# Better AMC series: MAD MEN or BREAKING BAD? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405 "2010-09-20T14:33:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405/21 "2012-08-24T03:39:25Z")
Both shows are good, but BB is better by a far margin because of the way it keeps you guessing about what will happen next. This is its fifth and final season, but it has been relentless in keeping the audience’s interest with gripping plots. I’ve watched MM also and enjoyed its great characters, but if I miss an episode it was no big deal. Not true about BB. I’m always anticipating the next episode. The closest competitor to BB, IMHO, is the 2004 Battlestar Galactica. One thing all these great shows have in common is a superb cast of actors. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Sparky\_the\_Wonder\_Spirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky_the_Wonder_Spirit)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405/22 "2012-08-24T05:17:51Z")
No response for me in the poll. ☹ I only watch _Mad Men_, but I can’t say for certain that it’s better than _Breaking Bad_, only that I’m not particularly interested in shows focused on the drug trade and the people involved in it. (I could never get into _The Wire_ either but I certainly wouldn’t claim that makes it a bad show.) ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405/23 "2012-08-24T05:28:01Z")
_I watch both shows and judge MAD MEN to be better._ I really like both shows, but _Breaking Bad_ stresses me out more. I find I am on edge while I am watching it. So for me, _Mad Men_ is better. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405/24 "2012-08-24T13:16:30Z")
It’s funny, it was this thread that made me watch Breaking Bad two years ago. I only watched Mad Men at the time and thought “How could BBad possibly be as good as Mad Men?” but then tons of people were picking it. So I started watching Breaking Bad not long after and … Breaking Bad is better. Best show on TV, hands down. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405/25 "2012-08-24T13:28:55Z")
I only watch Mad Men. I tried one episode of Breaking Bad and it turned me off so I never want to watch it again. However, I DO see that it IS a very good show and how lots of people love it. Just not my cup of tea, I’m more interested in vintage fashions and swooningly handsome men than I am in losers in the drug trade. (shudders and clutches pearls with a well-manicured hand…) ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405/26 "2012-08-24T15:28:48Z")
I’m still waiting on those Princess Leia photos, **Skald**. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405/27 "2012-08-24T17:00:49Z")
**Mad Men** is extremely well-crafted, but I don’t think it’s even in the same league as **Breaking Bad**. There’s just nothing in **Mad Men** that compels me to watch it. I felt like I was reading “Great Literature” that, while interesting on some level, was more or less a _slog_. Yeah, the window dressing is nice. But if I were interested in that I’d just peruse a clothing catalog. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405/28 "2012-08-25T00:01:17Z")
Mad Men is fun to watch. Breaking Bad is engaging. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405/29 "2012-08-26T19:21:30Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I’m still waiting on those Princess Leia photos, **Skald**. Rhymer Industries exists to make money for me and to make the world worse for the rest of you. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405/30 "2012-08-26T20:18:07Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Mad Men is fun to watch. Breaking Bad is engaging. Exactly—I don’t go berserk on Sunday nights counting the minutes until _Mad Men_ comes on. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405/31 "2012-08-26T21:43:45Z")
I watched the first few episodes of Mad Men, it seemed really good, I thought I would like it… but have never really regretted not seeing more. Breaking Bad is the best show on TV right now, top 5 of all time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/better-amc-series-mad-men-or-breaking-bad/554405.md?page=1)