"Better Call Saul" - pre season and Season One Discussion

I think both shows only do 13 episodes a year, so he'd still be free to do both shows. Hell, Bryan Cranston did two movies this year plus 8 episodes of Breaking Bad, so he stayed really busy. Assume 10 days to shoot each episode; that still leaves 200 days of extra time per year to relax and work.

 

If this were almost any other production team I'd agree with you, but I think these folk will do it justice and not foul the water.

 

From RS:

Ever since the triumphant conclusion of Breaking Bad, fans have been pining for concrete details on the show's upcoming prequel spinoff, Better Call Saul, which focuses on the exploits of criminal lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) before his initial meeting with meth mastermind Walter White. And in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Breaking Badcreator Vince Gilligan offered some intriguing info about the new series, which he is co-creating with writer-director Peter Gould.

"There's obviously a danger inherent in doing a spinoff, but I just love the character of Saul Goodman so much, and part of me doesn't want to say no to this world," Gilligan says.

While he and Gould originally envisioned Better Call Saul as a half-hour sitcom, they eventually settled on the hour-long format, which will allow them to utilize the same kind of visual splendor they demonstrated on Breaking Bad. In fact, they plan to craft Saul based on a similar template to their acclaimed meth-drama, and they're even hoping to land a couple cameo appearances from Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul.

"We're both one-hour drama guys," Gilligan says, "so we figured, 'Why not shoot Saul in the same way? Let's shoot it in Albuquerque; let's get as much of the crew back together as possible, and let's do it the way we did it before so that it will be of a piece with that pre-existing fictional universe that we had so much fun creating."

The general gameplan is to reverse the drama-to-comedy ratio they employed on Breaking Bad, using roughly 75 percent comedy and 25 percent drama. But Gilligan admits they've had difficulties finding the show's darker undercurrents, given that Odenkirk and his character are known primarily for comic relief.

"We've had to find the ongoing itch that Saul needs to scratch, so to speak, or else we wouldn't have much of a show."

Better Call Saul will air on AMC, though the network almost lost the rights to the show in a battle with Netflix and FX, among others. Meanwhile, CBS is moving forward with 13 episodes of the police drama Battle Creek, based on a previously rejected script Gilligan wrote a decade ago; that series will be written, produced, and overseen by House creator David Shore.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/...tter-call-saul-details-20131016#ixzz2hvWLzxnT

 

Whoa. Thanks for posting.

 

I think if the same, or most, people are involved, it should be a great show. And I like the 75% comedy/25% drama. It won't be BB, but capturing some of that magic is better than what's on most of television now.

 

Some more details:

http://www.vulture.com/2013/10/bb-c...wsletter&om_rid=AABdBO&om_mid=_BSXviRB81vOje4

 

Turns out they haven't decided whether "Better Call Saul" (title TBD) will be a sequel, a prequel, or somehow BOTH...

http://www.thewrap.com/breaking-bad-amc-spinoff-bob-odenkirk-vince-gilligan

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/11...tter-call-saul-may-be-a-sequel-prequel-hybrid

 

Right now, I would say no way, however, if a show comes out and it's really good, I'll check it out. I didn't care for him, Saul, in the show, so I'm probably done with this scenario.
I can't picture a lawyer show better than The Good Wife.

 

If you believe that interview, it's going to be more "70% drama, 30% comedy" than the reverse. I hope that's true.

 

I sure hope it's a sequel. I think the concept of it being a prequel is too confining... though they could bring back Mike the Hit Man that way. I'd be surprised if he'd do a show like this, though.

 

The fact that they don't even seem to have a basic concept for this show worries me.

 

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/amc-announces-premiere-39-better-call-saul-39-184855738.html

 

Cool! I thought we'd have to wait a lot longer than that.

 

http://www.bettercallsaul.com/

Testimonials (Walter White & family): http://www.savewalterwhite.com/

Hilarious! "From parking tickets to mass murder", "This week only, 2 for 1 misdemeanor shoplifting arrests for the price of 1", "If they say you're braking bad, better call Saul".

 

http://www.deadline.com/2014/01/jonathan-banks-better-call-saul-casting-mike-ehrmantraut/

Jonathan Banks has joined the cast. Looks like it'll be a prequel!

 

I didn't initially like the idea that this would be a prequel, but I gotta say, if they can bring back Mike the Hitman, Gus Fring, and even Walter White in cameos, what the hell. It could be a very interesting show.

 

I don't understand why you or anyone else doubted that it would be anything but a prequel. I mean, did you think they were gonna show Saul's adventures in Nebraska working at Cinnabon?? Plus if they did a sequel spin-off they couldn't bring back dead fan-favorites like Mike and Gus.

 

Either way, I'm pretty sure the makers of Breaking Bad could have made an awesome show about a Cinnabon employee with a dark past. Glad to learn we're going to see fan-favorite characters again, but I don't think that was the only viable option.

 

Michael McKean (David St. Hubbins of Spinal Tap) will co-star.
http://www.deadline.com/2014/04/breaking-bad-prequel-better-call-saul-michael-mckean-cast/

 

It can start of being a pre-quel and the storyline could move post Breaking Bad. Saul had his hands in many other things so the show could be paralell to what Walter White was doing at some point. Do you remember his waiting rooms when the cast of BB would visit? Lots of stories there.

 

I was in a car accident in 2009 and after a few days called my doctor's office to make an appt. They didn't see people after car accidents I was told, but was referred to another place. I got there, looked around, and after I left felt like I needed a shower. It was just like the people in Saul's office only they were there for pain medication.

 

Any word if Huel is going to be in the show?

My only concern is that the fans are going to be crying for a Jesse or Walter appearance, which could overshadow what the show is about. Jesse could show up because I think it's already established that he needed a criminal lawyer in the past, but so far as we know, Walter is a nobody high-school chemistry teacher.

 

Huell is probably still in that motel room hiding out!

Yeah, I hope he'll be in the series. I can't see why not - great character actor. Also, Saul's receptionist. She was great too.

 

Badger & Skinny Pete ?

 

We can only hope. I love those two mopes.