranston will appear in an episode of The Mortified Sessions on the Sundance Channel.

• TV Guide reports that Giancarlo Esposito's character will return to ABC's Once Upon a Time in the new year, with details about "who he is, who he was and how he got in the mirror."

• According to AOL TV, Mark Margolis will guest-star on the Dec. 8 episode of Person of Interest on CBS.

• The Hollywood Reporter shared WWE star Chris Jericho's tweet about The Walking Dead's midseason finale in which he also expressed his love for Breaking Bad: "Walking Dead and Dexter were amazing tonight! What a swerve in both episodes. Throw in Breaking Bad and you've got the 3 best shows on TV."

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

So what is AMC playing starting on the fifth?

[The Riddler]

Originally Posted by Call Me Darkman

Seasons 1 & 2 of Dexter had all that. They even had Doakes who was awesome and found out about Dexter.

had some, but not as much emotional impact or holy sht moments. any season of breaking bad was clearly superior to the best of dexter, imo, because of that.

[TLH]

Originally Posted by The Riddler

had some, but not as much emotional impact or holy sht moments. any season of breaking bad was clearly superior to the best of dexter, imo, because of that.

Breaking Bad is superior to Dexter, but Seasons 1-4 of Dexter are among the only TV that holds up to Breaking Bad in terms of intensity, excitement, visuals, twists, etc. It's not as well written as Breaking Bad, but it can hold its own in terms of the aforementioned.

Breaking Bad has ruined a lot of TV for me, though. I now suddenly find Deadwood is too slow to interest me, despite LOVING it prior to Breaking Bad. The same applies to many other shows.

[The Demon's Head]

This season, Breaking Bad was more than a good thing; it was a great thing where performance, *direction, concept, and *hallucinatory New Mexico location photography all came together with the power of a bomb wired to a wheelchair. Bryan *Cranston and Aaron Paul turned in the best performances I've seen in years, and Giancarlo Esposito (as Gus Fring) is simply the best villain ever on a *continuing TV show. The ultimate showdown between Gus and Walter is mythic, the outcome simultaneously satisfying and completely surprising. Breaking Bad has now surpassed The Sopranos, and, although I love Steve Buscemi, HBO's Boardwalk Empire isn't even in the running. Breaking Bad is an American classic.

- Stephen King

[Sawyer]

Surprised no one has posted this...

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

Aaron Paul is in some P. Diddy vodka commercial. Gotta keep your eyes peeled for him, though.

[DyeLorean]

Originally Posted by The Demon's Head

This season, Breaking Bad was more than a good thing; it was a great thing where performance, *direction, concept, and *hallucinatory New Mexico location photography all came together with the power of a bomb wired to a wheelchair. Bryan *Cranston and Aaron Paul turned in the best performances I've seen in years, and Giancarlo Esposito (as Gus Fring) is simply the best villain ever on a *continuing TV show. The ultimate showdown between Gus and Walter is mythic, the outcome simultaneously satisfying and completely surprising. Breaking Bad has now surpassed The Sopranos, and, although I love Steve Buscemi, HBO's Boardwalk Empire isn't even in the running. Breaking Bad is an American classic.- Stephen King

Great quote.

Easily one of the most powerful series ever. Just perfectly constructed. One of the few where you can have two characters just talking for 15 minutes in one long scene, and you don't care. In fact, you get so into it because of the performances and the dialogue.
Too bad is ending, but I understand the 'quitting while you're strong'.

[TheBat812]

Originally Posted by The Riddler

had some, but not as much emotional impact or holy sht moments. any season of breaking bad was clearly superior to the best of dexter, imo, because of that.

Ya, although I think another factor is simply the tone and goal of each show. Breaking Bad is a very realistic and about creating and keeping tension. Dexter is much different, imo, much less about exploring natural character progressions so much as Dexter's issues through some weird lense that allows us to see the humor in Dexter's character even though we probably shouldn't (imagine Dexter if it were done with a gritty, realistic tone. Not nearly as enjoyable/unique), which is why l the stories feel much more predictable many times, or doesn't really try to hide its twists, it's part of the style - very aloof and borderline dreamlike (the guy talks to his dead dad all the time... that's kind of insane). That's why Dexter, as much as I love it, will never be a show I enjoy as much from a filmmaking standpoint. I simply love and am constantly impressed by Breaking Bad's realistic tone and the believable characters they've created, who have real, natural, subtle and always evolving storylines. Dexter is impressive in its own right, but not really the style I aspire to.

The tones also changes the writing style alot, and Breaking Bad's is simply amazing and much more impressive. Dexter, I love really because of Michael C Hall's performance and the tone it creates. It's a very nice and intriguing world, and while its alot less tense and believable than Breaking Bad, its equally enjoyable to me, for much different reasons. Breaking bad is also never sloppy in their writing, something Dexter sometimes has issues with. You can kind of chalk it up to being that the writers of Dexter have specific goals with their catharsis for Dexter, whereas Breaking Bad has the opposite goal of seeing where Walt's mind goes, allowing more freedom for where the story can evolve, but I guess that just means it's not as good of writing, haha.

[The Riddler]

Originally Posted by TheBat812

Ya, although I think another factor is simply the tone and goal of each show. Breaking Bad is a very realistic and about creating and keeping tension. Dexter is much different, imo, much less about exploring natural character progressions so much as Dexter's issues through some weird lense that allows us to see the humor in Dexter's character even though we probably shouldn't (imagine Dexter if it were done with a gritty, realistic tone. Not nearly as enjoyable/unique), which is why l the stories feel much more predictable many times, or doesn't really try to hide its twists, it's part of the style - very aloof and borderline dreamlike (the guy talks to his dead dad all the time... that's kind of insane). That's why Dexter, as much as I love it, will never be a show I enjoy as much from a filmmaking standpoint. I simply love and am constantly impressed by Breaking Bad's realistic tone and the believable characters they've created, who have real, natural, subtle and always evolving storylines. Dexter is impressive in its own right, but not really the style I aspire to.

The tones also changes the writing style alot, and Breaking Bad's is simply amazing and much more impressive. Dexter, I love really because of Michael C Hall's performance and the tone it creates. It's a very nice and intriguing world, and while its alot less tense and believable than Breaking Bad, its equally enjoyable to me, for much different reasons. Breaking bad is also never sloppy in their writing, something Dexter sometimes has issues with. You can kind of chalk it up to being that the writers of Dexter have specific goals with their catharsis for Dexter, whereas Breaking Bad has the opposite goal of seeing where Walt's mind goes, allowing more freedom for where the story can evolve, but I guess that just means it's not as good of writing, haha.

while i certainly agree with your take on the differences between dexter and breaking bad, i don't agree that dexter's predictability has anything to do with the tone of the show. just because we peer into the mind of dexter, often in humorous fashion, that really shouldn't have any bearing at all on the predictability or suspense of the show. the writing on dexter simply isn't as good; that's the main explanation.

[TheBat812]

Originally Posted by The Riddler

while i certainly agree with your take on the differences between dexter and breaking bad, i don't agree that dexter's predictability has anything to do with the tone of the show. just because we peer into the mind of dexter, often in humorous fashion, that really shouldn't have any bearing at all on the predictability or suspense of the show. the writing on dexter simply isn't as good; that's the main explanation.

haha, that's pretty much the conclusion of my post, but ya. Dexter's best writing was probably never as impressive as Breaking Bad's worst. I guess what I really meant is that the tone allows me to cut it some slack in its weak writing because I like the theme/character they're exploring through it.

[Motown Marvel]

i just watched this whole series in the last week. good stuff. wonder what mike is up to right about now....

[WalkingDeadMike]

Originally Posted by TheBat812

Dexter's best writing was probably never as impressive as Breaking Bad's worst.

I don't agree with that at all, and BB is my favorite show in TV history.

[TheBat812]

Originally Posted by WalkingDeadMike

I don't agree with that at all, and BB is my favorite show in TV history.

That was clearly hyperbole, haha, but Dexter's simply not as strong a show as far as writing is concerned. There are tons of convenient decisions in every season of Dexter including the first couple. Things you accept, but don't hold up to scrutiny. I absolutely love Dexter, its' actually my favorite cinematic world, but it is not nearly as precise and natural as Breaking Bad. I could name a dozen examples where Dexter makes what should be a mistake but the writers conveniently forget about it. Breaking Bad makes every decision (good or bad) matter in the long run. Dexter actually makes mistakes that should matter, but don't (him killing that guy in the bathroom before Rita's funeral, him constantly ****ing with investigations using his office's systems, etc.). Or maybe they will in future seasons, but they sure haven't recently.

Don't get me wrong though, Dexter still is one of my favorite shows and probably one of the best written out there, with one of the most compelling characters. It's like comparing The Matrix to Memento. Both are great, and strive for different things, and you can't go wrong with either, but one is just slightly more impressive in terms of sheer writing accomplishment. Matrix is both extremely entertaining and has depth, but memento just has more depth to it with more realistic character reactions. Probably not the best examples, but I hope you at least get what I'm getting at, haha.

I can't really recall any moments in breaking bad where I questioned the character's reactions to things the way I have in Dexter, or had moments that never came to matter. Can you think of any I might be forgetting?

[Master Chief]

Dexter's writing is lazy, and I don't think I'm being biased just because I don't like the direction they've taken with his character. I've been a loyal viewer from the beginning til now. When there are only a handful of moments that I like across seasons 3 to 6... something isn't right.

At first I thought it was a show about a good guy deciding to kill serial killers. Then I found out he's just as twisted as the people he's murdering. That first kill had me instantly hooked... yet the writers have been getting further and further from that character. Which would be fine, if they would just stop having him regress after these long, drawn out story arcs where he realizes his efforts to better himself are in vain. Oh, and the worst part? These little adventures in self-improvement always bring out the careless, unbelievably stupid Dexter who makes terrible decisions; Which in turn softens the blow of anything shocking that comes of his sloppiness because he was being a dumbass.

The thing that puts Breaking Bad ahead of every single show on TV right now, and arguably every show that has come before it? They've been building toward a concrete finale since its inception. Every single moment of the show is created with the end in mind, and that love and attention to detail shines through in a way I haven't seen since The Wire.

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

I heard the Wire was the greatest show in the history of man, ever, in the history of man until the end of time. Critics were basically dancing arond it cheering, even the most cynical ones. I'm going through it now, it will be very interesting to see how it stands compared to breaking bad. From what I read, that show is also well thought out rather than alot of shows that just nose dive as they carry on.

[Brain Damage]

My high school history teacher was obsessed with The Wire and called it the greatest thing on television. He talked a lot about TV but I don't recall him ever mentioning Breaking Bad so I'm not sure how he'd compare it to The Wire.

[The Demon's Head]

The Shield is a much better show than The Wire IMO.

[Master Chief]

Originally Posted by The Demon's Head

The Shield is a much better show than The Wire IMO.

Hahah yeah I'd rather have a Shield marathon. The Wire is fantastic but it's really heavy and at times a little too realistic when it comes to police politics and street life. I still put The Wire ahead of The Shield because of its use of metaphor and how it's structured.

Breaking Bad is better than them both though.

[DyeLorean]

Not really an important post, but it strikes me as interesting how different (in both appearance and age) Bryan Cranston looks without his Breaking look.

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Alot of people worry about going bald but he looks totally awsome bald.

[Soapy]

I never could get into The Shield.

[kguillou]

The Shield was a fantastic show. In my opinion, the best "police" show there ever was. It was gritty and realistic and its characters were very complex and 3-dimensional. And that final season, oh boy was that a DOOZY! There were some misteps along the way, but the Shield was excellent television, highly recommend it.