Better Call Saul - 2 questions

bertie

1.  is it imperative to have watched Breaking Bad first,  to watch it/enjoy it ?

2.  If one didnt actually like BB (so stopped watching it after 2 episodes),  is it actually worth watching BCS ?

asking for a friend

RiftAmps

1. yes

2. not without watching BB first.


It took me three attempts to get past S1E1 of BB, just couldn’t get into it. I’m glad I did as the whole thing (BB/EC/BCS) is incredible. It’s a masterclass in story telling.

bertie

RiftAmps said:

 


It took me three attempts to get past S1E1 of BB, just couldn’t get into it. I’m glad I did as the whole thing (BB/EC/BCS) is incredible. It’s a masterclass in story telling.

ah - thanks that's good info..............  perhaps we'll give it another go (assuming its still available) 

Winny_Pooh

1. No, but it makes the later seasons more enjoyable.

2. Yes, the pace is very different, more drama than drugs. 

You probably should have persisted w BB, it takes at lest 3 episodes before alot of (not all) good series "click" and BB is one of them.

sinbaadi

Possibly the best series ever.  Watching BB helps.  Enjoying BB probably helps a lot more, but BCS is another level of brilliant in my opinion.

Timcito

The problem with watching BB first, for me, was that my expectations were too high. The characters and the plot in Better Call Saul are nowhere near as compelling as those in BB.

DrCornelius

I found BCS series 1 a bit of a letdown after BB but by series 3 it was the best thing I’d ever watched bar the Sopranos (that will never be beaten !)

Timcito

DrCornelius said:

I found BCS series 1 a bit of a letdown after BB but by series 3 it was the best thing I’d ever watched bar the Sopranos (that will never be beaten !)

Never seen I Claudius?

fretmeister

BB gets much better as it goes along.

The entire point of the beginning is the mediocrity of WW life. 

DrCornelius

Timcito said:

DrCornelius said:

I found BCS series 1 a bit of a letdown after BB but by series 3 it was the best thing I’d ever watched bar the Sopranos (that will never be beaten !)

Never seen I Claudius?

No , worth watching I assume ?

Kurtis

I tried really hard to like breaking bad, watched a good bit of it but never really enjoyed it and eventually gave up. 
Never even bothered with 'saul.

Didn't like the sopranos either. 

Winny_Pooh

DrCornelius said:

I found BCS series 1 a bit of a letdown after BB but by series 3 it was the best thing I’d ever watched bar the Sopranos (that will never be beaten !)

Game on. Sopranos was bettered by Mad Men sorry!!!!!

And I'd argue that Seasons 1 of True Detective and season 1 of Westworld give it a close run too. 

swiller

I cant get into BCS at all, watched a good 4-5 hours of it.  Thought BB was an utter masterpiece which needs some time (3-4 episodes) to really reel you in. 
That said plenty of people who prefer BCS to the other, but for me, BCS just doesn't have that additive quality that BB has. 

Timcito

DrCornelius said:

Timcito said:

DrCornelius said:

I found BCS series 1 a bit of a letdown after BB but by series 3 it was the best thing I’d ever watched bar the Sopranos (that will never be beaten !)

Never seen I Claudius?

No , worth watching I assume ?

For me, the best TV series ever made. I first watched it (I've seen it now more times than I count) when it came out in 1976 with my Dad when I was still at school. For starters, it has a cast to end all casts, great actors that hadn't quite become international stars yet like Derek Jacobi, Patrick Stewart, John Hurt, Sean Phillips, and Brian Blessed, amongst others. John Hurt's Caligula must be one of the most memorable and exciting characters ever created in drama. 

But what's especially remarkable about it from a modern perspective is just how little 'action' there is. Virtually all the blood and guts take place off screen, with most of the viewing time spent in dialogue between the characters, and that dialogue and the way it is delivered is utterly gripping.

DrCornelius

Timcito said:

DrCornelius said:

Timcito said:

DrCornelius said:

I found BCS series 1 a bit of a letdown after BB but by series 3 it was the best thing I’d ever watched bar the Sopranos (that will never be beaten !)

Never seen I Claudius?

No , worth watching I assume ?

For me, the best TV series ever made. I first watched it (I've seen it now more times than I count) when it came out in 1976 with my Dad when I was still at school. For starters, it has a cast to end all casts, great actors that hadn't quite become international stars like Derek Jacobi, Patrick Stewart, John Hurt, Sean Phillips, and Brian Blessed, amongst others. John Hurt's Caligula must be one of the most remarkable characters ever created in drama. 

But what's especially remarkable about it from a modern perspective is just how little 'action' there is. Virtually all the blood and guts take place off screen, with most of the viewing time is spent in dialogue between the characters, and that dialogue and the way it delivered is utterly gripping.

Sounds great tbh !

Isn't it a tiny bit ‘booby’ though ? Not an issue for me of course but I don’t want the Mrs to see this as me starting the slippery slope to watching porn :-)

AK99

bertie said:

1.  is it imperative to have watched Breaking Bad first,  to watch it/enjoy it ?

2.  If one didnt actually like BB (so stopped watching it after 2 episodes),  is it actually worth watching BCS ?

asking for a friend

Already been covered above..but

1. No. Doing so actually cause me more confusion in in terms of trying to follow the timeline in some ways

2. Yes absolutely. The expanded plot-line / plot-lines (with both the old and new characters) stand on their own merits, and are really bl**dy good

AK99

Winny_Pooh said:

DrCornelius said:

I found BCS series 1 a bit of a letdown after BB but by series 3 it was the best thing I’d ever watched bar the Sopranos (that will never be beaten !)

Game on. Sopranos was bettered by Mad Men sorry!!!!!

And I'd argue that Seasons 1 of True Detective and Westworld give it a close run too. 

And all roundly trounced by The Wire*


(fully IMHO of course.. )

Timcito

DrCornelius said:

Timcito said:

DrCornelius said:

Timcito said:

DrCornelius said:

I found BCS series 1 a bit of a letdown after BB but by series 3 it was the best thing I’d ever watched bar the Sopranos (that will never be beaten !)

Never seen I Claudius?

No , worth watching I assume ?

For me, the best TV series ever made. I first watched it (I've seen it now more times than I count) when it came out in 1976 with my Dad when I was still at school. For starters, it has a cast to end all casts, great actors that hadn't quite become international stars like Derek Jacobi, Patrick Stewart, John Hurt, Sean Phillips, and Brian Blessed, amongst others. John Hurt's Caligula must be one of the most remarkable characters ever created in drama. 

But what's especially remarkable about it from a modern perspective is just how little 'action' there is. Virtually all the blood and guts take place off screen, with most of the viewing time is spent in dialogue between the characters, and that dialogue and the way it delivered is utterly gripping.

Sounds great tbh !

Isn't it a tiny bit ‘booby’ though ? Not an issue for me of course but I don’t want the Mrs to see this as me starting the slippery slope to watching porn :-)

Ha! Now let me see if I can remember the boob count ...

The first scene of the first episode does, in fact, have some topless African dancers, but after that, there's very little. Sheila White gives us a quick flash as Messalina much later on, and we get a similar treat from Caligula's sister/lover once he becomes emperor and completely loses it. In one episode, Caligula also organizes a compulsory orgy so that he can then condemn the participants, and I think there may be a little stray booty around in that scene. But apart from that, I think you're pretty much home free! Quite frankly, I don't think there's much in it that would compare, nudity-wise, with the average Netflix crime drama.

DrCornelius

Timcito said:

DrCornelius said:

Timcito said:

DrCornelius said:

Timcito said:

DrCornelius said:

I found BCS series 1 a bit of a letdown after BB but by series 3 it was the best thing I’d ever watched bar the Sopranos (that will never be beaten !)

Never seen I Claudius?

No , worth watching I assume ?

For me, the best TV series ever made. I first watched it (I've seen it now more times than I count) when it came out in 1976 with my Dad when I was still at school. For starters, it has a cast to end all casts, great actors that hadn't quite become international stars like Derek Jacobi, Patrick Stewart, John Hurt, Sean Phillips, and Brian Blessed, amongst others. John Hurt's Caligula must be one of the most remarkable characters ever created in drama. 

But what's especially remarkable about it from a modern perspective is just how little 'action' there is. Virtually all the blood and guts take place off screen, with most of the viewing time is spent in dialogue between the characters, and that dialogue and the way it delivered is utterly gripping.

Sounds great tbh !

Isn't it a tiny bit ‘booby’ though ? Not an issue for me of course but I don’t want the Mrs to see this as me starting the slippery slope to watching porn :-)

Ha! Now let me see if I can remember the boob count ...

The first scene of the first episode does, in fact, have some topless African dancers, but after that, there's very little. Sheila White gives us a quick flash as Messalina much later on, and we get a similar treat from Caligula's sister/lover once he becomes emperor and completely loses it. In one episode, Caligula also organizes a compulsory orgy so that he can then condemn the participants, and I think there may be a little stray booty around in that scene. But apart from that, I think you're pretty much home free! Quite frankly, I don't think there's much in it that would compare, nudity-wise, with the average Netflix crime drama.

Awesome, thanks Tim, sounds like its next on our list after Shogun finishes - gracias (I'll stop derailing the thread now- sorry all)

Kittyfrisk

Awesome, thanks Tim, sounds like its next on our list after Shogun finishes - gracias (I'll stop derailing the thread now- sorry all)

@DrCornelius ;Here you go (derail over) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mhmk/episodes/player

DrCornelius

Cheers Kitty :-)