As a fan, let me thank them. I won’t say anything about the finale. But Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould constructed a wonderful series. BREAKING BAD is my all-time favorite dramatic series (sorry MAD MEN, SOPRANOS, CSI MIAMI) and I worried that any prequel would fall way short. Worse yet, it could be BeforeMASH. And although it wasn’t as compelling as BREAKING BAD (no show was) and it did have its slow stretches, BETTER CALL SAUL was way better than I expected and wonderful on its own terms.
It’s hard to do a prequel and super hard to do a finale. Expectations are so high. And again, Vince & Peter pulled it off. It was satisfying with lots of surprises. No SPOILER ALERTS. Go watch it.
To me the hardest part of writing is the storytelling. People say it must be really tough to come up with all those jokes. Actually, jokes are the easy part. Coming up with a good original story, perhaps told in a unique non-linear way — if that’s constructed well the jokes just naturally come.
In BREAKING BAD and BETTER CALL SAUL the storytelling was magnificent. You could never outguess them. There were ingenious schemes, elegant character development, suspense, and even laughs. My hat’s off to those writing staffs.
And of course a nod to the superlative cast. Bob Odenkirk for sure, but the breakout star was Rhea Seehorn. Surround them with the likes of Jonathan Banks, Patrick Fabian, Giancarlo Esposito, Michael Mando, Tony Dalton, and Michael McKean and you had magic. It’s the magic that every screenwriter dreams of.
So thank you, BETTER CALL SAUL. And whoever cast Rhea Seehorn.
If you somehow missed -both- shows when they first aired, which would you watch first? Should I start with Saul because chronologically it came before Breaking Bad?
ReplyDeleteI don’t know if it would necessarily be “better” doing it one way or the other, but watching the series together in chronological order, like people now do with the first two “Godfather” movies, would be a fascinating exercise. (Either way, the most important thing is that you watch, because they’re both terrific shows.)
DeleteOnly the final season of BCS feels like you need to have seen BB for some of the BCS plot points and payoffs to have made sense. Otherwise, BCS stands on its own quite well.
DeleteAnd I can only echo what everyone’s saying about Rhea Seehorn. I hope her performance is studied in acting classes for years to come. It’s like Bernadette Peters singing Sondheim: a perfect marriage of performer and material.
Douglas, I didn't watch BB and had to get someone to explain the characters and some plot points of BB to me. BCS sets up certain character relationships and you have to know who they are where they're heading before understand what's going on. With that knowledge, I loved the show. I tried watching BB and never got into it.
DeleteEven though it mostly takes place first, Saul was designed to be watched second. Saul jumps back and forth between before and after so I'd watch BB first.
DeleteAnother spot-on piece Ken, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to miss it. Rhea Seehorn should win every acting award this year.
ReplyDelete@Douglas Trapasso
ReplyDeleteStart with Breaking Bad, there are spoilers for Breaking Bad in Better Call Saul.
@Douglas Trapasso
ReplyDeleteI'm one of those weirdos who never watched Breaking Bad but have watched every episode of Better Call Saul. At first, I was afraid it would be hard to follow, but thankfully they made it stand on its own for the most part. BCS isn't one of those prequels with a reference to BB every couple of minutes that might have you scratching your head, at least not that I could detect with my limited knowledge. Anyway, they wisely invested in their own storylines and several original characters you want to follow, namely Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn).
So I would say either direction is fine. Now I'm off to watch BB, finally.
And thank you, Better Call Saul.
Friday Question: Ken, what's your take on shows/movies that have long, slow parts? When they linger on a scene or image for far too long without anything further in it that moves the plot forward. What is the writer/director trying to tell us? Is it just to add atmosphere? Is it ever just trying to pad screentime? I think what bugs me most about those parts is not just the slow scene itself, but the implication that as the viewer there's something wrong with me if I don't want to sit through it: that I'm some ADD-addled teen that can't appreciate "art." But if there's a chance that's true, what art am I missing?
ReplyDeleteWait, when BCS started the season, you panned it, said it wasn't as good as previous seasons.
ReplyDeleteDid you call Saul?
@Rappin' Rodney - you should look for the movie "The Long Day Closes," an eighty-odd minute film that plays like the longest, dullest episode of "Coronation Street" ever.
ReplyDeleteIt was cool to see Carol Burnett at the end. I wonder if, when she signed on, she knew she would be the one to take down Saul?
ReplyDelete(were all the scripts in the can near the end?)
Rhea Seehorn was huge in a stellar cast - but early on, I didn't catch a lot of chemistry with Odenkirk (more brother/sister). And when she offered to marry him it seemed "convenient" (because she wanted to buffer his worst moves) more than desirous. That seemed to change as she fully conspired in Saul's game vs. Hamlin.
Even so - all that paled in comparison to the high-stakes Salamanca/Fring contest. Bringing Lalo in really raised the game.
To answer your question, Sharon Bialy.
ReplyDeleteMuch like Mad Men, BCS had plenty of jokes - the best kind, with no straight lines.
ReplyDelete(or do I just laugh at the "wrong things"?)
FRIDAY QUESTION: I believe that I read that Cheers was written so that, in many ways, it could be enjoyed as a radio play. Is this true?
ReplyDeleteGreat write-up for a great show. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI wanted Carol to do the Tarzan yell instead of pressing the life alert button.
ReplyDeleteGreat show!
@Jahn Galt
ReplyDeleteI didn't catch a lot of chemistry with Odenkirk (more brother/sister)
I wouldn't have thought of that, but now that you say it, I can see it
anyone else taken aback when Saul/Jimmy said only two years had passed since he first met Walter White and Jesse Pinkman? I would've thought the course of BB would have been at least two years, and another two from Saul Goodman's disappearance to his capture
really loved Carol Burnett's character and performance
@Douglas Trapasso
ReplyDeleteWatch BCS first.
Ken-
I agree. Fantastic writing. Some slow episodes. But the acting and directing were superb! I was a little disappointed with the finale. I guess I wanted some real revenge and as they left it, seems like there might be another series in the making...
Thanks a ton, Ken & Company! I already had to shell out mucho dinero to buy the Breaking Bad box set. Now it looks like I'll hafta spring for BCS as well.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, now that we've already had one sequel/prequel series to BB, I wonder if even more is on the way. A series that covers Skylar's life post-Walter, maybe?
Call it AfterBad, Ken. :-)
(And in fact, this reminds me of a Friday Question to ask you. Is there any TV series you've purchased the box set of, or are there any you'd like to purchase? I believe that all of your series are available by now.)
CSI Miami. Heh. The rule of three. See? I read your archives.
ReplyDeleteSo many pleasures, so little time - starting with how gorgeously both series were shot, taking full advantage of the SW desert. Vince Gilligan was on BBC's NewsNight (its flagship nighly news magazine program) on Monday, and the presenter asked him what the secret is to making a hit show. "Luck," he said. He went on to say in particular that the excellence of the cast they had gave them enormous freedom. On the insider podcasts, it's amazing to hear the efforts various crew went to to devise and build various effects. Gilligan often seems surprised to hear how they did a lot of it, which suggests one factor is also great leadership - hire talented people and let them work.
ReplyDeleteAn Emmy for Carol Burnett, just for the line, "Oh, please, get him."
wg
Hey! Some of you!! Spoiler alert maybe????
ReplyDeleteTuesday night's Kimmel had Al Franken hosting. The first guests were Odenkirk and Seehorn. Odenkirk had a watch party at his house that Franken attended. It's worth seeking out the show to watch that as well as other guests Cong. Katie Porter and musical guests Los Lobos.
One aspect of the show that's often overlooked is the accuracy of it's depiction of the legal profession. (I'm an attorney.) The big law firm, the midsize firm, the partners, the associates, the interns, the legal staff, the solo practitioners, the public defenders, the pro bono lawyers, the single client lawyers, the inhouse counsel, the prosecutors, the judges, the courthouse workers, the clients high and low, the hallway deals, the grueling procedures, the power lunches, the concern about reputation, the nobility and pettiness, the pretense of justice versus the reality, the necessary evils, the ethical dilemmas, the dignity and the scuminess, the case destroyed by a typo - all of it is so vividly portrayed. Viewers learned details about several legal fields, with genuine insights: banking, property, copyright, elder law, defamation, class action, criminal prosecution and defense, etc. Whoever advised them deserves tremendous credit.
ReplyDeleteConcerning the acting, as you and others have said, Rhea Seehorn was the cream of the crop, a continuous revelation. But I would also add Michael McKean (Lenny?!), Michael Mando, and Tony Dalton as examples of genius level acting work. And of course, the BB cast at the top of their game.
But one actor stands out to me above all the rest. If you held a gun to my head, so I had to identify the greatest actor from the series and could only name one, I would choose Mark Margolis I have never seen anything like that before. He depicted a heart attack, a coma, confinement in a wheelchair, and varying levels of physical and mental decline, and rehabilitation. And then he could walk around with a strut as if he owned the world. He was able to say more with a bell ring or a grimace than many actors can say in a soliloquy. What an amazing accomplishment.
So yes, thank you to Vince Gilligan, Bob Odenkirk, and all the rest. Job well done.
PS Add Patrick Fabian to list for genius level acting.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of BB and BCS, I've been wondering something for a while now. I write as someone who hasn't seen the shows themselves, but I have watched a few videos on YouTube analyzing the series. Everyone views BB especially as the greatest drama series of all time, due to the amazing writing and chock full of brilliant allegory, etc. What I'm wondering is: what would the sitcom equivalent be?
ReplyDeleteA show deep, meaningful, but in the mainly comedic area. I think of MASH, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, or COMMUNITY, but those shows lost some greatness later in their run, at least in the opinions of most fans (I think AD's last season was pretty good but being released in 2 parts ruined it for people. I waited for 5B to be released before starting to watch 5A). While one episode doesn't count, The OFFICE's "Dinner Party" was as rife with subtle symbolism and is many fans' favorite episode.
I'll submit this (first paragraph for relative brevity) as a possible FQ as well as part of the conversation - albeit a late one.
@jim, cheers fan: The events of Breaking Bad took place over a little more than a year. Walter White's 50th and 51st birthdays were shown in the first, then late in the last season. Saul Goodman was introduced about 4 months into that timeline. So Saul was on the run about a year or so.
ReplyDeleteAt Rock Golf: Thanks, now that you point it out, I remember. I guess there was Skyler's pregnancy and Holly's growth to consider, too. Just now in retrospect the idea that Walt could do all that in so short a time feels off, but I never thought that watching the show.
ReplyDeleteIt did always occur to me watching The Americans, another show I loved but even as I watched it, I was thinking, The Jennings operate on 40 hour days and ten day weeks.
@jim, @Rock Golf: There's a very detailed timeline of both shoes plus the El Camino movie at https://breakingbad.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline#Season_5B
ReplyDeletewg
Mibbitmaker, the sitcom equivalent would be our host's own "Cheers" & "Frasier". Both spin-offs plucked out a secondary, "lighter" comic-relief character from the former shows and delved deep into the situations that 'made them tick' - albeit one did it by literally revisiting the character's family, raising and past, and one did it by replanting the character in his hometown and literally among his family. Both spin-offs benefit the viewer greatly if they watched the earlier show - they make general and some specific references to events therein, but, crucially, don't *rely* on them. And all four were incredibly well-written, had all-time-great casts, and ran for inordinately long multi-seasons while barely-to-not-at-all dipping in quality the entire time. Notably, all four stuck the landing,too - an insanely impressive feat for any *one* show to pull off. TA-DA, indeed!!
ReplyDeleteI hate to ask such a basic question, but have you seen The Wire? Most entertaining and pure quality drama ever.
ReplyDeleteCan we get a PREQUEL to "SAUL"...Huh, can we?
ReplyDelete