[TV] Better Call Saul! (Breaking Bad Spinoff)

[Sierra85]

After watching the first 2 episodes i am predicting this show is going to be excellent.

[Deleted]

For anyone wondering, Tucos friend, red shirt at the end of episode 2, yes it is Vaas from Far Cry 3

[grandpab]

The first half of that 2nd episode was intense.

[eschatological]

It's interesting seeing characters from BB in the show. The guy Tuco kills in the junkyard in BB? He's in the desert scene, along with his fat cousin.

More importantly, every time I see Mike working that lot attendant job, I wonder, "Is he working for Gus already? Is he stationed in there to keep an eye on court proceedings somehow? Is Saul going to rope him into the business somehow?" Very fascinating how these cameos can be.

I also love the idea that Saul is from this prominent legal family, with his (brother? father?) being a named partner at an important firm.

[Deleted]

I just watched the 2 episodes and I must say I really like the show so far. I hope it will keep up in quality!

[Zaelsino]

Pretty good so far, better than I thought it'd be. First episode dragged at times but I think it has potential.

Those two redheads are grating though, hopefully that's the last we'll see of them.

[Blueobelisk]

Mmmmmm. I watched first two episodes on DVR.

I'm happy at the end of the second episode because the show is having some direction. I thought it was going to be about solving cases or random lawyer shit, which would have sucked.

Actually I think it's a little fortunate these Mexican gang bangers actually listened to reason. I think the reality would be that Saul and those 2 guys would be dead.

Meh that it's before he became famous. I would have liked to see his life after Breaking Bad where he re-establishes himself.

[Daws001]

My first impressions were...ok. It wasn't holding my attention so into the second episode, listening to some of the dialogue, I realized I had missed things. I'll have to rewatch them. I did like the backstabbing gingers (twins?) and their dynamic with Saul. Honestly I can't even remember what that episode was about now.

I'll have to watch it again.

[Wyattbw09]

The ratings absolutely collapsed by a full fifty percent between the first and second episode. Not saying it is destined for the dust bin, but it will be interesting to see if the collapse was because of confusion of having two episodes two days in a row or because the interest was not there after the first episode.

[Gallahadd]

For anyone wondering, Tucos friend, red shirt at the end of episode 2, yes it is Vaas from Far Cry 3

He's also Vic the Dick from Orphan Black .

Great couple of episodes, I liked the second a lot more than the first, the first dragged a little(plus... That start, wtf.), but the show has gallons of potential, can't wait for more.

[tss]

Tuco felt shoehorned but whatever. I still have high hopes for the show.

[GennGreymane]

I like it so far, def keeps to the style and improvements made from the earlier to late seasons of breaking bad. This first few episodes is much better than breaking bads. Also I like that they keep the humor with Saul.

[grandpab]

I read an interview today about the guy playing Nacho and he says the name is a nickname for Ignacio. Then in Breaking Bad we have this scene where Saul mentions Ignacio. I'm kind of surprised how quickly he's already doing business with BB characters. I'm looking forward to them introducing Gus the most probably.

[Kathranis]

The ratings absolutely collapsed by a full fifty percent between the first and second episode. Not saying it is destined for the dust bin, but it will be interesting to see if the collapse was because of confusion of having two episodes two days in a row or because the interest was not there after the first episode.

More accurate to say that the first episode ratings were inflated by The Walking/Talking Dead sandwich and being a series premiere, and the second episode ratings dropped in part because people didn't know there was going to be another episode on Monday.

The premiere still set a cable TV record. Also, keep in mind that Breaking Bad didn't even exceed 3 million average viewers until the second half of Season 5. For the first four seasons it only exceeded 2 million viewers once, and the first half of Season 5 only averaged around 2.5 million.

Not that live ratings are that important a metric in the modern era with international audiences, DVR, and the web.

Besides, Sony already ordered a full second season (13 episodes) of the show just based on the strength of the dailies they filmed after the first few weeks of shooting. There will be at least 23 episodes of Better Call Saul.

[TJ]

First episode was average, second episode was pretty damn good. Hope the third follows suit.

[Wyattbw09]

Not that live ratings are that important a metric in the modern era with international audiences, DVR, and the web.

Live ratings are still the only thing that matter. None of that other stuff has any bearing on if a show gets renewed or not.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...future/313300/

Besides, Sony already ordered a full second season (13 episodes) of the show just based on the strength of the dailies they filmed after the first few weeks of shooting. There will be at least 23 episodes of Better Call Saul.

That was sort of the standard for premium cable networks, you would get a second season renewal after the primer. It was pretty hard in the premium cable world to not get two seasons (although a few have managed)

Other networks for specific shows seem to be moving in that direction not sure if it is just to get the audience a sense of stability or what the idea behind it is exactly.

[Kathranis]

Live ratings are still the only thing that matter. None of that other stuff has any bearing on if a show gets renewed or not.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...future/313300/

That article is about network TV, not cable. Network TV is still very much stuck in the past.

AMC is not NBC. They don't just cancel shows because they're getting lower than average ratings. Breaking Bad had poor ratings for almost its entire run, but the critical reception was strong, its fans were dedicated, it did well on Netflix, and AMC and Sony had faith in the show. So they kept it around.

Call Saul came out of the gate performing better than Breaking Bad. It's already got better reviews than BrBa's first season and the ratings are also much better, even if they dropped off after the premiere.

That was sort of the standard for premium cable networks, you would get a second season renewal after the primer. It was pretty hard in the premium cable world to not get two seasons (although a few have managed)

Other networks for specific shows seem to be moving in that direction not sure if it is just to get the audience a sense of stability or what the idea behind it is exactly.

AMC isn't a premium cable network, it's basic cable (and premium cable cares even less about live ratings, since they don't need ad revenue).

Call Saul got picked up for a second season based on the quality of its dailies (as in the scenes they were filming when the show was in production), not based on the premier ratings. It's not at all usual for a show to get picked up for a second season before it even debuts.

[Kickbuttmario]

First, isn't this a Breaking Bad prequel? Why is it called a spin-off? Spin-off implies that its different from the main storyline entirely, as it doesn't have any branches to connect one arc to the next in a manner that doesn't flow. In the first episode, they literally show Saul working at the shop he predicted he would work at. I mean, come on.

Besides that, the second episode was awesome. Really enjoyed seeing Tuco again. The man is insane. Really goes to show how these cartel fellers care about respect, as Saul showed them respect, said sorry, and because of that, the guy had enough reason for convince Tuco to not kill those guys. The twins could die for all I care, those guys are selfish as fuck. I hope they die in the future and fuck themselves over again.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

First, isn't this a Breaking Bad prequel? Why is it called a spin-off? Spin-off implies that its different from the main storyline entirely, as it doesn't have any branches to connect one arc to the next in a manner that doesn't flow. In the first episode, they literally show Saul working at the shop he predicted he would work at. I mean, come on.

Besides that, the second episode was awesome. Really enjoyed seeing Tuco again. The man is insane. Really goes to show how these cartel fellers care about respect, as Saul showed them respect, said sorry, and because of that, the guy had enough reason for convince Tuco to not kill those guys. The twins could die for all I care, those guys are selfish as fuck. I hope they die in the future and fuck themselves over again.

Well, it was coined as a spinoff by the creators themselves...

While yes, it takes place before Breaking Bad, it's not exactly a prequel series. It's about a specific character, and it's about dark comedy as opposed to the always-so-serious drama of BB. It's about Saul ripping people off, getting into trouble and do sly things. Breaking Bad was about a terribad father trying to figure out who he loved more: his work or his family.

[Immitis]

i loved it.