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!!!!

[Mennonite]

Maybe Baby would understand how Hollywood works a bit better if Dane will regale us with a few hundred more made up stories about him hanging out with celebrities?

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Wrong. Good grief.



WHAT? WHAT?

You are completely talking out if your ass.

I'm stunned.





This is absolutely, unequivocally, false.

Again, I'm just stunned that you would even post something in which you're completely unaware.



I'm not talking about Odenkirk. I'm talking about the rest of the production. Writing 13 episodes. Casting, filming, editing, Post Production, etc.

I'm just in shock that you would post so confidently about something you know nothing about.

Blow it out your ass. I do know what I'm talking about, and amount of shaking your head and expressing incredulity makes it untrue.

You want creative on a deadline, look at South Park and the comedy news shows, Last Week Tonight, etc.

Scripted fiction has baked in marination time, side project allowances and network schedules that drive output more than the daily grind.

If the money was right, they could put out most programming at 3-4x the rate they do.

That's not a criticism either. It's just an observation. I'm fine with creative taking the time to make sure the product is done right, but don't pretend it's a time-clock punching industry across the board.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Blow it out your ass. I do know what I'm talking about, and amount of shaking your head and expressing incredulity makes it untrue.

You want creative on a deadline, look at South Park and the comedy news shows, Last Week Tonight, etc.

Scripted fiction has baked in marination time, side project allowances and network schedules that drive output more than the daily grind.

If the money was right, they could put out most programming at 3-4x the rate they do.

That's not a criticism either. It's just an observation. I'm fine with creative taking the time to make sure the product is done right, but don't pretend it's a time-clock punching industry across the board.

This is the biggest load of horseshit you've EVER posted.

A good friend of mine mixes BCS (and the Good Wife and others). It takes a MINIMUM of three days just to MIX one episode, working 8 hours a day (and often 10).

I had a buddy over on Sunday that EP's a 30 minute CBS program that has a 10 person writer room and they often have difficulty completing a 22 minute script in a week.

You're just talking out of your ass.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

This is the biggest load of horseshit you've EVER posted.

A good friend of mine mixes BCS (and the Good Wife and others). It takes a MINIMUM of three days just to MIX one episode, working 8 hours a day (and often 10).

I had a buddy over on Sunday that EP's a 30 minute CBS program that has a 10 person writer room and they often have difficulty completing a 22 minute script in a week.

You're just talking out of your ass.

Don't have an aneurysm. Like I said, it's not even a critique. No one is gonna hall monitor Hollywood to make sure they're chained to their desks.

The point is, those schedules aren't inexorable. It's the creative process. Sometimes you hit a wall and have to stew a while. Sometimes you pound something out in an hour or two. There's always detailed to attend to, but that's not the time consuming part, certainly not '80 hours a week, 52 weeks a year' time consuming.

If things were as you would like us to believe, shows like The Daily Show and South Park would be LITERALLY impossible.

And I'm not going to track down every contributor's Blackberry, but Odenkirk is not alone in having side work and other pursuits taking up their down time.

All I'm saying is, this isn't factory work where every episode of every TV show takes xx hours, like an Ipod or a Ford Mustang. I'm at a loss regarding your incredulity, other than your natural protectiveness of the ideal of the industry of your industry.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Don't have an aneurysm. Like I said, it's not even a critique. No one is gonna hall monitor Hollywood to make sure they're chained to their desks.

The point is, those schedules aren't inexorable. It's the creative process. Sometimes you hit a wall and have to stew a while. Sometimes you pound something out in an hour or two. There's always detailed to attend to, but that's not the time consuming part, certainly not '80 hours a week, 52 weeks a year' time consuming.

If things were as you would like us to believe, shows like The Daily Show and South Park would be LITERALLY impossible.

And I'm not going to track down every contributor's Blackberry, but Odenkirk is not alone in having side work and other pursuits taking up their down time.

All I'm saying is, this isn't factory work where every episode of every TV show takes xx hours, like an Ipod or a Ford Mustang. I'm at a loss regarding your incredulity, other than your natural protectiveness of the ideal of the industry of your industry.

Who lives at 467 Lick My Butthole Lane? I think Dane should buy the place, and then you guys can argue over the fence all day about how much stuff you guys know about everything.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Who lives at 467 Lick My Butthole Lane? I think Dane should buy the place, and then you guys can argue over the fence all day about how much stuff you guys know about everything.

Considering it's what for a living, I'm pretty sure I'm right

I don't tell people how to farm or fix cars or sell insurance.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Considering it's what for a living, I'm pretty sure I'm right

I don't tell people how to farm or fix cars
or sell insurance.

And you better not dick face.

[Mennonite]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Considering it's what for a living, I'm pretty sure I'm right

My new years resolution: to pirate the **** out of every movie and tv show I can get my hands on, so that Dane loses his job and is forced to start blowing homeless dudes for nickles to make a living. Instead of, y'know, doing it just for fun like now.


Just kidding. I don't really think you work in Hollywood. I just think you're a douchbag who spends a lot of time reading Variety and Tigerbeat and pretending to be some sort of bigshot name dropping on a ****ing football forum.

[SAUTO]

and I'm not Asian...

[Mennonite]

Or maybe all Hollywood assholes spend all of their time on sports forums instead of doing their job, so we end up with 10 episode seasons.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Who lives at 467 Lick My Butthole Lane? I think Dane should buy the place, and then you guys can argue over the fence all day about how much stuff you guys know about everything.

Ask Ron Swanson

[mdchiefsfan]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

And you better not dick face.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

And you better not dick face.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

The point is, those schedules aren't inexorable. It's the creative process. Sometimes you hit a wall and have to stew a while. Sometimes you pound something out in an hour or two. There's always detailed to attend to, but that's not the time consuming part, certainly not '80 hours a week, 52 weeks a year' time consuming

This is unbelievably naive.

People are on massive deadlines. Scripts must be turned in on a timely manner, location shoots sussed out, actors cast, directors hired, table reads, etc. and so on.

Then, it all goes to Post Production, where the composer has compose as much as 40 minutes of music per episode, the show's in the edit bay and soundstage for days and changes are being made up to 10 minutes before air time on the East Coast.

I could go on and on and on about this subject but it's clear that you are unaware of the process. That's a not a fault but to pretend as if you know what happens and what's required is absurd.

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

If things were as you would like us to believe, shows like The Daily Show and South Park would be LITERALLY impossible.

Those are completely different than live, scripted Network television.

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

And I'm not going to track down every contributor's Blackberry, but Odenkirk is not alone in having side work and other pursuits taking up their down time.

Odenkirk? He's a ****ing ACTOR. He's not in the Writer's Room six months out of year, he's not casting, or hiring set designers and builders, electricians, gaffers, directors, Post Houses, etc.

He's an actor. He shows up, does a table read, shoots his scenes and goes home.

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

All I'm saying is, this isn't factory work where every episode of every TV show takes xx hours

Bullshit. This, once again, proves that you're talking out of your ass.

As I mentioned earlier, cranking out once script a week for a 22 minute Network scripted program is difficult, let alone a 40 minute script.

Also, the composer works 8-10 hours, per day, per week, on the score, which can be edited while on the Soundstage minutes before airtime. I'm buds with Charlie Clouser, who does American Horror Story among others, and his Music Editor has had to create cues, on the soundstage, from existing cues because a scene was changed during mixing! And this is after he's spent all week writing the score.

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

I'm at a loss regarding your incredulity, other than your natural protectiveness of the ideal of the industry of your industry.

Protection? You have absolute NO IDEA what goes into producing a 60 minute television program.

None.

Nada.

Zip.

[Baby Lee]

We're clearly at an impasse, but the process is driven by the creation of the script.

If scripts were called for quicker and funded, they would show up quicker and more personnel would be recruited for the DETAILS of locations, production, casting, sets and editing. And the ****ING ACTORS would be there to perform as well.

In that respect, South Park and The Daily Show are exactly like network TV. South Park has maniacal workaholic creators who can write quality episodes on a dime. The Daily Show has an armada of researchers and detail personnel who can assemble the called for material on demand.

Music? SP has musical episodes with indelible songs with lyrics, created on the same deadline.

So educate me. If an hour show takes an 80 week to score, do 30 minute shows take a 40 hour week? Does a 2 hour movie take 2 80 hour weeks to score? Does a min-series take 3-4 weeks? I mean, if it's a strict time-on-task matter, can a twice as gifted composer compose twice as fast like a twice as fast fabricator at the Ford plant? Did the theme for Green Acres take more or less time than the theme for Dr. Zhivago? Did the theme for Seinfeld take more or less time than The Godfather?

I don't know why you are so hung up on this. It's a creative process. That's fine. It's not a knock.

Sometimes The Beatles bang out a few of the greatest pop songs ever in an hour or so. Sometimes, a less inspired or qualified prog rock group takes decades to put together an album. Sometimes, the cast and crew of Apocalypse Now nearly kills themselves over months in the jungle. Sometimes a Kevin Smith or Robert Rodriguez pump out a classic in weeks on adrenaline, credit cards, and the time appropriate version of a GoPro.