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

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?

no

just another lie from the General.

also gilligan confirmed it on the podcast

Milch

I lol'd

Has there ever been a really consistent TV auteur?

Paul Henning

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

They weren't brothers, just hermanos.

they were brothers in dick

brotherhood of the (pork) sword

I think pretty much the only thing that goes against the "Gus is gay" theory is that in one of his first appearances, when he invites Walt to his home, he casually mentions his wife and kids... But they are never seen or even mentioned after that, and it certainly seems Gus lives by himself. So, was Gus just putting up appearances for Walt, or hadn't the writers yet decided he was gay? So many things, especially his whole vendetta against Don Eladio, make more sense if you assume he's gay and the other Hermano was his partner.

OTOH, if the above is true, why didn't the writers just spell it out, instead of just dropping some vague hints? Were they afraid of him getting stereotyped by the viewers, or something?

Also, they never revealed what in Gus's past was so terrifying that even Don Eladio didn't want to kill him... I guess that thing could still be revealed in the final 8 episodes, but it seems a bit irrelevant now. (Unless someone from Gus's past comes to Walt looking for revenge.)

OTOH, if the above is true, why didn't the writers just spell it out, instead of just dropping some vague hints?

Writers and audiences often enjoy a bit of ambiguity.

Also, they never revealed what in Gus's past was so terrifying that even Don Eladio didn't want to kill him... I guess that thing could still be revealed in the final 8 episodes, but it seems a bit irrelevant now. (Unless someone from Gus's past comes to Walt looking for revenge.)

― Tuomas, Tuesday, June 11, 2013 5:56 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

connections back in chile, i dont think its something thats meant to be revealed, its one of those bits of backstory thats better when it thrives in ur imagination than if it's explained

Is any other important piece of character motivation in BB dealt with such ambiguity, though?

Traditionally, gayness in mainstream movies and TV was depicted ambiguous ways, because stating it outright was thought to offend people. But I can't imagine why, in this day and age, the makers of BB would feel the need use this strategy... Unless they were afraid of the opposite reaction: that outing Gus would make people think they are reinforcing homophobic stereotypes, since he's the villain. (Though that doesn't make much sense to me either, since Gus is such an unique character, and not a stereotype of any sort.)

(x-post)

connections back in chile, i dont think its something thats meant to be revealed, its one of those bits of backstory thats better when it thrives in ur imagination than if it's explained

Yeah, that's what I thought too, but IIRC the writer guy said in some interview that Gus's Chilean past would be explored in some way. Can't remember where I read this though.

His gayness is tangential, I think. I didn't want it explained either. The photo he kept of he and his partner said enough.

Is any other important piece of character motivation in BB dealt with such ambiguity, though?

It's not really important whether he loved his hermano in a gay way or not though. All that's important from a motivational point of view is that he did love him.

Gus' homosexuality or lack thereof is not vital to the storyline, more just something interesting to speculate about. Another layer to a mysterious character.