John Gilmore would not stop talking about this tv show. It was early in season one and he would go on and on about what happened last week and continually interject, “You gotta see this show.” But there was no way. We didn’t have cable tv.
So I guess we got on board during season two when the first season’s shows became available for streaming. We’ve been on the bus since and now have cable hooked up to mainline the second half of the fifth and final season. The director Vince Gilligan is quoted in this week’s Bryan Cranston profile in New Yorker as saying tonight’s show is the best of the whole season. To a fan that is a mind-blowing statement. Better than last week’s show? Better than the pilot?
But not everybody is a fan. We’ve recommended the show to so may people that have checked it out and found it too dark or evil. Aren’t we completely surrounded by dark and evil? John Gilmore is just better salesman than we are.
I compare all shows to Breaking Bad now, all movies, all story lines, paintings, life itself. The twists and turns are so enjoyable to watch they have us laughing out loud just recapping them. Tremendous characters, great actors but most of all I think the writers are fantastic. I read they were going to kill Jessie in the first season and just look at the epic interplay between him and Walt, the ongoing struggle of right and wrong, good and evil that has ensued.
2 Comments
Your feelings about BB are understood. Barbara and I were late to the game (Sopranos) but, until it devolved into a soap opera we really enjoyed the dialog, cinematography and ensemble acting. The video & soundtrack accompanying the opening credits is still among the best ever for me.
Then along came The Wire which elevated our interest ten fold. To this day we hold it a regard similar to your BB feelings. We stuck with BB for 1 ½ seasons. I liked it more than my mate. The violence and the over-the-top pathos was too much.
Dark-ness is an interesting dynamic much emphasized in the last 25 years. It’s a cultural theme that has emerged from the shadows to become far more celebrated. We have sampled Walender (utterly depressing), House of Cards (cynicism run wild) and now The Fall (fascination with the macabre). Each has attractive parallel stories or sub-text but is often overburdened with the theatre of the dark.
you have cable? wow