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PB 369,783 wrote: Anyone watching this?
Absolutely not.
If I want to see actors behaving like small children, reciting scripts that appear to have been written for small children, and plot developments that would only be believed by small children, I'll download some Brian Cant stuff -- at least a decent level of intelligence went into his work.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Are you kidding me?!
This is one of the most well-written and well-acted shows of the last decade, if not all time. The Writers Guild of America named it the 13th best written show of all time (Majority of shows on the list are American). Bryan Cranston has won multiple Emmy's for his performance, and Aaron Paul has won a couple for his.
Guinness World Records awarded it the highest rated TV show of all time with a Metacritic score of 99/100.
You, sir, are in the minority.
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill
America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde
Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
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Right, so:
-- Injured, high-ranking cops sitting in bed, arms folded, pouting like five-year olds, and everyone else behaving like the whole world is in a schoolyard for five-year-olds.
-- Women with no skills whatsoever stealing businesses from people by sending in someone to pretend that they're inspectors, while she's in the car looking through law books.
-- Characters acting like different people, week on week, because it's really hard to write a character who has a consistent character*.
-- Guys with 30 years' experience of being drug lords and killing people being completely and utterly outfoxed and overpowered by schoolteachers.
-- etc.
-- etc.
-- etc.
Are signs of good writing?
My wife watches it because the Chinese translation of the pathetic script is apparently more intelligent than the original, but it drives me up the wall, because every few minutes there's something that's inconsistent (either with reality, or with everything else in the show), lines of script that are embarrassingly bad, or plot developments that are contrived to ridiculous extremes.
His wife, in the show, has to be the worst-written character I have ever had the displeasure to have seen (with his brother- and sister-in-law coming close on her heels).
That the show gets such accolades says a Hell of a lot about the US viewing public.
* Is it bollocks, by the way. Writing a character who behaves consistently is the easiest thing in the world to do -- it just makes it harder for hacks to insert them into stupidly conceived and pathetically contrived situations.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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While I assume my argument will fall on deaf ears, I wanted to present my case anyways:
Mark_Wallace wrote: Injured, high-ranking cops sitting in bed, arms folded, pouting like five-year olds, and everyone else behaving like the whole world is in a schoolyard for five-year-olds.
From this I gather that you are referring to Hank when he was nearly paralyzed from the waist down... Well, I'm sorry that a man that was shot had to go through a realistic recovery period instead of being superman like in other movies/shows. Also, do five-year-olds cook/deal meth and kill people where you come from?
Mark_Wallace wrote: -- Women with no skills whatsoever stealing businesses from people by sending in someone to pretend that they're inspectors, while she's in the car looking through law books.
Not sure how much of the show you have seen, but Skyler had actually been the finance person for a small/mid-sized business before the episode that you referenced, so I wouldn't call her a woman "with no skills whatsoever".
Mark_Wallace wrote: -- Characters acting like different people, week on week, because it's really hard to write a character who has a consistent character*.
Not sure which characters you are referring to here, but I'm going to take a guess that it's Jesse. He didn't change week to week. It was a slow evolution that shows how his emotions and conscience eventually control his actions.
Mark_Wallace wrote: Guys with 30 years' experience of being drug lords and killing people being completely and utterly outfoxed and overpowered by schoolteachers.
While I will admit it is a bit of a reach for Walt to beat these guys, its not like he is just a schoolteacher. Several times in the show Walt's intelligence is discussed. He was the chief scientist and co-founder of a start-up science research company that, after he left, became worth billions of dollars, all based on his initial ideas and research.
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill
America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde
Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
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So you haven't seen it yet you have an opinion on it? Sorry but that makes your opinion on the subject worthless.
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And yet it is the only opinion to have been upvoted so far.
This is indeed a strange place.
“I believe that there is an equality to all humanity. We all suck.” Bill Hicks
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I've had to sit through every fruggin' episode.
How else would I know how badly written it is?
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Well mhmmm, just to check: are you really talking about Breaking Bad, the show about drug production?
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PB 369,783 wrote: Anyone watching this?
In case it wasn't clear from my response to Mark, yes, I watch the show... 
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill
America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde
Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
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What do you make of this[^]? Just came across it while searching for the strip Elston was talking about below. Not sure I like the character of Saul, but I suppose it could work well, I assume each episode will focus on a different client therefore giving it a different storyline each week.
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I assume every one has seen the "If Breaking Bad was set in the UK" strip that has been going round this week.
I'd link to it if I worked somewhere with a less restrictive internet policy.
“I believe that there is an equality to all humanity. We all suck.” Bill Hicks
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No but I'm going to look for it now, although my place is quite restrictive, I can't visit the Swann site for example because it is 'Tobacco'.
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No idea, I have a really restrictive internet policy at work.
If only I'd mentioned that before.
“I believe that there is an equality to all humanity. We all suck.” Bill Hicks
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ChrisElston wrote: If only I'd mentioned that before.
Genuine lol moment.
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One of my friends posted this[^] in response to me posting the Breaking Bad UK comic on Facebook...
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill
America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde
Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
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If you'd linked to any other source then I might pay it some attention.
Although it is true that the current government is doing all it can to break up the NHS to benefit the private companies they are linked to.
Still, someone I know got the all clear after treatment for prostate cancer today, so today is a good day.
“I believe that there is an equality to all humanity. We all suck.” Bill Hicks
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That is also a 13 year old story.
“I believe that there is an equality to all humanity. We all suck.” Bill Hicks
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I had noticed that. I was hoping I could sneak it through... 
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative. -Winston Churchill
America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between. -Oscar Wilde
Wow, even the French showed a little more spine than that before they got their sh*t pushed in.[^] -Colin Mullikin
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PB 369,783 wrote: You lose all this when the next episode is there instantly.
Respectfully disagree.
I agree that my/our viewing habits are changing. Arguably for the better since Netflix eliminates the mindless commercials.
I rather like the cliffhanger since I rarely have time to watch more than one episode at a time. The anticpation is preserved.
What, me worry?
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It is good, but I expected Hank to turn sides too, becioming envious of the money Walt had made and the two of them building a mega empire meth business. 
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Yes! 
Really well written show, interesting character development and refreshing story line.
Also in this particular show, I love those really silent moments that tells a lot. Many episodes has character with no/few lines and they still manages to deliver ground breaking performance. In recent episodes where Jeese (almost) doesn't speak anything for 2 episodes and you still know what he is thinking / going to do. And it's very interesting to see how Skyler's character reacts according to the situation while always covering it's back.
And it's been a while after The Sheild when you root for a bad guy (I still think Dexter is not that bad compared to Mr. White or Vick Mackey).
If you look at Breaking Bad, The Sheild, Ray Donovan or Mad Men, all the major characters have really difficult to handle wives (more difficult that the main villain). 
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PB 369,783 wrote: I know there's a debate on Netflix changing our viewing habits because they put a whole series out there in one go, but I have to say the old way is better. You get to stew the last episode over for a whole week and the anticipation to the
next one builds. You lose all this when the next episode is there instantly.
I'm gonna disagree--being fully aware that I'm only speaking for myself.
I find that I tend to forget important details when I have to wait a week (or more) between episodes, and I also find myself enjoying TV shows a lot more when binge-viewing.
I've also tried alternating between the two viewing methods for the very same shows, and I've come to the same conclusion. So these days I let the episodes pile up until the last one of a given season is broadcast, then I'll go through it all in a couple of evenings.
One of the side-benefits of binge-viewing, IMO, is that you make up your mind more quickly as to whether a new show is worth watching or not. I might put up with a so-so show if I only get to watch an episode a week, whereas if I feel sitting through a couple of episodes back-to-back is tedious, then I find it's easier to decide to move onto something else. There's enough material out there that I don't need to spend what little free time I have watching bad TV.
[edit]
All that being said--I haven't seen a single episode of Breaking Bad (yet), but it's definitely on my list.
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A bit of research and it's obvious[^]!
speramus in juniperus
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This[^] is the best use of Helium I could find.
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