Posted on 03/20/2015 8:55:56 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Are some Breaking Bad fans disappointed with Better Call Saul?>
Not every Breaking Bad fan is thrilled with the spin-off, Better Call Saul. The opposite case is also evident. Many BB fans have a new addiction; they’re hooked on the world of Saul Goodman. Mixed reactions among fans should have been expected, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Although its primarily based off the world of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul is its own show. Andrew Whalen with iDigital Times voices his opinion as to why he feels the storyline is going nowhere:
“Better Call Saul offers up a myriad of subplots, brings them to a head, and then has Jimmy McGill come up with a clever plan to side-step the crisis point entirely. In some ways this Better Call Saul formula is similar to Breaking Bad, just with Walt’s outlandish train heists, electromagnets, and chemistry tricks replaced with a wily lawyer’s legal (often extra-legal) maneuvering. But Breaking Bad had an underlying sense of urgency and anger that’s so far completely lacking in Better Call Saul. This is, in part, because we already know where Saul winds up. But it’s also a question of motivation. What does Jimmy McGill want… to be a successful lawyer?”
Whalen goes on to say that the bargaining scene in the desert with Tuco has been the apex of the show thus far. This was a very Breaking Bad-esque moment for the spin-off. A pattern that it should avoid to establish an identity as its own show.
“Five-O” covered plenty of ground in developing Better Call Saul‘s storyline. It was heavy on diving into the background behind one certain character. It also gave fans the first view of Mike and Jimmy McGill participating in illegal activities as they fooled Detective Abbasi.
Fans saw a fast progression of Mike Ehrmantraut’s character within a single episode. This is something that arguably had not been accomplished on Breaking Bad. BB fans knew about Mike’s relationship with his granddaughter Kaylee but this seemed like a part of Ehrmantraut’s character that took multiple episodes to establish.
Better Call Saul is not giving us the same thrills that Breaking Bad gave fans. The scenes of desert hold-ups and machine guns rigged in car trunks are replaced with characters being moved to tears on a couch and heartbreak surrounding a sibling that is suffering from an illness. Better Call Saul is giving us a look into certain characters that was never offered on Breaking Bad. Emotions are still high but the spin-off is evoking different feelings for fans.
The events and storyline of Breaking Bad are not the same as Better Call Saul, therefore fans should not be expecting the same result. Instead of following a cancer-ridden high school chemistry hell-bent on providing for his family we’re following a down on his luck lawyer hell-bent on proving himself.
Jimmy McGill may end up establishing himself as Saul Goodman, an important component to Breaking Bad, but he has his own story of how he gets to that point. Goodman is already a seasoned veteran in the world of criminals by the time Walter White ventures into his office. He had to get there somehow, Better Call Saul is going to chronicle that “somehow.”
The next episode of Better Call Saul will premiere on Monday, March 23rd at 10 PM ET on AMC. Get a sneak peek of “Rico” before it debuts next week.
I didn’t see it, but I think you are talking about Sling Blade
That’s it. thanks.
Last week, I watched all of ‘Fargo’ and have to agree Billy Bob Thornton probably carried the whole series. Great script, great sub-plots, and a dozen actors in the background who were great.
The thing I see here is that the big three (NBC, CBS, ABC) are slowly losing their customer base. The marginal ideas that they took from California and tried to make work...simply doesn’t work anymore. I tried to watch a episode of Baywatch last year...terrible script, bad acting, and zero plot. When you look at AMC and Netflix...they are turning out shows that people want to see.
Thanks.
Breaking Bad was an A, BCS is a B. It might get to an A if they break Saul’s moral code. He had none in BB and was an awesomely degenerate character.
“It stands on its own just fine.”
From the commercials of BB and the glimpses I had of it didn’t appeal to me AT ALL.
Better Call Saul is great! So far I really enjoy the humor. Although it looks like it might get darker and more serious. I was afraid of that - unless it was just the last episode I watched (the detail and memory of the ex-cop), but I don’t think so.
I’m going to watch Monday’s show in a bit tonight. The cop espisode was good, but I really enjoy the humor with the lawyer - a nice way to unwind.
Saul is being slowly led down a dark road and Mike is there to help him. I like it.
“Could win Banks an Emmy.”
That’s what I told my wife.
It would be a hoot to see him bump into Walter White, like in a super market or at the Car Wash!
>>I liked the episode where we got Mike’s back-story that I watched it twice. I like the character development and the fact that the plot is logical and doesn’t cheat.
That episode was honest in a way most shows aren’t. Mike’s daughter-in-law also had an awesome performance.
BCs is good , getting. Egged
Just like Breaking Bad started out
>>I know Jonathan Banks is happy.
He really got to show his chops as an actor in the sixth episode. I know that Saul will get a lot of development, but Banks’ episode really got me interested. 45 minutes of pure tragedy.
Same here. I have grown to really like the show.
There’s nothing on the big screen that compares with BB or BCS. Television has become THE medium for serious story telling and character development.
It used to be television was throw away time, that we watched anyway. Looking back, the series were so bad. I don’t know how I spent more than five minutes watching. Usually I did not watch.
But now, there is compelling stuff on TV.
Watching the Sopranos now. I had never seen an episode before last week. We’re now in Season 4 and liking it.
It’s good we get some of his character’s backstory. And that his character isn’t a louse as much as we may have thought from before.
Personally what he did, I have no problem with at all. Those other cops were going to murder him. And if they failed that night they’d have tried it again. Honestly I’d see it as self-defense.
I think they had to add in the Mike character because they need solid characters with good storylines to fill out the show.
I like moral main charaters which is why I eventually stopped watching Breaking Bad...no characters of redeeming value.
So far, I like Better Call Saul but might change my mind after a few more episodes - is does walk the line, but overall, I like the show so far.
Yep. Good character development as he struggles to try to keep his promises to his brother and make him proud, while circumstances keep pushing him to cut corners.
I love some of the small details. In the last episode when he shows his new office to his love interest it's filmed from a normal angle and looks bright and beautiful. Later, after she turns him down and he saves her career at HH&M he walks through again. This time it's filmed from floor level, and the place looks dingy with missing baseboards, frayed carpets, etc. Interesting touch.
“Could win Banks an Emmy.”
Agreed, and hubby thinks so too. The scene with the d-i-l was compelling.
But, I too think this show needs to step it up a bit, I thought the plot line with the thieving treasurer would have been better, although it was amusing how it ended.
I’m liking it.
Have you watched “The Americans” about the deep cover Soviet spies living as “normal Americans” in the 1980s? It’s really an excellent show and does an amazing job of keeping you sympathetic with all the characters while showing how truly depraved the quest for world communism was (and is).
I won’t say more, no spoilers!
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