***Okay, serious spoilers following for Breaking Bad***
Well, as it turns out, I'm really glad I watched the new Breaking Bad episodes on Netflix. They were pretty good. They seemed way more focused on the action than the interpersonal relationships, which worked well for the show. In the beginning, the strength of the show were those interpersonal relationships... they were well written and allowed the actors to really shine. However, they've gotten a little stale, and besides, since the show is in the wind-down phase, a focus on action is the way to go.
That opening scene when Mike, the Captain Cook former tweaker kid, the Heisenberg cancer dude (Walter?), and the new guy are breaking down the little kid's bike and dissolving it in the barrel... that was so damn well done. Seriously haunting, and beautifully shot. One of the best opening scenes I've ever seen. Jessie! The kid's name is Jessie. Pinkster, Pinkmon, Pinkman... something like that.
Poor Mike. R.I.P. I really liked that character. I was not, however, surprised that it happened. Mike said early on when they first asked him to join, that Harold was a timebomb ready to blow (or something like that). And Mike was right. When Harold made the drug dealer (Declan?) say the name Heisenberg, and that comment earlier about how the former drug lord who used to be on Homicide Life on the Street killed his assistant because he "flew too close to the sun" and, really, just in everything Harold has been doing to his wife... it really just shows how much his persona has deteriorated.
That said, that scene when Harold's wife takes him to the storage unit and shows him all that money, and the way it makes Harold realize that, wow, there really is no reason for me to ever cook meth again... I really loved that scene. It was one of the first Harold-Wife scenes that clicked in quite some time.
They're not giving Bob Odenkirk's lawyer character as many good parts as last season. I wonder if it was some behind the scenes drama about that very fact. Because, damn, Odenkirk was the best thing about last season. I probably wouldn't have finished the season out were it not for his scenes.
Unsurprised that the brother in law... whatshisname... the bald headed DEA agent... discovered that Harold was Heisenberg. There was no way that the show finale wouldn't be centered around their fight to the finish.
Jesse's argument with Harold about the body count they've racked up since they began... that hit home with me. I started thinking back to the very beginning and trying to count how many people have died as a result of their drug dealing. It's a lot. Either by their hand or by their directive/manipulation... it's a lot. Episode by episode, it doesn't seem like much, because the deaths are (typically) presented individually and often the people dying are bad people, but when you think of the totality as a raw number of dead bodies... it's pretty sick.
Oh, yeah, and that scene with Jesse at the dinner table... priceless.
Okay, that's all I got for now. Looking forward to the finale. What is it, like eight more episodes to go? Looking forward to it.
That video last night was amazing. I did NOT see that twist to the Walt/Hank showdown coming. I knew that the Whites paying Hank's medical bills would come back to haunt, but had forgotten that Hank didn't know how his bills got paid. I kept expecting him to make that connection when he was reviewing the Fring case in the garage.
Glad Jesse has chosen a side. Now the walls can really start to crumble until we meet "Mr. Lambert".
That was a great episode, Craig. I'd forgotten Hank's wife lied about his insurance covering his medical bills. Walter's DVD was great. My wife doesn't believe anything that comes out of Walt's mouth.
Anna Gunn wrote a short Op-Ed for the NYT on fan hatred of Skyler White (there are no spoilers, unless you don't even know what the show is about). It's quite interesting.
That's a good article. For me, my feelings on Skyler have changed a lot over the course of the show depending on the situation. I do think they made her seem too shrew-like in the first couple episodes which started her off on a bad foot. But she's absolutely right as far as the difference in which women are judged. Just take a look around to see how many people are criticizing Miley Cyrus for her "slutty" behavior and have no problem with the married guy 16 years her senior, gyrating right next to her while singing about how no doesn't always mean no.
1 more episode of BB on Netflix and then I get to download... er... watch it live!
My complaint with Skyler White (and Anna Gunn's article) is that I do think Gilligan/the writers have failed the character somewhat in how up and down she is. The wild swings from standing by Walt to being horrified by his actions, while probably realistic, haven't been written as well as they could. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but just in the last couple weeks she's gone from the strongest support she's yet shown to being nearly catatonic and there wasn't a demonstrated trigger to cause the shift. I do believe that someone in her shoes would have those swings, but with the character they seem to occur in a vacuum too often.
choiceweb - From what I understand, the kid who plays Joffrey is a really fun guy who LOVES the hate of Joffrey. I've seen pictures of him posing anti Joffrey fan art.
We've been watching Tudors, which is really better than I expected. It even manages to create some tension for things you know the end result of. Like, spoiler alert, the Catholic Church does not grant the divorce.
Every time I see Sir Thomas Moore though, all I can think of is the Simpsons episode where Ned Flanders was "cannonized" - "I can see my hoooooouse."
Since the discussion here, I've started back up with x-files again. I like the funny ones; there was one with a town of circus freaks with Jim Rose of the Jim Rose circus that was hilarious.
That scene where one of the circus members was ranting to Scully about normalcy, then points across the field to Mulder and calls him the freak... that's one of those moments early on when the X-Files showed that it wasn't just a spooky monster & aliens theme show... that it had intelligence and humor to offer. And that episode was genuinely creepy at times, too.
Yeah - he pointed at Mulder and said "can you imagine spending your life looking like that?" While Mulder stood on the porch doing his very best pout, and it was the same thing Scully said about the first dead freak. A perfect tv moment.
All of writer Darin Morgan's XF episodes were gems, deservedly lauded. Hopefully all the BB fans here are familiar with Vince Gilligan's prominent role as wrier and director on XF also.
Oh yes, the freaks. That was a good episode. I like david duchovny. I don't recall which episode, but at some point Mulder is blindfolded, tied up and kidknapped. When they sit him down at a table he quips, "Is this the Pepsi Challenge?"
Californication had some of that one-line humor, but its fairly repetitive plot, boring characters, and a distracting amount of sex made me give up on it after several seasons.
The first episode I watched of X-files was at my inlaw's house after 15 years of no TV. It was the episode where some Oregon loggers had trouble: Darkness Falls
Whoa.
I watched X files a bunch after that. I missed the circus episode - I'll have to look for that.
That is cool, Jonah. My wife was commenting on the camerawork of the most recent episode of Breaking Bad and wondering what else Gillgan did before this series. We were too lazy to use eGoogle/IMDB.
Started watching Broadchurch last night. First episode was certainly excellent. They did an amazing job of conveying the emotion of a child being killed in a town where everyone knows each other.
My wife mentioned the Downton trailer to me yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, and my work computer speakers are worthless.
I promise no spoilers, Craig! It quickly became one of the most talked about series in quite a while over here, and they even made several endings, so that the final one did not leak out. Enjoy...
Have been watching Broadchurch - pretty darn good. Deep in nasty gritty crime shows - watching Low Winter Sun on AMC - not exactly pleasant but kind of riveting; slowly catching up with The Bridge On Demand - whoa. And of course salivating over the last days of Breaking Bad.
Sadly watching Luther 4 episode miniseries - sad because I don't think there are more coming. I'm going to try Orphan Black again which BBC-A is going to repeat - kind of liked the first few but life got too crowded.
I thought I'd heard that a new Luther series had been commissioned? I'll do some searching...
Update - Wikipedia suggests it is the last series but does say that a film could be a possibility, maybe that is what I was thinking about. But as I tell students regularly, don't trust Wikipedia as a source!
Comments
Well, as it turns out, I'm really glad I watched the new Breaking Bad episodes on Netflix. They were pretty good. They seemed way more focused on the action than the interpersonal relationships, which worked well for the show. In the beginning, the strength of the show were those interpersonal relationships... they were well written and allowed the actors to really shine. However, they've gotten a little stale, and besides, since the show is in the wind-down phase, a focus on action is the way to go.
That opening scene when Mike, the Captain Cook former tweaker kid, the Heisenberg cancer dude (Walter?), and the new guy are breaking down the little kid's bike and dissolving it in the barrel... that was so damn well done. Seriously haunting, and beautifully shot. One of the best opening scenes I've ever seen. Jessie! The kid's name is Jessie. Pinkster, Pinkmon, Pinkman... something like that.
Poor Mike. R.I.P. I really liked that character. I was not, however, surprised that it happened. Mike said early on when they first asked him to join, that Harold was a timebomb ready to blow (or something like that). And Mike was right. When Harold made the drug dealer (Declan?) say the name Heisenberg, and that comment earlier about how the former drug lord who used to be on Homicide Life on the Street killed his assistant because he "flew too close to the sun" and, really, just in everything Harold has been doing to his wife... it really just shows how much his persona has deteriorated.
That said, that scene when Harold's wife takes him to the storage unit and shows him all that money, and the way it makes Harold realize that, wow, there really is no reason for me to ever cook meth again... I really loved that scene. It was one of the first Harold-Wife scenes that clicked in quite some time.
They're not giving Bob Odenkirk's lawyer character as many good parts as last season. I wonder if it was some behind the scenes drama about that very fact. Because, damn, Odenkirk was the best thing about last season. I probably wouldn't have finished the season out were it not for his scenes.
Unsurprised that the brother in law... whatshisname... the bald headed DEA agent... discovered that Harold was Heisenberg. There was no way that the show finale wouldn't be centered around their fight to the finish.
Jesse's argument with Harold about the body count they've racked up since they began... that hit home with me. I started thinking back to the very beginning and trying to count how many people have died as a result of their drug dealing. It's a lot. Either by their hand or by their directive/manipulation... it's a lot. Episode by episode, it doesn't seem like much, because the deaths are (typically) presented individually and often the people dying are bad people, but when you think of the totality as a raw number of dead bodies... it's pretty sick.
Oh, yeah, and that scene with Jesse at the dinner table... priceless.
Okay, that's all I got for now. Looking forward to the finale. What is it, like eight more episodes to go? Looking forward to it.
Added bonus, it was a great show to transition out of my perpetual cycle of West Wing reruns.
That video last night was amazing. I did NOT see that twist to the Walt/Hank showdown coming. I knew that the Whites paying Hank's medical bills would come back to haunt, but had forgotten that Hank didn't know how his bills got paid. I kept expecting him to make that connection when he was reviewing the Fring case in the garage.
Glad Jesse has chosen a side. Now the walls can really start to crumble until we meet "Mr. Lambert".
Craig
That was a great episode, Craig. I'd forgotten Hank's wife lied about his insurance covering his medical bills. Walter's DVD was great. My wife doesn't believe anything that comes out of Walt's mouth.
I Have a Character Issue
Craig
1 more episode of BB on Netflix and then I get to download... er... watch it live!
choiceweb - From what I understand, the kid who plays Joffrey is a really fun guy who LOVES the hate of Joffrey. I've seen pictures of him posing anti Joffrey fan art.
Craig
Craig
Craig
Every time I see Sir Thomas Moore though, all I can think of is the Simpsons episode where Ned Flanders was "cannonized" - "I can see my hoooooouse."
Since the discussion here, I've started back up with x-files again. I like the funny ones; there was one with a town of circus freaks with Jim Rose of the Jim Rose circus that was hilarious.
That scene where one of the circus members was ranting to Scully about normalcy, then points across the field to Mulder and calls him the freak... that's one of those moments early on when the X-Files showed that it wasn't just a spooky monster & aliens theme show... that it had intelligence and humor to offer. And that episode was genuinely creepy at times, too.
Californication had some of that one-line humor, but its fairly repetitive plot, boring characters, and a distracting amount of sex made me give up on it after several seasons.
Whoa.
I watched X files a bunch after that. I missed the circus episode - I'll have to look for that.
I only recently noticed that Gillgan was involved in both X-files and Breaking Bad. Kinda cool to see that.
My wife mentioned the Downton trailer to me yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, and my work computer speakers are worthless.
Craig
Sadly watching Luther 4 episode miniseries - sad because I don't think there are more coming. I'm going to try Orphan Black again which BBC-A is going to repeat - kind of liked the first few but life got too crowded.
Update - Wikipedia suggests it is the last series but does say that a film could be a possibility, maybe that is what I was thinking about. But as I tell students regularly, don't trust Wikipedia as a source!