chrisname wrote: |
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As for Hank, I really liked Hank which made it difficult to root for Walt. I don't think he was ever really an asshole. He comes off as a bit arrogant but I think that's down to repressed insecurity |
Yeah... it took me a bit to realize this. Like in the first ep when they introduced his character, I was like "oh man, this guy's gonna suck", but then after you get exposed to him a bit more you warm up to him.
Given the depth of the writing of Breaking Bad it wouldn't surprise me if that satire was actually there, and not just my inner English Lit student coming out. |
I'm almost positive it was intentional. They put spotlights on that for Tuco and especially for the tortoise guy.
I think the reason people hate [Skyler] so much is that she gets in the way of the plot, but that's literally the purpose of her character. She's the "hinderer" -- a character archetype in probably every piece of western fiction.
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I don't hate her... I just think she makes really bad decisions. She had so many outs and she just refused to take them. I don't really think she gets in the way of the plot either... I mean so much of the plot kind of hinges on her.
BHXSpecter wrote: |
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Really? I just could never get into it. May just be the fact that when I look at Bryan Cranston I couldn't see Walter White, but rather I kept seeing him as Hal from Malcolm in the Middle. |
Give it another chance. Watch the first 3 eps. By the end of the 3rd you'll be totally hooked and will have forgetten all about Hal.
chrisname wrote: |
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Are there any shows that have comparable quality of writing? Game of Thrones is good, especially on the character development front, |
I tried to get into Game of Thrones but it didn't grab my interest quickly enough. The slow start was very boring for me and I kept telling myself "okay, it's just building up, give it time" but then I gave up when I realized I was not at all enjoying myself and was just tolerating boredom in the hopes that the show would pick up.
Curb is great but pretty formulaic. After watching a dozen or so eps it becomes really easy to start seeing patterns and being able to predict what's going to happen. Seinfeld was basically like "Curb Lite".
As for other shows, Battlestar Galactica is worth a mention for quality of acting (except for Helo), and general plot... but the writing does get pretty corny at times, so I can't really say it's BrBa tier.
A few of the new Doctor Whos are pretty epic, as well. The season 2 finale transitions from being a heart-breaking tear jerker to rolling on the floor in laughter within 2 minutes. And some of the individual episodes/specials are just phenominal.... specifically the 'Waters on Mars' special, the 'Blink' episode in season 3 (with the weeping angels), and the library episodes in season 4. That show generally has interesting plots, fantastic acting, and great writing... and it spans a lot of genres (comedy/sci-fi/cheesy B-movie/drama/thriller) touching a little bit in each one in various episodes. You never really know what you're going to get.