UKH

i decided to bite the bullet.  No use being a TV and film fan if you haven't watched one of the greatest TV shows of all time. So I've just done all 62 episodes of Breaking Bad.

Undeniably a top drawer piece of art/entertainment. Very understandable why its ratings put it consistently as high as they do, up there with The Wire and The Sopranos. ( Though I 'm a bit fed up of hearing these shows being likened to Shakespeare)

But for me the series to compare it to is Ozark, which i have praised on here before. And i think my final verdict on that will have to wait. After 3 series of each show  in  comparison, Ozark had  a definite edge for me, whereas BB comes into its own in series 5. So it remains to see what the Ozark producers can pull out of  the bag in the next two series.

Without wanting to sound too puritanical, one refreshing point about  Breaking Bad is that the writers of such a successful show managed to turn out 5 series of such high quality drama with an almost complete absence of profanity.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Next up then has to be El Camino, a netflix film that finishes the story of BB with the focus on Pinkman.

Then you must see Better call Saul, 5 seasons of this (with the final season on the horizon) This charts the story of a happy go lucky lawyer Jimmy McGill and his journey turning into Saul Goodman. This is slow burning but IMO better still than BB.

Im watching the final season of Vikings at the moment, more top draw telly.

In reply to wilkie14c:

Then maybe "Your Honour" - just finished ep 2.  Bleak but shaping up to be good.

In reply to wilkie14c:

Yup. BB was ok but didn't hook me, but BCS I found remarkable viewing and far more sophisticated than the first episode makes out. Some really interesting characters and ideas in there.

Just don't get caught up with where you vaguely remember seeing the guy playing Chuck before like I did.

In reply to Removed Userwaitout:

So, are we going to play Stonehenge tomorrow or not? 

In reply to wilkie14c:

Watched El Camino when it came out  but it's on the cards for a re-viewing  now.

I thought it was OK as a stand alone , mainly disappointed that the titular vehicle ( which was Todd's) didn't play a greater part. 

In reply to ThunderCat:

Ha yes. A marvelous bit of casting.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Every third word out of Jesse's mouth was 'bitch'..?

In reply to Tom Valentine:

I get annoyed with that too. Comparing something that is utter shite with the best TV series I've ever watched.

E

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

Probably a sign of how much I've been inured to serious  swearing  in film and TV drama that it honestly never occurred to me to consider "bitch" as profanity but you have a point.

As for the rest., I can only recall one "motherf*cker" and one "f*ck you" (on a written note)  - pretty restrained for 162 episodes and 5 series.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Yeah, it's a good point.  

Of course, you could go down the BSG route and just invent a new frakking expletive to get past the censors.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

I'm chuckling to myself that you're giving the writers credit for taking a fairly conservative approach with the language compared to some of the more horrific imagery in the show. Swearing would have been a relief! 😂 

In reply to Enty:

Thank you for reminding me to go and watch Cunk on Shakespeare.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

I've never made it past a couple of seasons of any of these apparent masterpieces. They're just way too long. I enjoyed the first few episodes of breaking bad, then I just habituate to it, and totally lose interest in the two million or so utterly implausible events being served up over the course of 25 years or whatever it is. Same with the wire, same with fargo...

Once I've habituated to style of the drama, it feels more like pacification than entertainment, cultural valium. No drama is so good I can watch a thousand hours and not get bored.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

I'm no film or TV critic but the fact that these shows employee little know actors and their egos does seem to add something the the mix. The slow moving naritive gives time to get to know the characters. I'm in danger of watching BB again. Hope you enjoy it.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

See also Red Dwarf.

My favourite BSG meme was "cutting the corners"

In reply to Tom Valentine:

On a related note, having never watched The Sopranos, is it worth the watch - i.e. has it stood the test of time?

I also really enjoyed Weeds which seems to have been somewhat under the radar - like Breaking Bad but more light-hearted (though does still have some dark moments).

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Surely the fundamental draw is humanity's ingrained drive to know what happens next? Perhaps this varies person to person, but I think what makes a series excel is presenting characters, making them engaging and showing what happens to them in response to whatever drama comes their way (be it realistic, per The Wire, say, or a bit more fanciful, like BSG), and ideally making greater points about society and the human condition generally.

If it can do it with extra style, that's a bonus. Breaking Bad's trademark camera placements, for instance, or, to horn in one of the other themes of this thread, the delightful F-bomb scene in the first season of The Wire (ep. 4, I think)...

In reply to Durbs:

I just watching The Sopranos. I think it's really good and has stood the test of time much better than the wire. 

Weeds was spectacular! I expected a really silly sitcom but was positively surprised. . I enjoyed it much more than Breaking Bad. 

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Breaking Bad is the first long running show that I watched from start to finish since (the original) Dallas!

BB is much better though.

In reply to nufkin:

Yeah, I don't really have it, which is why I can't watch any of these mega-series bastards. The only TV drama that's really had an impact on me is True Detective 1, which is self-contained for 8(?) episodes. Even then, the lowlight for me was the entirely plot based (as opposed to ideas/themes/character-based) denouement which did its job but added very little to the thing as a whole.

That's what makes the feature film a great format for me. You can say a lot about society or the human condition in 2h, with a whole lot of style, without 10 trillion pointless events spread over 6,000 hours. 

In reply to Tom Valentine:

I'm a huge fan of The Wire and The Sopranos (which I re-watch annually, getting something new from the series each time). I found BB completely over-rated. My problem was that the teacher's original-sin seemed unforgivable to me - neither morally defensible nor understandable. I then had no sympathy for him and I didn't care whether he lived or died. And Jesse was a completely one-note, ranty character with no depth at all.

The cleverness of The Sopranos is that you never completely hate Tony, even though he's a complete sociopath.

I must be missing something because everyone else loves BB though!

In reply to Jon Stewart:

It's sometime since I rewatched the Wire, but I would say that is different because of the seasons shifting focus - the police, the union, the school system, the paper, city hall (IIRC! ). Quite clearly David Simon's past as journalist was visible in that, because basically it was just the different 'beats' that the journos in the big regional newspapers in the States had as their specialisms. Yes, you saw the same characters through all or most of the seasons - those that survived anyway, but the shift of focus just added to the depth of it. I think the Wire was really quite special.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

I'm a Breaking Bad junkie - absolutely love it. Watched the whole lot twice first with my son and later my partner and it just keeps giving. 

My son had the DVD set which had all sorts of interviews with the actors, writers, producers etc at the end of each episode and loads of interesting snippets. How they shot the Mexican cousins blowing up the lorry in the dessert is incredible. 

Actually I think the Mexican boys are my favourites. Totally chilling, in a sibling sort of way..

I'm really enjoying BCS, Ozark and Farlow as well but none are as good as Breaking Bad. Will Jessie and Walt make a cameo appearance in the final BCS series I wonder?

In reply to wilkie14c:

You need to watch Norsemen, all very silly! 😄

In reply to Jon Stewart:

I am with you on this. Even the comments on True Detective S1! I daresay David Lynch and Mark Frost are with us too, given that Twin Peaks Season 3 (or whatever it was officially called) pretty much abandoned most modern notions of storytelling and frankly outdid the bonkers second half of S2 (whilst also - in a "hold my beer" way - outdoing Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain and "mother!" along the way). 
I actually own a good number of modern(fish) classics as hardcopy DVD boxsets (you can buy them cheaper than a month of Netflix these days) and when I sit and be honest with myself (or - worse - sit and watch a few episodes in knowledge of how much more there is to come), I just ask myself "can I be arsed?"

Community is the only multi-season show I've seen in its entirety  

In reply to Tom Valentine:

I gave up on BB after season 4, it's a total fun vacuum.

Best thing on Netflix is Ash vs the Evil Dead.

In reply to Iwan:

I gave up after about 3 episodes.  Just seemed a bit dull, no likeable characters.

I'm sure I'd have got into it if I'd stuck with it, but I went into it thinking it was gonna be like The Wire or The Sopranos and have me on the edge of my seat from the off but it just didn't grab me...

In reply to Tom Valentine:

I'm watching both Better Call Saul and The Sopranos for the first time at the moment. 

BCS started slowly as someone else said but it gets really good around the 5th episode and I'm really glad I stuck with it through the general tedium of the earlier episodes. 

The Sopranos is one of those programmes where it's very difficult to not watch another episode as soon as one finishes. Utterly engrossing and a totally genius combo of doing naughty mafia things, homelife, and talking about how they both interfere with his psyche. The main characters are really fleshed out. 

In reply to PaulJepson:

I don't know which episode it is but a scene near the end where Tony and his wife have a massive row is drama of the highest quality.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

Totally agree Jon. It has nothing to do with attention span. These modern series or 'seasons' are so tediously stretched... Bring back Play for Today, I say. 

In reply to Tom Valentine:

I'm surprised you think Ozark is the zenith of tv when you applaud BB for no swearing....Ruth Langmore? Every word that comes out of her mouth is the word F*ck lol

Joking aside, Breaking Bad was tremendous, as is Better Call Saul which is superb. Having seen both of these, the Wire and Sopranos and Ozark and countless others (Vikings/Last Kingdom/ Game of thrones/Dexter/ Six feet under/Mad Men/ Bosch/The office/Handmaids tale ...I could go on and on) there is two shows that stand head and shoulders above them all for me

Black Sails and The Detectorists.

BS has a hugely rewarding story arc (that requires a bit of effort, no falling asleep or you will be in trouble)  that spans the four seasons brilliantly and has a very satisfactory ending. Season 1 is the weakest but sets everything in motion...each season then is stronger and stronger. The acting is superb , Toby Stephens and Toby Shmitz are brilliant. It is extremely violent and there is a lot of sex and nudity which might put some off mind you.

I don't think the Detectorists needs any introduction here...we all know it's up there as one of the greatest television experiences one can enjoy.

In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus:

As you gathered, I didn't really consider the absence of swearing a factor in the quality of Breaking Bad, it was just something that dawned on me as I worked my way through and I thought the novelty of it  worth a comment  If I had to pick one show to top the rest, it wouldn't actually be Ozark: my vote would be for Deadwood , and Milch's writing was controversial precisely because of the anachronistic  profanity used at length.

I've never heard of Black Sail and will look it up. I  mistakenly assumed the Detectorists was a cross between Antiques Roadshow and Scrapheap Challenge so I ought to check that out too.

BTW you're right about Ruth . Her "I don't know shit about f*ck" is one of my favourite lines of all time and I'm still trying to work out how many negatives it contains.