The brilliance of Better Call Saul is how it exists in moments that would be padding in other TV shows. It doesn’t just include mundane moments; it’s about those mundane moments.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2017/04/26/best-thing-youll-see-week-better-call-saul-season-3-episode-3/
Did this show get … not boring yet?
I slogged through season one and (I think?) season two and it was definitely not worth it in my book. Is this season any better?
I wanted so much to like it, because of the shining diamond that was Breaking Bad. But my god, the sonambulent pace of this show.
If you think the earlier seasons are boring, then no. This season will not change your mind. I find them all exhilarating.
It’s the L.A. Law bits I find incredibly tedious, and far too dominant in seasons 1 and 2. I just don’t give a crap about lawyering outside of … crime action of some kind. If season 3 is more about explicitly being a lawyer for overt criminals, and less about law firm intrigue, I could maybe give it another shot.
The lawyering is just something the characters do. The show isn’t about criminals or lawyers, and certainly not crime action, unless you count Mike doing something “boring” meticulously action. It’s about people and their relationships. Well, that and amazing cinematography and editing.
I just don’t agree. There is a shitload of law procedural junk in this show, at least in seasons 1 and 2. And far too little crime drama.
I didn’t watch L.A. Law for a reason. I hear it was a good show.
I’m not saying there isn’t law procedural “junk”. I’m saying that’s not why people who like the show like it. And it’s not a crime drama either. It’s a classical tragedy. But where Breaking Bad took classical tragedy and turned the volume up to max, this is classical tragedy pianissimo.
OK, I can agree with that. Then it’s the brutally slow pacing that is killing it for me. It’s not often I slog through two entire seasons of a damn show waiting for it to do… something.
I definitely can’t argue with someone who thinks the pacing is too slow, but I still love this show. It’s so well written and thought out in my opinion.
There’s slow-paced, and then there is _deliberately-_paced.
There’s a big difference between the two. Better Call Saul is the latter.
I have nothing but mad respect for this show.
The show isn’t slowly paced, nor is it a law procedural. Sheesh, Tom’s article which spawned this thread discusses the wonderful nuances of the show. It may not be what you want, but it’s certainly doing what it does brilliantly and with terrific pacing. I haven’t even finished Breaking Bad, it got a bit tedious, I mean…it’s fine. Whereas Better Call Saul demands my attention. It’s done a shitload of somethings. No exploding turtles, so if that’s your thing…
You think Better Call Saul is better than Breaking Bad? I think you’ll be very much on your own with that opinion.
I only advise this show to people who can tolerate excruciatingly slow paces. If you can sit on a porch and drink a beer for three hours and stare at nothing, this is your show.
I dunno, I definitely think BCS has a real shot at surpassing Breaking Bad.
I don’t think someone who can’t enjoy the first two seasons will change their mind in season three.
In my opinion, it’s already there, and has been from the first season. Vince Gillian and Peter Gould have matured as writers/producers/creators. This stuff is on a whole other level, with less of a focus on gimmicks or twists or bursts of violence. It’s frankly too good for TV, so I’m not surprised some people don’t get it.
Also, the cast is so much better than it ever was in Breaking Bad. I liked Bryan Cranston a lot in the early parts of the series, but I was never convinced by the later and far more important parts of his character development. The porkpie hat, the “I am the one who knocks”, the grim stare, all that stuff just didn’t work for me. He’s just so darn avuncular and he can’t shake it. It’s really funny to me seeing him cast as the BadAss Villain in movies like Total Recall. Dean Norris, Anna Gunn, Betsy Brandt, and RJ Mitte were all fine in that TV actor kinda way. The less said about Aaron Paul, the better. But as I wrote above, Better Call Saul has no such issues, and it has the luxury of carrying over the best actors from Breaking Bad, who are Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito. But what’s most amazing to me is Bob Odenkirk, who was just a clown from Mr. Show in Breaking Bad, had turned his character – with the help of Gilligan and Gould – into a sympathetic and tragic figure.
-Tom
Better Call Saul has overcome Breaking Bad at this point. In episode 1 of this season, the juxtaposition of the “talkie” part of the Jimmy McGill scenes versus the COMPLETELY SILENT procedural Mike Ehermentraut half was so impressive that it really glad that I was watching TV. You don’t see this kind of brilliance even in movies anymore. Gilligan has proved over and over again that he is a genius. As well as the ENTIRE cast of this show. There’s no weak link (I’m looking at you Aaron Paul).
LOL! Was writing this when you posted your reply Tom. Great Minds… ;)
Tom’s a better writer than I am so what he said.
There isn’t as much drama in BCS as Breaking Bad, and probably never will be. So there probably will never be the same level of tension and feeling of dread that we saw in Breaking Bad. But from all the other aspects of story telling it is superior.
The one area I strongly disagree with Tom is the comment that BCS is too good for TV. I think, and I’ve thought for several years, that drama series with extended story arcs are actually the best form of art in our culture. I find all but the best movies to be shallow and unsatisfying. I do love a good book, but the author can spend 100 words describing a scene, and still not do as good a job as a shot of the gorgeous NM sunsets, or a sneaker leaking out drugs on top of El Pollo chicken truck.
Gotta be a better word than “drama” to make this point. Maybe fewer “life-or-death situations”, but I can’t get behind saying there’s less drama.
