Anyone watch Breaking Bad?

Hexi

Hexi

Well-Known Member
true blood - love season 1 myself, then the show lost me, too much camp.

homeland - love season 1, I checked out of season 2, really hated the writing in S2

ray donovan - I've seen a few, very interesting characters and such, but was the type of show where you can just pop in and catch up, quality acting, but the story is sort of hmmm

boardwalk - same as Ray Don for me, some cool actors but the plots bore me to sleep
 
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Smokey

Smokey

Cloud Master
Twin peaks has definitely a huge atmosphere and some weird weird stuff going on :D Worth re-watching.
I don't have huge expectations about anything, once BB ends....I probably start watching the bridge, and getting myself The Wire, since I read is the only one comparable or maybe superior to BB.
 
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Hexi

Hexi

Well-Known Member
Smokey said:
I probably start watching the bridge, and getting myself The Wire, since I read is the only one comparable or maybe superior to BB.
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The Wire is amazing TV. Really tough to avoid spoilers these days tho, such a long series that you have to be ready for a slow burn.

It is key to remember when watching it that it came BEFORE BB... which is key because BB is so good it colors our view of other shows. IGN just wrote a huge smackdown on Dexter S8 and why it sucked so bad and pointed to how BB made much smarter decisions with where the show should go.

I'm down to the last 3 or so episodes of The Bridge on DVR I think. The show starts off very interesting, cool actors cool characters, but lets just say there are a few reasons I lost the desire to keep current on the episodes.
 
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aesthyrian

aesthyrian

Blaaaaah
If you are expecting The Wire to stand up to Breaking Bad, then expect to be hugely disappointed, like myself.

I found the wire to be more about the one detective's alcoholism, and the lesbian's difficulties with her girlfriend. Like I give a shit.

The story telling just isn't as good, and the characters are just god awful.
 
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grokit

grokit

well-worn member
I saw part of an episode or three a few years ago when the wire was current, and it certainly failed to compel me then. But I know that a lot of people liked it so I thought I would check out the pilot at some point anyways. I have nothing against badazz lesbians, that's for sure!
 
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Hexi

Hexi

Well-Known Member
Well yeah if you are looking for gigantic shoot outs, wheelchair pipe bombs, high tech underground meth labs, and Big Bads lording over everyone, The Wire won't satisfy.

It's a long form, character study... but the character is the City of Baltimore instead of a person. It's easily a top 10 TV show of all time and many critics put it squarely at the top.

Very different style than BB, way more characters, way more sub-plots, and way more realistic. In fact, the most unrealistic and highly criticized scene in The Wire was actually based on a real event. The show is so grounded in reality that something seemingly unrealistic was hammered, even tho it was true!

Breaking Bad on the other hand is obviously unrealistic, but presented with such tight writing that it's a fun filled ride.

The Wire on the other hand, is more like one of the quiet episodes of BB. Still tons of violence and such, but again, slow burn.

When I streamed Breaking Bad at first, I would try multiple episodes, but it was too intense! The show works better IMO 1 at a time, sit and digest.

The Wire is more suited for binge watching, because there are so many characters and stories, it can go 2-3 episodes before picking back up on a plotline. Another great thing about The Wire is every season introduces a big group of new characters, so there is always a new perspective and feel that makes each season feel distinct.
 
grokit

grokit

well-worn member
Hexi said:
The Wire is more suited for binge watching, because there are so many characters and stories, it can go 2-3 episodes before picking back up on a plotline. Another great thing about The Wire is every season introduces a big group of new characters, so there is always a new perspective and feel that makes each season feel distinct.
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Thanks hexi, I know that I missed some salient points binge-watching bb because the show has so much going on. I think I got a bit overloaded in season 3 or so. I have been enjoying the crap out of bb, but it's good to know that the wire is worth looking forward to, and that it better suits my viewing habits.
 
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aesthyrian

aesthyrian

Blaaaaah
Hexi said:
The Wire is more suited for binge watching, because there are so many characters and stories, it can go 2-3 episodes before picking back up on a plotline.
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Agreed. And that's also one of the biggest things that bothered me while watching the wire. There were times that I wondered if they were ever going to get back to a previous plot point.

But honestly, like I said before, I just didn't give a fuck about the characters personal problems. It all seemed so mundane and pointless considering what else what happening in the episode. I think this had to do with not enough strong character development early on, I was never given a reason to care for any of these people, let alone their love lives. If I do go back a rewatch The Wire, I find myself skipping over a lot of scenes, and I'm not finding that those skipped scenes are leaving me with tons of questions or plot holes, mostly just binge drinking and romantic quarrels.

I understand what the writers were trying to do, I just feel that they failed at it. They have to make you care about a character before they expose every damned problem the character has both inside and outside of work. I was already disconnected from these characters since it was only the first episode or so, and letting me in on all their baggage certainly didn't make me give any more shits. So I was left with very little or no emotional attachment to the characters, which made me not even care who died or lived. It sort of feels like a slightly better written Law & Order at times. Not the best compliment I can think of :lol:
 
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Hexi

Hexi

Well-Known Member
aesthyrian said:
Agreed. And that's also one of the biggest things that bothered me while watching the wire. There were times that I wondered if they were ever going to get back to a previous plot point.

They have to make you care about a character before they expose every damned problem the character has both inside and outside of work. I was already disconnected from these characters since it was only the first episode or so, and letting me in on all their baggage certainly didn't make me give any more shits.
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Well TBPH the Kima character and her sub plots are probably some of the weakest. But like Game of Thrones, there are so many other characters and sub-plots, there are at least 4-5 characters in GoT that I jdgafa, and in fact there is an entire season of The Wire that I was completely bored of.

Season 2 IMO is the best, I liked the characters and sub plots the most.. yet even that season has a character or 2 I cannot stand.

If a Kima or Lester scene is flat or rubs you the wrong way... no worries, the show will be onto Omar or Bubbles soon enough.

I wasn't big into McNulty either tbph. But thankfully John Doman is on the show, and he fucking kicks all sorts of ass.
 
grokit

grokit

well-worn member
Hexi said:
true blood - love season 1 myself, then the show lost me, too much camp.
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It definitely went off the rails, but I just started the 6th and final season and I think sticking with it will pay off. They added some high-value character actors in the second half of season 5 and vampire-geddon has commenced right off the bat in season 6. Also Bill has transformed himself into a super-fly(ing)vampire, and this is just in the first few minutes. Edit: Rutger Hauer just appeared!

It will be interesting to see how the lycans figure in to the final narrative. I would say that true blood looks to end with a flourish. I wouldn't be surprised if they brought a writer or two back from the 1st season, it looks like the show paid off for hbo at this point because they seem to be pulling out all the stops for the last 10 episodes. I guess I'm rooting for the wolves to win the day.
:evil::popcorn:
 
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grokit,
T

Tweek

Well-Known Member
Anyone watched Hannibal yet? Started off kind of weak, but I was hooked by the end.
 
Tweek,
Hexi

Hexi

Well-Known Member
The Bridge episode I watched last night (well FF most of it) finally 'resolved' the storyline twist that everyone hated. So maybe now the show can be saved, although the other plots they have churning I'm worried will turn into the whole "SURPRISE TWIST" bullshit again.
 
Hexi,
Hexi

Hexi

Well-Known Member
So making the rounds on the internet is the title of the finale. "Felina"

Which could be linked to the song, and potentially Marie being the one to kill Walt, as she becomes the Felina... there is a whole article about how this would work and why,

or as someone else pointed out, Fe Li Na. Iron, Litium, Sodium. Blood, Meth, Tears. It's also an amalgam for Finale.:doh:
 
Stu

Stu

Maconheiro
Staff member
@Hexi, are you referring to the Marty Robbins song "El Paso"? It does reference the badlands of New Mexico, so it does make some sense...and of course he dies at the end in Felina's arms.

:peace:
 
grokit

grokit

well-worn member
Nice tunes!

Okay my prediction is that Walt Jr., the only real innocent, gets gunned down in a tragic case of mistaken identity while wearing his father's heisenberg hat. In a rage walt kills todd, the bikers and lydia, and moves to eastern europe with jesse to cook meth in bulgaria or whatever for her partners who are glad to get lydia out of the way. Of course walt and jesse are happy to be out of the reach of extradition authorities but are back to being indentured servants. The widows stay in the states and start a drug outreach program. I'm sure the real finale will be far better than what I just predicted.
 
grokit,
E

EveryDayAmnesiac

Well-Known Member
Just noticed in the episode called "Shotgun," when Hank is looking at photos of the crime scene of Gale's apartment, you can see a vaporizer in one of the pictures. Always nice to notice another vape in the wild!
 
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Ripbongs420

Ripbongs420

vapiff
EveryDayAmnesiac said:
Just noticed in the episode called "Shotgun," when Hank is looking at photos of the crime scene of Gale's apartment, you can see a vaporizer in one of the pictures. Always nice to notice another vape in the wild!
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Went to take a snapshot. Found out it was a hookah. What a bummer. :\

vlcsnap-2013-09-28-00h50m19s42-1.jpg
 
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EveryDayAmnesiac

Well-Known Member
Ripbongs420 said:
Went to take a snapshot. Found out it was a hookah. What a bummer. :\
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Yeah, I guess it's obviously just a hookah. I could have sworn I saw a log vape next to it though. But I guess I seem to have gotten a bit confused last night. Must have been vaping the good shit. :lol:

EDIT: Maybe what I noticed was the table leg. Was I really that stoned? :ko:
 
lwien

lwien

Well-Known Member
Don't know if any of you saw Blacklist but it's worth checking out. James Spader is soooooo good. Great actor. He walks onto a set and literally owns it.
 
grokit

grokit

well-worn member
I saw the first episode of blacklist, there's a lot going on but I thought it looked promising. Jury's still out on the show for me, but I do agree about spader. He really knew how to ham it up with shatner, we'll see if he can carry this one on his own. I'll probably re-visit episode one before I watch the second one.

I also saw the first episode of the new person of interest season, that's a pretty good show as well.
 
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