Quote:
Johnson presided over arguably the most viscerally upsetting moment of the series: Walt telling Jesse Pinkman, whom he'd just given up to the Nazis, that he chose not to intervene as he watched his mentee's former girlfriend Jane choke and die after an overdose.
Killing the boy on the bike was bad also.CSIBear said:
Great article. Todd killing Jesse's girl in front of him is another one that gets me every time.
I just find her cold. Perfect casting for this and Deadwood. Only two things that I remember her roles. Is it her personality or is she just that talented? Maybe if she went back dark with her hair she could show some amount of warmth.Brian Ethridge said:
Anna Gunn declined interview? That is her career.
I read once that he has the best actual football players on Friday Night Lights and his character wasn't even on the team his first season.TellMeYouLoveMe said:
Todd was a Mart Panther by the way. Good dude. Saw him in the airport and he was real cool.
Which is why Jesse killing Todd is one of my favorite scenes.CSIBear said:
Great article. Todd killing Jesse's girl in front of him is another one that gets me every time.
Before Breaking Bad, I would have voted The Sopranos or The Wire as the best TV series of all time. Now they're both playing for 2nd. The arc of the story remained true to the original premise of showing how Mr. Chips became Scarface, and the series never got anywhere near jumping the shark.Limited IQ Redneck in PU said:
Thanks for posting. I have watched the entire series twice.
Longshoreman was a beating without binge watching. Take that out and The Wire matches up with anything.NoBSU said:
I am wondering if binge - watching has changed how I rank things.
After years of reading about The Wire on message boards, I decided to binge watch the entire series in two weeks. I found it good but not great as a whole. Parts were great, but the Longshoreman part was really dragging. The final outcome of the last season group if kids was pretty predictable. I think that awaiting each weekly show and each season would have improved my overall view.
I dropped off from Breaking Bad the final three seasons and binge watched them. They held up better for binge watching I think. I binge watched the last three of the Sopranos as well. Not as good as Breaking Bad but better than The Wire. I thought the Sopranos ending was the worst.
I completely agree that the year with the longshoreman was the weak link in the series -- well bellow the rest. I also think that The Wire gets better upon reflection about the totality of the series: the fairly holistic way it depicts how a lot of these problems are interconnected; how City Hall politics affects policing, etc. The series gave you a much richer and truer portrait of the criminals in the drug trade than TV provided before. You meet people who are poorly educated but really smart. You see how people get drawn into that life because of the environment over which they have little control. You see how the police try to deal with that. And you meet some really well-drawn characters like Stringer Bell and the detective who makes dollhouse furniture.NoBSU said:
I am wondering if binge - watching has changed how I rank things.
After years of reading about The Wire on message boards, I decided to binge watch the entire series in two weeks. I found it good but not great as a whole. Parts were great, but the Longshoreman part was really dragging. The final outcome of the last season group if kids was pretty predictable. I think that awaiting each weekly show and each season would have improved my overall view.
I dropped off from Breaking Bad the final three seasons and binge watched them. They held up better for binge watching I think. I binge watched the last three of the Sopranos as well. Not as good as Breaking Bad but better than The Wire. I thought the Sopranos ending was the worst.
Yep. It definitely builds in a chaos theory-like manner. The Butterfly Effect, if you will, of each layered decision and how it compounds future outcomes. Turns Walter into a bonafide Greek Tragedy.bubbadog said:I completely agree that the year with the longshoreman was the weak link in the series -- well bellow the rest. I also think that The Wire gets better upon reflection about the totality of the series: the fairly holistic way it depicts how a lot of these problems are interconnected; how City Hall politics affects policing, etc. The series gave you a much richer and truer portrait of the criminals in the drug trade than TV provided before. You meet people who are poorly educated but really smart. You see how people get drawn into that life because of the environment over which they have little control. You see how the police try to deal with that. And you meet some really well-drawn characters like Stringer Bell and the detective who makes dollhouse furniture.NoBSU said:
I am wondering if binge - watching has changed how I rank things.
After years of reading about The Wire on message boards, I decided to binge watch the entire series in two weeks. I found it good but not great as a whole. Parts were great, but the Longshoreman part was really dragging. The final outcome of the last season group if kids was pretty predictable. I think that awaiting each weekly show and each season would have improved my overall view.
I dropped off from Breaking Bad the final three seasons and binge watched them. They held up better for binge watching I think. I binge watched the last three of the Sopranos as well. Not as good as Breaking Bad but better than The Wire. I thought the Sopranos ending was the worst.
I thought the Sopranos declined in its last couple of seasons but was still better than just about anything else at the time. It never quite matched its first couple of seasons, and that wasn't true of Breaking Bad, which maintained a consistently high level throughout. One of the things I thought was incredible was the way the series shows you how Walt and Jesse get in deeper and deeper, rather by accident, and how the consequences of their actions get more severe. Initially, some of the episodes are almost comical, as when they first go to Tuco (a superb character), offer to furnish him with product and wind up blowing up his office. Or the episode when Jesse gets held by the meth-heads who stole the ATM; he can see the consequences of what he does for a living in the lives of others, but the stakes haven't become personal yet. Part of the brilliance of the show, I think, is how the tragedy unspools in slow motion in the lives of these characters.
Yes, the most dramatic butterfly effect episode was the one after Walt lets Jesse's girlfriend die and her grieving father makes a mistake in his job as an air traffic controller. Only the writers of Breaking Bad would have thought to add the touch of a tiny piece of debris falling into Walt's pool.trey3216 said:Yep. It definitely builds in a chaos theory-like manner. The Butterfly Effect, if you will, of each layered decision and how it compounds future outcomes. Turns Walter into a bonafide Greek Tragedy.bubbadog said:I completely agree that the year with the longshoreman was the weak link in the series -- well bellow the rest. I also think that The Wire gets better upon reflection about the totality of the series: the fairly holistic way it depicts how a lot of these problems are interconnected; how City Hall politics affects policing, etc. The series gave you a much richer and truer portrait of the criminals in the drug trade than TV provided before. You meet people who are poorly educated but really smart. You see how people get drawn into that life because of the environment over which they have little control. You see how the police try to deal with that. And you meet some really well-drawn characters like Stringer Bell and the detective who makes dollhouse furniture.NoBSU said:
I am wondering if binge - watching has changed how I rank things.
After years of reading about The Wire on message boards, I decided to binge watch the entire series in two weeks. I found it good but not great as a whole. Parts were great, but the Longshoreman part was really dragging. The final outcome of the last season group if kids was pretty predictable. I think that awaiting each weekly show and each season would have improved my overall view.
I dropped off from Breaking Bad the final three seasons and binge watched them. They held up better for binge watching I think. I binge watched the last three of the Sopranos as well. Not as good as Breaking Bad but better than The Wire. I thought the Sopranos ending was the worst.
I thought the Sopranos declined in its last couple of seasons but was still better than just about anything else at the time. It never quite matched its first couple of seasons, and that wasn't true of Breaking Bad, which maintained a consistently high level throughout. One of the things I thought was incredible was the way the series shows you how Walt and Jesse get in deeper and deeper, rather by accident, and how the consequences of their actions get more severe. Initially, some of the episodes are almost comical, as when they first go to Tuco (a superb character), offer to furnish him with product and wind up blowing up his office. Or the episode when Jesse gets held by the meth-heads who stole the ATM; he can see the consequences of what he does for a living in the lives of others, but the stakes haven't become personal yet. Part of the brilliance of the show, I think, is how the tragedy unspools in slow motion in the lives of these characters.
It was an entire teddy bear and an eye from it.bubbadog said:Yes, the most dramatic butterfly effect episode was the one after Walt lets Jesse's girlfriend die and her grieving father makes a mistake in his job as an air traffic controller. Only the writers of Breaking Bad would have thought to add the touch of a tiny piece of debris falling into Walt's pool.trey3216 said:Yep. It definitely builds in a chaos theory-like manner. The Butterfly Effect, if you will, of each layered decision and how it compounds future outcomes. Turns Walter into a bonafide Greek Tragedy.bubbadog said:I completely agree that the year with the longshoreman was the weak link in the series -- well bellow the rest. I also think that The Wire gets better upon reflection about the totality of the series: the fairly holistic way it depicts how a lot of these problems are interconnected; how City Hall politics affects policing, etc. The series gave you a much richer and truer portrait of the criminals in the drug trade than TV provided before. You meet people who are poorly educated but really smart. You see how people get drawn into that life because of the environment over which they have little control. You see how the police try to deal with that. And you meet some really well-drawn characters like Stringer Bell and the detective who makes dollhouse furniture.NoBSU said:
I am wondering if binge - watching has changed how I rank things.
After years of reading about The Wire on message boards, I decided to binge watch the entire series in two weeks. I found it good but not great as a whole. Parts were great, but the Longshoreman part was really dragging. The final outcome of the last season group if kids was pretty predictable. I think that awaiting each weekly show and each season would have improved my overall view.
I dropped off from Breaking Bad the final three seasons and binge watched them. They held up better for binge watching I think. I binge watched the last three of the Sopranos as well. Not as good as Breaking Bad but better than The Wire. I thought the Sopranos ending was the worst.
I thought the Sopranos declined in its last couple of seasons but was still better than just about anything else at the time. It never quite matched its first couple of seasons, and that wasn't true of Breaking Bad, which maintained a consistently high level throughout. One of the things I thought was incredible was the way the series shows you how Walt and Jesse get in deeper and deeper, rather by accident, and how the consequences of their actions get more severe. Initially, some of the episodes are almost comical, as when they first go to Tuco (a superb character), offer to furnish him with product and wind up blowing up his office. Or the episode when Jesse gets held by the meth-heads who stole the ATM; he can see the consequences of what he does for a living in the lives of others, but the stakes haven't become personal yet. Part of the brilliance of the show, I think, is how the tragedy unspools in slow motion in the lives of these characters.
I loved how BB often gave you a snippet at the beginning of an episode, and no matter how much you tried to keep track of it, by the time you got to the end of the episode you had forgotten about it, and BAMM!, there is the end of the episode, tying in with the snippet you had just forgotten about.Brian Ethridge said:It was an entire teddy bear and an eye from it.bubbadog said:Yes, the most dramatic butterfly effect episode was the one after Walt lets Jesse's girlfriend die and her grieving father makes a mistake in his job as an air traffic controller. Only the writers of Breaking Bad would have thought to add the touch of a tiny piece of debris falling into Walt's pool.trey3216 said:Yep. It definitely builds in a chaos theory-like manner. The Butterfly Effect, if you will, of each layered decision and how it compounds future outcomes. Turns Walter into a bonafide Greek Tragedy.bubbadog said:I completely agree that the year with the longshoreman was the weak link in the series -- well bellow the rest. I also think that The Wire gets better upon reflection about the totality of the series: the fairly holistic way it depicts how a lot of these problems are interconnected; how City Hall politics affects policing, etc. The series gave you a much richer and truer portrait of the criminals in the drug trade than TV provided before. You meet people who are poorly educated but really smart. You see how people get drawn into that life because of the environment over which they have little control. You see how the police try to deal with that. And you meet some really well-drawn characters like Stringer Bell and the detective who makes dollhouse furniture.NoBSU said:
I am wondering if binge - watching has changed how I rank things.
After years of reading about The Wire on message boards, I decided to binge watch the entire series in two weeks. I found it good but not great as a whole. Parts were great, but the Longshoreman part was really dragging. The final outcome of the last season group if kids was pretty predictable. I think that awaiting each weekly show and each season would have improved my overall view.
I dropped off from Breaking Bad the final three seasons and binge watched them. They held up better for binge watching I think. I binge watched the last three of the Sopranos as well. Not as good as Breaking Bad but better than The Wire. I thought the Sopranos ending was the worst.
I thought the Sopranos declined in its last couple of seasons but was still better than just about anything else at the time. It never quite matched its first couple of seasons, and that wasn't true of Breaking Bad, which maintained a consistently high level throughout. One of the things I thought was incredible was the way the series shows you how Walt and Jesse get in deeper and deeper, rather by accident, and how the consequences of their actions get more severe. Initially, some of the episodes are almost comical, as when they first go to Tuco (a superb character), offer to furnish him with product and wind up blowing up his office. Or the episode when Jesse gets held by the meth-heads who stole the ATM; he can see the consequences of what he does for a living in the lives of others, but the stakes haven't become personal yet. Part of the brilliance of the show, I think, is how the tragedy unspools in slow motion in the lives of these characters.
The spider in the jar, the lilly of the valley, etc.ValpoCory said:I loved how BB often gave you a snippet at the beginning of an episode, and no matter how much you tried to keep track of it, by the time you got to the end of the episode you had forgotten about it, and BAMM!, there is the end of the episode, tying in with the snippet you had just forgotten about.Brian Ethridge said:It was an entire teddy bear and an eye from it.bubbadog said:Yes, the most dramatic butterfly effect episode was the one after Walt lets Jesse's girlfriend die and her grieving father makes a mistake in his job as an air traffic controller. Only the writers of Breaking Bad would have thought to add the touch of a tiny piece of debris falling into Walt's pool.trey3216 said:Yep. It definitely builds in a chaos theory-like manner. The Butterfly Effect, if you will, of each layered decision and how it compounds future outcomes. Turns Walter into a bonafide Greek Tragedy.bubbadog said:I completely agree that the year with the longshoreman was the weak link in the series -- well bellow the rest. I also think that The Wire gets better upon reflection about the totality of the series: the fairly holistic way it depicts how a lot of these problems are interconnected; how City Hall politics affects policing, etc. The series gave you a much richer and truer portrait of the criminals in the drug trade than TV provided before. You meet people who are poorly educated but really smart. You see how people get drawn into that life because of the environment over which they have little control. You see how the police try to deal with that. And you meet some really well-drawn characters like Stringer Bell and the detective who makes dollhouse furniture.NoBSU said:
I am wondering if binge - watching has changed how I rank things.
After years of reading about The Wire on message boards, I decided to binge watch the entire series in two weeks. I found it good but not great as a whole. Parts were great, but the Longshoreman part was really dragging. The final outcome of the last season group if kids was pretty predictable. I think that awaiting each weekly show and each season would have improved my overall view.
I dropped off from Breaking Bad the final three seasons and binge watched them. They held up better for binge watching I think. I binge watched the last three of the Sopranos as well. Not as good as Breaking Bad but better than The Wire. I thought the Sopranos ending was the worst.
I thought the Sopranos declined in its last couple of seasons but was still better than just about anything else at the time. It never quite matched its first couple of seasons, and that wasn't true of Breaking Bad, which maintained a consistently high level throughout. One of the things I thought was incredible was the way the series shows you how Walt and Jesse get in deeper and deeper, rather by accident, and how the consequences of their actions get more severe. Initially, some of the episodes are almost comical, as when they first go to Tuco (a superb character), offer to furnish him with product and wind up blowing up his office. Or the episode when Jesse gets held by the meth-heads who stole the ATM; he can see the consequences of what he does for a living in the lives of others, but the stakes haven't become personal yet. Part of the brilliance of the show, I think, is how the tragedy unspools in slow motion in the lives of these characters.
It was interesting that Walt had constant reminders of how screwed up he had become, and the price of his doings was revealed to him in almost every episode.bubbadog said:Yes, the most dramatic butterfly effect episode was the one after Walt lets Jesse's girlfriend die and her grieving father makes a mistake in his job as an air traffic controller. Only the writers of Breaking Bad would have thought to add the touch of a tiny piece of debris falling into Walt's pool.trey3216 said:
Yep. It definitely builds in a chaos theory-like manner. The Butterfly Effect, if you will, of each layered decision and how it compounds future outcomes. Turns Walter into a bonafide Greek Tragedy.
How's my hair look?Keyser Soze said:
I like them all.
All are great series. The Wire will never be up there in pop culture wise with BB or Sopranos, but it had the greater impact on me. I am a big believer in you are responsible for you and still am for the most part, but The Wire sure gave a good and gritty picture of the other side of America. So many of those project kids have a hard life that is mapped out for them at an early age - most of them are not elevating themselves above the poor circumstances of their birth - very sad.
Yep, he was smarter than them and wanted out.Keyser Soze said:
