[Vig]

So, I'm sort of shocked there hasn't been a thread for this show on here. I believe this is the best show on television right now and I'm sad to say, the first half of the final season begins next month.

The show centers on Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series. He turns to a life of crime, producing and selling
methamphetamine with a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), with the aim of securing his family's financial
future before he dies

The final episodes start July 15th.

[Violent VictiM]

Cool fucking story:

I work at a bank and one day this guy comes in. Reddish, brown hair. Sorta square jaw.. look a whole lot like Bryan Cranston. He comes over, puts his deposit slip on the counter and it says, "K. Cranston".

I look up, I cock a brow, and I ask, "Cranston.. you wouldn't happen to be related to Bryan Cranston would you?"

He smiles, in a totally Bryan Cranston way, closes his eyes like when Walt comes to a realization, and says, "He's my Brother."

Dude was a spitting image. We bullshitted about his work, his own personal work (he's an actor as well), and he invited me out to hang out with his theater group. It was awesome! He gave me a few inside details on the new season; it was really cool.

Mind you, I work in Hampton Bays which is pretty much the beginning of "The Hamptons", so this story is plausible if you're sitting there like, "yeah.. okay". Not to mention why would I sit here and show you how geeked I got by one of my favorite actor's Brother? But I did.

I felt sort of bad talking up Bryan so much when his Brother is trying to the same craft; after awhile I could see in his face he wanted to talk about his accomplishments so that's when we started talking about his theater group.

But he told me how Vince Gilligan wanted Cranston from Day 1 because of the character's he portrayed in the X Files and how the whole decision process went about. It was awesome...

But about the show:

It's one of my favorite of all time. Seen every episode, and I'm one of the few who wish it wasn't coming back. That it would have ended where it was. But alas, they'll give us another 13 episodes and hopefully they tie up a lot of the remaining ends and keep it short and sweet. I don't want too much added to the story.

They couldn't really end this on an even more masterful note than [I thought] they did.

[Vig]

That's a pretty cool story, man. I wish I could've been in your shoes, haha. But just to let you know, the final season will consist of sixteen episodes. The first eight will run this summer and the final will air the next.

[Sean [The Wildcard]]

Always loved the shown cannot wait for the next season.

[Vig]

Originally Posted by Sean [The Wildcard]

Always loved the shown cannot wait for the next season.

Any theories on how the season might go, Sean?

[Just Jeans]

I've been feeling bitter over AMC's handling of funds in regards to The Walking Dead, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, so I deliberately put the breaks on watching either Mad Men or Breaking Bad (short version: The Walking Dead's budget was decreased in season 2--despite an increase in episode number--because of the cost of making Mad Men and Breaking Bad).

However, I finally settled down to watch Breaking Bad, and I like what I've seen so far. Granted, I've only seen the first three episodes. But I've enjoyed it greatly. It's hard to reconcile Cranston's character in these early episodes with pictures and plot details I've seen from later in the series (such as the poster for the new season), but I guess it'll all come together during the journey.

Given the show's premise, I'm actually surprised it's still on. Does this guy have the least fatal form of fatal cancer, or do the seasons not happen in real time (ie: does a short amount of time pass over the course of the show)?

[Sean [The Wildcard]]

Jeans, seeing as you said you just started watching it, your questions are really early to bring up. So...just keep watching.

Also, in my opinion, I feel AMC was in the right in allowing this show to obtain more funds than 'The Walking Dead.' Breaking Bad has better characters, interesting story lines, and I have never gotten bored by it.

Vigilante, to answer your question: I have no idea. With the closing moments of season 4 going the way it did, I can't even begin to wrap my head around the possibilities that S5 will entail.

[Just Jeans]

I agree that The Walking Dead was troubled this last season, but a major part of the problem with season 2 was the budget cut.

The reason it stagnated in the middle is because they had less money to produce 13 episodes than they had to produce 6 the year before. The writers were forced to pad it out. That's a ridiculous business decision on the part of AMC. It's not rocket science: if you're going to decrease the budget from the previous year, it's probably not a good idea to double the episode order and expand the cast (the cost-cutting almost certainly plays a hefty role in T-Dog suddenly having zero dialog. They don't have to pay an actor as much if they have no speaking lines.)

In any event, Breaking Bad wasn't even the main offender in all of this, it was the guy who created Mad Men who demanded the largest pay hike to continue his series on AMC. Which is why I still haven't watched Mad Men.

Unfortunately, I bounce around from show to show--I'm entrenched in How I Met Your Mother at the moment, but when I feel like going back to a drama, Breaking Bad will probably be the show I return to.

ADDED:
Having said all that, maybe AMC really does know what their doing: they increased the episode order, significantly decreased the budget, fired frank Darabont within months of season 2 going into production... and yet the show has nabbed the highest ratings the network has ever had.

Go fucking figure.

[Violent VictiM]

Sean's right; just keep watching. It's seriously such an awesome show.

Also, I think a huge plot point of the new season is going to be Jesse finding out Walt watched Jane die.

(Consider this like DVD extras.. I rarely have to use spoiler tags, so I didn't know the right place to start them. I think I did a good job).

[Vig]

In all honesty, AMC is a horrible network in my opinion. They really don't take the time to actually market their shows besides Mad Men and The Walking Dead. Every couple of months or so, they're doing a marathon of TWD's
episodes just like the recently announced marathon that's happening next month which will not only feature all of the episodes but behind the scenes footage along with new footage of season three and a black and white version of
the pilot.

For Mad Men, every promo they show talks about it's the only drama that's won best emmy for a drama series four years in a row. It's kind of sad that Breaking Bad doesn't really receive the same treatment. The new season is a month away
and they've barely started to market it. Mad Men and The Walking Dead have promos all over the place months in advance.

Sean, this is how I hope the final season pans out... Jesse finds out what Walt has actually done to him in the past especially with poisoning the boy and Jane's death, along with Hank finding out what Walt has been doing. Result: Walt in the middle of flat out war between Hank and Jesse.

[Just Jeans]

Every couple of months or so, they're doing a marathon of TWD's episodes just like the recently announced marathon that's happening next month which will not only feature all of the episodes but behind the scenes footage along with new footage of season three and a black and white version of the pilot.

And that's only happening because of the viewing figures. Both the premiere and finale of this season broke records, so AMC is showering it with love right now (while simultaneously being excessively mum about the budget of season 3, although considering they intend to use a standing set for the next two years, I think it's safe to say the budget remains fairly truncated). Had those episodes not done so well, the show would be a ghost until season 3, just like it was between season 1 and 2.

They need to work on how they promote things, and they need to even out the budgets between their three highest performing shows.

[Vig]

Originally Posted by Just Jeans

And that's only happening because of the viewing figures. Both the premiere and finale of this season broke records, so AMC is showering it with love right now (while simultaneously being excessively mum about the budget of season 3, although considering they intend to use a standing set for the next two years, I think it's safe to say the budget remains fairly truncated). Had those episodes not done so well, the show would be a ghost until season 3, just like it was between season 1 and 2.

They need to work on how they promote things, and they need to even out the budgets between their three highest performing shows.

Well I guess they're on the right track so far since I just saw a commericial for Breaking Bad, announcing they will be showing all the episodes in order starting this Sunday, leading up to the new season.

[TheUndrtkr]

I dropped cable service 2 years ago so I'm out of the loop on new shows but I was flipping through Netflix and saw they had seasons 1-3 streaming, I don't do the DVD thing, so I added it to my queue. That was six months ago. I finally decided to start watching it and I was hooked from the very first episode. I find this show to be one of the more brilliantly written ones I've seen in a long time. Netflix doesn't have season 4 available so I went to Amazon and bought the streaming version of 4. I would normally NEVER do that with a show I liked, even Doctor Who and I'm a big fan. I normally would wait for Netflix to release the stream but I couldn't with Breaking Bad. It's that good of a show. I'll have to avoid this thread when season 5 starts. Ha.

[Vig]

Just a reminder that in less than two weeks, the show will premiere! I'm getting pretty pumped about it.

[Violent VictiM]

What days is it on?

I watched it through "other outlets".

[Vig]

Originally Posted by Violent VictiM

What days is it on?

I watched it through "other outlets".

It will be airing on Sunday nights, starting July 15th.

[Violent VictiM]

Yeah, I suppose I could have just looked up what day July 15th was. Even further so, looked at the poster with a little more attention.. but uhh..

paddin' that post count -- heeeeey!

[Vig]

And the best show on television returns tonight! Just in case anybody wanted to know that...

[Sean [The Wildcard]]

Definitely looking forward to tonight's episode.

[Vig]

These eight episodes are going to go by so fast.

ADDED:
Very solid premiere tonight. I was glad to see Mike return and still be a bad ass. The flash forward kind of proved my theory as it seems Walt is on the run. Either from Hank or Jesse, possibly both.

[Sean [The Wildcard]]

Solid opening episode. Really looking forward to where it goes from here.

[The Taff]

Season 4 popped onto Netflix on Sunday. I watched the whole thing in one setting. Fucking awesome!

[Vig]

Originally Posted by The Taff

Season 4 popped onto Netflix on Sunday. I watched the whole thing in one setting. Fucking awesome!

Have you seen the previous seasons?

[The Taff]

Originally Posted by Vigilante

Have you seen the previous seasons?

No, I just decided to arbitrarily watch the 4th season without any context./sarcasm

Of course, I've seen the first three seasons.

[Vig]

Originally Posted by The Taff

No, I just decided to arbitrarily watch the 4th season without any context./sarcasm

Of course, I've seen the first three seasons.

Hey, I know some people who watched last season having not seen any of the previous ones. This past week's episode was chilling. Probably one of the creepiest endings in the show, ever.