Better Call Saul

[Perknose]

The spin-off from Breaking Bad, starring Bob Odenkirk, debuts this Sunday and Monday night on AMC.

I'm psyched.

http://www.npr.org/2015/02/06/384053115/breaking-bad-spinoff-better-call-saul-soars

 

[eldorado99]

Don't think it's on HBO bud.

 

[Perknose]

Don't think it's on HBO bud.

Ah, yeah, AMC. I thought they went out of business not long after the Gremlin.

 

[MagickMan]

can't wait.

 

[Ichinisan]

I wonder if Los Pollos Hermanos will feature heavily in the pilot episode?

 

[Printer Bandit]

Milk it

 

[Crono]

Repost: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2402841

Most spin offs don't work out (though there are notable exceptions) but Odenkirk can pull off a feature role as Saul, I think, especially if Vince Gilligan is doing most/all of the writing.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Ah, yeah, AMC. I thought they went out of business not long after the Gremlin.

Wasn't the Gremlin's fault. Around '86 or '87 I dated a girl that had a 1975 Gremlin in green. Not puke green, an actual presentable shade and that car ran like a top. It was lightyears ahead of the Pinto and Vega and other American sub-compacts of that era and so was most of the rest of the AMC lineup.

 

[BeeBoop]

I don't see this spinoff working.

 

[OverVolt]

Oh wow a 32 foot 8 inch turn radius.

They really know how to get me into a buying frenzy.

 

[Perknose]

I don't see this spinoff working.

I do. Most important, it's got Vince Gilligan and the other BB writers and production crew. The cinematography of BB was outstanding, their use of the southwest sublime.

Plus, BCC has a treasure trove of BB characters to use. Not to mention, Bob Odenkirk is a seriously underrated actor. The Saul character, and Odenkirk's portrayal, was first rate in BB, but the back story Gilligan has given Saul exceeds all that.

As a prequel and sequel, the Saul character is a scuffling Irish shyster named Jimmy, who eventually takes the name Saul Goodman for the Jewish mouthpiece (old gangster slang for lawyer) cred!

The opening episode starts in the present, filmed in Black and White, with a broken and scared Saul not speaking at all for minutes, until he pops a tape of his old commercials -- Better Call Saul! -- into the VCR, at which point the ep goes full color!

Sublime! Vince Gilligan FTW. :thumbsup:

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I do. Most important, it's got Vince Gilligan and the other BB writers and production crew. The cinematography of BB was outstanding, their use of the southwest sublime.

Plus, BCC has a treasure trove of BB characters to use. Not to mention, Bob Odenkirk is a seriously underrated actor. The Saul character, and Odenkirk's portrayal, was first rate in BB, but the back story Gilligan has given Saul exceeds all that.

As a prequel and sequel, the Saul character is a scuffling Irish shyster named Jimmy, who eventually takes the name Saul Goodman for the Jewish mouthpiece (old gangster slang for lawyer) cred!

The opening episode starts in the present, filmed in Black and White, with a broken and scared Saul not speaking at all for minutes, until he pops a tape of his old commercials -- Better Call Saul! -- into the VCR, at which point the ep goes full color!

Sublime! Vince Gilligan FTW. :thumbsup:

I do too. This is really talented people running things and interesting characters on screen. The biggest stumbling block I see is that the vast majority of the built-in audience is going to compare it to Breaking Bad. It could be excellent and still fall short of that standard and many would be disappointed.

Speaking of disappointed, I though the show started Friday rather than Sunday. Fired up the DVR this morning and it wasn't there. D'oh!

 

[sze5003]

Is it airing tonite? I'm interested in this one because Saul cracked me up every time in breaking bad.

 

[Perknose]

Is it airing tonite? I'm interested in this one because Saul cracked me up every time in breaking bad.

Tonight, yeah!

 

[sze5003]

Good to know I'm going to have to watch it or maybe see if it shows up on demand afterwards.

 

[Perknose]

Good to know I'm going to have to watch it or maybe see if it shows up on demand afterwards.

Ep 2 airs tomorrow (Monday) as well. Be the first kid on your block to collect the whole set!

 

[TheVrolok]

Have the series recording set up on the DVR.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Should be good. I eagerly await this series and the return of The Walking Dead!

 

[sze5003]

Wish I had a DVR. Paying $96 a month for premium package and blast internet on comcrap. Its not even HD, soon its going to shoot up and I'll have to call in and complain. Sad that my apartment complex only gets Comcast. I see dishes on the roofs on the other side but not sure if that's allowed as most of my neighbors have Comcast.

 

[Printer Bandit]

Can't wait to find out what this show will be about.


Hopefully it won't be a villain-of-the-week format.

 

[Kaido]

Can't wait to find out what this show will be about.


Hopefully it won't be a villain-of-the-week format.

I actually wouldn't mind if they took the X-files approach...a larger, over-reaching storyline, but also monster-of-the-week, so that every episode has a couple things going for it. Like the episode with Brian Cranston where he has to drive a certain speed so he doesn't die...it has a specific point, but also has the larger "government conspiracy" deal going on.

 

[phucheneh]

Did you get hit in the head and confuse Breaking Bad with Speed again?

I...do not remember such an episode?

 

[EliteRetard]

Did you get hit in the head and confuse Breaking Bad with Speed again?

I...do not remember such an episode?

lol

 

[Kaido]

Did you get hit in the head and confuse Breaking Bad with Speed again?

I...do not remember such an episode?

The X-files episode was called "Drive":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_(The_X-Files)

TL;DR - the Navy has a top-secret radio wave tool that Brian Cranston's character was near when they were doing testing, so now if he doesn't drive fast, his brain will explode as a result. So the episode casts him as the bad guy, as well as having the overall theme of government conspiracy - it's not just a "monster" episode, but it's also not just a conspiracy episode . Cranston's performance in that episode is one of the things that inspired Vince Gilligan (who wrote the Drive episode) to cast him as Walter White in Breaking Bad. Gilligan talks more about it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paeojvY6gjQ

And yes, Gilligan admits he did borrow liberally from the plot of Speed

 

[drquest]

I'm ready for a night of Walking Dead with a Follow-up of Better Call Saul!

I hope the Monday night time slot works for BCS for the long run. AMC already has renewed it for the 2nd season, so after season 1 there will be another 13 episodes.