An historically bad idea?: “Breaking Bad”‘s potential spinoff

There have been many bad ideas throughout history. New York’s Mayor Bloomberg has been trying to ban large sodas for the better part of a year, the Detroit Pistons selection of Darko Milicic as the number two pick in the 2003 NBA draft in front of Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James, and this.

However, a new contender is threatening the zenith of poor choices: Vince Giligan’s – Breaking Bad’s creator – decision to create a spinoff show featuring Walter White’s lawyer Saul Goodman as its main character.

To me, this seems like a bad idea for a few reasons. First and foremost, there comes a point when enough is enough. Just as “Fast and Furious” movies passed its prime after the seemingly twentieth installment, “Breaking Bad” is over, and it shouldn’t come back. After the emotional rollercoaster that the final season took its viewers on, attempting to bring back the characters in a new series, but in the same location, would spoil the bittersweet taste the finale left in our collective mouths.

Secondly, Saul Goodman is a super annoying character. There’s a reason that he was never the prime person on “Breaking Bad”: his role was to provide comic relief after dramatic standoffs between Walt and Jesse. He plays the same role that the Clown assumes in Shakespeare’s Othello – he’s essentially a fool, thrown in to break the tension. While it’s certainly fair to say Saul plays a more integral role in the plot, I believe his primary function in the six seasons of “Breaking Bad” was for a touch of comedy.

Finally, I can’t possibly imagine how this series, aptly named “Better Call Saul”, would sustain itself. Gilligan said White and Jesse Pinkman would ideally make cameos, but beyond that there seems to be little follow up of the strong seasons of “Breaking Bad.” This, however, may be the silver lining. I believe if this show is to succeed, it will have to separate itself from its predecessor, taking Saul to new characters with different stories.

Gilligan has overcome hurdles in the past: from little funding to plot issues. If he has proven one thing, it’s that he can turn a shortcoming into an advantage. With skepticism, I look forward to seeing what he’ll do with Saul.

3 thoughts on “An historically bad idea?: “Breaking Bad”‘s potential spinoff

  1. I have just recently started watching Breaking Bad, so I don’t know all the characters or their personalities yet, but I do know that too much of a good thing can be bad, which is the direction, it seems, that Breaking Bad is heading. On another note, I really liked how you related this show to many other bad ideas that happened in the past. It really added depth and perspective to your blog and kept the reader captivated. Good post!

  2. I know the feeling, because occasionally it shows up in book series as well–when authors are dragging a plot out, you can feel it and it hurts.

    I agree that the choice of character is vital here–making a spin-off about the guy no one liked is hardly a way to find success, as even the hardcore fans will eventually get tired of him. At the same time, though, I feel like Gilligan taking it in the opposite direction might also have consequences. If he created a spin-off using a fan-favorite character, one would have to wonder if such a show could easily turn into giving the fans what they want at the expense of closure or quality.

  3. I understand were your coming from that when a show needs to end, it really needs to end. I know you probably don’t watch Pretty Little Liars but every girl does. For that show they just had there series finale this past summer. Now they are talking about using Caleb for a spin off show called Ravenswood. I don’t know if they are repeating the other characters or not yet, but I feel that if they want it to succeed the writers are going to need to start from scratch.

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