Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Fixed

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

By the way, someone told me Breaking Bad on Netflix is edited. Is that true?

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

were there titties in the first ep? If yes, it's not edited, if not, it's edited.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I've rewatched S1-3 on Netflix recently, and from what I can tell, it's only the first episode that's been cut. Any swearing has been silenced, and there are at least three scenes that noticed were missing right off the bat:

1: There's a scene after Walt's birthday party where his Skyler gives him a handjob in bed. She's on the computer the whole time (checking an eBay auction, if I remember correctly), and obviously kind of phoning it in.

2. At some point before Walt's cancer diagnosis, some of Walt's students end up getting their car wiped down by him. There's lots of laughing, and I recall one of them taking a picture with their phone. Basically yet another embarrassing situation for Walt.

3. After Walt passes out at the car wash, there's a scene that takes place during the ambulance ride to the hospital. Walt's asking the EMT who's checking him out if they could just leave him outside the hospital, since he doesn't have the best insurance. The EMT says that he can't do it, and asks if Walt smokes, foreshadowing that something's seriously wrong with him.

Now, none of these scenes are absolutely essential, but they're all good scenes in and of themselves, and really help paint a picture of Walt before he finally breaks bad.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Nope. That would be 1. The Wire and 2. The Shield. Then comes Breaking Bad.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Why would #2 and #3 be cut?

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I am really dissapointed with the new direction the show is gonna take in 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtZpo89mmJo

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Actually, it was more for time than for content. When the pilot originally aired, it was longer than the standard episode. For re-airs, though, the edited version that's currently on Netflix was put together, so it would fit into the standard TV-length timeslot.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I'm with the original poster on this one, watched 3 espisodes of season 1 on Netflix and gave up, none of the characters were likeable and the overall plot was boring. I had the same reaction to Weeds, where I lasted for an entire season, Mad Men same story.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

As much as I enjoyed The Wire, I don't think it deserved the universal acclaim it received. I never cared for The Shield. Breaking Bad is still better than both.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I was bored out of my mind by The Wire and gave up on it.

I don't know how anyone could be bored by Breaking Bad, but to each his own.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Yeah, that's the thing that's really baffling me. Sure, I can see someone maybe not liking the characters, or finding the subject matter too dark, but boring? Especially after only the first three episodes? Given how much stuff happens in them, I can't quite see how they can be anything even remotely approaching boring.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Since we've all seen the first few episodes I have to agree. I was gripped after the pilot. I just wanted to see what happens next, which means a serialized show is doing its job. I forgot what episode it was in, but how could anyone be bored after Jesse dissolved a guy's body in acid in his bathtub? :lol:

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

How far did you get with The Wire? I watched the first 4 or 5 episodes and then stopped watching it because I wasn't that impressed. I then went back and started again a bit later and ended up loving it and rank it as one of the absolute best shows I've seen. They spend a heap of time on character development during the first season that they don't need to spend as much time on in later seasons.

Compare that to the Shield where I would imagine most people get hooked by the end of the pilot, for obvious reasons if you have watched it.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Yeah, a lot of people got bored by Mad Men as well as The Wire. I love Mad Men now, and I've been told to revisit the Wire and I'll be rewarded.

If those HBO box sets weren't so damn expensive I'd probably buy it.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Think of each season of The Wire as a novel with each episode being a chapter. It will start out slow and then build to something great.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I agreed with this poster and with the OP at first. Seasons 1 and 2 of this show weren't bad, and I like them more re-watching them than I did the first time around, but I really didn't "get" why this show was so great. I wasn't very interested in any of the characters. But once season 3 started, I was fucking in. The way season 3 and especially season 4 play out is amazing. Sitting through seasons 1 and 2, even if you're not totally interested, is well worth it, just so you can get to 3 and 4.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

You need to watch more than 4 or 5 episodes. You haven't even scratched the surface.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Just thought I'd chim in since I just started through Breaking Bad and have finished the first season. I thought every episode was fantastic so I'm excited that it gets even better. Not sure how anyone could find it boring! I'm glad the show has a good amount of humor mixed in with the dark subject matter.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I can't stop watching it. I'm just a few episodes into Season 2 where Walt's brother in law kills Tuco.

I have a couple of nagging questions which I suppose I should just let go but here goes:

- Walt is a school teacher. Why would he not have insurance or why would his insurance not cover his cancer treatments? Public school employees have excellent benefits.

- They are depicted as living paycheck to paycheck. So why is Skyler sitting around the house all day and not working? (They also have a pool which destitute people usually don't have.)

- Did I miss what happened to Walt and Gray Matter? Does that explanation come later? Did I doze off? :)

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

They never really explain it. You're supposed to piece it together and infer from context.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Enjoy the show, it gets better each season.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I can't speak to New Mexico, but I know with my mother's benefits, not everything is covered. While yes the benefits are excellent, there is a lot of out of pocket expenses.

It is not outside of the realm of possibility that he simply can't pay it even with the insurance. That isn't exactly explained, but good health care is affordable...if you want Magic Johnson level care, these things cost money.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Hmm. Bummer. It seems that Walt and that dude created a company that he's entitled to half of. They show Walt with that woman who is now the wife of the owner of Gray Matter. I'm assuming the woman went with the owner and Walt walked away.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Damn, I wish I could watch this show for the first time all over again! ;)

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I agree with this for the most part. It really hit its stride in season 2 and peaked creatively in season 3. I view season 4 as staying on the same peak instead of establishing a new one (if that makes sense).

Either way, such an impressive show in nearly every level.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

That's the general understanding, yeah. You got it.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I just watched the Negro y Azul episode in Season 2, and that's what it sounded like. I was/am still confused about why someone would turn down free money for cancer care and instead decide to undertake an extremely risky/dangerous/illegal activity to pay for it instead. There must be something more going on than just pride and not wanting someone else's charity. I'd ask if this was explained further on in the series but I don't want to be spoiled.

And the scene with the tortoise in the desert... :eek:

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but the uncut version of the pilot (which, last I checked, Netflix isn't showing), established that Walt's insurance isn't that great, as he didn't even want to be dropped off at the hospital after passing out at the car wash.

Uhhh.. Skyler's quite pregnant at this point in the series, so that's why she'd be staying home. In any case, her work situation is something that's a factor later on in the series, so I'm going to let you find the rest out for yourself.

As far as the pool, I don't know how it is in Albuquerque, but pools are fairly common in some areas. I lived in the Orlando area for a bit a few years back, and pools seemed to be a LOT more common in even the mid-level homes (like the one shown in Breaking Bad) than they were in other areas I've lived.

As Tracer Bullet said, it's never really explained fully. You do get a little more information later on in S2, but it ends up being one of those things where you never really know what actually happened, but once you're more familiar with how Walt tends to act, you can kind of guess how things went down given the information that's presented.

I'll let you know that your guess is a bit off, though :)

Thing is, as far as Walt goes, it's not like his pride as something you can call "just pride". He's portrayed as hugely prideful at several points throughout the series, first when turning down what was likely a job offer extended out of pity, then at several times afterwards.. for example (End of Season 2 spoiler):

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Let's just say that Walt is a complicated man. You'll gain more insight the more you watch...

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

It's not that he doesn't have insurance. He undoubtedly does. But remember:

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Yes, what Mr. Salty said.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Sure but in the beginning, it is said his treatments were $90,000 or something. It seems he's just on a course of chemo and radiation therapy. Not really that experimental. Then the Gray Matter dude offers to pay and Walt declines. So some of the money is going to medical bills, you'd think. But later when Walt is computing how much money he needs, it's all about the future needs, not the present.

Which leads me to: why wouldn't Walt have life insurance? It seems any responsible parent has life insurance. They seem like reasonable people yet their life (even before the cancer) seems so fucked up.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I know that in my case, a stroke about five years ago (at age 27) made it so that no life insurance company wants to talk to me. My job has a default year's salary for insurance, but when I've tried to increase that they also turn me town.

Now that I have a four month old baby, I should probably start making and selling meth to make sure I can provide for her.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

They obviously weren't loaded since Walt was working a second job at the car wash. He may have had a life insurance policy but he had another child on the way and his son has medical/disability issues. He just wanted them to have a bigger nest egg.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

It seems to me that the writers of the show were out of touch with how their character would actually live. But that's OK. It's really not that important. I'll just assume he was a substitute teacher and a bad financial planner. ;)

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Breaking Bad is one of a very small list of shows that has had me sitting there with my mouth literally agape during certain episodes. So fucking great.

Not since certain episodes of The Shield had I not been able to sleep after watching TV...then BB came along.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Just finished Season 2. Watching Walt let Jane die was brutal, but given the circumstances from his point of view, was probably his best move. He could have tried to save her, and possibly even gotten on her good side, but ultimately I think everyone would have ended up back in the same spot. With her death, he avoided a dangerous loose end, and hopefully scared some sense into Jesse. (Yeah right...) I liked her character but knew from the beginning it wasn't going to go well for her... I was thinking she might have ended up as a tweaker in some flop house down the road, and not choking on her own vomit, but either way it wasn't going to be a happy ending.

Not sure what I thought of the ending. I read an interview where Gillian explained what they were
going for, I just think it might have been a bit overdone.

I'm really interested in seeing how the plot with the Chicken Shop drug kingpin guy develops, now that he knows Walt's brother in law is DEA.

Season 3 is at the top of my Netflix queue, so I'm sure I'll be done watching in within the next couple weeks. I'm assuming Season 4 will come out right before the premier of Season 5?

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

I didn't care for the conclusion to s2 either, but it also solidified the show as something of a comic book serial in my mind. S3 starts very slowly but imo hits the higest highs of the series.

Re: Does Breaking Bad ever get good?
 

Reading bdshort comment made me think about the season 4 finale. Interesting.