Breaking Bad

you don't like watching shows live? why not?

season 1 and 2 are pretty short, so you should be able to finish it up soon. you're going to get hooked once you're well into season 2. ta-rust meeee.

Well, because then when an episode blows your mind you have to wait another week.

Pretty hooked already. And yeah, I was bummed to see that season 1 was only 7 episodes, unlike the others which are all 13.

I guess I can understand, because I hate having to wait a week in between episodes for shows.

Seriously? No Battlestar Galactica?? Wow, how the mighty have fallen.

I'd add on my own list, which strangely consists of a lot of HBO series.

The Sopranos
Deadwood (a personal favorite -- its glorious use of language and rhythm coupled with shotgun-style swearing is a thing to behold)
Carnivale
Rome
The original Monty Python half-hour shows from BBC
Fawlty Towers

But, back to Breaking Bad, which is definitely already on my own list, along with Mad Men. AMC has really shined with its series.

__________________
Linda's Author Website
Linda's Amazon Author page

As for waiting a week: I had that problem with Lost for a while since I came into it near the end of season 1. But, although I hated waiting that week, it was fun to have time to regroup, rewatch, talk to others about what was happening, etc.

And since we've always watched Breaking Bad this way, we've always had time to rewatch it and see what we missed. And yeah, John McClane here and I would end up squeeing about it on Facebook every week the second it was over. Because every episode seems to end on a high/strange note.

My husband and I love how they usually start an episode at the "end" and then work their way back for the whole hour to the point where they started. We always have fun trying to guess HOW they will end up back at that point ... and we're rarely right. Which is half the fun.

Boy, now I can't wait the last two weeks till it comes back! Last season was crazy!

I just want to know what happens after last season's finale.

The first season is nothing compared to 2 & 3, so you're going to **** when you watch them, Yoda.

TWO WEEKS TO GO.

so, Yoda, all caught up and ready for this Sunday?

__________________
letterboxd

Almost! We're halfway through season 3. Walter just agreed to Gus' offer.

And boy, can I just say that I find Gus as fascinating as any character outside of Walt and Jesse? I want to learn a lot more about that guy. And it seems like I probably will.

I'm still thinking about this show. I know it's very, very good and I know I like it very, very much, but I'm having a little more trouble than usual putting my finger on the reasons for each. Must ponder further. But one thing I know I like (and really respect in a TV show) is that it doesn't draw things out much, and it doesn't "save" its bullets to fire later, like so many other shows. It empties the clip every time and finds new things to reload it with.

Mostly, though, I want to catch up so that I can read all the interviews and articles that have come out this week about it, all of which I know I need to avoid until I'm up to speed.

Keep meaning to watch this show, but always forget about it. Actually, I watched the first 2 episodes, missed the 3rd, and haven't watched since. Not that I didn't like it, but I didn't want to risk watching it out of order. Perhaps I'll add it to the instant queue (assuming it's there) and give it a watch soon.

__________________
"I know, honey. Look at the map. We go your way, that's about four inches. We go my way, it's an inch and a half. You wanna pay for the extra gas?"

yeah, i felt the exact same way about Gus. he's really subtle and creepy, huh? it's like you know there is definitely more to this guy than what is seen. you'll get more of a feel for him as you finish season 3, but i do hope we learn more about him in season 4.

i'm looking forward to learning more about Walt, too. i mean, we know very little about the guy apart from what his life has been in present day seasons 1-3, except for a couple flashbacks. he's a seriously complex character, and the writers haven't even began to develop his character in ways they could.

i'm excited.

Just saw the second-to-last episode in season 3.

Holy crap!

go go go go go!

Finished it last night. We were never in much danger of not making it, I don't think; we slowed down deliberately sometimes, and I wouldn't have minded DVRing the premiere tonight and waiting a day or two.

Man oh man, though. Those last two episodes were fantastic. Season 3 is every bit as good as season 1, in my mind. Maybe better, except in the ways that an "origin" season is always going to be sort of better, and is easier to make better. So I'd say season 1 is a tad better, but season 3 is every bit as good with a much higher degree of difficulty (and almost twice as many episodes), so it's the most impressive so far.

I'll have to go back and check, but I feel like Breaking Bad is doing the same thing The Wire did, where the penultimate episode of each season is where the most important stuff actually happens. I'll have to go look at that a bit closer.

Really loving it, though, and I'm super-bummed that I have to wait a week per episode like everyone else now. I'd been saving this for awhile and it didn't disappoint.

Best line of the series so far, not based on writing, but context and buildup:

"Run."

Other than that, dozens of fantastic lines I'm sure I'll be quoting for awhile. Love the comedy, too; some of it's so subtle. I laugh like an idiot every time Walt tries to say something empathetic to someone else. It's perverse, but kind of subtle and really well handled. This guy's way closer to full-blown psychopath than he is normal human being at this point.

I missed it tonight, but hopefully it'll be online by tomorrow so I can watch it.

I was thinking about the character progression last night. I don't think there's been another TV show with such drastic - and realistic - progression, especially from the first season. Both Walt and Jesse were pretty much bumbling idiots when it first started - a far cry from how it is now.

The story in season two where they get stranded in the desert after Jesse leaves the keys in the ignition; I can't really imagine an episode like that now. Not because the show has changed necessarily, but the characters have.

I can't see Jesse bouncing back from what he's done. Walt has; since that episode in the first season he seems to be able to do stuff with little thought or regret.

I'm not articulating this very well, but I just love how much they have both changed. Each season is like a distinct chapter of their lives, whether is it a few months apart or not.

© ashley h.

Agreed. I'll be back in a tad with thoughts on this episode, specifically, and the big series catchup, and the series as a whole. I have many thoughts! Many!

Oh man, the Season 4 premiere was unbelievable!

__________________

Post of the year!

And yes, it was incredible.

Some screengrabs I took:

Still gonna try to come back soon with broad thoughts about what's happened so far and what's coming next, but just to get this in before the deadline of tonight's episode:

I think Gale's lab notebook is very intriguing. Obviously, as the camera panned over it in the crime scene, it became clear that it's going to be a plot point. No insight in observing this. But think about what he'd been doing leading up to his death: trying to copy the blue meth formula. The blue meth is the only real link they have to Heisenberg. It's going to be very tempting for them to find those notes and assume that Gale is Heisenberg, or was working for him, or something of the sort. This can have lots of effects, potentially, such as taking the heat off of Walt (if they think Gale was Heisenberg) or taking the heat off of Gus (if they think Gale just worked for Heisenberg). Walt might have caught quite a break, though, with the lab notes and what must be in them at this point.

Here's another way it could change things: it could get Hank recovering a lot quicker. He's generally pretty apathetic so far, but imagine how he might react if his replacements lazily assume that, because of the notes, Gale was Heisenberg. We've established that Hank has tremendous instincts, and he'll know right away that that just doesn't smell right. It could get him plenty fired up. It would also produce a situation where Walt is actively paying for the rehabilitation of the man who's trying to work his way into shape so he can catch him, which is the kind of irony that Breaking Bad loves.

Anyway, very interested to see how that plays out. Clearly something's going to happen, but the fact that Gale was killed while trying to copy Walt's formula could lead to a lot of false conclusions by the DEA.