Breaking Bad. Let's be honest - this is a terrible show, right?

[BUTCH1]

Same. It's on Netflix, so I watched a couple episodes, but it just never really managed to hook me.

I feel the same way about The Walking Dead and the hype it keeps getting. The first season really blew me away. Amazing. Second season was really meh, so I just stopped watching.

As a subject matter zombies are way overrated/overused.

 

[Ichinisan]

I feel the same way about The Walking Dead and the hype it keeps getting. The first season really blew me away. Amazing. Second season was really meh, so I just stopped watching.

I tried to binge-watch TWD on Netflix and I think I stopped watching somewhere in Season 3. I hated it from the start and each episode made me hate it more.

I live in fan central -- because lots of scenes are shot in my town and a major cast member lives in my apartment building.

I can't help but scoff to myself when dedicated fans say things like "It's sooo well-written!" TWD doesn't come close to the literary craftsmanship of BB. TWD is easier for simpletons to follow, so I think it will continue to have huge ratings and the story may never actually conclude.

What was so great about season 1 of TWD? For me, that's the worst of all I've seen so far.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I feel very bad for you if you actually have this belief. There's a lot more to life than TV or movies, to "find it hard to respect" another person because they dislike something you like...

It's not a hard concept. Both of your examples (Breaking Bad and Godfather) are slow moving dramas. Some people don't like slow moving dramas. It's a simple matter of preference. In your other example of Seinfeld - it's one of my favorite shows of all time, but my wife absolutely hates it. Meanwhile, if she puts on one of her shows (I won't insult her to name them here), I have to put on headphones or go elsewhere. Magically, we're still married despite such a chasm between our tastes. Not sure how we do it!

You are misconstruing what I'm saying. I am not saying I wouldn't respect someone who doesn't like BB - I'm saying I wouldn't respect someone who would categorically say that it "sucked." To me it's just arrogant and wrongheaded to take the view that something so universally acclaimed and beautifully made "sucks" because you don't like it. By way of illustration, I didn't particularly like 12 Years a Slave, but I would never say that it "sucks" just because it didn't particularly gel for me. I do find it hard to envision myself really getting along with someone who actively disliked Seinfeld or BB, but that doesn't mean I couldn't respect such a person.

Oh, and I find it strange that anyone would consider either BB or The Godfather "slow moving." Much of BB, starting with the very first scene in the pilot, is manically paced. Similarly, The Godfather has a lot of action, both physically and psychologically. It's not like we are talking about the works of Ingmar Bergman.

 

[NoPanic]

I loved breaking bad in the beginning, but at some point it got a bit tiring. Too much drama. But science bitch!

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

If you don't hate him by the end, then you failed to watch it...is pretty much the point of the show.

Indeed, it is a character-driven show--that is what you get from the title. You know this from the beginning. And that's what is so great about it, particularly the final 2 seasons. If you have no cause to abandon all sympathy for this person, then you failed to watch it. You might "like it," still, but you don't quite know why you like it.

Yes, there is a point where the audience adopts and creates the characters and content (of any material) for themselves, but the vast popularity of this show stems from emulating this shithole of a person as a legitimate hero worthy of envy, when the actual premise of the show was to turn him into the worst type of subhuman filth--and to drag us along with that process, and to make us learn to hate.

Those that failed that test...pretty much failed the show. Doesn't make it wrong; but it is, in many ways, disturbing. And that is why it's good--whether or not you understood it properly, or simply worshiped this shitball, you were either astonished to be put in this position of hating this brilliant protagonist, or blissfully duped into not understanding your favorite thing--and forever labeled an idiot at dinner parties when your profound ignorance is exposed, every time you profess such allegiance to something you fail to understand.

that is what makes this show great: the dumb audience.

I disagree, and I think Vince Gilligan would as well, based on what I have read and heard from him. Obviously Walt starts out being presented in a way that makes it almost impossible not to like him, or at least sympathize with him. Over time he becomes less and less sympathetic, but it's up to each viewer to decide how they feel about him, and I don't think people who were still rooting for him at the end in any way "understood" the show less than people who hated him.

 

[Deeko]

You are misconstruing what I'm saying. I am not saying I wouldn't respect someone who doesn't like BB - I'm saying I wouldn't respect someone who would categorically say that it "sucked." To me it's just arrogant and wrongheaded to take the view that something so universally acclaimed and beautifully made "sucks" because you don't like it. By way of illustration, I didn't particularly like 12 Years a Slave, but I would never say that it "sucks" just because it didn't particularly gel for me. I do find it hard to envision myself really getting along with someone who actively disliked Seinfeld or BB, but that doesn't mean I couldn't respect such a person.

Got it. You don't understand the concept of an opinion. Glad we cleared that up.

 

[Eug]

I disagree, and I think Vince Gilligan would as well, based on what I have read and heard from him. Obviously Walt starts out being presented in a way that makes it almost impossible not to like him, or at least sympathize with him. Over time he becomes less and less sympathetic, but it's up to each viewer to decide how they feel about him, and I don't think people who were still rooting for him at the end in any way "understood" the show less than people who hated him.

Indeed. In fact, Walt in my view was written that way specifically, but with the context of the progression of previous seasons. I think the writing was excellent, and wasn't anywhere as simplistic as zinfamous suggests. Walt was far too complex a character to be considered a 1-dimensional evil villian even by the end of the finale.

I haven't followed what Vince Gilligan, but I'm glad he seems to agree with me, judging by your post.

 

[Rakehellion]

Same here. It's just boring, with most characters being uninteresting.

I kept trying to watch because people keep saying it's great, but partway through season two I reached boredom overload and stopped.

Pretty much. I watched the first two seasons with my roommate a few years ago and didn't get that into it. Then everyone on the internet wouldn't shut up sbout it so I watched the rest and liked it.

I watched some of Game of Thrones. Probably won't watch the rest.

 

[squarecut1]

BB is far better than Boardwalk Empire.

Yes. Not even in the same universe. Boardwalk started out well, the first season was quite good. It eventually turned into another meaningless soap, like almost all TV shows.

 

[squarecut1]

I watched some of Game of Thrones. Probably won't watch the rest.

Good thing you realized early. I didn't.

 

[BudAshes]

I tried to binge-watch TWD on Netflix and I think I stopped watching somewhere in Season 3. I hated it from the start and each episode made me hate it more.

I live in fan central -- because lots of scenes are shot in my town and a major cast member lives in my apartment building.

I can't help but scoff to myself when dedicated fans say things like "It's sooo well-written!" TWD doesn't come close to the literary craftsmanship of BB. TWD is easier for simpletons to follow, so I think it will continue to have huge ratings and the story may never actually conclude.

What was so great about season 1 of TWD? For me, that's the worst of all I've seen so far.

How the fuck do you make it to season 3 on a show you don't like. If I don't love the first 2 episodes i'm out. Then I don't have to have retarded discussions on the internet about shows I don't like, even though I watched multiple season of them. It's like going to a buffet and trying the mac and cheese, deciding it sucks, but instead of getting one of the other hundred things in the buffet you decide to fill up 3 plate fulls of the mac and cheese and eat them.

 

[Eug]

I don't like the food at buffets, but the saving grace is I can eat as much as I want!

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Yes. Not even in the same universe. Boardwalk started out well, the first season was quite good. It eventually turned into another meaningless soap, like almost all TV shows.

Exactly, it WAS awesome.

 

[Ichinisan]

How the fuck do you make it to season 3 on a show you don't like. If I don't love the first 2 episodes i'm out. Then I don't have to have retarded discussions on the internet about shows I don't like, even though I watched multiple season of them. It's like going to a buffet and trying the mac and cheese, deciding it sucks, but instead of getting one of the other hundred things in the buffet you decide to fill up 3 plate fulls of the mac and cheese and eat them.

Because the world surrounds me with hardcore fans of TWD, I definitely expected it to get better. Around here, people expect you to know what's going on in the show.

 

[Chapbass]

I am almost done with Season 2. I like it, but at the same time i dont get the hype as being one of the best shows of all time. Maybe im missing something or havent read enough about what the hype is exactly.

Absolutely this. I'm about halfway with season 2, and I have absolutely no drive to watch it. My buddies all talked about the cliffhangers and the suspense, and I don't see either one. The cliffhangers are pretty weak, imo, and the suspense isn't doing it for me becuase quite frankly I don't care what happens to a single character.

 

[Bird222]

I spent the last few days watching the entire series. I think it is a great show. It did get sad as more and more things got fucked with Walt and his wife/family. However, really I don't know how it could have gone any other way.

 

[BudAshes]

Because the world surrounds me with hardcore fans of TWD, I definitely expected it to get better. Around here, people expect you to know what's going on in the show.

Do you also go to church every sunday expecting it to get better?

 

[Mayne]

Only watched the first season when it first came out. I'm in for a treat.

 

[Miramonti]

Must keep in mind, BB was on life support after season 2, not a shocker because it started slow, and OP was only into 3 episodes of season 3. Season 3 was a game changer tho, and the cult following brought enough attention to it for new viewers to catch up on netflix and tune into season 3, where it eventually busted out in popularity.

 

[irishScott]

To be fair, I said the first episode sucked and the 2nd wasn't interesting. Can't really judge the entire series, but I don't have hours to waste waiting for it to get better.

So I gather you're one of those people that puts down a 500 page book if the first 10 pages aren't instantly thrilling?

 

[Tweak155]

So I gather you're one of those people that puts down a 500 page book if the first 10 pages aren't instantly thrilling?

Nope.

 

[irishScott]

Nope.

Good.

 

[zinfamous]

I disagree, and I think Vince Gilligan would as well, based on what I have read and heard from him. Obviously Walt starts out being presented in a way that makes it almost impossible not to like him, or at least sympathize with him. Over time he becomes less and less sympathetic, but it's up to each viewer to decide how they feel about him, and I don't think people who were still rooting for him at the end in any way "understood" the show less than people who hated him.

heh, from what I've read of Vince Gilligan, he found it fascinating that Cranston didn't quite "get" that Walter was written as the antagonist of the show. Gilligan let him do his thing, of course, but he has described Walter, and the thrust of the show, as this character's descent. Again--it is in the title.

The great thing about Cranston not "Getting" that, was that he played Walter with great sincerity. He managed to engender more sympathy in Walter than Gilligan seemed to imagine, which is a good thing, obviously. It helps the audience tolerate this evil guy.

 

[zinfamous]

Indeed. In fact, Walt in my view was written that way specifically, but with the context of the progression of previous seasons. I think the writing was excellent, and wasn't anywhere as simplistic as zinfamous suggests. Walt was far too complex a character to be considered a 1-dimensional evil villian even by the end of the finale.

I haven't followed what Vince Gilligan, but I'm glad he seems to agree with me, judging by your post.

If you read what I wrote as "simplistic writing," then you obviously don't know what I wrote.

There is nothing simplistic about turning this decent person into a villain. Not once, did I suggest the writing was bad, or simple. I think it is written as well as anything has ever been on TV.

I suggested that some simple audiences often overlook the complexities of the show, and don't really get it, even though they like it...maybe for the "wrong" reasons.

lol--that made people angry. It wasn't a value judgement, it was an observation regarding a common phenomenon that occurs when audiences react to certain material--usually a-typical content that would be difficult, uncomfortable to deal with.

The example I used was All in the Family and Archie Bunker. He was created to be a PoS--audiences were supposed to hate him. Some did, and still liked the show for it. As the popularity grew, you had more voices from the disturbing corners of the country professing love-through-personal identification with Arhie. For many, he didn't become an example of the problems we still faced in our society, his popularity and position as a public figure, became validation for many that their ideas and behaviors were acceptable. This type of adoption of Bunker's character disturbed the creators of All in the Family, as well as Carol O'Conner.

I don't think it's "wrong" that people look at Walter White as a heroic character in the show--someone worthy of acceptance, someone who should escape justice in the end. If anything, that's a credit to Cranston and his completely adoption of the character. I dont' think these fans are going to start cooking meth (though, that wouldn't surprise me--oh, and anyone that takes my example of AitF audience response literally, as if people will likewise identify with WW and embrace such things, then you aren't understanding what I'm saying).

Besides, it isn't my idea. I even linked a review for you guys.

 

[vailr]

Breaking Bad was far from perfect, but still somewhat entertaining. Way too much on-screen time focused on staring at Walter White's shaved head, for one thing. Implausible plot lines, such as the little kid being poisoned (by Walter) with some kind of potted plant extract. The scene where Hank is reading a Walt Whitman poetry book (while sitting on the toilet), and then somehow realizes "who this Heisenberg guy really is: his brother-in-law, Walter White". Not to mention: the magnetized truck that is (supposedly) used to wipe the laptop hard drive held in the police evidence room. Or the pallets and barrels stacked full of bundled crispy new $100 bills. Wouldn't the paper bills be well-worn, folded, dirty looking (if it were cash obtained directly from all those meth users)?