Shall we anticipate the FIFTH SEASON of the AMC series "Breaking Bad"? I think I may.

hanks been waiting on the toilet since last yr

― johnny crunch, Wednesday, June 5, 2013 10:41 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

https://twitter.com/deanjnorris/status/282694789676290049/photo/1

he's moved on to 'the grapes of wrath'

"only" 70 days is an insult and immodest at the same time. Just stfu until air date and then please air out that bathroom. Hank has been in there for a lifetime.

I'm kind of dreading it starting again because I never want it to end.

Was watching "Game of Thrones" and mentioned to my wife that there will be serious "GoT' withdrawal when it ends, and we were thinking of other shows whose conclusion left this gaping void of sadness. "Breaking Bad" will be one of them. "Battlestar Galactica" was one. Don't remember "Wire" withdrawal, oddly. "Deadwood," sure. Definitely not "The Sopranos."

I've have more to say when I finish this season tomorrow. The cliffhanger: Walt confronted Mike and Jesse with the fact that he's going to sell the mitochlorians or whatever to them.

i get that w/ alot of shows sorta, they work like calendars and when it ends you undergo a small change in habit and if it was on long enough recall the circumstances in yr life when it began, coworkers or friends you've lost touch with that you used to chat about the show with, etc, nothing much more meaningful that hearing a song on the radio and realizing it came out ten, twenty years ago or whatever. w/ deadwood there was no awareness at the time that that was the end (though milch says now he knew and there are touches that indicate he's being honest), w/ the sopranos the nature of the ending prompted discussion that made any kind of personal digestion of it impossible or at least marginalized (and i love the ending but it's had the unfortunate side effect of not only overshadowing the rest of that pretty great episode but also that last incredible and incredibly bleak run of episodes), w/ more obv plot driven shows this is only more so - 'battlestar galactica', 'lost', and probably 'got' (i think this is why so many ppl's thoughts or feelings of those shows are so tied to their thoughts or feelings on the endings to those shows). i think my fondest memories of watching endruns of shows were things like catching the last few arrested developments burnt off on saturday nights on fox or watching the last few freaks and geeks haphazardly on fox family channel months after nbc had stopped airing them. the wire was weirdly like that also, hbo aired that last season (and the one before it iirc) on on demand the week before they'd broadcast it so i of course watched it as soon as i could and had nobody to talk about it w/ cuz the few ppl i knew irl who did watch the wire waited til sunday like normal human beings. the wire's the only one where i felt anything beyond 'funny how quickly time passes' or 'i have just passively taken part in the communal cultural act called television', it felt like seeing a friend off at the airport or bus station.

that jpg makes me sad. I hate that right when people have figured out how to make great tv they've gone on this snobby thing of wanting to do these short series and get out. do these fools seriously think the next thing they do is going to be better than breaking bad? the shitty 23rd season of breaking bad would be 10x better than any shit that any of these people are going to do for the rest of their lives.

have you been around for the fan backlash for the ending of... pretty much every critically successful series in the past decade? people are the worst

that jpg makes me sad. I hate that right when people have figured out how to make great tv they've gone on this snobby thing of wanting to do these short series and get out. do these fools seriously think the next thing they do is going to be better than breaking bad? the shitty 23rd season of breaking bad would be 10x better than any shit that any of these people are going to do for the rest of their lives.

have you seen the simpsons recently?

I don't have to watch the simpsons. I just feel comfort in the fact that it exists and will always exist as long as the world turns.

hmm

Xp That's a hard sell for ad space

haha, I sounded really angry up there. I am sad that BB has to end though because I enjoy it and I seriously doubt there will be something else to take its place any time soon. Has there ever been a really consistent TV auteur? With most directors I like I can at least be sure that their new thing will be interesting and in the ballpark of what they did before but I don't feel the same way about tv showrunners. I guess I've basically enjoyed everything Whedon has done to varying degrees.

I think BB going on and on makes less sense than with most other series, since right from the beginning it's been implied that it's a finite story with a beginning and an end. At first it was the cancer that was to end the story, but that's been gradually replaced by a more general tragedy arc, the idea that Walt's hubris will be met by Nemesis. (And opposite to that there's been Jesse's arc, which seems to be leading to his eventual reformation/salvation, though how the story will end isn't as clear as with him as it's with Walt.) I mean, one of the best things about BB is that's it's never had a status quo that would've lasted for more than five episodes or so, but a long-running series almost always needs a status quo. You can't do one shocking episode after another for years and years, people will get tired of that.

I mean, the end of season 4 was such a dramatic, status quo shattering event that it would've been pretty tough for them to try to extend the story much further after that. What could they have done, bring in a new antagonist that's even more exaggerated than Gus? That would've felt lame and derivative. Basically the only satisfying way to keep the story rolling after Walt's ultimate triumph is to show his ultimate downfall.

tuomas otm

Yeah. I love Breaking Bad but I'm really pleased they're ending it when they are.

kurt sutter made it sound like gilligan got shafted w/the extra long 5th season thing... like he wanted to do 2 more regular length seasons to wrap it up?

wait my bad that was shawn ryan

shawn ryan got shafted by kurt sutter? sounds hot

https://twitter.com/ShawnRyanTV/status/282205486739247106

nice, trace.

It's always hard to tell which part of it is creative differences and which part of it is negotiating strategy. Like, creative force asks for more money/control, network says no, creative says he's ending the show, network makes him split it into two halves, creative complains.

That seems to be the new (silly) strategy these says, doesn't it? Shorten a show's episode order but parcel them out over a couple of years, thus ironically lengthening its run?

kind of, but you can easily bet that the showrunner/crew/cast all want more episodes, not less - we are getting 16 episodes instead of 26 episodes. also don't forget the long wait after season 4

tbh though I think this past (half) season greatly benefited from having less episodes, pacing felt a lot tighter

guys, I'm so excited to finally watch BB with you

I think its more to do with the networks original programming budget for the year. Splitting a season over two years allows AMC/Sony to fit the show's budget into their budget.

Afterall, AMC is a basic cable channel, in its original programming infancy, that needs to pay for Mad Men, The Walking Dead, The Killing etc too

right - the network wants to spend less and cut episodes. AMC is kind of strange - I mean, BB I can sort of understand cutting the budget, as it's never had incredible viewership numbers, though it would be wise to just let them do what they want to do. then you look at TWD, a bonafide hit but they still wanted to cut the budget each season, piss off the showrunners, etc. We hear about these budget squabbles on all of their successful shows

no, they really do not need to be paying for the killing imo.

note that i said successful shows

i'm guessing the killing costs like $50.00 per episode

i hope walt doesnt suffer any consequences at the end just to frustrate everybody who is gagging for his big downfall

it would be more annoying because Gilligan would have lied in countless interviews about it

i hope walt doesnt suffer any consequences at the end just to frustrate everybody who is gagging for his big downfall

― we're up all night to get (s1ocki), Thursday, June 6, 2013 12:21 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

same, and also because walt owns

Has there ever been a really consistent TV auteur?

Potter, Bleasdale, Ianucci, Morris, Micallef, Abbott... Mike Schur's on track so far, Jimmy McGovern's gone less high-profile (seemingly on purpose) but is churning along...

so this is a damn good show yo

indeed!

it's mad crazy, BITCH

ricin beans

last episode could have used Gail voice-ever reading aloud the inscription in Leaves of Grass though

I've seen some folks speculate Gail was gay (and possibly had a relationship with Gus, who's heavily implied to be gay too), and that he was attracted to Walt... I read those scenes more like Gail having a platonic chemistry crush on him, since he knew Walt was this super chemist guy, but I guess the gay reading is possible. It would certainly put him giving Leaves of Grass to Walt into a new light.

gus was gay. that was confirmed. Im not sure about gale but certainly the vibe when gus visited gale at his apartment suggests gues is no more than a boss to him. and obvs gale was in awe of of walts mad chem skillz

The photo of Gus and his business partner more or less confirmed it, no?

i think i'm forgetting stuff about this show... by August i'll have no idea who Jesse is! THIS IS TO LONG TO WAIT!!

what business partner? i only remember his brother... i could be remembering that wrong

Has there ever been a really consistent TV auteur?

Milch. James Burrows?

was gonna say re burrows

what business partner? i only remember his brother... i could be remembering that wrong

the other pollo hermano, killed by Steven Bauer.

that's the one i mean... they were actual brothers right?