As I am sure many of y'all already know, a spinoff of "Breaking Bad" titled "Better Call Saul" will be airing in 2014. This is going to be a prequel to Breaking Bad and will be based on the character of Saul Goodman from "Breaking Bad."
I, for one, will be watching. I'm sure the majority of all of you other "Breaking Bad" fans will be as well. Might as well get the discussion going sooner rather than later.
So... what are your hopes, expectations and/or concerns with the show? Here are some of mine:
Hopes: I hope to see Saul do his thing in the courtroom. I hope to see strong, unique supporting characters. I hope to see Breaking Bad foreshadowing. I hope he has an intriguing paralegal and/or assistant. I hope to see Breaking Bad characters such as Fring, Mike, etc...whoever. I hope the show kicks ass.
Expectations: I don't expect it to be as good as "Breaking Bad" (because nothing else is, really), but I expect it to be good since Vince Gilligan is writing. I somewhat expect it to have an even balance of comedy and drama...since Saul undeniably provides a substantial amount of comedic relief in "Breaking Bad." I expect to see "courtroom Saul." I expect the "Breaking Bad" references and character cameos to be less than what I hope. If it isn't even a fraction as good as "Breaking Bad," I expect it to be better than 95% of everything else on TV, since there is some shitty shit on TV these days.
Concerns: I'd be a liar if I were to say that I didn't think this show has potential of flopping and certainly failing to meet the presumed high expectations of the audience. Don't get me wrong, I think it will be good... but I think it COULD suck if not executed properly. My main concern is Saul ultimately proving himself to be a "little dab will do ya" type of character, which would lead to a show centered around his character not working out. I am hoping that the character of Saul will not be so over-used and constantly over the top, that he becomes annoying to me, thus ruining his character for me altogether... Not saying I think this will be how it goes down...just saying I think there is a CHANCE of this being the case, which prompts me to believe that a strong supporting cast is VITAL in terms of the amount of success/quality this show will accumulate. All in all, I don't think VG will steer us in an unfortunate direction though...I think they'll pull it off.
I love it. It was mentioned in the very first scene that Saul was in on Breaking Bad, and that was the movie that Jimmy and Kim were watching a couple weeks ago. [Reply]
Originally Posted by frankotank:
I find the story line of Kim being punished for Jimmy creating and airing the commercial just absolutely STUPID! honestly....it makes NO SENSE!
sigh...whatever.....
It's office politics, and in a law firm with egos abound, it's not at all absurd. Partnership tracks, etc... [Reply]
Originally Posted by Zebedee DuBois:
I don't understand people's hurry to get to more BB characters. The BB story line pretty much means the end of this story line.
It's the only thing keeping the show interesting. [Reply]
You may think Chunk thinks the way he thinks for the wrong reasons, but he absolutely got to the right answer.
Jimmy is a fraud. The fake billboard incident, the kids jumping in front of the car, blatantly violating Bar rules on solicitation, the shadyness with robbing the Kettlemans (not to mention not reporting their whereabouts), going back to scamming in his hometown as soon as he gets frustrated in Albuquerque.
Jimmy's a crook - he's always been a crook. He may be a likeable crook, but Chuck didn't send him down a path of being corrupt.
Chuck isn't wrong in his assumptions of Jimmy at all. Jimmy's a guy that would absolutely bring HHM under serious fire and with a firm that big, all it takes is a little blood in the water before partners start getting poached, class actions suits start flying and the thing implodes.
You're right in that means; I just feel Jimmy's crookedness will be amplified by his frustrations with Chuck.
I guess my intentions were that Jimmy wouldn't become Saul as we know him without a slight nudge from Chuck's continuous distrust and anticipatory treatment of Jimmy. [Reply]
I liked how Howard went from straight-faced and cold as he walked with Kim to the conference room and then how, in an instant, he turned on his glad-hand, happy-face as he walked in to talk to the visitors. [Reply]
No one else finds it worth mentioning that Jimmy, and Kim by proxy, got in trouble for running the commercial, only to find out the firms are continuing to run the commercial - just at terrible ad buy times to reach their target audience. (So, less effective than Jimmy's original 1 ad buy that brought in over 250 new clients to the case.)
Hello? The commercial when he can't sleep.
Also, very nice illustration of Jimmy being out of his comfort zone. He can't sleep / be at peace until he's back in his shoebox office sleeping on what is literally the worst bed invented; a pull out sofa bed with the bar that is guaranteed to mess up your back and no one sleeps well on.
His fancy corporate apartment with pointless, fake decor like the bowl of wood balls, a nice but empty bed, and a luxury car that won't even accommodate a coffee cup. Everything about D&M doesn't fit for Jimmy.
He's been lorded over by a subordinate 2nd year. Essentially babysat for doing his job- client outreach. Which they act pissed about, but then continue to expand and keep running the commercial except for hiring someone to redo the voice-over for the commercial.
Jimmy may skirt the line, but HHM, Chuck, Howard, D&M, and their senior partners are so full of sanctimonious bullshit. Kim is starting to realize it, and the new firm courting her just gave her a little bit of perspective. Both firms are serving her and Jimmy a load of crap, and expect them to smile and act grateful. [Reply]
I find myself starting to loathe Jimmy a little on occasion. He has everything he wanted but he continues to make the wrong choices on purpose. I.E. The commercial.
Also... Take Kim's offer for instance. She tells him about it and instead of asking her if she wants it or for details, he tells her she should take it immediately.
He never once considered how loyal Kim is and that's obviously going to bite him in the ass with her eventually. I predict by the end of the season, Jimmy will be driving that piece of crap car again and working out of the nail salon. Kim will have also broken up with him.
I wouldn't doubt it if Mike's deal with the cartel will have something to do with it as well. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth:
Jimmy may skirt the line, but HHM, Chuck, Howard, D&M, and their senior partners are so full of sanctimonious bullshit. Kim is starting to realize it, and the new firm courting her just gave her a little bit of perspective. Both firms are serving her and Jimmy a load of crap, and expect them to smile and act grateful.
Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth:
No one else finds it worth mentioning that Jimmy, and Kim by proxy, got in trouble for running the commercial, only to find out the firms are continuing to run the commercial - just at terrible ad buy times to reach their target audience. (So, less effective than Jimmy's original 1 ad buy that brought in over 250 new clients to the case.)
Not THE commercial, but A commercial -- one the firm created in the same bland style as that lame one from the 90s, complete with the swirl in which the partners contemplated its finer details.
And yes, they're running it in the middle of the night when old people in retirement communities are sleeping. [Reply]
Originally Posted by siberian khatru:
Not THE commercial, but A commercial -- one the firm created in the same bland style as that lame one from the 90s, complete with the swirl in which the partners contemplated its finer details.
And yes, they're running it in the middle of the night when old people in retirement communities are sleeping.
And right after that, he had to get to his comfort zone. Big law is not for him. Careful what you wish for I suppose.
Originally Posted by Cave Johnson:
Big Law, everybody.
Yeup.
I'll take my mid-tier firm and the worry that the loss a single substantial client could submarine our entire practice over slogging through that silk-stocking horseshit.
Folks - that's simply the way massive practices work. Even as Kim is talking to the new firm, I'm sitting there thinking "okay, they're going to buy you out of your law school debt and probably pay in in the $150K range, so they're probably going to want 2,200 billables out of you and I figure that's gonna take you 3,400 hours of work, a lot of it pretty tedious. You'll probably also be expected to be a rainmaker if they put you on a partnership track at a mega-firm."
Man....fuck all of that.
This show captures the reality of firm politics better than any legal show I've ever seen and it's funny how quickly everyone watching it thinks to themselves 'fuck, why would anyone subject themselves to this....'
Why indeed. There's a reason lawyers have the worst job satisfaction rates of pretty much any profession. Divorce rates and alcoholism are through the roof as well. The job chews you up and spits you out if you'll let it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth:
No one else finds it worth mentioning that Jimmy, and Kim by proxy, got in trouble for running the commercial, only to find out the firms are continuing to run the commercial - just at terrible ad buy times to reach their target audience. (So, less effective than Jimmy's original 1 ad buy that brought in over 250 new clients to the case.)
Hello? The commercial when he can't sleep.
Also, very nice illustration of Jimmy being out of his comfort zone. He can't sleep / be at peace until he's back in his shoebox office sleeping on what is literally the worst bed invented; a pull out sofa bed with the bar that is guaranteed to mess up your back and no one sleeps well on.
His fancy corporate apartment with pointless, fake decor like the bowl of wood balls, a nice but empty bed, and a luxury car that won't even accommodate a coffee cup. Everything about D&M doesn't fit for Jimmy.
He's been lorded over by a subordinate 2nd year. Essentially babysat for doing his job- client outreach. Which they act pissed about, but then continue to expand and keep running the commercial except for hiring someone to redo the voice-over for the commercial.
Jimmy may skirt the line, but HHM, Chuck, Howard, D&M, and their senior partners are so full of sanctimonious bullshit. Kim is starting to realize it, and the new firm courting her just gave her a little bit of perspective. Both firms are serving her and Jimmy a load of crap, and expect them to smile and act grateful.
That's not as bad as D&Ms hypocritical bullshit of telling Jimmy marketing was his thing then blasting him for taking initiative. Or better yet, reading Jimmy the riot act about a completely legal ad but encouraging Jimmy when he was bribing senior citizens on the bus.
Which is why I don't buy the explanation that Jimmy is and always will be slippery. He seems to be trying his damndest to go legit. [Reply]
