Posted on 01/20/2018 8:13:06 AM PST by Drew68
Television changed the night of January 20, 2008: Breaking Bad, a bold and singular drama about a downtrodden, dying high school teacher so desperate for cash that he starts cooking crystal meth, would come to define a golden era of television. But nobody knew that on the night the show premiered. In fact, there was every reason to assume the show, debuting on a then-nascent network with no track record in original programming, wouldn’t last past its first season.
Breaking Bad was not a ratings hit, not a household name, not a show that earned a spot in the zeitgeist for several years. Its slow-burn character writing, bleakly stunning visuals, and moral nuance made it niche; its early days brought a series of hurdles that could have killed a lesser show. But it had a passionate fanbase, a growing mass of critical support, and a network that believed in this story of a good man gone bad—or, depending on your take, a bad man finally given the chance to unmask himself.
Turning "Mr Chips into Scarface," as creator Vince Gilligan has famously dubbed Walter White’s transformation from milquetoast to ruthless drug lord, is no small feat. Through Bryan Cranston’s six-time Emmy winning performance, viewers witnessed a modern-day Greek tragedy—a man who claims to be protecting his family but ends up destroying them, along with Jesse (Aaron Paul), his protégé and greatest victim. It was a meticulous, mesmerizing character study that made it impossible to look away once you were in. As the acclaim and the awards piled up, the ratings gradually followed. By the season finale in 2013, viewership had spiked tenfold, with a record 10.3 million viewers tuning in for the final chapter.
(Excerpt) Read more at esquire.com ...
But neither of those would have proceed properly from the narrative. They would have been surprising because they would have been out of character and not established by previous events. When a writers room has done a good job of establishing who their characters are they really can’t surprise anybody, because we know these people.
No te metas con mi cucu!
On the whole, yes.
But did people really wish that Walter's brother-in-law would catch him?
Plenty of guys sided with Walter against his wife, too.
What a wonderful tribute article!
Breaking Bad was lightning in a bottle. To this day it remains my favorite story ever seen, either on small screen or large. I don’t think we’ll ever see its like again.
Was that song in the show?
“But as a drama, you saw Walt redeem himself, free the “innocent” and kill all of the bad guys—and getting himself whacked in the end. It was perfect.”
I thought the ending seemed very contrived. I would have much rather seen his son become addicted to the blue meth.
This would have been Karma for his destroying thousands of lives for money.
“But neither of those would have proceed properly from the narrative.”
Because that’s how they wrote the show. You do realize that, right?
“They would have been surprising because they would have been out of character and not established by previous events.”
Again, that’s how the wrote it, but with a few tweaks earlier in the season they could have had scenes where the son showed how appalled he was by the father, for instance, and how shooting his father in the finale would have made sense. It just depends on what is written. Remember, WW started as a decent, honest, hard working man, a teacher. He sure as hell was not a murdering dope maker when the show started. There was a story arc - a long one. That’s why I think Newhart’s ending was the greatest of all shows because it made perfect sense (because of the previous series) and yet had absolutely nothing to do with the series itself. All issues were resolved - it was just a dream. In BB, little was truly resolved. People died, but things were not really resolved. All the characters were dead or miserable. Even Aaron Paul’s character was still a little ne’er-do-well who would probably die or an overdose. All the characters were dead, broken, shells of their former selves, or useless. Heck, it might as well have been ended by a dream.
I hated the son’s character. They could have done without him or the baby.
Yeah, he dies in Season 1, Episode 2 from an overdose.
Oh, crap, I mean spoiler alert.
“No need to be rude but if you read this thread there are many who haven’t seen it yet and plan to do so. Don’t spoil it for others. Simply post “spoiler alert” and you can spew anything about the show you wish. It’s then up to those who wish to read it or not. Simple huh?”
If you are planning to watch a TV series that ended years ago maybe you should NOT read a long thread about it if you are worried about spoilers. Its just common sense.
The X-Files are back and I'm liking it. More proactive agreement between Scully and Muldur
“Oh man, the cousins.”
Worst hitmen EVER. I just watched the episode where they try to kill Hank. First they walk so slowly he sees them coming. They start shooting from far away and only wound their target. They move so slow they cant even get out of the way of his car. Then one drops his gun into the car of the unarmed cop, arming him. Instead of just shooting the cop when he’s helpless on the ground the guy has to stop and go get an axe. It was ridiculous.
It’s all Entertainment!
Including THIS!
THANKS.
I recommend watching DARK with the subtitles on, don’t use the dubbing.
Some Mexican guy is listening to some pop mex crap and I’m going to remember it? I remember the scene. Don’t remember the music. Might have remembered it if it was something I knew. Maybe even some Tex/Mex by Freddy Fender.
The most memorable song in either Saul or Breaking Bad was ‘El Paso’ in the ‘Wicked Felina’ episode at the end of Breaking Bad.
That’s how they wrote the show for FIVE YEARS. Walt Jr just isn’t violent, he’s not going to kill his dad. And Jesse, for all of his faults, isn’t a quitter, he keeps on trying. Breaking away from long established character traits wouldn’t be a surprising ending, it would be a crappy ending. It would be like ending the Sopranos with Tony suddenly getting a conscience and turning himself in, surprising as hell, and shitty too.
Newhart’s ending is cute, but it only works with a sitcom, and only a slightly surrealist sitcom. You couldn’t end Taxi like that.
EVERYTHING was resolved in BB. We knew the final disposition of every character. Skyler and the rest of the White clan were going to be secretly funneled the drug money (and probably more). Jesse goes on to do Jesse stuff. And all of Walt’s enemies are dead. And yeah, a bunch of people are miserable, that’s what happens but your complaint basically boils down to “the show ended the way it ran from the beginning, therefore the ending is terrible.” And that’s simply non-nonsensical. The show ran the same method from beginning to end, that’s part of why the ending is brilliant. It didn’t suddenly try to become a different show.
Yeah but they’re cool. And they have shark skin suits.
The music in both BB and Saul was consistently excellent. Same with visual elements. Very high production qualities.
“Walt Jr just isn’t violent, he’s not going to kill his dad.”
WW wasn’t violent. He was written to be. So could the son have been.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.