"Breaking Bad - Season 1"

[Dick Whitman]

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I've been finally diving into this show. I'm enjoying it so far, but one flaw I'd like to run by the board for its thoughts:

Walter is putting himself in danger to take care of his family because of his terminal cancer. But, honestly, it seems like the creators have done a pretty poor job establishing his devotion to them. He did stand up for his son at a clothing store, but that's about the extent of it. The kid didn't even fee close enough to him to call him when he got busted buying beer. His wife annoys the hell out of him. Constantly. The baby that's on the way only rarely merits a mention. And it's been strongly hinted that he's still pining for Ross's ex-wife's lesbian partner.

Other than that, great stuff. I love the Jesse character, especially how they waited a few episodes to give him some depth with his own family life.

They do need some better female characters. Or at least ones that aren't complete shrews.

I plan to keep binging.

 

[nmmetsfan]

I'm pretty sure they were trying to establish him as a pushover. It's the baseline for his evolution. You can be a pushover and still be devoted, can't you?

If you're searching for a strong female character, it's not gonna happen.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

He's motivated by guilt. He's a brilliant man, who is basically broken. He knows his wife doesn't look at him the way she once did and he knows his son is embarrassed by him, but despite all that, he doesn't want to leave the wife stranded with a newborn and a disabled teenager when he dies... He sees an opportunity and he's going for it...

The show had been on for about a season before I got into it and a friend had said, "It will take you 10-15 minutes to be completely hooked." and he was right...

It also makes you think, "If I was in that situation, would I do something like that?"

You're just getting into it so I don't want to give anything away, but one of the things that I really liked about the show at the beginning is that you find yourself drawn to and sympathizing with someone who is cooking Crystal Meth...

I honestly think the first four seasons are as close to perfection as I've ever seen on TV.

 

[Steak Snabler]

In particular, the last six or so episodes of Season 4 is probably the greatest half-season of TV I can remember.

 

[Buck]

Do you really need to establish a father's devotion to his family.
They do set him up early as wimpy to accentuate the change in him, but being wimpy doesn't mean he's not devoted.
Circumstances allow him to transform himself, and over time you wonder if that was really driven because of devotion to his family.

I stopped watching after about two and a half seasons. I got tired of it, but it is good.

There are strong female characters. There just aren't any likeable female characters.

 

[93Devil]

White is a **** motivated by greed and vanity.

 

[Brian]

Do you really need to establish a father's devotion to his family.
They do set him up early as wimpy to accentuate the change in him, but being wimpy doesn't mean he's not devoted.
Circumstances allow him to transform himself, and over time you wonder if that was really driven because of devotion to his family.

I stopped watching after about two and a half seasons. I got tired of it, but it is good.

There are strong female characters. There just aren't any likeable female characters.

I think if Lydia is introduced three years earlier, she becomes that character. When they get past her nervous tics, she's a thoughtful, resourceful, cunning woman. They just waited five seasons to get there. It's one of the show's few flaws.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

White is a **** motivated by greed and vanity.

Not in the first season.

 

[dreunc1542]

Skyler is a good character, and I actually grew to like her, at times, in later seasons. Most people, notably Mizzou, strongly disagree with me. I like when she pushes back against Walt in later seasons as becomes an exceedingly bad person.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Skyler is a good character, and I actually grew to like her, at times, in later seasons. Most people, notably Mizzou, strongly disagree with me. I like when she pushes back against Walt in later seasons as becomes an exceedingly bad person.

Let's not give too much away on this thread... I want **** to be able to watch Breaking Bad without knowing too much... Even though having threads like this even people with the best of intentions can give away some tidbits...

 

[Buck]

Do you really need to establish a father's devotion to his family.
They do set him up early as wimpy to accentuate the change in him, but being wimpy doesn't mean he's not devoted.
Circumstances allow him to transform himself, and over time you wonder if that was really driven because of devotion to his family.

I stopped watching after about two and a half seasons. I got tired of it, but it is good.

There are strong female characters. There just aren't any likeable female characters.

I think if Lydia is introduced three years earlier, she becomes that character. When they get past her nervous tics, she's a thoughtful, resourceful, cunning woman. They just waited five seasons to get there. It's one of the show's few flaws.

Is lack of a likeable female character necessarily a flaw?
I'm asking honestly. The show became a hit without one.
Could a show be a hit with strong, likeable female characters but no likeable male character?

 

[Steak Snabler]

Do you really need to establish a father's devotion to his family.
They do set him up early as wimpy to accentuate the change in him, but being wimpy doesn't mean he's not devoted.
Circumstances allow him to transform himself, and over time you wonder if that was really driven because of devotion to his family.

I stopped watching after about two and a half seasons. I got tired of it, but it is good.

There are strong female characters. There just aren't any likeable female characters.

I think if Lydia is introduced three years earlier, she becomes that character. When they get past her nervous tics, she's a thoughtful, resourceful, cunning woman. They just waited five seasons to get there. It's one of the show's few flaws.

Is lack of a likeable female character necessarily a flaw?
I'm asking honestly. The show became a hit without one.
Could a show be a hit with strong, likeable female characters but no likeable male character?

Friends? Joey was a doofus and Chandler and Ross were man-child losers.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Do you really need to establish a father's devotion to his family.
They do set him up early as wimpy to accentuate the change in him, but being wimpy doesn't mean he's not devoted.
Circumstances allow him to transform himself, and over time you wonder if that was really driven because of devotion to his family.

I stopped watching after about two and a half seasons. I got tired of it, but it is good.

There are strong female characters. There just aren't any likeable female characters.

I think if Lydia is introduced three years earlier, she becomes that character. When they get past her nervous tics, she's a thoughtful, resourceful, cunning woman. They just waited five seasons to get there. It's one of the show's few flaws.

Is lack of a likeable female character necessarily a flaw?
I'm asking honestly. The show became a hit without one.
Could a show be a hit with strong, likeable female characters but no likeable male character?

Friends? Joey was a doofus and Chandler and Ross were man-child losers.

They were all likeable in their own ways, though, particularly Joey.

So far in "Breaking Bad," and I'm just through five episodes, both female characters are absolutely insufferable.

 

[Steak Snabler]

It'll get worse before it gets better.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

In particular, the last six or so episodes of Season 4 is probably the greatest half-season of TV I can remember.

Season 4 was a masterpiece.

 

[Brian]

Do you really need to establish a father's devotion to his family.
They do set him up early as wimpy to accentuate the change in him, but being wimpy doesn't mean he's not devoted.
Circumstances allow him to transform himself, and over time you wonder if that was really driven because of devotion to his family.

I stopped watching after about two and a half seasons. I got tired of it, but it is good.

There are strong female characters. There just aren't any likeable female characters.

I think if Lydia is introduced three years earlier, she becomes that character. When they get past her nervous tics, she's a thoughtful, resourceful, cunning woman. They just waited five seasons to get there. It's one of the show's few flaws.

Is lack of a likeable female character necessarily a flaw?
I'm asking honestly. The show became a hit without one.
Could a show be a hit with strong, likeable female characters but no likeable male character?

I said it was a flaw thinking like a TV exec. No likable female presence limits the popularity of the show.

I'm the wrong person to ask anyways. I'm calloused to likability in fictional characters and real people. I only care that i can understnd a person's reasoning. I can then sympathize with them, usually when most others find them beyond such sympathy. It makes me a horrible judge of people and a horrible judge of what is compelling fiction to other people.

It's also why I'm a sucker for this last 15 years' binge of antihero shows from The Wire to The Shield to Breaking Bad to Louie. It's an immature outlook on life, but one I'm totally on board with.

 

[BenPoquette]

I honestly think a strong female character would take a little away from the theme of the show. This is a man at war with himself...an internal battle between good and evil. It is outstanding television that doesn't need more layers to muddle up the key component.

 

[Webster]

Without spoiling anything, I thought that the grim struggle to make ends meet was a great (and depressing part) of Season 1.

 

[93Devil]

Skyler is a good character, and I actually grew to like her, at times, in later seasons. Most people, notably Mizzou, strongly disagree with me. I like when she pushes back against Walt in later seasons as becomes an exceedingly bad person.

Let's not give too much away on this thread... I want **** to be able to watch Breaking Bad without knowing too much... Even though having threads like this even people with the best of intentions can give away some tidbits...

Do they ever come out and say why he has cancer or why their older kid is handicapped?

 

[joe]

Spoiler alert: Walter White cooks meth — really, really good meth.