I Have Questions about Breaking Bad
National Review,
by
Kyle Smith
Original Article
Posted By: Hazymac,
8/30/2019 3:32:05 PM
News that a coda to Breaking Bad is about to appear on Netflix (El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie debuts October 11 and will later appear on AMC) inspires some thoughts.
Is Walter White the greatest character in TV history? The answer seems to me obviously yes. I’m not sure who would finish second. Omar from The Wire? John-Boy? More? (Note that I have never been impressed with The Sopranos or Game of Thrones. I watched a lot of hours of each, but neither show made me care.)
Is Breaking Bad the greatest show in TV history? Yep.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Newtsche 8/30/2019 3:46:48 PM (No. 166923)
I came to BB very late, binge watched going into the finale.
The subject matter wasn't appealing and I particularly didn't like Cranston. I told myself if he runs around in his tighty whities -- he had a history of doing so -- I'd call it quits. And wow, first episode, tighty whities.
But I was already hooked. Cranston wasn't the only unlikely feature player, on their own, the rest seemed lacking. But the producers caught lightning in a bottle and yes, the greatest show in tv history.
Cranston was perfect, magnificent. I had to change my mind about him. Since then however Cranston has proved my early estimation right, he's not the whole package. But yeah, BB was magic.
4 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Clinger 8/30/2019 3:48:02 PM (No. 166924)
I hadn't watched anything contemporary since the 70's until Breaking Bad, well except for sports and the History Channel when it pertained to history.
What impressed me is how well every character was developed and played, simply magnificent. It wasn't one or two solid performances carrying it on their backs they were all fantastic.
11 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Vesicant 8/30/2019 3:59:57 PM (No. 166931)
Yeah, sure, I'm going to take entertainment advice from NR. And BB only got 68 episodes by moving at the speed of glaciers.
1 person likes this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Terry_tr6 8/30/2019 4:23:53 PM (No. 166945)
It has been a while, but Deadwood was also a superb series. Set and characters were very accurate to history
5 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Corndoggies 8/30/2019 4:27:07 PM (No. 166949)
Of course it’s only on Netflix. I’ve resisted renewing my subscription thus far. I cut the cord and am always looking for a new series to watch. My heart goes pitter patter if there’s over 80 episodes. Medium and The Closer are ones I watch every couple years. If you get a chance check out The Killing. You don’t find out whodunit till the last episode of the second season but it’s truly the most amazing reveal in tv drama I’ve ever seen.
3 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
ZeldaFitzg 8/30/2019 4:30:06 PM (No. 166953)
Well, I didn’t catch BB the first time ‘round, but when I finally saw it, I did really like Aaron Paul [the very young version].
6 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
DVC 8/30/2019 4:35:49 PM (No. 166956)
I couldn't gag down too much of this, hope it is sarcasm. Probably not.
Making heroes of human garbage - unethical, immoral criminals is disgusting, and very corrosive to our country, or culture and our society.
I want her a bit of BB , and once the gist of the plot line was clear. I was revolted by it, never what had again.
7 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
caljeepgirl 8/30/2019 4:47:10 PM (No. 166964)
No argument here....there's never been another show before or since that could match it. Really, it was so unique as to defy comparisons....a revelation! But, I sure wouldn't be fooling around with any prequel, coda or other variation....just leave it alone, please.
6 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Urgent Fury 8/30/2019 4:53:27 PM (No. 166972)
Plus it ended with a great Badfinger song.
12 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
mc squared 8/30/2019 5:20:28 PM (No. 166996)
The best series I've ever seen. Bar none.
7 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Laotzu 8/30/2019 6:07:25 PM (No. 167032)
Heisenberg is the MGTOW response to Al Bundy and Homer Simpson.
3 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
GO3 8/30/2019 6:37:02 PM (No. 167049)
BB was excellent. There were so many things going on several levels that were very revealing of our culture. The modern family dynamics alone could be its own series. Having said that, I am still sticking with Justified as my number one show.
2 people like this.
Best ending of any series ever made #9!
3 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Nevadadad46 8/30/2019 7:39:28 PM (No. 167080)
BB was great because it took an ordinary man and put him into extraordinary circumstances. Every one of us only hopes we can cope in that dreadful day we receive the news of our impeding demise. The character Cranston decided he had not done enough and had to accelerate his efforts in the time he had left. He entered a kind of twilight zone of events he had no idea would expand as they did. This would be true for anyone attempting what he did. He had to learn fast and put everything on the line- his little bit of life he had left particularly. And, to his amazement, it blew up like a massively inflating balloon - the more chances he took the better it became until he was right on the very top of the game. His speech to his wife..."The one who knocks..." is the everything in the series. He loved it. He craved it. It made him love life as he had never loved it. Why? Because of the danger, the power the wealth? No. None of that mattered. Because it finally made him feel alive and important. At that moment, he is the saddest character in the whole show. He is on top of the game, and it is all going to end rather soon. But, at least, he got to realize his fullest, foulest potential. Right, wrong or indifferent, that is something most of us can only wish for.
8 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
davew 8/30/2019 8:09:06 PM (No. 167090)
I can't imagine anyone other than Bryan Cranston playing Walter. He captured the intense conflict that Walter had between what he knew was right and what his circumstances did to expose his real egotistical selfish character.
The other thing that made BB the greatest was the vision of Vince Gilligan and the writers and editors that created the sense of foreboding that permeated every scene. One device that was pure genius was the lead-ins to the season 2 episodes showing the floating stuffed bear in Walter's pool with the detached eye going into the filter. Then the scenes that showed the hazmat suited ghoul cleaning up what looked like a bomb blast of debris with body bags leading to a crane shot of the entire neighborhood. For most of the season the scene is completely incongruous until it is horribly and tragically tied directly to the consequences of Walter's lies in a brilliant turn. I won't spoil the tie-in for people who haven't seen the show but this was pure genius.
There are so many other memorable moments like this when Walter is trapped on the verge of destruction and pulls out some bizarre chemistry trick to defeat his foes. The assassination of Gus Fring is my favorite example.
4 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Italiano 8/30/2019 8:17:31 PM (No. 167100)
And do we know for a fact that Walter was dead at the end? No. We do not.
I also binged 24. Great move.
3 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Readaholic 8/30/2019 10:13:59 PM (No. 167160)
I recommend it to friends as the best thing ever committed to film. I'm glad I came late to it so I could binge watch and not have to wait for each separate episode. The cliff-hanger endings were so compelling I would usually watch halfway into the second episode so I could stand to turn it off. I also love "Better Call Saul" -- different but still compelling with brilliant plotting. I hope they make lots more of that.
4 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
chumley 8/30/2019 10:36:13 PM (No. 167168)
I will not watch a series that glorifies human scum, no matter how "well done" it may be. That's part of whats wrong with us nowadays. Evil is good because it is well done. Right.
3 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
msjena 8/30/2019 11:28:04 PM (No. 167199)
Breaking Bad asks serious questions about good and evil as well as redemption. Plus, its send-up of the rich liberals Gretchen and Elliott is brilliant.
3 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
DaddyO 8/31/2019 5:17:14 AM (No. 167276)
For a few years BB was must watch. Season 5 was a disappointment, they had clearly jumped the shark. The ending was contrived and completely unbelievable.
0 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Tank 8/31/2019 8:50:35 AM (No. 167417)
Greatest series? Really? Has everyone forgotten "My Mother the Car?"
I don't know about greatest character, but it was one of the most well thought out, provocative, and well-told TV series I've ever seen. And the ending was great. Most arc-types series don't end well, and hit a wall at the end. This one hit all the right spots.
Which is why I'm leery of a "coda." I'll watch it, but I hope it doesn't detract from the rest.
0 people like this.
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Comments:
Breaking Bad was IMO a great series--68 episodes, I think--despite Bryan Cranston's recent political views. Breaking Bad was excellent, so was The Sopranos. Just entertainment. Sinners are more interesting than saints.