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Breaking Bad (CONTAINS SPOILERS)

I see what you mean but if you think about it the timeline of the first four series is just a year or so: therefore Walt isn't your ordinary career Sopranoesque villain, he's a school teacher whose gone over to the dark side very recently. His family (and that includes Marie and Hank) are the reason he got into it all and seemingly, until he got into the chess game with Gus, were a brake on his behaviour.

He's got issues and struggles that normal TV baddies don't have and that's what makes BB so interesting. I love all the guns, gangsters and cartels stories as much as you do but you keep getting this feeling that walt's downfall will come from within his family. The latter idea is not as glamorous to the viewer but it's what keeps the tension going so much.

Oh no I get that, it's absolutely vital to the plot, the thing is that as viewers we too are in the same position as Walt of being seduced by the drama and excitement of "beaking bad" and that is why so many viewers find Skylar a bit of a boring nag, not because she is unreasonable or unjustified but precisely the opposite.

Saying that I do think the writers have often neglected Skylar for large parts and had her reduced to very little than a device for bringing everything back down to reality, rather than as a character with her own desires and flaws that extend beyond and even conflict with her role as pragmatic matriarch. Why should it be that it's only Walt that feels trapped and unfulfilled by suburban family life?
 
That's the thing I don't watch the program for banal family dramas, you watch it for the exciting stuff, the cartels, the cops etc The family stuff whilst of course important in character development and giving context to Walt's "breaking bad" and the playing out of his own ego driven issues, just simply isn't as exciting, which rather brilliantly has the effect of putting the viewer in the same position of Walt, who has been seduced by "breaking bad".

Basically well intentioned, pragmatic and responsible mum just isn't as exciting or interesting as meth cooks and cartel bosses or for that matter her crazy purple loving klepto sister.

I watch Breaking Bad because of the morally complex and realistic approach it takes to subject matter long rendered cliche by the type post-Tarantino grand standing and badassery that mostly appeals to overgrown kids. I find the situation the women find themselves in and a domestic drama within those circumstance very interesting.

I'm not surprised though, because we now live in a culture that caters to men's inner adolescent every turn. That's why most can't cope when a series like this turns to domestic and female concerns. Men are not used to it anymore when they have to engage with female characters who are more than kick ass Barbie dolls. That's why we now barely get any sort of character development and interesting women in Hollywood films now. So thank heavens for TV and series like this.
 
skylar and marie ARE interesting, complex characters - I just don't get why people don't find them interesting just cos they haven't killed anyone yet

It's got nothing to do with her not killing anyone ffs. And yes Marie is interesting in a way Skylars not because you see her flaws, you see how her own lack of fulfillment at her life is articulated through her actions, like shoplifting, viewing other peoples houses and inventing fantasy scenarios.
 
I watch Breaking Bad because of the morally complex and realistic approach it takes to subject matter long rendered cliche by the type post-Tarantino grand standing and badassery that mostly appeals to overgrown kids. I find the situation the women find themselves in and a domestic drama within those circumstance very interesting.

I'm not surprised though, because we now live in a culture that caters to men's inner adolescent every turn. That's why most can't cope when a series like this turns to domestic and female concerns and subject matter. That's why we now barely get any sort of character development and interesting women in Hollywood films now. So thank heavens for TV and series like this.

That's the thing though, why is the female concern and subject matter forever equated with the private family realm? The driving force of Breaking Bad is Walts disatisfaction with suburban family life, his desire to assert and give play to his intellectual powers in the public realm, but can we not also ask about Skylar, is suburban family life enough for her, has she no strong desires to give full play to her powers, is raising a family enough validation of herself?

I think the times Skylar has been interesting is when it has explored her own sense of dissatisfaction, even in petty things like her going back to smoking or the affair with the boss. Also when her skills and personality are used in a manner that interacts with the wider unfolding drama that makes her an active subject, namely her covering for her bosses dodgy accounting.

Like I said Marie doesn't get the same complaints about being boring as Skylar doe sbecause we get to see Maries flaws and her cravings for something more than she has.

As for your point about men not being able to handle female characters that aren't kick ass barbie dolls, well I think that's a ridiculous over statement, especially as one of the biggest cult female leads on TV has been Sarah Lund from The Killing, a character I love because of her flaws and the tension she feels between her public duty to justice and her own sense of inadequacies as a mother and partner. Something I think it's refreshing to see in a female role, since whilst such tensions are bread and butter for male characters in media they aren't for females, with the implicit assumption that women don't have such feelings, being pragmatic, responsible and fixated on managing the personal sphere.
 
I think what's interesting about breaking bad is that it's more than just criminals shooting each other. It IS a family drama as well as a thriller.
In fact a lot of the drama comes from the juxtaposition of the two, especially in the first couple of series. I thought the family stuff suffered in the fourth though the crime side of things was a little more exciting.

Just finished series 4 last week. Best thing I've seen since The Wire.
 
That's the thing though, why is the female concern and subject matter forever equated with the private family realm? The driving force of Breaking Bad is Walts disatisfaction with suburban family life, his desire to assert and give play to his intellectual powers in the public realm, but can we not also ask about Skylar, is suburban family life enough for her, has she no strong desires to give full play to her powers, is raising a family enough validation of herself?

There's still some of the history of how Walt and Skylar got together that's still to come out. There was a flashback scene about when they moved into their crap Frank Lloyd Wright replica homestead (the same one they still live in) and there was high hopes for both of them with Skylar saying it's not much of a house but it'll do for the year or two we plan to live here.
 
Best show on tv, one of the few things worth seeing.It's different but i was hooked from the very start, it has everything.
I think it has some slightly awkward/uneasy moments due to the harsh issues it covers but handles them well.
Definitely worth watching if anyone's considering it.
 
It's a Pontiac Aztec which has repeatedly polled as one of the ugliest cars of all time. It sold very badly and I think it's being used as a symbol of failure.
Though, much like the Fiat Multipla, it's apparently a good car and the owners quite like them. Despite them both being two of the ugliest forms of transport ever devised by human beings.

And enough of this "You're too misogynistic to watch Breaking Bad" shit.
 
i want to know why he drives that weird car


I think the BD directors have a thing about cars. Walt's is so sensible and suburban, probably even more so than Skylar's station wagon complete with fake wood decal. Jesse and Gus go for something indiscreet while Mike has the classic sedan. And Walt Jr's aspirations are illustrated by the ongoing battle over what kind of car.
One of the small reasons I love BD, and the same goes for their choice of abodes: Marie and Hank in some concrete lump on the edge of the desert, Hank and Skylar in ubersuburbia and Jane (RIP) in a cheap little duplex that's a lot nicer than the other duplexes in the neighbourhood.
I'd hate to live in ABQ.
 
I think the BD directors have a thing about cars. Walt's is so sensible and suburban, probably even more so than Skylar's station wagon complete with fake wood decal. Jesse and Gug go for something indiscreet while Mike has the classic sedan. And walt jar's aspirations are illustrated by the ongoing battle over what kind of car.
One of the small reasons I love BD, and the same goes for their choice of abodes: Marie and Hank in some concrete lump on the edge of the desert, Hank and Skylar in ubersuburbia and Jane (RIP) in a cheap little duplex that's a lot nicer than the other duplexes in the neighbourhood.
I'd hate to live in ABQ.

There really is next to nothing in the show that hasn't had quite a bit of thought put into it, it really is just awesome tv, technically superior in many ways to even The Wire.
 
Oh no I get that, it's absolutely vital to the plot, the thing is that as viewers we too are in the same position as Walt of being seduced by the drama and excitement of "beaking bad" and that is why so many viewers find Skylar a bit of a boring nag, not because she is unreasonable or unjustified but precisely the opposite.

Saying that I do think the writers have often neglected Skylar for large parts and had her reduced to very little than a device for bringing everything back down to reality, rather than as a character with her own desires and flaws that extend beyond and even conflict with her role as pragmatic matriarch. Why should it be that it's only Walt that feels trapped and unfulfilled by suburban family life?

I don't think skylar is boring, i like her. i do know what you mean about the character development though.
 
I don't think skylar is boring, i like her. i do know what you mean about the character development though.

yeah I think there tends to be sizable chunks in the series where Skylar's character becomes reduced to "her indoors", with her only relationship to the main story arc being to put the brakes on it. In contrast even when Marie is largely superflous to the main story arc (which she is more than most of the characters) she has her own sub plot going on, often quite funny in a dark kind of way. Marie's moments act as breaks from the high tension of the main story, in a way that was refreshing and not frustrating.
 
I think Skylar's involvement in the death of her ex boss and the rise of Walt as the new king pin is going to see her transformed into a bad ass ruthless matriarch every bit if not more ruthless than Walt has become.

Jesse is the character who's moral compass hasn't been totally broke, so I expect an even bigger and maybe final confrontation between him and Walt.
 
yeah, to be honest ive only watched the first and half of the second series so a lot to catch up on, can't wait though.
 
I think Skylar's involvement in the death of her ex boss and the rise of Walt as the new king pin is going to see her transformed into a bad ass ruthless matriarch every bit if not more ruthless than Walt has become.

Jesse is the character who's moral compass hasn't been totally broke, so I expect an even bigger and maybe final confrontation between him and Walt.

Walt the new king pin? The German conglomerate (and Mike) are coming to get him. I do though expect Skylar, with her business background, to step up to the plate and deal with the fuckers. And maybe shag Jesse (strictly as a business manoeuvre of course).

Fuck knows what series 5 has in store for our heads. I hope it's not building to a mere Walt vs Jesse finale. They have to take this global: I want to see the Germans, the DEA head office, some new Mexican gangs (with their dirty meth lab) and some pro-Pinochet apologists all involved in one mighty big war.
 
My housemate has just downloaded all of this (despite me saying we should probably not till it all calms down with this internet copyright shit currently going on) 20 GB :facepalm:

Is it any good? Im just watching boardwalk empire season 1 and might lay into this after.....
 
Is it not possible that there is more than one first rate series on the telly ? Mad Men is just as good, but so different that it's impossible to compare. I've recently started to watch Friday Night Lights, which enjoyed similar critical acclaim as Breakin Bad and from what I've seen, deserves it.

I agree with those who say that we live in a golden age of American television. US drama series have never been as sophisticated as they have been for the last decade. Television has moved into the place where US cinema used to be in the 70s, with intelligent, complex entertainment aimed at adults.
 
Is it not possible that there is more than one first rate series on the telly ? Mad Men is just as good, but so different that it's impossible to compare. I've recently started to watch Friday Night Lights, which enjoyed similar critical acclaim as Breakin Bad and from what I've seen, deserves it.

I agree with those who say that we live in a golden age of American television. US drama series have never been as sophisticated as they have been for the last decade. Television has moved into the place where US cinema used to be in the 70s, with intelligent, complex entertainment aimed at adults.

Oh, I agree. Boardwalk simply didn't turn me on despite all the fundamentals being sound. Same with Treme.
 
Is it not possible that there is more than one first rate series on the telly ? Mad Men is just as good, but so different that it's impossible to compare. I've recently started to watch Friday Night Lights, which enjoyed similar critical acclaim as Breakin Bad and from what I've seen, deserves it.

I agree with those who say that we live in a golden age of American television. US drama series have never been as sophisticated as they have been for the last decade. Television has moved into the place where US cinema used to be in the 70s, with intelligent, complex entertainment aimed at adults.

How can it be impossible to compare but just as good????
The only Mad Men character fit to get into BB is Roger Sterling and Saul, never mind Skylar, would have him stitched up before the end of an episode.

www.bettercallsaul.com/
 
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