*Materializes*

Someone called?

*Reads HaydosMang's post*

Perhaps you would find Two and a Half Men more to your liking?

*Disappears*

The last 3 shows I have watched are The Sopranos, The Wire and The Shield. I am shelving Breaking Bad and have switched to Boardwalk Empire which I am loving after 3 episodes.

Thanks for your input though.

I don't watch many shows and I despise serialized shows but Breaking Bad is far and away the best TV show to air in the past decade. Nothing on TV right now holds a flame to it.

Opinions are opinions, though. To each their own.

You prefer Boardwalk Empire to Breaking Bad?

I don't even know what to say to something like that. But whatever.

The Truth.

And I'm the one that should watch Two and a Half Men?

Boardwalk Empire is a show for people who like to think they're watching an intelligent show. Kinda like The Wire, except with less actual value.

Are you on the Golden Globe selection committee?

Ok, I'm going to assume that you're not being deliberately nitpicky, or trolling, or whatever, and actually address these concerns:

Err, no, not really. He let Jesse in only after someone he already knows vouches for him. As for Walt, he probably figured that if anything did go sideways with him, his goons could have handled him easily.

Yeah, he's a bit off, but he still seemed to be careful when doing business. Not only that, but they basically said that he took over for Krazy 8 after he was killed earlier in the season, so it's not like he had been running the drug trade for all that long.

Not only that, but he wasn't really "dominating" the drug trade, all things considered. After he beat up Jesse, he said something along the lines of "nobody deals crystal in the South Valley but me", and from the looks of it on a map, the South Valley is just kind of a suburb of Albuquerque, so it's not like he was the kingpin of a vast empire or anything. Not only that, but later on it's revealed that he

Uh, yeah, that's pretty much the way it happened. Walt was holding the rest of the bag of the fulminated mercury as leverage to be able to get the money from Tuco and walk back out alive. That was pretty much the whole point of the scene.

Do you mean "why" as in the cause given in the show, or "why" as far as why the writers decided to do it?

As far as the in-show cause, they never came right out and gave a cause but it is hinted later on that

As far as why the writers might have decided to do it, it could have been just something to do just for the heck of it, or it could have been to add another layer of general disappointment to Walt's pre-BB life (high school chemistry teacher, working part time at a car wash, disabled son, etc).

The nice thing is that, aside from a few small things here and there, it's never really harped upon in the series. Sure, he's always walking around with the crutches, but there's never a huge "poor Walter Jr. has to live with CP" storyline, it's just a part of the character.

I still don't get the appeal of Boardwalk. Love The Sopranos, The Wire, Breaking Bad, etc; but Boardwalk Empire is a completely shallow bore with nice production values.

I do kind of think that Breaking Bad is a bit comic book-ish in spots, though. Doesn't make me like it any less.

I'll agree that Boardwalk Empire never feels compelling - it just seems compelling at times.

What I like about Breaking Bad is the story will have twists and turns I didn't see coming and yet they don't feel gimmicky or contrived. I'm looking at you Sons of Anarchy and Dexter.

I'm kind of with the OP. I watched the first few episodes of Season 1 on Netflix and was meh. I guess I bought into the hype too much and expected too much.

damn.. and i was just about to start a, 'Does The Wire ever get good' thread

My two cents...

This show (as well as Mad Men) are not for everyone. Both require a ton of attention and they will turn the screws on you if you don't. I knew from the trailer of Breaking Bad this was going to be the show. Mad Men on the other hand...I thought this could be the best show on TV. And I think most would agree with that assessment.

Second, The Wire not being Tier 1 is total non-sense. It may be the most accurate depiction of real life and how mundane it is...ever. The Shield, while excellent, can't even hold a candle to how awesome The Wire is, was and forever will be. And to say anything on Dexter is fesiable (outside of getting away with murder), is beyond absurd. Not to say people are not allowed to have their opinions, but those few comments made me shake my head.

I have to say that I think Breaking Bad is probably far and away the best show on television right now. The actors are all outstanding and is just telling a great story.

Dexter is about the only show I like as much as Breaking Bad at the moment. For different reasons and it's not quite as good. It definitely has a different feel to it and more "comic book" like but it still entertains me. The Wire is a fine show but honestly I'm not that into it. I might have to go back to it again someday and can definitely appreciate how true to life it seems and how expansive the series is but I just find it hard to get into. Mad Men I like but find completely overrated to be honest. It's a fine show but damn is it slow at times and a chore to watch.

I'm currently watching Season 3 of The Wire. There aren't many shows I can think of that were as good as it.

As for Breaking Bad, I like it and will continue watching it but



and the



and sort of made me roll my eyes.

Who said I was comparing shows? I was comparing premises. RIF.

Another thought I had on the series as a whole, this show is excellent in terms of arcs. There is the main plot (Walt), sub-plot (Jesse), comic relief (Hank) and the unknown (Gus). Somehow, all of these things tie together nicely and it all makes sense. The writers also have a real knack for making the audience aware of where they might go and then go in the total opposite direction (see the season 4 finale).

Then the show will do a bottle episode, which has no bearing on the plot(s) but makes references back to them and might reveal things to the characters that the audience already knows. The Fly being the example (and my personal favorite episode of the series, as I have stated previously).

Mad Men does this as well, but more in the style of The Sopranos, where characters drop off for extended lenghts of time and show up again later, to have a significant impact.

I guess it kind of seemed like you were since you brought them up and that they had similar premises. Breaking Bad really isn't that similar to Weeds at all though. Breaking Bad is different though in that it really uses drugs as a way of illustrating Walt's turn at "Breaking Bad". The drugs aren't really what the show is about though it's more about how a person's ego and desparation can drive them to extreme lengths. Weeds is similar but goes about the idea pretty differently and doesn't do it nearly as well.

No shit, Weeds is made for laughs. Breaking Bad is about one man's descent into darkness and madness. Season 1 also went deep into the emotional and physical experiences of having cancer. I have to say if these posters don't care for the show after season 1, they should move on to something else.

I just finished season 3 on netflix. Man, this show is fantastic. It deserves any and all praise it gets. I really enjoy the chemistry between Walt and Jessie and their storylines which are almost always surprising and engaging. Just when I think I know where things are going ... the show ups the stakes to another level. It's really riveting. I also very much appreciate that the show brings back loose ends (such as Combo's death) into the main storyline (even if it may be a bit too coincidental). It really makes watching the show satisfying. Anyway, I am hooked and will definitely catch this show when it returns.

Fixed

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

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

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.

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