War Room Lounge v72: Nope

[Higus]

Do you think he was just as big? I saw Nate Marquardt in person when he was fighting at 170 and he was huge. Like the amount they cut makes the official weights seem like such a joke.

I met Ben Saunders in person. I'm stocky 5'9 walking around 190 at the time. He was ridiculously big guy for fighting at 170lbs. I think he might have been 6'2", 6'3" with a pretty big frame. EDIT: I also met Rory McDonald minutes before that. He was almost as tall, but with a much slimmer frame.
I also met Pat Barry. He was maybe a bit taller than me but built like a fucking vending machine.

 

[Trotsky]

It's among my top 10, if not top 5 ever. There's even a case that it may be better than BB.

Globally, BCS is streaming mostly on Netflix, so US figures don't really matter there too much.

It's definitely comparable. It's a little lighter and faster paced. Not quite as gritty either.

Across the universe, I'd go:

1. Breaking Bad season 4
2. Breaking Bad season 2
3. BCS season 2
4. BCS season 1
5. BCS season 3
6. Breaking Bad season 3
7. BCS season 4
8. Breaking Bad season 1
9. Breaking Bad season 5

 

[Fawlty]

given that the show got off to a faster start than Breaking Bad.

In episode 1, Walt is diagnosed with cancer, plans to sell meth, steals from his work, extorts a former student, cooks meth, is accosted by thugs, kills one of them, crashes his RV, and attempts suicide.

NO.

 

[Gregolian]

Any Better Call Saul fans here?

The shitty taste of the average person never fails to shock me. Despite BCS being really, really, really good, it's getting pretty shit ratings.

It doesn't even make any sense, given that the show got off to a faster start than Breaking Bad.

Could an issue be that it's on AMC?

Also, I need to watch BB and BCS but I didn't realize we are already into 4 seasons of it.

 

[JDragon]

It's definitely comparable. It's a little lighter and faster paced. Not quite as gritty either.

Across the universe, I'd go:

1. Breaking Bad season 4
2. Breaking Bad season 2
3. BCS season 2
4. BCS season 1
5. BCS season 3
6. Breaking Bad season 3
7. BCS season 4
8. Breaking Bad season 1
9. Breaking Bad season 5

Of course your assessment of BB Season 5 is horribly misguided, but generally speaking I agree with the result of your ranking in the sense that BCS is much more consistent quality-wise (not that either series ever had a truly bad season).

 

[Higus]

 

[Trotsky]

In episode 1, Walt is diagnosed with cancer, plans to sell meth, steals from his work, extorts a former student, cooks meth, is accosted by thugs, kills one of them, crashes his RV, and attempts suicide.

NO.

I'm talking about finding its groove, not the rapidity of the plot. Breaking Bad was pretty clunky and awkward for the first few episodes. BCS immediately felt like a finished product.

 

[Fawlty]

I'm talking about finding its groove, not the rapidity of the plot. Breaking Bad was pretty clunky and awkward for the first few episodes. BCS immediately felt like a finished product.

I prefer BCS in many ways - lots of that has to do with the show inheriting a great universe and wonderful characters plus technical expertise from the crew - but I don't agree about the pacing of BB in the first season or the groove finding. I felt that, very very quickly, I knew everything about everybody's motivations and relationships, and the only thing I could argue was slow was anything involving Walter Junior, who it seems they couldn't decide whether to make into an actual character.

 

[Deleted member 539235]

Any Better Call Saul fans here?

love it, can't wait to see jimmy reach his final form as the saul goodman we all love in BB. mike's story, nacho/the cartel, brilliant.

"no, it wasn't me it was ignacio! he's the one!"

 

[Trotsky]

I prefer BCS in many ways - lots of that has to do with the show inheriting a great universe and wonderful characters plus technical expertise from the crew - but I don't agree about the pacing of BB in the first season or the groove finding. I felt that, very very quickly, I knew everything about everybody's motivations and relationships, and the only thing I could argue was slow was anything involving Walter Junior, who it seems they couldn't decide whether to make into an actual character.

Again, I'm talking about the direction. The first season of BB was filmed like an off-color black comedy and the camera work was specifically far less sophisticated. It used single camera scenes and quirky music. Naturally, Gilligan didn't face the same growing pains in finding his footing and having sufficient funding when BCS rolled around following BB's success.

A good example:

 

[MMAisGod]

At this rate by 2023 people will be begging to put online cameras into their living rooms for fun.

 

[kpt018]

I prefer BCS in many ways - lots of that has to do with the show inheriting a great universe and wonderful characters plus technical expertise from the crew - but I don't agree about the pacing of BB in the first season or the groove finding. I felt that, very very quickly, I knew everything about everybody's motivations and relationships, and the only thing I could argue was slow was anything involving Walter Junior, who it seems they couldn't decide whether to make into an actual character.

The first season of BB did not grab and hook me in. I think it's brilliance started with season 2. And when you look back you appreciate season 1 more for laying the foundation for the show. But I think I agree with @Trotsky that as a stand alone season it lacked some pacing and was clunky. I think I'd have to rewatch it to be sure.

I'm not fully caught up on BCS but I love that show as well. There's a lot about Walter that cannot be replicated, though. He's one of if not the most brilliantly crafted character in history imo and that won't likely be recreated in BCS.

 

[JDragon]

Could an issue be that it's on AMC?

Also, I need to watch BB and BCS but I didn't realize we are already into 4 seasons of it.

You're wasting your life if you don't start watching BB right away.

I am serious. De-prioritize anything else not directly related to work or social life or working out.

 

[Gregolian]

You're wasting your life if you don't start watching BB right away.

I am serious. De-prioritize anything else not directly related to work or social life or working out.

Early access for this starts today.


BB still gonna be backseat.

 

[Trotsky]

The first season of BB did not grab and hook me in. I think it's brilliance started with season 2. And when you look back you appreciate season 1 more for laying the foundation for the show. But I think I agree with @Trotsky that as a stand alone season it lacked some pacing and was clunky. I think I'd have to rewatch it to be sure.

I'm not fully caught up on BCS but I love that show as well. There's a lot about Walter that cannot be replicated, though. He's one of if not the most brilliantly crafted character in history imo and that won't likely be recreated in BCS.

What BCS misses more than Walter White is Bryan Cranston, if that makes sense. I mean, Bob Odenkirk is a fantastic dramatic actor and was himself already a known comedy commodity. But the showcase of Cranston was on a whole different level: people were all familiar with Cranston from his work on shows like Seinfeld, Malcolm in the Middle, and King of Queens, but he just shattered all those preconceptions with an iconic performance that showed he was an incredible dramatic actor all along.

 

[Lead]

It had about 7-9 seasons that were GOAT status but has sucked for almost a decade now. They even admitted they wanted to end the show and Comedy Central offered them money they couldn’t say no to.

 

[Trotsky]

Also, I need to watch BB and BCS but I didn't realize we are already into 4 seasons of it.

 

[Gregolian]

I'm super out of it when it comes to TV.

Most of my entertainment comes from rewatching shit like SoA, The Wire, or watching like Mayans now or just random YouTube videos of guy's playing like Uno and raging at each other.

 

[JDragon]

Early access for this starts today.


BB still gonna be backseat.

That's misguided. Seriously. You don't know what you're missing out on.

 

[kpt018]

What BCS misses more than Walter White is Bryan Cranston, if that makes sense. I mean, Bob Odenkirk is a fantastic dramatic actor and was himself already a known comedy commodity. But the showcase of Cranston was on a whole different level: people were all familiar with Cranston from his work on shows like Seinfeld, Malcolm in the Middle, and King of Queens, but he just shattered all those preconceptions with an iconic performance that showed he was an incredible dramatic actor all along.

Great point. It's a combination of creating an amazing character which comes to life with great performances by BC.