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DandelionPowderman
Thanks. It's impossible not to notice comical elements, sure, but I would never call it a comedy as such. Too exciting, too action, too brutal.

Great show, though

The overall premise of the show is inherently comical and absurd, in addition to the details.

.....

Olly.

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Olly

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DandelionPowderman
Thanks. It's impossible not to notice comical elements, sure, but I would never call it a comedy as such. Too exciting, too action, too brutal.

Great show, though

The overall premise of the show is inherently comical and absurd, in addition to the details.

Of course, but because of its nature it won't be found in the comic section

LOL it's not a comedy. Like "Pulp Fiction" or "Good Fellas" there are comical elements.

The show obviously evolves from the early episodes and series, where there are a lot of comic episodes, and becomes increasingly darker as it progresses, the situation escalates, and the impossibility of escape gets clearer. By the end there are only a few comic moments. To call the premise of the show inherently comical seems to me absurd in itself, it's inherently tragic if anything.

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Aquamarine
The show obviously evolves from the early episodes and series, where there are a lot of comic episodes, and becomes increasingly darker as it progresses, the situation escalates, and the impossibility of escape gets clearer. By the end there are only a few comic moments. To call the premise of the show inherently comical seems to me absurd in itself, it's inherently tragic if anything.

+1

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Aquamarine
...To call the premise of the show inherently comical seems to me absurd in itself, it's inherently tragic if anything.

I posit differently.

Take a general working definition of Shakespearean comedy:

...characterized by its humorous or satirical tone and its depiction of amusing people or incidents, in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity.

Sound familiar?

.....

Olly.

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Olly

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Aquamarine
...To call the premise of the show inherently comical seems to me absurd in itself, it's inherently tragic if anything.

I posit differently.

Take a general working definition of Shakespearean comedy:

...characterized by its humorous or satirical tone and its depiction of amusing people or incidents, in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity.

Sound familiar?

Breaking Bad has dark comic elements for sure. But it's pretty damn far from a comedy - Shakespearean or otherwise. The fact that you were 'regularly in stiches' watching it maybe says more about you?

What is your insinuation?

.....

Olly.

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Olly
What is your insinuation?

That you have an unusually dark sense of humour? (Nothing wrong with that of course).

Brittish TV-Comedy 'Allo Allo' is also a pretty serious subject in the bottom, just like Scottish Movie 'Trainspotting', hilarously funny both of them....The script for Breaking Bad bears traces of lots of humorous angles, so therefore I thought the series as a whole became a Comedy...

2 1 2 0

This show seems to hook certain people. I didn't care for it. My wife, however, binge-watched the whole series. For a few days the TV was playing nothing but Breaking Bad for 14+ hours straight a day. For me it was Hell.

Hey MILKYWAY, nice to see you around!

The story arc can be described in a number of ways. The humor was there to relieve the tension when the plot got too dark, much the way Shakespeare used humor in his tragic plays. Walter White's character can be compared to Faust, in that they both made pacts with the devil. The more interesting character in some ways is Jesse. Like a tragic Greek figure, he saw everyone he loved destroyed because of his hubris. In other words, the story line doesn't fall into one neat category, which is one of the reasons it was so compelling.

If you like Breaking Bad, and I noticed House of Cards in there too...both excellent television...check out Ray Donovan. The only problem with Ray Donovan is that it's not on 52 weeks / year. Other than that, excellent! I grew up during the so-called "Golden Age of Television". IMHO the shows HBO, Amazon, AMC, Netflix, and others are offering today make today the Golden Age of Television. The quality of today's TV dramas started with The West Wing. Too bad that wasn't on HBO or a similar outlet that has no commercials and allows the viewers to hear the language that was used inside the White House, and see some of the extra curricular activities that went on behind closed doors. But in spite of network limitations, it was ground-breaking TV that set the bar for what was to come.

Vinyl has possibilities. We'll see. I wasn't all that close to the recording industry during the 1970s, but I did visit record labels during photo shoots to pick up money for substances to keep their artist(s) happy.

I also am a huge fan of the show 'Ray Donovan', we have watched every show from the get, do have to say tho, these shows stress me out! The first season of Ray Donovan I was a nervous wreck watching every episode. Better now (must have been seeing the Stones live finally mellowed me. Somewhat.)

Walt Jr was at Cherry Bar in Melbourne last night.

Any Stones fan who's from Australia or visited Melbourne would be familiar with Cherry!

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Olly

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Aquamarine
...To call the premise of the show inherently comical seems to me absurd in itself, it's inherently tragic if anything.

I posit differently.

Take a general working definition of Shakespearean comedy:

...characterized by its humorous or satirical tone and its depiction of amusing people or incidents, in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity.

Sound familiar?

Yes, thanks, I'm a lit prof. That's a good description of comedy (though not Shakespearean comedy IMO.) but not of Breaking Bad. Walter White triumphs over adversity how, exactly?

I got into the series late, but then got hooked and watched most of the episodes of the earlier seasons.

Overall performances are excellent, and I loved the setting. No episode was ever boring and the main character's storyline always provided for plenty of interest.

latebloomer:

Thanks for the post. I hope all is well with you and your family.

I did not view Walter as being like Faust. Faust (at least in my reading ages ago) seemed to realize that what he had wished for was not all he had imagined it would be. Walter does not seem to have such regrets, at least that I can recall. He was living the high life as exemplified by his buying his son a sports car and then torching it. Plus, Faust was doomed by his pact; once made, it could not be undone. Walter, however, could have cashed out & walked away on several occasions. However, he never does.

I can see Jesse as a tragic figure, though. The part near the end of the series where Jesse watches from a vehicle while his romantic interest is shot only because of her relationship to Jesse is truly heart-wrenching.

Just my view. Please feel free to disagree. I'll love you anyway!

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MILKYWAY
latebloomer:

Thanks for the post. I hope all is well with you and your family.

I did not view Walter as being like Faust. Faust (at least in my reading ages ago) seemed to realize that what he had wished for was not all he had imagined it would be. Walter does not seem to have such regrets, at least that I can recall. He was living the high life as exemplified by his buying his son a sports car and then torching it. Plus, Faust was doomed by his pact; once made, it could not be undone. Walter, however, could have cashed out & walked away on several occasions. However, he never does.

I can see Jesse as a tragic figure, though. The part near the end of the series where Jesse watches from a vehicle while his romantic interest is shot only because of her relationship to Jesse is truly heart-wrenching.

Just my view. Please feel free to disagree. I'll love you anyway!

I'm feeling the love, so I won't entirely disagree...I'll just say it depends on which ending of Faust with which you are familiar.

Yes, the horrible scene is what I was thinking of too. Jesse pays over and again for his sins. That's why I didn't find his getaway at the end particularly triumphant. No matter where he is, I think he'll never escape from his past. Like my Mother used to say, no matter where you go, you take yourself with you.

I just thought of you recently MW, as I was driving through downtown Fairfax. It's a beautiful little town, especially now with the fall colors decorating the trees. I hope the universe brings nothing but good things now to you and your family.

re Mr White triumphing over adversity... his original scheme was to pay for his cancer treatments, accumulate wealth and transfer it to his wife and kids, which he did.

re other shows... i'm liking Fargo right now.

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Natlanta
re Mr White triumphing over adversity... his original scheme was to pay for his cancer treatments, accumulate wealth and transfer it to his wife and kids, which he did.

re other shows... i'm liking Fargo right now.

But at what cost? I don't see any triumph for Walt at all.

I do like Fargo, though!

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Aquamarine
...Walter White triumphs over adversity how, exactly?

Walt achieves his aim of providing financially for his family, as Natlanta states.

He triumphs over everyone who crossed him in the meth business, killing all his enemies.

He dies on his own terms.

Jesse triumphs as well, having regained his freedom at the end of the series.

.....

Olly.

Well, we have to agree to disagree, Olly. I don't think Walt's final scene is a triumph at all, more like the inevitable death of the tragic hero which nevertheless brings good to his community (Hamlet's death brings stability to Denmark, Oedipus's exile lifts a curse from the kingdom, Macbeth's death brings Scotland a less power-crazed king, etc.). It's still the opposite of a triumphant moment for the dead/exiled guy, though.

Hard not to wonder how long Jesse's freedom will last, too . . .



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-10-16 01:26 by Aquamarine.

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nightskyman
I got into the series late, but then got hooked and watched most of the episodes of the earlier seasons.

Overall performances are excellent, and I loved the setting. No episode was ever boring and the main character's storyline always provided for plenty of interest.

Although I've read people talking a lot about BB, I also got into it very late. Actually I started watching the series when it has already ended but I liked every episode very much. But in my opinion one of the episodes was very boring: "The Fly (from the second or third season).

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35love
'Better Call Saul' is excellent. Absolutely loved the first season. 2nd season suppose to start early '16.
Too early in a.m. here for me to give better info/ adjectives.

I was disappointed with the first few shows; then all of the sudden it got good, real good

Aquamarine, you neglect the original premise: Walt's death is inevitable from the start. He was somewhat between a 'Rock And A Hard Place' in that his fate was sealed - in that context his achievements and the manner of his death were triumphant.

.....

Olly.

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Olly
Aquamarine, you neglect the original premise: Walt's death is inevitable from the start. He was somewhat between a 'Rock And A Hard Place' in that his fate was sealed - in that context his achievements and the manner of his death were triumphant.

Not neglecting anything, Olly. We just put a different interpretation on those events.

cost does not negate triumph - see for example Christ.

Walt's adversary is himself.

I think it's all more complex than that, especially all the moral ambiguities. Christ didn't achieve his ends by cooking meth or otherwise doing things calculated to harm others, for example. There's nothing black and white about Walter's story (no pun intended), which is what makes it so great. But I personally don't take the ending as uplifting or triumphant in any way, though I can see why other people might.

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Cristiano Radtke

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nightskyman
I got into the series late, but then got hooked and watched most of the episodes of the earlier seasons.

Overall performances are excellent, and I loved the setting. No episode was ever boring and the main character's storyline always provided for plenty of interest.

Although I've read people talking a lot about BB, I also got into it very late. Actually I started watching the series when it has already ended but I liked every episode very much. But in my opinion one of the episodes was very boring: "The Fly (from the second or third season).

You're not alone...though I didn't think it was as bad as some did.