• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Better Call Saul TV Series

G

goobee

Platinum Member
Someone recently loaned me their DVDs for Seasons 1 and 2 of "Better Call Saul". He said the show was great and I had to watch it. After constant badgering asking nicely, I relented and watched the first 11 episodes. Frankly I don't understand the popularity of the program. The main character Jimmy just annoys the fvck out of me and I have not liked a single episode thus far. The side story involving Mike was OK but they only did flash backs on it.

Is it because I never watched "Breaking Bad" that I don't get it?

Thoughts?
 
It would help if you had watched 'Breaking Bad'. In fact, I would highly recommend it.

'Breaking Bad' was absolutely brilliant. 'Better Call Saul' is getting there... it may never achieve brilliance but it is pretty good.
 
OK, I thought maybe it was something like that. To me, it seems more logical that after Jimmy found out his brother disrespected his law education, that he would prove him wrong rather than slink back to his old ways.
 
goobee said:
OK, I thought maybe it was something like that. To me, it seems more logical that after Jimmy found out his brother disrespected his law education, that he would prove him wrong rather than slink back to his old ways.
Click to expand...

Breaking Bad is probably the best TV show ever made & may never be topped. It's like how good the first 2 seasons of Lost was, except it doesn't get dumb in the later seasons. Well-written, well-acted, and a storyline that followed all the way through to the end.

Better Call Saul...I've had a hard time getting into. It's on my "stuff to watch when I'm bored" list at the moment. It's not terrible, it's just not as compelling as Breaking Bad was.
 
I like Saul a lot myself, I might get slammed a bit but I thought BB was a bit over rated.

A lot of people feel the same way about GOT.

But I will agree BB is a classic.

I'm one of those odd balls that never really got into Lost, my wife loved it.
 
Last edited:
If you've seen BB you have all of this character development that you don't have walking into BCS cold. And that really makes a difference. I would probably be bored with BCS if I didn't already "know" Jimmy and understood where his character was going. I can't say that for sure because there have been some genuinely engaging story lines in BCS, at least I think so - even w/o the BB back story.

I think it's a little like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Most of the fun comes from knowing what it going to look like when it's done and seeing how the pieces fit together. That's what you're getting with BCS vis-a-vis BB - at least from the point of view of 2 of the main characters and maybe a few more later on.
 
The cameos of people showing up in BCS has been great, of course I also think BB is the best show ever on TV. I have the Blu Ray, so I have seen the show 4 times, I also have a bunch of t-shirts from BB and a couple BCS, I also have the soundtrack, but only for a few songs I wanted.
 
goobee said:
Someone recently loaned me their DVDs for Seasons 1 and 2 of "Better Call Saul". He said the show was great and I had to watch it. After constant badgering asking nicely, I relented and watched the first 11 episodes. Frankly I don't understand the popularity of the program. The main character Jimmy just annoys the fvck out of me and I have not liked a single episode thus far. The side story involving Mike was OK but they only did flash backs on it.

Is it because I never watched "Breaking Bad" that I don't get it?

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Yes
 
So I marathon watched 3 more episodes this AM. The show is getting interesting with Mike getting more air time. It's a good contrast, well thought out decisions/actions by Mike, stupid ones by Jimmy.
 
tumblr_nmeg77VEnR1u8eng5o1_1280.jpg
 
goobee said:
Someone recently loaned me their DVDs for Seasons 1 and 2 of "Better Call Saul". He said the show was great and I had to watch it. After constant badgering asking nicely, I relented and watched the first 11 episodes. Frankly I don't understand the popularity of the program. The main character Jimmy just annoys the fvck out of me and I have not liked a single episode thus far. The side story involving Mike was OK but they only did flash backs on it.

Is it because I never watched "Breaking Bad" that I don't get it?

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

There is most definitely a necessary Breaking Bad factor involved. If you have previously watched Breaking Bad you're invested in the characters, are interested in their back story and will be amused to see events, people and locations that factor into the BB storyline. That's important to get you through the slow points of BCS and there are plenty of slow points in BCS. Especially in season 2, things grind to a halt for long stretches of "Jimmy doesn't fit into the corporate world" scenes that get drilled into our heads 99 times because we might not understand if it's only 95 times.

Quit BCS for now and watch every episode of Breaking Bad instead. It's a FAR superior series, one of the best in TV history and you'll want to watch it for that reason alone. After completing BB then and only then move on to BCS. It's a lot better if you understand how what the characters are doing now turn them into the people they become later on.
 
If I had the chance, I'd rather watch Better Call Saul before Breaking Bad. Not sure why anybody would suggest otherwise.

You don't need to know anything about the characters in BCS. If anything knowing the story from BB ruins it since you know how much of it ends. Would you tell somebody to watch the sequel first because better than the first?

Keep watching BCS and judge it on its own merit. BB was the better show anyway, and you'll have it to look forward to after BCS is finished.
 
KnightBreed said:
If I had the chance, I'd rather watch Better Call Saul before Breaking Bad. Not sure why anybody would suggest otherwise.

You don't need to know anything about the characters in BCS. If anything knowing the story from BB ruins it since you know how much of it ends. Would you tell somebody to watch the sequel first because better than the first?
Click to expand...

How does this argument of yours work out when applied to Original Star Wars vs the prequels?
 
KnightBreed said:
If I had the chance, I'd rather watch Better Call Saul before Breaking Bad. Not sure why anybody would suggest otherwise.
Click to expand...

Because the vast majority of the people who start with BCS don't like it. Many of the people who don't have the context of what's happening and what's going to happen view BCS as just an excruciatingly slow story about a misfit lawyer. The only thing that makes the endless pointless repetitive scenes of Jimmy struggling to be a normal lawyer is the knowledge that he's going to morph into Saul. Without that, it's just boring. OP is not alone in that regard, without the knowledge of what's going to happen I would have dumped BCS halfway through season 2. About half the season was Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy doesn't fit in, repeat 50 more times in 50 more scenes.
 
zinfamous said:
How does this argument of yours work out when applied to Original Star Wars vs the prequels?
Click to expand...

It works perfectly? For better or worse I'd rather keep continuity in the plot. In the case of Star Wars and Breaking Bad, the originals are better than the prequels. Makes it a no brainer for me.
 
KnightBreed said:
It works perfectly? For better or worse I'd rather keep continuity in the plot. In the case of Star Wars and Breaking Bad, the originals are better than the prequels. Makes it a no brainer for me.
Click to expand...
In the case of Star Wars the series might have died on the vine if it was broadcast in order. Would any sane person go back for more after a couple of movies about Jar Jar and a kid everyone hates? The only things that made those movies worth watching were being invested in the future of the characters and the knowledge that Lucas could do decent movies. Without that those movies would have sucked seeds on their own merit and the series would not have gotten to 4-5-6
 
GagHalfrunt said:
Because the vast majority of the people who start with BCS don't like it. Many of the people who don't have the context of what's happening and what's going to happen view BCS as just an excruciatingly slow story about a misfit lawyer.
Click to expand...
I get that. I've just been frustrated with the reliance on cameos and wink wink nods to BB. The show just wouldn't stand on its own. And I'm generally pretty patient to allow the story to build.
 
KnightBreed said:
I get that. I've just been frustrated with the reliance on cameos and wink wink nods to BB. The show just wouldn't stand on its own. And I'm generally pretty patient to allow the story to build.
Click to expand...

Then you're literally one in a million viewers. To be successful a TV series has to hook people right away, nobody watches a boring series hoping that it might get good someday. It either works or *click*. BCS would not work on its own, without knowing who Mike and Jimmy are and who they're going to be it wouldn't last. The BB winks and nods are necessary. What I find frustrating is that apparently the showrunners think the viewers have the attention span of a stoned goldfish. Jimmy is a misfit, Jimmy doesn't fit in, Jimmy has to find a different kind of law to practice. WE FREAKING GET IT ALREADY, MOVE ON!! While the first season moved along at a nice clip the 2nd season sucked. The only reason I, and many other people, are still watching is because of Breaking Bad. Be honest, who would have sat through that entire 2nd season without knowing that things HAVE to improve? Without Saul and Mike of BB era as a guaranteed destiny most people would have given up on caring about Jimmy long ago.
 
What are you trying to convince me of? That BCS and Star Wars prequels wouldn't survive on their own? I agree. They are barely watchable after having watched the originals. If anything, knowing how it all ends makes it less interesting to me. Having the luxury of hindsight, I'd rather watch the prequels first and save the best for last. Maybe it's just me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top