i didn't like it, but i wouldn't say it's bad. it's not my kind of show, however. same with game of thrones. nice, but not for me.
That was also my major criticism of the series--way too much antihero, not a single principle character worth caring about...well, for "thinking" audiences anyway. It's weird--Walter White was created and written to engender hate and dislike in the audience. You aren't supposed to like him, but "bad audience" syndrome created a fan base for this morally repugnant individual.
For more on the "bad audience" syndrome: Fans that actually don't "get" what they are watching, but claim they do, and love it. Think: All in the Family
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/07/the-great-divide-3
This is the problem you have with it right here. It is not a crime drama. It is a Walter White drama about a guy who risks it all for his family in maybe a really stupid way, but you are routing for him at first, and his steady decline into being a complete and utter trash person you don't feel sorry for and hoping he gets caught.
Yes, the cops are stupid in this show, but I think you went in expecting it to be something it wasn't.
BB isn't my favorite show of all time, but as for quality throughout its run, it is pretty high overall. Most shows either start out really good and get worse, or start out bad and get better. I didn't feel that with BB. And hell, it actually finished. That is not something that happens much these days on TV shows.
The fact that it's like 100 hours (if you watch all the episodes) guarantees I will never attempt to watch it. Can't imagine wasting that much of my time.
You see - that's how you properly utilize a popular meme.
BB is awesome, almost as good as Boardwalk Empire. I am not sure why people get butthurt when people bad mouth stuff they like though, big whoop. When someone doesnt like something I do it in no way takes away from my enjoyment of whatever it is
I'm not sure what's so outrageous of that claim. We got rid of our other televisions in our house; just one television in the living room. (Well, actually 2; one is sitting in the corner waiting for me to take a picture and advertise it as free on Craigslist.) Since late May, I think the television has been on for watching half a dozen movies at the most. The nice thing about movies - they don't leave you hanging. 2 hours, or less, later, and the show has reached a conclusion. A drama series doesn't do that. Ditto for many of the nonsensical shows; 30 minutes (including commercials) later, and the show has concluded. A drama series doesn't do that; you are almost forced to watch it chronologically to have a clue what's going on. Take a series like Psych (I'm not saying it's good) - you could watch an episode at random, and while you might miss some inside jokes, you can follow it along to the end & not be left hanging.This is as stupid a sentiment as I have ever read. Are you saying you don't intend to watch 100 hours watching TV in the rest of your life combined? (And for what it's worth, all the episodes of BB are less than 50 hours total.) Unless that is the case, your statement is nonsensical. If you have time to watch random crap on TV (which most of us, myself included, do), why would you choose not to spend that same time watching something excellent?
Grouping characters as "good" or "bad" is extremely simplistic. People enjoy characters that can be explained in great detail without saying what they look like or what they do. People like seeing the way complex characters interact with each other. South Park is a great example of this. The interaction between Kyle and Cartman is interesting because Kyle usually has good intentions whereas Cartman has extremely selfish intentions. Cartman and Butters are opposites as well; one enjoys manipulating people, and the other believes 100% of everything he is told.
The first sentence is all you needed.
Walter White was...a character. Period. They all were. Hence 'character-driven show.' He did things that made you feel sorry for him. Things that made you hate him. All intermingled...yes, there was a steady decline, but even in the end I think it's hard for people to say they hated him. And be truthful, at least...a lot of it just seemed to be 'oh, he did that terrible thing, I should hate him or I'll look like a sociopath'...but they didn't. Deep down, people know they always liked Walt more than they wanted to.
I'm not sure what's so outrageous of that claim. We got rid of our other televisions in our house; just one television in the living room. (Well, actually 2; one is sitting in the corner waiting for me to take a picture and advertise it as free on Craigslist.) Since late May, I think the television has been on for watching half a dozen movies at the most. The nice thing about movies - they don't leave you hanging. 2 hours, or less, later, and the show has reached a conclusion. A drama series doesn't do that. Ditto for many of the nonsensical shows; 30 minutes (including commercials) later, and the show has concluded. A drama series doesn't do that; you are almost forced to watch it chronologically to have a clue what's going on. Take a series like Psych (I'm not saying it's good) - you could watch an episode at random, and while you might miss some inside jokes, you can follow it along to the end & not be left hanging.
I never saw him as anything except a scumbag,. I kept watching so see him get his comeuppance,especially after he raped his wifeBS show.and was disappointed when he didn't. He basically got to win.
BB is far better than Boardwalk Empire.
The first sentence is all you needed.
Walter White was...a character. Period. They all were. Hence 'character-driven show.' He did things that made you feel sorry for him. Things that made you hate him. All intermingled...yes, there was a steady decline, but even in the end I think it's hard for people to say they hated him. And be truthful, at least...a lot of it just seemed to be 'oh, he did that terrible thing, I should hate him or I'll look like a sociopath'...but they didn't. Deep down, people know they always liked Walt more than they wanted to.
If you don't hate him by the end, then you failed to watch it...is pretty much the point of the show.
Indeed, it is a character-driven show--that is what you get from the title. You know this from the beginning. And that's what is so great about it, particularly the final 2 seasons. If you have no cause to abandon all sympathy for this person, then you failed to watch it. You might "like it," still, but you don't quite know why you like it.
Yes, there is a point where the audience adopts and creates the characters and content (of any material) for themselves, but the vast popularity of this show stems from emulating this shithole of a person as a legitimate hero worthy of envy, when the actual premise of the show was to turn him into the worst type of subhuman filth--and to drag us along with that process, and to make us learn to hate.
Those that failed that test...pretty much failed the show. Doesn't make it wrong; but it is, in many ways, disturbing. And that is why it's good--whether or not you understood it properly, or simply worshiped this shitball, you were either astonished to be put in this position of hating this brilliant protagonist, or blissfully duped into not understanding your favorite thing--and forever labeled an idiot at dinner parties when your profound ignorance is exposed, every time you profess such allegiance to something you fail to understand.
that is what makes this show great: the dumb audience.
I'm not sure what's so outrageous of that claim. We got rid of our other televisions in our house; just one television in the living room. (Well, actually 2; one is sitting in the corner waiting for me to take a picture and advertise it as free on Craigslist.) Since late May, I think the television has been on for watching half a dozen movies at the most. The nice thing about movies - they don't leave you hanging. 2 hours, or less, later, and the show has reached a conclusion. A drama series doesn't do that. Ditto for many of the nonsensical shows; 30 minutes (including commercials) later, and the show has concluded. A drama series doesn't do that; you are almost forced to watch it chronologically to have a clue what's going on. Take a series like Psych (I'm not saying it's good) - you could watch an episode at random, and while you might miss some inside jokes, you can follow it along to the end & not be left hanging.
However, I think the writers intentionally wanted some of that ambiguity because otherwise they wouldn't have included the humour that was still present in the show near the end.
I never found much to dislike in Hank tbh.
Frankly I would find it hard to respect anyone who would use a world like "sucked" to describe Breaking Bad - it's like saying The Godfather "sucked." Breaking Bad is kind of like Seinfeld in that way - I just know I am not going to get along with anyone who doesn't like it.