Anyone into 'BREAKING BAD'? (part 5)

The show is winning almost (every?) time it comes up. Deservedly so.

 

2nd best TV series after "The Wire".

 

I've never been much of a TV watcher but from a recommendation of my brother I've tried Netflix and have found myself in binge watching sessions of this series over the past ten days. I have not locked into a TV program like that in many years.

 

Same here - not much of a TV viewer myself outside of a few HBO series. Yeah, Breaking Bad sure had that binge-watching attraction. I remember a couple years ago when we discovered the series on Netflix, my wife would constantly say, "c'mon let's watch another one". There were a few nights where we watched 3 consecutive episodes.

 

I had no idea the Emmys were on tonight.....but I checked the winners list and there is justice....Ozymandias got the award. I had no idea if it was even up for it.... but it truly was the greatest single episode of a show I have ever seen. And probably ever will see. I must have watched it 6 times the week after it aired.

 

And won for best writing! I'm really glad the show went out with a bang, plus the TV Academy honored it with six Emmies including Best Dramatic Series, plus awards to Cranston and Paul.

As much as I liked "Ozymandias," as the penultimate episode, the final show, "Felina," absolutely blew me away. I liked them both, but for sheer total surprise and impact, the last show really did it for me. Even in rewatching it for a second time (which I don't do often), I thought "man, this really worked!"

 

"Ozymandias" was the antepenultimate episode.

 

Ah. You're right: that was episode #60, followed by "Granite State" followed by "Felina." But I still think the final episode was the best one.

 

i thought BB ended great, but Ozymandias was for me the clear highlight, the epic finale, and the last two episodes were like an epilogue.

Glad it had a victory lap last night. As much as I enjoyed True Detective, it was up against a phenomenal season of Breaking Bad to go out on.

 

I think it must be one of the best series ever. I took a break for a while as it was so intense, then resumed from Season Four till the end. I loved how the main character did what he wanted (in terms of being true to himself) right till the end. I took away the idea that people who discover him in his last location will think he was doing one thing when in fact his life had gone differently up until that point - something only the viewers know. The show's dramatic arc was like a slow motion train wreck with a few moments of humour. I think Bryan Cranston started the trend of movie actors going into TV, but sadly no one is going to make a show that gets close in terms of the quality of the writing and the originality of the premise. Of course, many of those movie actors are not as good as Bryan - what staggering range and power he has. I haven't seen MAD MEN yet, but I almost don't want to be disappointed by watching a show that is not as good.

 

Three weeks ago my brother who was laid up with a broken foot told me how he was watching series on Netflix and told me about a couple he was watching and had mentioned Breaking Bad. I had never heard of it or watched it. I'm not much of a TV watcher but I decided to try Netflix and Breaking Bad. Earlier this evening I completed season 5 episode 16. The End.

I don't ever recall being so wrapped up in a TV series. When I finished watching episodes I noticed I was tensed up. Thank God for good old music to calm me down. That was one crazy ridiculous series. 62 episodes at about 43 minutes an episode is over 44 hours of TV watching in 21 days AND I watched over 30 episodes of Hell On Wheels too. That's like 3 hours per day. That's insane. I bet I haven't average 3 hours a week of TV in years. I found a new drug and it apparently is in control.

 

I had originally intended to watch the series over several months last winter, but ended up finishing it in less than a month. Three or four episodes a night weren't uncommon.

 

Is The Wire up there with Breaking Bad, Lost or The Sopranos?

 

Yes, it is. I'd place The Wire and Breaking Bad at the top, followed closely by The Sopranos, with LOST a very distant last.

 

AMC had a block of BB on Sunday, so I watched a few episodes near the start of the series. Amazing what a journey ALL of the characters took from the beginning until the end. Sounds like a broken record, but everything about BB came together in just the right way: writing, directing, production, acting. Everyone involved deserves all of the accolades they get. Still gives me chills how Bryan can go from Walt to Heisenberg at the drop of a hat. I won't really be giving anything away since the scene is on most of the promos, but when he says "If that's true, if you don't know who I am, then maybe your best course would be to tread lightly" it's a real moment of dread.

Cranston seems like such a likable guy off screen from all the interviews and behind the scenes footage I've seen. He's also always effusive in his praise of his co-stars and the production staff.
He's also funny as hell. There's a great interview on Youtube where he talks about his favorite fan letter:

 

I happened to come across the complete Blu-ray set this weekend for $75, used. Looks like I'll be starting all over again!

 

What extra goodies has the bd bad'box got?

 

To this day that line, and how it was delivered, still gives me the chills.

 

You can either get the horribly overpriced $350 "barrel" set and get an apron and some other goodies, or the "Complete" stand-alone box, which has the same video content for under $100.

No Half Measures - Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad - An all-new, exclusive two hour documentary that chronicles the filming of the final eight episodes.

Bad Memories - Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul talk about the show ending and some of their favorite moments.

Bryan Cranston: Director – Go on set with Bryan Cranston as he directs the first episode of the season entitled Blood Money.

Scene Envy – The Cast tell us which scene they wish they could have been in.

Shocking Moments - The stars reveal the moments that shocked them most.

From Walt to Heisenberg – From high school teacher to deadly meth dealer, watch as Walter White quickly transforms into Heisenberg.

How Will It End? – At the beginning of the season, the cast was asked to give their thoughts on how they thought the show would end.

Avenging Agent: Dean Norris as Hank Schrader -- A look at the character Hank Schrader and the man who played him, Dean Norris.

Scene Stealer: Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader – A look at the character Marie Schrader and the woman who plays her, Betsy Brandt.

A Criminal Attorney: Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman –A look at the character Saul Goodman and the man who played him, Bob Odenkirk.

Jesse’s Journey: Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman – A look at the character Jesse Pinkman and the man who played him, Aaron Paul.

Skyler Breaks Bad: Anna Gunn on Season Four – Actress Anna Gunn and series creator Vince Gilligan explore Skyler's character evolution through the fourth season.

Growing Up in the White House: RJ Mitte on Walter, Jr. – RJ Mitte, Anna Gunn, Bryan Cranston and series creator Vince Gilligan discuss the extraordinary dynamics of the White family, and Walter, Jr.'s unique role.

The Ultimate Chess Match – Members of the cast and crew discuss Walter White and Gus Fring's extraordinary and complicated battle of wits and their struggle for Jesse's allegiance.

Looking Back: A Season Four Retrospective - Season Four's most surprising and memorable moments.

Ted's Wipeout – In Episode 411, Crawl Space, Ted Beneke suffers a head injury while trying to escape from Saul’s goons. In this featurette, Christopher Cousins (Ted) explains how this shocking stunt was accomplished.

The Truck Attack Storyboard Comparison – A side-by-side comparison of the Los Pollos Hermanos truck attack and the brilliant shot-by-shot storyboards that were created for the episode Bullet Points.

Walt and the Challenger Storyboard Comparison – A side-by-side comparison of the sequence where Walt indulges in some crazy stunt driving in Walt Jr.'s Dodge Challenger and the storyboards that were created.

Cast and Crew Commentaries - On Every Episode

4 Featurettes - The Main Event, The Final Showdown, Life of a Show Runner and Behind-the-Scenes of the Alternate Ending

Alternate Ending – A 3-minute alternate version of how Breaking Bad could have ended.

Deleted & Extended Scenes

Gag Reel

Walt's Confession

The Layers of a Sound Mix

Over 15 Episodes of Inside Breaking Bad

Uncensored and Extended Episodes

 

Um'essential, in other words.

 

Got the Barrel AFTER it went OOP. Paid through the nose. Still glad I have it!

It would have been nice to have the AMC episodes of Talking Bad for each one, but I'm sure space and licenses precluded that. I didn't watch BB while it was on, so I missed all of Talking Bad. (Talking Dead, the companion show to The Walking Dead, is also great fun).

 

Don't look now, but there is a NEW barrel set coming out on 10/28. I'm assuming they changed the material and packaging to stand up better.

http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Bad-Complete-Series-Blu-ray/dp/B00N0YUU94/

• Collectible replica money barrel

• Over 55 hours of special features from all seasons

• Two-hour documentary

• Commemorative challenge coin designed by Vince Gilligan

• Los Pollos Hermanos apron

• “Better Call Saul” matchbook 4GB flash drive

 

I finished watching this show a couple of weeks ago on DVD. I never watched one second of it on television, all on DVD in the last year or so. I was lucky enough to have stayed away from any news about the show (and the ending) so absolutely everything was a surprise to me!

Anyway, I just dug up this thread to say that I was totally blown away by Breaking Bad. I had initially watched seasons one and two and was unconvinced. But eventually, after the show was done, I decided to start again at the beginning and watch it all. Amazing! I watched so much so quickly that it's all a bit of a blur, but I really think the show took off with the Gus character. He was the most watchable part of the whole thing! I didn't like Mike at first but came to really like him.

Anyway, I'm just so impressed with how this show built and built until the end! I've never been a big watcher of hour long drama shows, with the exception of Lost! I loved Lost and own all the seasons on DVD, but there's no question that they painted themselves into a corner and ran out of time which made the ending unsatisfying, even though I liked them happily being together in the church!

Breaking Bad did a crazy good job with their lead up and ending!

 

Like you I did not watch the series real time. I did buy season one blu ray, but was not convinced, a few months later picked up the complete DVD box for a song. A tv series that rightly so deserves all the accolades. I intend to get the new BD barrel box sometime soon.