Better Call Saul

[rico]

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.

Thoughts?

DISCUS!!!!

[notorious]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Not sure, but that would be some anal detail to haul the entire unit up to Nebraska just for a few minutes of generic mall footage. I assume it's something in the QQ area.

imdb lists the cottonwood mall.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C9GNfuyUAAAWkd1.jpg

They filmed a bunch in ABQ, so I figured they might go the extra mile.


Seriously, all malls look the same anyway.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by notorious

They filmed a bunch in ABQ, so I figured they might go the extra mile.


Seriously, all malls look the same anyway.

They film almost exclusively in ABQ/QQ AFAIK. Ever since BB it's been a big tax break for them, so they changed the setting of both narratives a long time ago. ABQ isn't a special site, it's their center of operations.

Pre-production, writing, scouting, extras, locations, sets, editing, post-production, all filling ABQ coffers rather than H-town.

They even commissioned the cowboy sculpture in the lobby of the Mesa Verde Bank for the scene [reminds me of the Bannister Rd/435 installation, BTW].

[Demonpenz]

I wonder if cinnibon minds their place and their job looking shitty as hell.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

I wonder if cinnibon minds their place and their job looking shitty as hell.

Costco and Arby's don't seem to mind with Baskets. And really, the Cinnabon products don't look bad, it just seems like a boring place to work for some types of people such as Jimmy/Saul.

[Demonpenz]

Yeah and Cinnibon gets hammered buy Louis CK and The White Panda guy Larry Johnson from Super Troopers.

[eDave]

"This one really don't want to talk about Cracker Barrel."



Looking forward to everyone's analysis of the episode. Getting good.

[Baby Lee]

That's some janky ass 'dress shoes' Jimmy was sporting in El Pollo Loco.

Hate those soft loafers with silver decorative buckles.

[Chiefspants]

Those worried that the pace was too slow should be happy. Holy moly.

"No wonder Rebecca left you."

World class acting by Odenkirk in that scene. He never had the opportunity to do anything at that scale in BB. Who would have guessed he could deliver at that level when the show began?

[Baby Lee]

He almost learned his tape rolling technique quickly, though.

Etude in Blue over Daydream Harvest.

[Demonpenz]

Why does Earnesto drive a Evo

[Gonzo]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Not sure, but that would be some anal detail to haul the entire unit up to Nebraska just for a few minutes of generic mall footage. I assume it's something in the QQ area.

imdb lists the cottonwood mall.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C9GNfuyUAAAWkd1.jpg

Looks exactly like crossroads mall here in Omaha. Especially since it was deserted and all.

[B_Ambuehl]

Jimmy looked like such a dork when he was in los pollos hermanos doing surveillance. He was being WAY too obvious.

[Swanman]

Originally Posted by B_Ambuehl

Jimmy looked like such a dork when he was in los pollos hermanos doing surveillance. He was being WAY too obvious.

I loved that scene. He was definitely way out of his element. I was waiting for him to walk up to the guy and say, "hey mister, whatcha gonna do with that bag?".

I am wondering if there was a quick handoff with Gus as he was sweeping by that guy's table.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Swanman

I loved that scene. He was definitely way out of his element. I was waiting for him to walk up to the guy and say, "hey mister, whatcha gonna do with that bag?".

I am wondering if there was a quick handoff with Gus as he was sweeping by that guy's table.

Gus waived the guy off, IMO.

Gus was behind Saul for long enough he absolutely saw him 'spying' and when he went by the table, he gave some kind of signal to the guy to jet. Gus had Saul pegged early and that's how he got onto Mike.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

Those worried that the pace was too slow should be happy. Holy moly.

"No wonder Rebecca left you."

World class acting by Odenkirk in that scene. He never had the opportunity to do anything at that scale in BB. Who would have guessed he could deliver at that level when the show began?

Really?

Up until the last 5 minutes, I thought that was the slowest episode yet.