# Did Breaking Bad get off to a slow start? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289 "2013-10-03T18:38:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/1 "2013-10-03T18:38:44Z")
With all the buzz surrounding BB, I’m thinking about giving this show another shot. I tried to watch it a year or so ago but only got about three episodes in before I gave up. (Although, I did like that bit when dude bought the wrong container. Thanks to my job, I knew exactly what was going to happen when he did that.) Now, I’m wondering if I should have stuck it out. So, for the BB fans out there. Were you an instant fan? Or did it take you a while to warm up? ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/2 "2013-10-03T18:42:28Z")
From the first episode to the last the show moved at a deliberate pace. If I were you I’d at least finish out the first season (it was only 7 episodes). If it still hasn’t hooked you by then it’s unlikely to happen after that. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/3 "2013-10-03T18:43:04Z")
Never heard anyone complain of a slow start, but I’ve heard people complain about a gory start. The show typically moved pretty quickly, overall. ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/4 "2013-10-03T18:57:23Z")
Episodes 1 and 2 are great. 3,4,5 slow down a bit. Episode 6 it takes off again. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/5 "2013-10-03T19:03:33Z")
No, it didn’t start out slow. As Labrador Deceiver mentioned, it starts out gory and dark but lets up somewhat. A lot of shows do that though. Six Feet Under was practically a documentary on embalming people during the first season and we barely saw them working on bodies after that. A little bit of shock value is sometimes what’s needed to suck people into a show about a teacher turned meth maker (or a bunch of guys running a funeral home). I usually give the same advice about Breaking Bad as others. Try it out first the first few episodes, if it’s not to your liking it’s never going to be since it’s just going to go farther down the rabbit hole. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/6 "2013-10-03T19:04:30Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Never heard anyone complain of a slow start, but I’ve heard people complain about a gory start. The show typically moved pretty quickly, overall. Yes, I found episode 2 really hard to stomach, but decided to stick with it. We watched it this summer, so knowing how great people thought it was motivated me to get through that episode. I was richly rewarded. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/7 "2013-10-03T19:23:57Z")
I’ve been watching the series an episode or two a day and just finished Season 3. The slow moving episodes definately outnumber the more exciting ones. The shootouts and violence are fun but scarce. Watching Walt argue with Skyler just bores me to tears. There was an episode I saw recently, The Fly or just Fly. I commented to my wife “Damn, if I was watching this series when it first aired and I had to wait a week to see that I would have been pissed.” 3 seasons in and I’d say there’s probably 2 or 3 exciting episodes per season. I much more enjoyed the pacing of The Wire or Game of Thrones. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/8 "2013-10-03T19:28:59Z")
I think the show lends itself amazingly well to binge-watching. It absolutely takes its own good time go places sometimes, but that’s part of what’s good about it. If you watch it in drips of one episode per week, that can be frustrating, but an episode where “nothing happens” isn’t even something you notice when you can just zap directly to the next one. It all just blurs together into one long story. For the record, I was an instant fan when I finally got around to start watching, though I only first got on the bandwagon this year. I started with the pilot, and only when I ran out of episodes, which at point was the end of season 5A, did I remember that I should probably go the bathroom, eat some food, and tell my boss that I was still alive. (OK, slight exaggeration. But only slight.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/9 "2013-10-03T19:33:50Z")
TV shows always have to take some time to introduce characters and set things up in the beginning, but I don’t think it starts slowly. Things are pretty wild at the beginning and the gory moment people are talking about is one of the very best things that ever happened in the series. What does happen is that the Walt advances further and further into the criminal world and the stakes go up and up as the show goes on. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/10 "2013-10-03T19:38:20Z")
I watched the Pilot a few months ago and thought it was just okay but decided to not proceed. After all the hype for the finale the last few weeks, I gave it a second shot and found the show quickly got better and I am really enjoying it (currently early in Season 3). I would say keep trying but unlike you I found episodes 2 and 3 better than the pilot so I saw improvement right away. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/11 "2013-10-03T19:44:00Z")
I was hooked from the first scene. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/12 "2013-10-03T19:47:59Z")
I thought Breaking Bad is exceptional in that it’s fantastic right off the bat and never drops off. Most shows people will say watch 6 episodes or watch the first season and see if you like it. If you don’t like BB after 3 I’d guess you probably won’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/13 "2013-10-03T19:48:28Z")
I didn’t like the first episode, and I thought that Tuco, the big villain from the 1st season, was pretty cartoonish. But I remember getting hooked by episode 3, when Walt had to decide whether or not he was going to kill the meth dealer they had chained up in Jesse’s basement. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/14 "2013-10-03T19:51:12Z")
I thought the pilot was a bit too self-satisfiedly-clever but certainly very good, and then the conflict that Walt faces in episodes 2 and 3 (won’t spoil it) totally grabbed me and sucked me in, where I remained for the rest of the series. So if you get to the end of season 1 and don’t like it, you most likely won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/15 "2013-10-03T19:59:04Z")
This show did succeed in pleasing a diverse audience. Those who gravitate toward “action” tend to classify some episodes as Slow, of course. But those who are fascinated by a grounded look at the problem-solving process for someone venturing into unknown territory, were pleased throughout. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/16 "2013-10-03T20:07:44Z")
I remember I thought it was slow when I first started watching it. I didn’t catch it until some time after the Emmys in its first season, I forget when. Then I “caught up” by binge-watching. I had to force myself to keep going some times. I’ve always enjoyed the show and often looked forward to new episodes but over the years I have definitely managed to be bored by things. I think it’s a great show but I’ve also never been in the “best show ever” camp. I think if you go into it expecting the best show ever, and it doesn’t grab you like that, you might be disappointed and then forget about finishing. You might also find that it actually DOES grab you and it IS the best show ever. If you free yourself from thinking it’s got to be the best, then maybe you won’t be disappointed if you don’t find it to be the best. Give it one season, see how you like it. You might actually not like it. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/17 "2013-10-03T20:38:43Z")
The first few episodes make it hard to figure out what it was trying to do. It seems like it’s trying to be a comedy and failing but it actually gets progressively darker. I gave up after a couple episodes when it first debuted. It really doesn’t hook most people from the get-go. (And many never get hooked. The series finale doesn’t score as well as a regular episode of _The Walking Dead_ in the ratings.) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/18 "2013-10-03T20:40:24Z")
Can somebody guarantee me that I’m not going to have to see Bryan Cranston in his “tighty whiteys” again? Because that would help greatly in my decision of watching this series. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/19 "2013-10-03T20:44:38Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > I was hooked from the first scene. Me, too. And non dis’ing “The Fly”. That was a terrific episode! ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289/20 "2013-10-03T20:45:46Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Can somebody guarantee me that I’m not going to have to see Bryan Cranston in his “tighty whiteys” again? Well, since he had it put into his contract that he would get to take his pants off for X minutes per season (well, that’s the joke among the creators on the podcast)… I hate do disappoint you, but you’re out of luck on that one. 😛 But yeah, not everyone likes the show. Which is fine, since shows that everyone likes (for some bizarre and paradoxical reason that I’ve never understood) tend to be absolute crap. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-breaking-bad-get-off-to-a-slow-start/670289.md?page=2)