Breaking Bad - Binged

[thegreekdog]

So I just finished watching Breaking Bad in the binge fashion (i.e. watching all episodes/seasons over a short period of time - for those that don't know).

I haven't read a lot of reviews about the show, but what I have read seem to paint Walter White as a bad guy. He is a bad guy, but maybe he's not that bad. They also seem to paint the other members of his circle as good guys (e.g. Hank, Skylar, Marie). I'm not sure I agree with that. Further, most reviewers liken the show to The Sopranos. Breaking Bad is nothing like The Sopranos. Walter White is nothing like Tony Soprano.

Go back and watch the first season of Breaking Bad. Walter White is an intelligent, mild-mannered guy who is emotionally and psychologically abused by his wife, his brother-in-law, his sister-in-law, his former colleagues, and his employer. And he has cancer. He's not a piece of shit, but his family and "friends" treat him like a piece of shit and his luck is shitty. The show does a great job of metamorphising Walter White (that's why it's a great show).

But I have trouble sympathizing in any way with Hank Schroeder and his wife. And the show couldn't make me sympathize because I remembered how they treated Walter White because I watched the first season two months before the last season. I have trouble sympathizing with Skylar because I saw how she treated Walter (despite the try at a rewrite flashback in the last season).

Maybe I empathize with Walter White. Maybe there are a bunch of nerds sitting out there treated like shit by others. Maybe those nerds see someone like Walter White who stands up to the bullies by becoming a bully. Maybe that's the genius of the show.

In any event, great show. Top 5 for me - just behind The Wire and Battlestar Galactica.

[DaGip]

Any series that I can watch more than once is a winner in my book. I've watched Breaking Bad three times through, and it never ceases to entertain...it's just that good of a show. It used to come on after The Walking Dead, but I never stayed up to watch it. I thought it was just a crap show at the time, beings it was about drugs. Then some kid at work talked me into watching it, so I broke down and started watching it on Netflix. It was an absolute masterpiece! Then after I got hooked watching it, I had my 70 year old dad watch it. He was the same way, he didn't think he would like it because of the drug thing...but I forced him to watch it. And he couldn't wait until the next episode!

Saul is alright, but Breaking Bad was the SHIT!

[strike wolf]

Mild Spoiler:

show

Breaking Bad is a beautifully written show and Walter "Heisenberg" White is a great character. You are correct, Walter isn't Tony Soprano in any way. The only similarity is that they were both in their way "likable bad guys". I don't really remember seeing it as them torturing him. Well Hank some and the car wash owner definitely but not the others. I would have to go back and see that to recall if you are correct on that issue. THough I will say that there was no true purely good characters in Breaking Bad was one of its highlights. There were some characters who were about as close to pure evil as you get in humanity but also excellently written (Despite the over use of a word describing a female dog) seemingly bad characters that had strong moral codes.

[dyrtydog]

they are currently filming the second season of "Better Call Saul" (a spin-off) of BB, with many of the same characters. Season 1 started slow, but it is in the BB mode.

[Phatscotty]

So I just finished watching Breaking Bad in the binge fashion (i.e. watching all episodes/seasons over a short period of time - for those that don't know).

I haven't read a lot of reviews about the show, but what I have read seem to paint Walter White as a bad guy. He is a bad guy, but maybe he's not that bad. They also seem to paint the other members of his circle as good guys (e.g. Hank, Skylar, Marie). I'm not sure I agree with that. Further, most reviewers liken the show to The Sopranos. Breaking Bad is nothing like The Sopranos. Walter White is nothing like Tony Soprano.

Go back and watch the first season of Breaking Bad. Walter White is an intelligent, mild-mannered guy who is emotionally and psychologically abused by his wife, his brother-in-law, his sister-in-law, his former colleagues, and his employer. And he has cancer. He's not a piece of shit, but his family and "friends" treat him like a piece of shit and his luck is shitty. The show does a great job of metamorphising Walter White (that's why it's a great show).

But I have trouble sympathizing in any way with Hank Schroeder and his wife. And the show couldn't make me sympathize because I remembered how they treated Walter White because I watched the first season two months before the last season. I have trouble sympathizing with Skylar because I saw how she treated Walter (despite the try at a rewrite flashback in the last season).

Maybe I empathize with Walter White. Maybe there are a bunch of nerds sitting out there treated like shit by others. Maybe those nerds see someone like Walter White who stands up to the bullies by becoming a bully. Maybe that's the genius of the show.

In any event, great show. Top 5 for me - just behind The Wire and Battlestar Galactica.

They are both anti-heros, and that banks on there not being any definite good or bad, black or whate. All shades of grey. I finally got my brother to watch Walking Dead, and he is going on binging the entire series for the 3rd time in a row. I catch bits n pieces here n there and I notices with Shane, a lot of people thought he was a bad guy/the bad guy, but I think no matter what horrible things he did there was a reason for it, it's just that not everyone saw it the same way. Yes, he killed Otis. But yes, because of that, Carl lives. To me it was and is all about the degree of the morality of the actions taken, and that is why both shows were major successes, in my opinion anyways

[Phatscotty]

Any series that I can watch more than once is a winner in my book. I've watched Breaking Bad three times through, and it never ceases to entertain...it's just that good of a show. It used to come on after The Walking Dead, but I never stayed up to watch it. I thought it was just a crap show at the time, beings it was about drugs. Then some kid at work talked me into watching it, so I broke down and started watching it on Netflix. It was an absolute masterpiece! Then after I got hooked watching it, I had my 70 year old dad watch it. He was the same way, he didn't think he would like it because of the drug thing...but I forced him to watch it. And he couldn't wait until the next episode!

Saul is alright, but Breaking Bad was the SHIT!

Yup. For me, Made it half way through Breaking bad a second time. 1/6 the way through Walking Dead a second time. That's why I decided Deadwood is the best show, because I have watched it 3 times and started to watch it a 4th when I realized amazon prime was shit but at least they have Deadwood. It probably helps there were only 3 seasons of Deadwood, but honestly I don't think I would have stalled out just because there were 6 seasons like TWD and BB. The show just kept raising the bar and has had lasting impact on me as well. At this very moment I am watching this



After first viewing Deadwood, my interests spun off into Wild Bill Hickock documentaries and Wild West books, and that in turn got me interested in learning a lot about the human beings who came to America from the other side of the world. Red Cloud one bad ass mofo! Earlier today when explaining to a buddy a thing about the implications of redefining marriage over the long term, we ended up watching the scene of the horse-fucker from Deadwood, and now my bro is finally interested in that show based on the horse fucker alone. haha Deadwood has changed me and even to this day is changing other people through me. That's how good Deadwood series is on HBO!

[Bernie Sanders]

they are currently filming the second season of "Better Call Saul" (a spin-off) of BB, with many of the same characters. Season 1 started slow, but it is in the BB mode.

Better Call Saul, is a good show and a spin off from Breaking Bad.

Breaking Bad in my honest opinion is one of the best series ever shown on T.V.

[jimboston]

I need to rewatch.

I don't recall Sklar, Hank, Marie treating him THAT badly.

He was certainly bitter about his former coworkers / co-business owners. Though he was treated badly, I recall he made his own bed there by walking away. I'm sure he could have stuck it out or litigated or not sold his share... but he was too proud. I forget exactly, so I may be off slightly.

It seems to me the primary "causes" for his initial descent was...
*Cancer / Impending Death
*New Baby to Support
*Disabled Son and Wife to Support
*Treatment by former coworkers.

As an aside, I just started rewatching Sopranos.
I know there are tons of new things to watch... I need something to put on while I'm on the treadmill and working out. Something to watch, but something that I won't get annoyed by if I miss a bit because I'm focussing on my workout. So I figured something I watched before. It definitely starts out as a show more about Tony's family than about the Mafia... so no one should have been surprised when it ended that way too.

... anyone start Jessica Jones?

[mrswdk]

[DaGip]

That's why I decided Deadwood is the best show,...

I've never seen it, but I have it on my wishlist. I'm always looking for good western shows and movies to watch with my dad, because that's what he grew up with. And, Deadwood is in South Dakota.

When I was looking for a show for my dad to watch, I found Hell On Wheels. It was the perfect show for my dad because:

1. It is a Western
2. It's about the railroad and my dad is a retired railroad man

[Symmetry]

I've always seen Walt's just journey as a descent. Saying he's a good or bad guy is the wrong way to think about it. He's a kind of neutral at the start of the series, if you want to put a moral value on him. By the end, he's a hardened killer, he's sacrificed every relationship he has to greed, and nobody will miss him.

It reminded me of Paradise Lost.

[TA1LGUNN3R]

I've always seen Walt's just journey as a descent. Saying he's a good or bad guy is the wrong way to think about it. He's a kind of neutral at the start of the series, if you want to put a moral value on him. By the end, he's a hardened killer, he's sacrificed every relationship he has to greed, and nobody will miss him.

It reminded me of Paradise Lost.

Uh, that sounds like pretty damning evidence of "bad" to me.

I haven't read a lot of reviews about the show, but what I have read seem to paint Walter White as a bad guy. He is a bad guy, but maybe he's not that bad.

Not that bad? He poisons a child to manipulate Jesse. Walt is a piece of shit. He is the perfect example of those religious arguments where "people would live in depravity without God."

The only reason he was a "neutral" character at the beginning of the show is because he's a nerdy coward and he was surrounded by forces which would check his bad behavior. Once he believes he has nothing left to lose, his true nature comes to the fore.

-TG

[Symmetry]

I've always seen Walt's just journey as a descent. Saying he's a good or bad guy is the wrong way to think about it. He's a kind of neutral at the start of the series, if you want to put a moral value on him. By the end, he's a hardened killer, he's sacrificed every relationship he has to greed, and nobody will miss him.

It reminded me of Paradise Lost.

Uh, that sounds like pretty damning evidence of "bad" to me.

I haven't read a lot of reviews about the show, but what I have read seem to paint Walter White as a bad guy. He is a bad guy, but maybe he's not that bad.

Not that bad? He poisons a child to manipulate Jesse. Walt is a piece of shit. He is the perfect example of those religious arguments where "people would live in depravity without God."

The only reason he was a "neutral" character at the beginning of the show is because he's a nerdy coward and he was surrounded by forces which would check his bad behavior. Once he believes he has nothing left to lose, his true nature comes to the fore.

-TG

I think you may have misunderstood- he's not always at that point. The descent toward that end is the point. Which you is why I think calling him good or bad is as pointless as saying that Hamlet is a dead character.

[thegreekdog]

I've always seen Walt's just journey as a descent. Saying he's a good or bad guy is the wrong way to think about it. He's a kind of neutral at the start of the series, if you want to put a moral value on him. By the end, he's a hardened killer, he's sacrificed every relationship he has to greed, and nobody will miss him.

It reminded me of Paradise Lost.

Yeah, maybe I shouldn't say he was a good guy (I don't think I did). But the supporting characters aren't good guys either and had some role in the way things turned out. Maybe I'm too focused on the psychological abuse Walter received from his family in the first season.

[nagerous]

Me and my dad love breaking bad. It is just so dark, he is very likeable in season one but you lose faith in him, I can't remember the moment, a lot of people say when it is he lets the junkie bitch (Jessica Jones) die but for me it is when that Gail (sp.?) guy dies that you lose faith in Walter White and then final series he takes on the Nazis and you're like whoop Walter is back! Anyway would have hold better in depth discussion 2 years ago when BB was still relevant and I could remember better

[nagerous]

I've always seen Walt's just journey as a descent. Saying he's a good or bad guy is the wrong way to think about it. He's a kind of neutral at the start of the series, if you want to put a moral value on him. By the end, he's a hardened killer, he's sacrificed every relationship he has to greed, and nobody will miss him.

It reminded me of Paradise Lost.

Yeah, maybe I shouldn't say he was a good guy (I don't think I did). But the supporting characters aren't good guys either and had some role in the way things turned out. Maybe I'm too focused on the psychological abuse Walter received from his family in the first season.

Yeah they troll him quite badly, but the answer isn't cook meth

[thegreekdog]

I've always seen Walt's just journey as a descent. Saying he's a good or bad guy is the wrong way to think about it. He's a kind of neutral at the start of the series, if you want to put a moral value on him. By the end, he's a hardened killer, he's sacrificed every relationship he has to greed, and nobody will miss him.

It reminded me of Paradise Lost.

Yeah, maybe I shouldn't say he was a good guy (I don't think I did). But the supporting characters aren't good guys either and had some role in the way things turned out. Maybe I'm too focused on the psychological abuse Walter received from his family in the first season.

Yeah they troll him quite badly, but the answer isn't cook meth

Meh, I don't view cooking meth as inherently bad.