What I wouldn't do to be in your position. Go for it, it's the best television ever made, in my humble opinion. I'm biased though, I've watched it 4 times!
it's not slow enough, was my problem!
I was all up for a slow burning series in which a mild mannered teacher slowly develops into a psycho drug dealer.
But he sets up a drug lab and kills a rival dealer about halfway through episode 1, and by episode 3 <edit for spoilers concerning more violent death>. It's all a good yarn i suppose but i lost interest and gave up early in Season 2.
My wife complains that if I keep on giving up on shows on the grounds that they're not as good as The Wire, then I'll just end up never watching anything. Which is pretty much what happens. Going to give Our Friends In The North a go soon though.
TIGHT! TIGHT! TIGHT!
YEAGGGGH!!
It's worth watching but I never really loved it. I only went to the end because I'd invested so much time in the first few seasons.
BB is pretty decent but I didn’t think it really lived up to the hype. The Wire [...] is much better IMO
Maybe, but The Wire is better than anything that has ever been on TV, so that's a pretty high bar to set!!
Done it all the way through 4 times. Might be time for a 5th as I've almost forgotten a lot of it. Wasn't quite as much of a binge as watching every star trek series from TNG to Enterprise in order but probably more entertaining 🙂
+1 for The Wire. Did that twice. Don't bother with Game of Thrones unless you want a real TV endurance challenge.
Loved Dexter but looking forward to Breaking Bad too!
Magnets, bitch!
I found it flagged a little in series 2 until Saul appeared, then it just got better and better.
My roomba is called Jesse.
I only watched BB first time around until end of series 3, then never got into it again when series 4 finally appeared. Having recently binge watched Better Call Saul (def worth it) I'm re-watching BB from the start.
It's definitely slower paced than I remember but still good, although I fast forward through most of the guff with Skyler and her sister (Hank is always good though). Only just up to the Better Call Saul episode in S2, you certainly think of him differently after watching the Better Call Saul series (I'd even say watch that first, it's a prequel after all and it doesn't spoil BB).
I’m amazed some people stopped watching it, I loved it! I actually watched it weekly on AMC so took over a year to watch it all. For me it was the best thing on telly in memory.
I did sit through the Fly episode thinking WTF though!
it’s a prequel after all and it doesn’t spoil BB
It spoils BB massively if you know who the characters are. It'd be like watching Star Wars in episode order.
It spoils BB massively if you know who the characters are. It’d be like watching Star Wars in episode order.
Why? Because you know Jimmy isn't just a total douche? (I can't actually remember how his character develops in BB tbh). Other characters like Tuco - I reckon having watched BCS first makes you appreciate even more how much of a psycho he is than he's portrayed in BB. I can't really remember BB past season 2 though so if you're talking about other characters later on then fair enough.
I wouldn't say BCS is a massive spoiler for BB, but it would spoil some things. For one, it gives some hints about how BB ends. Mostly though, I think BCS would be better if you've watched BB because you know how the characters ended up, BCS is intended to fill in how they got there.
I wouldn’t say BCS is a massive spoiler for BB
...unlike the rest of your post.
What spoilers, apart from Jesse coming over for dinner?
What spoilers, apart from Jesse coming over for dinner?
None, except the arc for the main character. And his wife.
Maybe, but The Wire is better than anything that has ever been on TV, so that’s a pretty high bar to set!!
True dat.
Yeah, The Wire (and to a lesser extent, The Sopranos) has pretty much ruined the rest of television for me.
Still, second series of The Deuce starts soon, so that's something to look forward to.
In other spoiler news....Darth Vader is actually a pretty decent bloke.
Why? Because you know Jimmy isn’t just a total douche?
Well, specifically I was thinking because it spoils the reveal of who
except the arc for the main character. And his wife.
Spoiler alert. Man who sells drugs to kids turns out to be an asshole. His wife, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, wasn't an asshole, although she was comically annoying at times.
Now you don't need to watch it cause I told you what's going to happen.
I think the bigger issue is that watching them the wrong way would ruin BCS. It's an absolute treat after BB ending as you sort of know what is coming but the details are slowly revealed.
Spoiler alert. Man who sells drugs to kids turns out to be an asshole. His wife, who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, wasn’t an asshole, although she was comically annoying at times.
You haven't watched it, have you?
it was totally excellent when they walked into that lab with "On a Clear Day" by the peddlars playing - brilliant setting and music.
You haven’t watched it, have you?
I watched the first and last episode and just guessed at what happened in between.
I thought BB was superb, surpassed only by Better Call Saul, which in itself is only SO good due to knowing the BB story.
edit
Still, second series of The Deuce starts soon, so that’s something to look forward to.
Can't wait. I predict we'll talk about it in the same way we do The Wire in years to come.
So yeah, getting back to the original question, yes, I would recommend watching it all, start to finish, then Better Call Saul...
can’t remember what happened in the end
Reminder:
I think the bigger issue is that watching them the wrong way would ruin BCS. It’s an absolute treat after BB ending as you sort of know what is coming but the details are slowly revealed.
Agreed, but a bit less politely, Better Call Saul would be a frustratingly glacial drama about characters you don't know or care about, dragged out for about 35 hours before it starts to get interesting, or indeed the titular character turns up.
Imagine going into to it without any knowledge of BB, wondering what or who 'Saul' was and why anyone should call them, only to see a strange drama about a low-level Lawyer called Jimmy/James bookended by an even stranger drama in black and white.
No, I don't think anyone should watch BCS first.
Agreed with all of that. Part of the appeal of BCS is going "ooh, it's him!" when BB characters / locations pop up.
Watched the first BB again last night. It was still as good as I remember. Funny how young they all looked though, and I was surprised how much I'd forgotten. I guess I'm committed to watching it again 🙂
List of crossover characters (contains spoilers obviously):
http://www.vulture.com/2018/09/breaking-bad-better-call-saul-crossover-characters.html
I'm really liking Netflix's thumbnail fast forward thing (so I can easily skip the filler scenes), much better than Amazon Prime's fast forward (or at least how they work through the app on my TV)
I started watching Breaking Bad at 11pm last night. 2.5 episodes in and I'm liking it.
Might have to save it for weekend bingeing though as I can't cope with 6 hours sleep a night...
hmmm, already on season 2 ep 2. in 3 evenings.
need to pace myself.
i watched all years ago when it came out but the mrs never did.
so we started on it again the other week and were already motoring through season 4!
loving it even more this time! its not daunting at all, if anything im a bit apprehensive about catching up again too soon...
28 episodes in....
I have been FFWD some bits like when Skyler or Jesse are having a whinge....
WHY didn't I watch this sooner?
We watched the lot last year - very good, then went onto Better Call Saul which is equally as good (set before Breaking Bad) - that's just gone into Season 3 and we are watching that weekly.
