Breaking Bad.

[Lefty]

On a trivial pursuit matter regarding Deadwood star Ian McShane......he's actually a Manchester lad,and his father played for MUFC in their title winning team in '52....he later became a talent scout for United......(sorry ,probably of interest to only me and Duke..)

He's agreat actor anyway,always like him...

I think McShane did a great job of hiding his English accent in the role of Al Swearengen. There was a comment in the 1st episode where Ellsworth asked Al if it were true he was descended from English royalty as a local rumor suggested. Al said something like "yeah I'm related to all of them cocksuckers.", and the topic never came up again that I recall. The real Al Swearengen was not descended from English royalty, as far as anyone ever knew, so I suspect that little tidbit was added, just in case McShane's English accent was ever slightly detected by a keen ear for such things. They could explain it this way.

[seven]

In sundays episode the two majorleague methheads Skinny Pete and Badger returns. It´s too funny. And the fine lawyer Saul is having a field day.

This 5th season is as good as the previous.

[williethepimp]

Im still on season 3......jeez,Hank has more lives than a cat......I thought the twins had him,but he found the special bullet......

[JaiDee]

I'd agree with many of the above comments; Breaking Bad is the BEST show I have ever seen, by a very long shot. I watched every episode for a 2nd time before season 5 started and after some of the season 3 and season 4 shows I would literally be saying "wow" to myself and shaking my head as the credits rolled.

Never saw the Sopranos.....that was in HBO/pre-torrent days and I was too poor to have HBO so I never saw it. I would agree that The Wire is awesome though, close to Breaking Bad and it's a shame it ended after only 5 seasons, same as BB will.

I have a friend who won't watch Breaking Bad or even the fantastic movie Trainspotting because they are drug-themed, not realizing that they are both actually ANTI-drug at their core! Watching Walter White go from a mild-mannered school teacher to a stone-cold killer and seeing the skanky underbelly of the meth world and its users would make anyone never want to go near that drug. Great show, highly recommended.

[deepthroat]

Funny, I was having a great conversation with friends about this yesterday. Most of them agreed with JaiDee's assessment, but I gotta say I'm still struggling. I'm half way through season 2 and sorta lost the steam. I probably just need to furrow on through to season 3 (which some have said is where it REALLY takes off) as I definitely have seen some glimmers of brilliance at times through these first episodes.

I'm currently obsessed with "The Newsroom" on HBO. New series starring Jeff Daniels as a network anchorman, written by Aaron Sorkin (best known for "West Wing"). One of the most engrossing series I can remember in a long time.

[anthony70]

The only thing that spoils breaking bad is his hideous wife Skylar.

she spoils a good few episodes reminding me why i dont bother with women.

season 5, she is at it again, and spoiled episode 4. i hate her.

they pulled it back in episode 5 though, it was great.

[williethepimp]

Funny, I was having a great conversation with friends about this yesterday. Most of them agreed with JaiDee's assessment, but I gotta say I'm still struggling. I'm half way through season 2 and sorta lost the steam. I probably just need to furrow on through to season 3 (which some have said is where it REALLY takes off) as I definitely have seen some glimmers of brilliance at times through these first episodes.

Cant understand you struggling DT-the 2nd series was great I thought,specially episode 2,the Tuco man .....series 3 was a slow starter for me....walt's bitch wife getting too much airtime.....

The only thing that spoils breaking bad is his hideous wife Skylar.

she spoils a good few episodes reminding me why i dont bother with women.

season 5, she is at it again, and spoiled episode 4. i hate her.

they pulled it back in episode 5 though, it was great.

She spoiled the first half of season 3 for me.....i think I could warm to her more if she was hotter,she aint good looking enough to be acting such a bitch......her sister the shoplifter is a great character tho'

[deepthroat]

Actually, I think you guys nailed it - it's his wife I can't stand which sorta puts me off the whole thing a bit. I'll keep hanging with it though.

[seven]

I agree about Skyler, but i think she's important in how Walt is now becoming. He's crossed the line. If you remember Jesse telling him in first season:

"There's a scene in Breaking Bad's first season in which Walter White's hoodrat lab assistant Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) tells Walter he just can't "break bad," and — when you first hear this snippet of dialogue — you assume what Jesse means is that you can't go from being a law-abiding chemistry teacher to an underground meth cooker.

..... was not Jesse's point at all. What he was arguing was that someone can't "decide" to morph from a good person into a bad person, because there's a firewall within our personalities that makes this impossible. He was arguing that Walter's nature would stop him from being bad, and that Walter would fail if tried to complete this conversion. But Jesse was wrong. He was wrong, because goodness and badness are simply complicated choices, no different than anything else.

To me this is what´s so fascinating about the show now.

Episode 6 tonight!!

Hang in there, DT.

[anthony70]

Well, thats 8 episodes of season 5 now,

looks like a break now, until next summer.

[JaiDee]

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed in season 5 overall, I thought they had lost a step a bit ......but the last episode was amazing and will keep me watching when they come back.

Rumor; a Breaking Bad movie is in the works.

[Luung]

I agree about Skyler, but i think she's important in how Walt is now becoming. He's crossed the line. If you remember Jesse telling him in first season:

"There's a scene in Breaking Bad's first season in which Walter White's hoodrat lab assistant Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) tells Walter he just can't "break bad," and — when you first hear this snippet of dialogue — you assume what Jesse means is that you can't go from being a law-abiding chemistry teacher to an underground meth cooker.

..... was not Jesse's point at all. What he was arguing was that someone can't "decide" to morph from a good person into a bad person, because there's a firewall within our personalities that makes this impossible. He was arguing that Walter's nature would stop him from being bad, and that Walter would fail if tried to complete this conversion. But Jesse was wrong. He was wrong, because goodness and badness are simply complicated choices, no different than anything else.

To me this is what´s so fascinating about the show now.

Episode 6 tonight!!

Hang in there, DT.

Good post Seven!

I agree with everything that everyone has said about Skyler, she's a clumsy, irritating, character, but she is, has you've said, important in how Walt is now becoming & she also provides a yard stick to measure Walt's changing behaviour against & not only that, she's a necessary balance helping the show to ebb & flow, otherwise it would, in all probability, be an unwatchable, exhausting, white knuckle ride.

But there's something else too & I think it's the main clincher for me; you see, I've started watching Season 5 back to back, straight after the entire 6 series of 'Dexter', which I thought was absolutely superb & rivalled Breaking Bad... Until that is, about 20 minutes into the first episode of BB when I realised that, what was, for me, pushing this show out head & shoulders above the rest of the 'aging delinquent type' of TV fodder out there & it was in the way that the 'real life' issues of the lead characters are tackled in so much more of a mature manner in BB & with far more mature outlooks from Walter than from Dexter, the questioning child... And you very much need Skyler to do that!

But she is truly awful.

[anthony70]

Any predictions as to how it will end.?

im thinking the risin will play a part in it for sure.

[katana57]

Skyler will admit to having undergone SRS surgery 20 years ago

[Luung]

Hank's onto Walter, so Walt's going to have to stash the cash & I reckon the cancer's going to get him, just as he's about to get his hands on it & that'll be just before Hank gets his chance to nail him too!... Everyone loses

Hank will do some quick, on the spot, soul searching & then limp away from the bigest case of his life.

... And then Skyler will become the new Buck Angel

[KendoUK]

Finally finished season 2 of Game Of Thrones last night with the last 2 episodes.

....Wow!,

Despite it's fantasy world setting, I think I relate to this because there is quite lot of monging that goes on.

[dixon cox]

Following on from first reading this thread a few months ago in Cambodia and Pdogg giving me several seasons I have since downloaded more and now have seasons 1 through to 5.

So far I am almost halfway through watching season 2 and there have been some terrific episodes so far, but as DT mentioned above it has run out of steam to a degree as it approaches the season two midway point.

Like many others have stated the character of Skyler is needed but the choice of actress is less than ideal and kind of lets it down a little. In the UK the name "Skyler" is rare, only through teen porn sites do I know any Skylers and they have all been hot little internet tarts, the one in BB is pretty awful. It's a shame they didn't have the actresses for the two wives (sisters) reversed, Hank's Mrs. (Marie) is quite a sexy MILF, I think she would have been better for the role. Hank is possibly my favourite character.

I will of course continue to watch BB as everyone rates it so highly and I am enjoying it very much too, even after a couple of less than great episodes early in season two. But I do find many of the domestic scenes involving Skyler at the White residence tedious, but everything else is highly entertaining and leaves you wanting more.

I hate watching dramas on a week by week basis so I'd rather wait for completion or a season end and then download the lot and watch when I want at my pace, usually in quick succession, but maybe I am watching too fast. I've been watching at least two episodes a day since I started watching and overall I thinks it's excellent and always leave wanting more.

[seven]

Sunday, the first of the final  8 episodes

[JaiDee]

Yups, and GREATLY looking forward to that!  Almost with as much anticipation as when my beloved Patriots play.

 

As many others have said, I think this is the best TV drama show ever made.

 

  Here is one many of you may not have seen; "Shameless", starring William H. Macy of 'Fargo" fame.....3 seasons in the can now, a truly great series about a dysfunctional family [rarely] led by Macy because he's usually out getting hammered.  Highly recommended, but don't expect any hero's in this one.

[SiamSam]

JAI DEE!!!!!!!!! You're alive and well. So good to hear from you. 

 

That's it. I've decided. I going to Schwartz's tonight in your honour. Yummy. 

 

XO

[mardhi]

JAI DEE!!!!!!!!! You're alive and well. So good to hear from you. 

 

That's it. I've decided. I going to Schwartz's tonight in your honour. Yummy. 

 

XO

 

Why not - its summer on the East coast !!!   Shed load more things to be enjoying outside than looking on the internet. (say's he sweltering in the heat and finding aircon + internet a workable solution LOL).     I really do miss the seasons.  Maybe its time to do a winter trip to England.  That will convince me to stay put in the tropics !!!!!

[seven]

 

 

  Here is one many of you may not have seen; "Shameless"

I came across this one by chance this summer. I really enjoyed it. Very different.

[seven]

So, what do you boys think will be Walters fate? What will be the end? Cancer comes back? His family stops loving him?

[JaiDee]

Why not - its summer on the East coast !!!   Shed load more things to be enjoying outside than looking on the internet. (say's he sweltering in the heat and finding aircon + internet a workable solution LOL).     I really do miss the seasons.  Maybe its time to do a winter trip to England.  That will convince me to stay put in the tropics !!!!!

 

 Exactly!  I do notice I spend waaaaaaay too much time on this foolish box during winters and when I am in Thailand; too cold/hot to go outside half the time! But now... ahhhhh, 82F every day, I have a friend with a boat, it's usually sunny, cool nights perfect for sleeping, and the best season still yet to come. In my 14 years of going to Asia for holidays I have never once gone between July and October;  why leave perfect weather when Thailand will always be there?  Better to go when it's fucking 10 below and snowy around here.

[JaiDee]

Not sure how it will end Seven, but looking forward to seeing how his asshole brother-in-law handles the revelation of finding his initials in that book!  The first show will be excellent, even if I have to deal with the commercials haha