Television Breaking Bad

Rado_N

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It’s not great, and definitely unrealistic - the bomb went off right next to his head. To include it seems an odd when it doesn’t really add anything to the story.
Exactly. It’s like they had budget left at the end of the season so decided to blow it on the effects with no real sense of purpose for it.
 

Rado_N

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acnumber9

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I’m re-watching at the moment. The quality of the last 8 episodes are truly exceptional. Possibly the strongest end to a show of them all.
 

cafecillos

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I've been watching Malcolm in the Middle, which I didn't think would be as good as it is, and Cranston's acting range is impressive. He's surprisingly good at physical comedy, for example.
 

AaronRedDevil

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Haven’t watched BB in about 5 or 6 years. Always thought it was great but boring starting off. Started watching it all and now I just finished it. Forgot how funny it is at times and Cranston is amazing in this show. Just wow. I don’t think I’ve ever felt addicted to watching a show since Game of Thrones. It’s strong form the start to end. The last 3 episodes are an emotional rollercoaster. The Gale scene was so sad to watch because he’s such a nice guy and the look he gives Jessie while he’s breaking down is such a brilliant scene. Mike was probably the only guy that made Walt look like an idiot. Gus was really damn good against him. Brilliant the way they ended that beef. This show is fecking genius sometimes, moving lab in a Tent for pest control. Genius. It’s moved up to my 2nd best show. The fact that people think BCS is as good as BB is hilarious. I wondered who’s more evil Todd or Joffrey. Personally Joffrey just loves it but Todd doesn’t even show an ounce of emotion when killing a person, the kid or Andrea. He’s a monster. Reminded me why I DESPISE him so much. Kudos to the actor. This show is so far ahead it’s not even remotely close. This is the definition of a masterpiece.
 

amolbhatia50k

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Haven’t watched BB in about 5 or 6 years. Always thought it was great but boring starting off. Started watching it all and now I just finished it. Forgot how funny it is at times and Cranston is amazing in this show. Just wow. I don’t think I’ve ever felt addicted to watching a show since Game of Thrones. It’s strong form the start to end. The last 3 episodes are an emotional rollercoaster. The Gale scene was so sad to watch because he’s such a nice guy and the look he gives Jessie while he’s breaking down is such a brilliant scene. Mike was probably the only guy that made Walt look like an idiot. Gus was really damn good against him. Brilliant the way they ended that beef. This show is fecking genius sometimes, moving lab in a Tent for pest control. Genius. It’s moved up to my 2nd best show. The fact that people think BCS is as good as BB is hilarious. I wondered who’s more evil Todd or Joffrey. Personally Joffrey just loves it but Todd doesn’t even show an ounce of emotion when killing a person, the kid or Andrea. He’s a monster. Reminded me why I DESPISE him so much. Kudos to the actor. This show is so far ahead it’s not even remotely close. This is the definition of a masterpiece.
What's your best show ?
 

AaronRedDevil

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What's your best show ?
Game of Thrones. I know...S8 really fecked it all up. But before that I genuinely loved it. Even the weaker seasons are still good enough. I love fantasy genres and so this was right up my alley. Lot of great characters and moments. Just ticked all the boxes for me. But I will say as far as which show is better. I'd say BB. Simply because it ended the best way possible. It didn't end like Skylar killing Walt and showing up to the men who killed Hank with an m60 and blasting them away and after that Jessie kills Skylar for threatening him that one time, plus Jr is just sitting there at home wondering where the hell is his breakfast. Thats basically the ending if D&D were in charge. Ffs
 
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b82REZ

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I was never the biggest fan of the show and thought it was massively overrated.

I started to rewatch it a few weeks a go and I loved the first two seasons. But, my god, it goes to shit in season three. Just so slow and boring. Really struggling to get through the episodes, especially knowing the next episode I need to watch is that fecking fly episode.

Based on the first two seasons and what I remember of seasons 4 onwards I have changed my opinion from it being very overrated to it being a slightly better than good show. Still a cut below The Wire, Sopranos and Mad Men though.
 

amolbhatia50k

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I was never the biggest fan of the show and thought it was massively overrated.

I started to rewatch it a few weeks a go and I loved the first two seasons. But, my god, it goes to shit in season three. Just so slow and boring. Really struggling to get through the episodes, especially knowing the next episode I need to watch is that fecking fly episode.

Based on the first two seasons and what I remember of seasons 4 onwards I have changed my opinion from it being very overrated to it being a slightly better than good show. Still a cut below The Wire, Sopranos and Mad Men though.
Man I could never rewatch something I found massively overrated. There's enough good stuff out there to play / watch to not waste your time confirming / changing a previously held view.
 

b82REZ

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Man I could never rewatch something I found massively overrated. There's enough good stuff out there to play / watch to not waste your time confirming / changing a previously held view.
It's not that I thought it was bad on my first watch. Just nowhere near the acclaim it received.

It was more because I wanted to start Better Call Saul and so I figured I'd give it another go.

Like I said it's not bad by any means, but it is in the tier below the best shows. It's not like I'm comparing it with The Walking Dead.

It has some very good things going for it, the cinematography, the acting, most of the main cast are excellent. But it has the moments of almost comic book scenarios, or mind numbing banal periods (like most of season 3).

On first viewing I didn't like the ending (that would fall under the comic book scenario) so I'm wondering how I'll receive it this time around having generally felt like I'm enjoying it more.
 

Solius

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It's not that I thought it was bad on my first watch. Just nowhere near the acclaim it received.

It was more because I wanted to start Better Call Saul and so I figured I'd give it another go.

Like I said it's not bad by any means, but it is in the tier below the best shows. It's not like I'm comparing it with The Walking Dead.

It has some very good things going for it, the cinematography, the acting, most of the main cast are excellent. But it has the moments of almost comic book scenarios, or mind numbing banal periods (like most of season 3).

On first viewing I didn't like the ending (that would fall under the comic book scenario) so I'm wondering how I'll receive it this time around having generally felt like I'm enjoying it more.
The final two episodes of S3 are superb tbf. They still stick out in my mind.
 

V.O.

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I was never the biggest fan of the show and thought it was massively overrated.

I started to rewatch it a few weeks a go and I loved the first two seasons. But, my god, it goes to shit in season three. Just so slow and boring. Really struggling to get through the episodes, especially knowing the next episode I need to watch is that fecking fly episode.

Based on the first two seasons and what I remember of seasons 4 onwards I have changed my opinion from it being very overrated to it being a slightly better than good show. Still a cut below The Wire, Sopranos and Mad Men though.
Yeah, the fly episode is just the showrunners shamelessly wanking themselves off for an hour.

Skip it and miss nothing, much like the minutes-long close ups of mundane objects set to jaunty music that they fecking love so much in Better Call Saul.
 

FreakyJim

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I also recently started rewatching this. There are so many great moments but I also often find myself skipping forward large, uninteresting parts of it. I never do that when rewatching my favourite shows like The Wire, Deadwood and others but man, when Breaking Bad is good, it's amazing.

The episode when they got stuck in the desert and Walter had to make a battery is still my favourite.

"What are we building?"
"You said it yourself.."
"A robot?"

:lol:
 

b82REZ

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The final two episodes of S3 are superb tbf. They still stick out in my mind.
I'm sure it has some good episodes by the end, but Fly is episode 10 so they waste so much of that season on Gus convincing Walt to cook for him. The cartel stuff gets blown off really quickly as well, that could have been an exciting subplot rather than for half of the season.
 

b82REZ

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I also recently started rewatching this. There are so many great moments but I also often find myself skipping forward large, uninteresting parts of it. I never do that when rewatching my favourite shows like The Wire, Deadwood and others but man, when Breaking Bad is good, it's amazing.

The episode when they got stuck in the desert and Walter had to make a battery is still my favourite.

"What are we building?"
"You said it yourself.."
"A robot?"

:lol:
That's an excellent episode.

The first two seasons feel like something exciting happens every episode, or at least advances the plot in some way.

Season three feels like they put the brakes on a bit to milk it for longer. Although the scene with Saul explaining money laundering to Jesse is an excellent scene.
 

amolbhatia50k

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It's not that I thought it was bad on my first watch. Just nowhere near the acclaim it received.

It was more because I wanted to start Better Call Saul and so I figured I'd give it another go.

Like I said it's not bad by any means, but it is in the tier below the best shows. It's not like I'm comparing it with The Walking Dead.

It has some very good things going for it, the cinematography, the acting, most of the main cast are excellent. But it has the moments of almost comic book scenarios, or mind numbing banal periods (like most of season 3).

On first viewing I didn't like the ending (that would fall under the comic book scenario) so I'm wondering how I'll receive it this time around having generally felt like I'm enjoying it more.
I adore it. Easily the best I've seen.
 

b82REZ

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After watching 4 episodes of The Sopranos, I stand by my comment. BB is in the group of shows below the absolute best.

Unfortunately I think I'll lose interest in my rewatch of BB because of The Sopranos.

I did finish season 3 and while it does end well, it takes far too long to get to that stage and really kills the momentum the show builds in seasons 1 and 2.
 

Sara125

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I finally finished watching this (yes I’m like 10+ years late). Can definitely see why it’s so widely critically-acclaimed. Walt’s character development is one of the best of a TV character I’ve ever seen.
 

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Also I can’t help realising how similar Power is to this. You have the main character- James St. Patrick aka Ghost- who is a completely normal guy on the outside but leads a double life as a drug lord, and a DEA agent- Cooper Saxe- is absolutely hell bent on finding out who this Ghost person is, chasing red herrings etc. while his colleagues berate him for his obsession with the case, just like Hank.

Of course, BB doesn’t have as nearly as many major plot holes and stupid sub storylines as Power did, and much better character development.
 

Bobade

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Also I can’t help realising how similar Power is to this. You have the main character- James St. Patrick aka Ghost- who is a completely normal guy on the outside but leads a double life as a drug lord, and a DEA agent- Cooper Saxe- is absolutely hell bent on finding out who this Ghost person is, chasing red herrings etc. while his colleagues berate him for his obsession with the case, just like Hank.

Of course, BB doesn’t have as nearly as many major plot holes and stupid sub storylines as Power did, and much better character development.
Power was enjoyable but levels below BB. I don't think I can bring myself to ever rematch it though because of how irritating I found the relationship between Ghost and the attorney whose name i cannot recall. It was both supremely unbelievable and super cringey. Like a pair of teenagers when she is a high level professional. Plus, she seems to say Jaaaammmieeeeee in a whiney pleading voice every 5 minutes.
 

Rado_N

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Also I can’t help realising how similar Power is to this. You have the main character- James St. Patrick aka Ghost- who is a completely normal guy on the outside but leads a double life as a drug lord, and a DEA agent- Cooper Saxe- is absolutely hell bent on finding out who this Ghost person is, chasing red herrings etc. while his colleagues berate him for his obsession with the case, just like Hank.

Of course, BB doesn’t have as nearly as many major plot holes and stupid sub storylines as Power did, and much better character development.
I watched a couple of episodes of Power ages ago, another difference is that the cast of Breaking Bad can act.
 

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Watching Breaking Bad and doing stuff like skipping, fast forwarding, etc., ffs.

Why bother if you are not into it then? I feel like some people are simply not appreciating enough the production and story telling of Vince Giligan, and that's fine, but if you don't like it, it doesn't mean it's not brilliant. It's same like someone complaining in the Sopranos thread that there is no story. The story is literally about the life of mafia, you can watch them playing poker for hours and if you are into it it's world class level of entertainment.

Btw, Sopranos is my favourite show ever, but it's literally two different TV shows completely, why are people even feeling the need to compare tbese shows when rating them? I mean, rating one over other is fine, but it's really difficult to compare it.

I watched a couple of episodes of Power ages ago, another difference is that the cast of Breaking Bad can act.
Thought the same :lol:

I literally stopped watching it because of shit acting even though the show itself didn't look that bad.
 

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After watching 4 episodes of The Sopranos, I stand by my comment. BB is in the group of shows below the absolute best.

Unfortunately I think I'll lose interest in my rewatch of BB because of The Sopranos.

I did finish season 3 and while it does end well, it takes far too long to get to that stage and really kills the momentum the show builds in seasons 1 and 2.
When was the last time you rewatched all of The Sopranos? There is an order of magnitude more filler and momentum killing episodes in Sopranos versus Breaking Bad.
 

b82REZ

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When was the last time you rewatched all of The Sopranos? There is an order of magnitude more filler and momentum killing episodes in Sopranos versus Breaking Bad.
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.
 

Solius

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When was the last time you rewatched all of The Sopranos? There is an order of magnitude more filler and momentum killing episodes in Sopranos versus Breaking Bad.
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.
 

b82REZ

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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.
Absolutely this.

The acting is second to none in The Sopranos. The dialogue is best in class.

The more I watch it the more it's making me question whether it's better than The Wire, which I've considered the best ever for years. While Sopranos has some "filler" it doesn't go completely season 5 of The Wire bad.
 

Solius

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Absolutely this.

The acting is second to none in The Sopranos. The dialogue is best in class.

The more I watch it the more it's making me question whether it's better than The Wire, which I've considered the best ever for years. While Sopranos has some "filler" it doesn't go completely season 5 of The Wire bad.
This is what I’m currently thinking as well. I think The Wire is the best show about society and people, but The Sopranos is the best show about a person.
 

b82REZ

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This is what I’m currently thinking as well. I think The Wire is the best show about society and people, but The Sopranos is the best show about a person.
That's a really good point.

Tony's descent it far more believable than Walt's as well.
 

Sara125

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Power was enjoyable but levels below BB. I don't think I can bring myself to ever rematch it though because of how irritating I found the relationship between Ghost and the attorney whose name i cannot recall. It was both supremely unbelievable and super cringey. Like a pair of teenagers when she is a high level professional. Plus, she seems to say Jaaaammmieeeeee in a whiney pleading voice every 5 minutes.
Angela Valdez? Yeah she was annoying :lol:
 

Moby

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Tony's descent it far more believable than Walt's as well.
A show which has a bog standard school teacher turn into a mega drug lord overnight isn't exactly looking for the plot being "believable". Always find it funny when people end up watching Breaking Bad as a serious story.
 

b82REZ

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A show which has a bog standard school teacher turn into a mega drug lord overnight isn't exactly looking for the plot being "believable". Always find it funny when people end up watching Breaking Bad as a serious story.
It absolutely frames itself as such. It's trying as being as realistic and believable as it can be, which is why the comic moments are even more jarring.
 

Solius

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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.