General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBreaking Bad
Never watched an episode until today. I am starting from the beginning on Netflix. All my friends are right, I have been missing out.
sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)millennialmax
(331 posts)Tab
(11,093 posts)I've watched about 92% of it.
Only episode that sucked was the one with them in the lab with the fly. I got the impression everyone was on vacation or they shot it on a holiday or something.
Other than that - absolutely excellent.
mattclearing
(10,091 posts)They had to make their budget work for the season, so more money spent elsewhere means an episode where virtually nothing happens in a limited location.
Generic Brad
(14,272 posts)That is the only episode I did not like. The rest is pitch perfect.
Heisenberg_Labs
(2 posts)I liked the Fly episode.
It was comical. (like the first two seasons)
The contrasts between seriousness, comedy, deception, fear, greed, compassion, obsession, OCD are what made the show great.
Hank's wife Marie and Walt Jr., were probably the weakest characters.
Enrique
(27,461 posts)or maybe three, I'm not sure how far I got.
I know most shows I like take a while to hit their stride, so I'm going to give it another chance at some point, but I got to the part where he has the guy tied up in his basement and I didn't have much interest in it through that point. And the thing with the bathtub was just unpleasant.
Orrex
(63,173 posts)If you didn't like the guy in the tub, then you'll really dislike the stuff that comes later.
PCIntern
(25,491 posts)It truly comprehends the human condition as it were...
CakeGrrl
(10,611 posts)I've liked what I've seen. AMC is running the first half of Season 5 back-to-back on Sunday before the 2nd half premiere.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)I don't have cable. Only internet. So the last season for me will be when NF has it.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)think4yourself
(837 posts)Enjoy!
valerief
(53,235 posts)Terrific show.
Not a series of stupid quick cuts. Not an army of people talking over each other. Not snarky line after snarky line. And there's very little violence, considering the subject matter.
It's all about crossing boundaries and battles of will and posing and who to trust. It lets you think along with the actors as they're thinking in their scenes. A wonderful series.
JeffHead
(1,186 posts)Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)arely staircase
(12,482 posts)All I have seen is Episode 1 of the 1st season. I am hooked (no pun intended). I'm gonna get of DU and watch the second one in about half an hour. Awesome show.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)If you haven't seen The Wire then that is your next assignment.
I'm like you, only Netflix so I'll see the last of BB whenever it gets there.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)but I will based on your rec.
bravenak
(34,648 posts)I did The Wire again starting a few days ago. You'll love it! Bubs is the shiznit.
That's why I'm onto BB.
Heisenberg_Labs
(2 posts)I've seen the entire series of Breaking Bad over a two year period.
Most of my middle aged years mirror Walter White's (except for the drugs and killing parts). So I understand the vast volume of social issues BB was dealing with.
Most people I've talked to said The Wire is as good or better than BB.
I have just watched Season 1 and 2 of The Wire.... and I just don't see the attraction/attention. None of the characters "grabbed" me enough that I can remember any of their names. I think one guy is Irish and there is a black lesbian cop. The Wire is okay, but it's a simple crime drama so far. Nothing spectacular.
In Breaking Bad the first 60 seconds grabbed me.... I mean, a pair of khaki pants blowing off a speeding RV in the desert.... WTF, I had to find out the backstory of the pants.
Lisa D
(1,532 posts)It's intense and one of my all-time favorites
unblock
(52,126 posts)as the dentist who converted to judaism for the jokes.
she's really good at making those connections, i'm terrible at it. she pulled up the seinfeld episode for me and paused the screen and said, "recognize him"? and even then i couldn't place him until she said "breaking bad".
anyway, the script is amazing and there's some incredible acting in that show.
just wait until you meet the "gus fring" character. he's a great character and the actor reveals such an amazing range of emotions with the tiniest facial movements.
valerief
(53,235 posts)arely staircase
(12,482 posts)a bunch of people were on Seinfeld who I didn't know at the time. good catch on the mrs. part.
Lisa D
(1,532 posts)and another comedic role in a couple episodes of How I Met Your Mother
Mnemosyne
(21,363 posts)and a dog, iirc, over his privates! OMG, and I never use that expression, it was pants peeing hysterical.
Love BB, only get to see it when it comes out on DVD. Cranston and the entire cast are so wonderful!
Mojo Electro
(362 posts)teamster633
(2,029 posts)also played one of Jerry's girlfriends. It's the one where George thinks he saw Jerry's cousin kissing her and it was really a woman cop nuzzling her horse.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)David__77
(23,335 posts)Somehow, I never find myself questioning the morality of it all...
unblock
(52,126 posts)i don't want to spoil anything, for the o.p., but let's just say that both characters are ruled by their own fears.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)alittlelark
(18,890 posts)It is as good as my all-time fav. Battlestar Galactica (2nd incarnation). Anxiously awaiting the 11th!
bravenak
(34,648 posts)That guy, is the best. Or worst. I'm undecided.
missingthebigdog
(1,233 posts)Saul is awesome.
bravenak
(34,648 posts)I love him. Needs a show all about him.
deutsey
(20,166 posts)I'm not sure how I feel about that. I love the Saul character, but I don't know if he could sustain a show. It'd be interesting to see if he can, though.
name not needed
(11,660 posts)pokerfan
(27,677 posts)GCP
(8,166 posts)ROFL
RainDog
(28,784 posts)it's a great series because ALL the characters are deeply flawed and yet the writers made the audience care about them anyway. One of the great joys is to see the characters change, over time, in response to their circumstances.
It's also brilliant in its use of dramatic irony.
demwing
(16,916 posts)Unless you count his handicap as a flaw.
I think the writer are keeping him pure for a reason. His death (or corruption) may be the price Walt SR pays for his sins.
MuseRider
(34,095 posts)My sons are after me to get into it and I will as soon as I catch up on what I am not finished with. I am impressed with the quality of these kinds of shows, some are just so fine. Others I have no interest in but it seems that most are made very well.
Chalk you up to another person who likes the show. I love Bryan Cranston, should be excellent.
LittleBlue
(10,362 posts)Ah, such a masterpiece and most of it is ahead of you.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)arely staircase
(12,482 posts)I'm hooked, so to speak.
LittleBlue
(10,362 posts)just keeps getting better.
Skittles
(153,122 posts)I didn't watch any more, but I did not delete the series - then some people at work were talking about it so I went head and watched the second episode, then the rest of the first season, then the other seasons. I am not a big fan of TV shows - very, very few catch my interest but Breaking Bad did - the acting and the writing and the direction are all phenomenal.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)FWIW. I want you to know that recommendations from you and others I usually get into it with on DU are actually very valued. The likes of you and Fumesucker are the same as my cranky anarchist uncle. We vote the same, like the same movies and shout at each other (lovingly) during holidays.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)Skittles
(153,122 posts)LearnedHand
(3,387 posts)I've run into the kid who playes Walt Jr at a local restaraunt (TOTALLY went all fanboy on him) and Bryan Cranston threw out the first ball at an Isotapes game a few years ago. I agree with the posters downthread that this show is among the best tv writing I've ever seen. And FWIW, you can also buy the streaming season from Amazon for about $22 and be able to watch each episode the day after it airs. Many of us Burquenos have BB parties on the day the episode airs. Enjoy your descent straight into hell! You've got a lot of company waiting for you when you reach the end of the ride.
Mr. David
(535 posts)I just keep thinking Los Pollos Hermanos.
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)Don't we have a lounge for vanity posts
PCIntern
(25,491 posts)To what is perhaps the greatest literary/visual medium ode to both the Human Condition and to America, when we could have another "compare and contrast Obama to Nixon/Reagan/GW Bush" threads?
I mean, some fucking nerve of the OP writer there, and it's great that at 2:38 in the morning, you possess this critical fortitude when the wires are literally burning up with posts, overloading the system.
and no malice, really. Just wasting some bandwidth myself...
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)especially when there is a forum for that.
Why, does that bother you?
PCIntern
(25,491 posts)It is profoundly political and profound.
Why does it bother ME? I didn't start the discussion...you did. The question should be why does it bother you? Why does every thread these days have seeds of discord sown, no matter how benign.
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)apolitical stuff goes in the lounge.
I already stated my views.
I was just wondering why that got you so worked up?
trumad
(41,692 posts)You do realize you're the only one bitching about this being in GD.
Breaking Bad is one of the best TV shows in the history of Television. It's last 8 shows start Sunday, hence making it a conversation for millions of viewers including those on DU. IE: It's an event---an event big enough to be in "GENERAL DISCUSSION".
By the way---your complaint can be taken up with in Ask the Admin forum. So---technically your complaint is in the wrong forum.
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)I don't watch teeVee, but I do like politics, and that is why I come here, and also why I don't visit the lounge, where this post belongs.
This has NOTHING to do with the admins, this has everything to do with the OP, so this post is in exactly the right place.
trumad
(41,692 posts)Weird.
Dude...you can trash the thread if you don't like it. 99.9 percent like it.
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)and i am not 'trashing' the thread, just pointing out that the OP is in the wrong forum.
goodbye
trumad
(41,692 posts)God I hate people who bitch about things that they have no knowledge of.
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)Last edited Mon Aug 12, 2013, 12:34 AM - Edit history (1)
It is not about the show at all, ive never watched it.
It's ahout it being in GD, when it belongs in the lounge,
jeeze, please take some deep-breaths
trumad
(41,692 posts)Is it about Drug use and the disaster Meth has on society?
Is it about corruption?
All subjects worthy of a General Discussion on this forum.
Of course you don't have an answer to my questions because you never watched the show and have no idea what it is about.
Do you even hear yourself?
zappaman
(20,606 posts)that should be in the humor forum since it is so ridiculous...but not one complains that it should be moved...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3435877
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)Edward Snowden is a modern day Paul Revere with a thumb drive full of news that Tyranny is coming!
Edward Snowden's Dad Calls Him 'Modern Day Paul Revere'
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/edward-snowdens-dad-calls-modern-day-paul-revere/story?id=19554337
Hmmm... who knew how influential a DU meme could be
That, my friend, is a political statement, which you may not agree with, or even find humorous, but it is certainly worthy of GD.
Idle, feel good chatter about rock bands, and teeVee shows, I can get everywhere, and if that were ever come to infest DU, other than the lounge, it would only harm DU, and make it less special, imho.
zappaman
(20,606 posts)DU should be run!
DU was fine before you got here, and will be fine when you are gone, so no need to worry!
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)I have genuinely enjoyed talking about this show even with people I never get along with in political threads. and he has to bring coonskin cap guy he thinks is Paul Revere and his damn embarrassing Sarah Palin sounding quote. I just told another poster that I have never put anyone on ignore. Well, guess fucking what. I'm never gonna have to see that stupid shit again.
Response to arely staircase (Reply #96)
Post removed
zappaman
(20,606 posts)Turborama
(22,109 posts)BTW, now their transparency page is showing it looks like you're not alone in using the ignore feature on them: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=profile&uid=303173&sub=trans
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)Not that it matters but I've been reading DU since 2001, and I sure do have a lot of opinions.
Excuse me for expressing them your highness.
Paladin
(28,243 posts)Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)?
PCIntern
(25,491 posts)LordGlenconner
(1,348 posts)So it's a waste of time to that particular poster.
Additionally, the OP may have exhibited some actual joy within their life, which is also forbidden.
And finally, AMC is in the business of making money, which is also quite evil.
PCIntern
(25,491 posts)First of all, it's not apolitical...and secondly, I'm kind of tired of people deciding what categories into which others should neatly fit. That's why.
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)I do not watch teeVee, and do not come do GD to talk about teeVee shows, especially about violent drug dealers, tarted up to seem 'cool' and/or 'sophisticated'.
I couldn't care less about what you are 'tired' of, this post doesn't belong in GD, hopefully a moderator will correct the error/litter when one comes online and this will all be moot.
PCIntern
(25,491 posts)And the rest of us are wrong.
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)you and the other guy?
yep.
PCIntern
(25,491 posts)You once made a mistake when you said "Nobody's perfect."
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)trumad
(41,692 posts)Which means he's just barking at the moon.
PCIntern
(25,491 posts)a fight.
mattclearing
(10,091 posts)You're as off-topic in this thread as the thread is off-topic in GD.
xmas74
(29,671 posts)Don't like it, don't read it.
I don't like pro wrestling so I don't watch it. I don't like country music so I don't listen to it. I don't like frozen bananas so I don't eat them. I don't like Maxim or the Twilight novels so I don't read any of it.
That's the answer with some of the threads around here. If you don't like them, don't read them. Every time you post in a thread about not liking it the thread moves higher up on the page. Don't read it and it'll fall down the page that much faster.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)system, complain to the Hosts, or post your displeasure in ATA.
Way to GD nanny!!
zappaman
(20,606 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)is completely unrepresentative of the tenor of this board.
Haha!
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)IMHO, best series on TV, ever.
douglas9
(4,358 posts)Rave all you want about Bryan Cranstons portrayal of Walt White or how Aaron Pauls Jesse Pinkman is the shows true but flawed moral compass, but I say the real star of Breaking Bad is Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman, the bus bench attorney whose got-dressed-in-the-dark outward appearance belies the sly legal fox lurking underneath. So what better way to end the week than with this Vulture video of Odenkirk dissecting crappy ads for real-life ambulance chasers?
http://consumerist.com/2013/08/09/breaking-bads-bob-odenkirk-picks-apart-ads-for-real-life-ambulance-chasers/
PCIntern
(25,491 posts)Just answering your question...
Video was ok, though...thanx!
Phentex
(16,330 posts)that I need to start over. My family watches it but I am too sleepy to watch it when it's on.
Sotf
(76 posts)I have a hard time rooting for bad guys... Same goes for Sons of Anarchy...
Yavin4
(35,423 posts)And sad reality
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)skypilot
(8,851 posts)...that he used to have hair.
xoom
(322 posts)Enjoy!!!
blogslut
(37,985 posts)If you stream season 6, episode #2, entitled Drive, you'll get to watch what inspired its writer, Vince Gilligan, to cast Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad.
shanti
(21,675 posts)that's where i was 6 months ago. now i'm waiting for the last last season to begin! this series deserves all the kudos given to it - enjoy!
MADem
(135,425 posts)It's appalling....and riveting....and horrifying....and fascinating!!!
You find yourself cheering for the "bad guy."
Great show, the acting is brilliant.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)and it is all the things above.
MADem
(135,425 posts)bravenak
(34,648 posts)I re watching the whole series right now. I'm on season 1 disk 3. Awesome!
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)he just well, you know, took care of the problem in the basement.
bravenak
(34,648 posts)Tuco. Nuff said.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)what a psycho
bravenak
(34,648 posts)I'm rewatching it with you from anchorage. Let me know when you start Game of Thrones, we need to have a running commentary on that.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)I could do without some of the sex scenes...some seem like "hey we need to talk about this, why not do it and throw in some sex." Overall though, great show. I can't wait for season three to be available via Amazon.
I also watched House of Cards recently.
Okay, so I'm on my summer break in grad school, I cram as much tv watching as I can in three weeks before it's back to the grind.
bravenak
(34,648 posts)Please film yourself watching season 3 episode 9 of GOT. My sister did it and I watch her reaction over and over. Your mind will be blown.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)I'm assuming season 3 won't be available until right before season 4 airs. The sex seemed to taper off in the second half of season 2 since it was mostly fighting. I'm no prude, but it just seems a tad excessive.
After Breaking Bad last night, they had a show "Talking Bad" on and even that was good. Some hints about what will happen.
bravenak
(34,648 posts)I'm an ex stripper and I was tired of seeing naked women. I want the men to show their stuff. All of it. I'm saving up this season of BB so I can watch it all in one go. I'm rooting for Hank and my husband is rooting for Walter. It's a mess!
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)I couldn't wait to watch last night, and I'm ready for next week.
The Hank/Walter relationship is going to be very interesting this season. I can't wait to see how it all ends.
bravenak
(34,648 posts)Funny I feel that way since I love pot. But Walt and his i am the one who knocks shit, pissed me off.
And Mike. I have to wait or I will be climbing the walls in anticipation.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)RandySF
(58,531 posts)Of the monologue he gave before he went to sleep because a druge Jessie gave him. In it, he talks about how he could have died a happy man after listening to his wife sing to their daughter.
blogslut
(37,985 posts)Don't have a YouTube clip for you but yeah, that episode was a hell of a thing.
Here's the episode's text quotes, courtesy of IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615550/quotes?ref_=tt_ql_3
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)It's not as explicit as those shows but the writing is top notch for basic cable.
Great stuff.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)And I've watched them all. It laps the Sopranos. It just edges The Wire, because it's not tied to a naive realism. M*A*S*H? Hill Street Blues? Yes, all great, but not even close to the brilliance that is Breaking Bad. The "Dead Freight" episode is possibly the best hour of television ever filmed, tout court. I don't say that lightly.
zappaman
(20,606 posts)Thanks for posting!
Vanje
(9,766 posts)Guess we won't be seeing much of you for a while. Its hard to stop watching Breaking Bad.
HipChick
(25,485 posts)Who would think it would be this popular?
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)I just finished the 5th episode and was gonna say It doesn't seem to be a glorification of it.
librechik
(30,674 posts)meth gets a drubbing, along with those who make and sell it. It sorta epitomizes evil.
Demo_Chris
(6,234 posts)bravenak
(34,648 posts)zappaman
(20,606 posts)But won't ruin for anyone who hasn't seen it...
or those that start threads about the show who haven't seen it.(not referencing you )
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)thanks. I'm half-way through season 2 right now. One of the things I like about this show is how all these people have some flaw and/or secret - often very unexpected.
zappaman
(20,606 posts)It is easily the best show on TV after MY LITTLE PONY.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)zappaman
(20,606 posts)tammywammy
(26,582 posts)That's a pretty darn good track record.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)I actually got up early this morning before work to finish the episode I didn't get through last night.
zappaman
(20,606 posts)Remember to eat!
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)Well not getting up early, but I was sitting watching 6-8 episodes in the evening into the wee hours. Heh.
Did you ever watch the show Six Feet Under back in the day? Breaking Bad reminds me of how much I loved Six Feet Under.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)I can't say too much because it would spoil things. But "Fly" is a metaphor for the entire season in which it takes place, and for the decisions that were and will be made. The episode also sets up the central conflict in the next season...metaphorically. The ep is late in the third season.
It's also called a "bottle" episode, which means it takes place in a contained setting (to save money on production costs.) So, it's not the episode with the greatest action, but it carries the drama of the characters' situation - it's more about the moral universe of the show.
It's an episode that gets better once you've watched the series. I have the series on DVD so I've rewatched each season before the new seasons start each year. Every time I've done so, I've gotten more out of the episodes.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)The two finest television dramas ever made.
zappaman
(20,606 posts)ellie
(6,928 posts)Vince Gilligan, the show's creator, is some kind of super genius.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)tammywammy
(26,582 posts)SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)tammywammy
(26,582 posts)That. Is. Awesome.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)tammywammy
(26,582 posts)Ha!
madinmaryland
(64,931 posts)tammywammy
(26,582 posts)Since this thread is still here, apparently it can stay in GD. If it upsets you, I suggest utilizing the useful "hide thread" option the Admins have so generously provided.
tridim
(45,358 posts)I just can't do it because of the subject matter.
It doesn't glamorize meth, but it sure normalizes it. I don't understand the point.