# Is Breaking Bad really the best show ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738 "2015-09-19T05:31:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/1 "2015-09-19T05:31:31Z")
Granted, I’ve only seen the pilot, but I wasn’t THAT impressed. Maybe it gets better later on, but I found what I saw sort of boring. I don’t think it’s much better than Lost or Dexter. I’d say the best TV shows ever are The Twilight Zone, The Simpsons and Star Trek. Maybe Doctor Who too, though I haven’t seen much of it. I’m not saying BB isn’t worthy of some praise as the acting and characters are pretty good, but I think it’s somewhat faddish like the X-Files and will be forgotten relatively quickly. Do you think people rave on too much about it, or is it every bit as good as everyone says it is? I might give it another chance, but the pilot didn’t really entice me to watch any more. Game of Thrones had a pretty boring pilot too, but got better so maybe I just need to give it another shot. ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/2 "2015-09-19T05:34:26Z")
I don’t care much for Walking Dead either. There’s only so many zombies you can see get killed before you just get bored. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2015, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/3 "2015-09-19T05:39:54Z")
I’d suggest giving it at least a half a season to see (at least) the beginning of the transformation before writing it off. If you don’t get to the point where Walt shaves his head, you haven’t given it a fair shot. Don’t get me wrong, it really isn’t for everyone one. But the big complaint I hear is ‘it’s too dark’ not ‘it’s too boring’. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/4 "2015-09-19T05:49:05Z")
_Breaking Bad_ is a great show, and I loved it, but IMHO it went too often for thrills at the expense of credibility. Personally, I think _The Sopranos_ is still the best show I’ve ever seen. _The Twilight Zone_, _The Simpsons_, and _Star Trek_ are all good for what they are but overall are very different kinds of shows. They are episodic rather than extended dramas. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to compare them. ---
**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/5 "2015-09-19T05:54:41Z")
Breaking Bad is genuinely my favourite show of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/6 "2015-09-19T05:55:51Z")
Wow, if you’ve only seen the pilot you really can’t be making such assessments can you? It is hands down the best show I’ve ever seen. Nothing else in the same league as it, really. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/7 "2015-09-19T06:07:06Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Wow, if you’ve only seen the pilot you really can’t be making such assessments can you? One doesn’t really need to watch an entire season of Oprah or — in the past, the Jerry Springer Show — to work out it’s trash. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/8 "2015-09-19T06:08:13Z")
You really really need to watch more episodes. It gets much much better. I think probably The west Wing was the greatest TV show ever. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/9 "2015-09-19T06:14:57Z")
Part, a large part, of the brilliance of BB is how Walt get’s out of impossible situations by using his brain and scheming and never giving up. Imagine Capt Kirk or The Doctor as a criminal mastermind and you get BB. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/10 "2015-09-19T07:12:31Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > One doesn’t really need to watch an entire season of Oprah or — in the past, the Jerry Springer Show — to work out it’s trash. Mayhaps, but we’re talking about a serial drama here. Getting drawn into the story and watching it escalate is what makes it so engrossing. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/11 "2015-09-19T07:18:27Z")
BB didnt have the same level of brilliant acting or writing as The Sopranos. It wasnt groundbreaking. It didnt have a huge personality like James Gandolfini to anchor it. It was derivative. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/12 "2015-09-19T07:27:11Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > BB didnt have the same level of brilliant acting or writing as The Sopranos. It wasnt groundbreaking. It didnt have a huge personality like James Gandolfini to anchor it. It was derivative. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/13 "2015-09-19T07:56:51Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > :eek: It was a Sopranos knock off without the brilliance of Gandolfini or David Chase. Whats so shocking about that. Had there not been The Sopranos this should would not have been imagined. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/14 "2015-09-19T09:04:00Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > BB didnt have the same level of brilliant acting or writing as The Sopranos. It wasnt groundbreaking. It didnt have a huge personality like James Gandolfini to anchor it. It was derivative. I agree that BB wasn’t as groundbreaking as The Sopranos. I really did think The Sopranos would change Television drama forever. It hasn’t, but it has had it’s influence. BB too often verged on melodrama. It’s still a brilliant watch. I wouldn’t dare suggest it’s the best show ever, but it’s difficult to point to many shows that are better. If the op believes BB isn’t worth the viewing im not going to tell him differently. If he wishes to miss out on the wonderful rollercoaster that is BB then he should go watch something more mediocre. There is plenty to chose from. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/15 "2015-09-19T09:40:51Z")
I watched BB fairly late and if you are watching multiple episodes in a short time frame, it does feel a bit slow (get on with it already!). PLus, you keep yelling at the screen: “drop that screw up Jesse already”. Still a very good show, but for me not in the top 3 or anything. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/16 "2015-09-19T10:00:29Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > I agree that BB wasn’t as groundbreaking as The Sopranos. I really did think The Sopranos would change Television drama forever. It hasn’t, but it has had it’s influence. BB too often verged on melodrama. It’s still a brilliant watch. I wouldn’t dare suggest it’s the best show ever, but it’s difficult to point to many shows that are better. > > . I agree. I should have added this. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/17 "2015-09-19T10:16:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Is Breaking Bad really the best show ever? Yes. Yes, it is. That was an easy question, what’s next? But seriously, it may not be your cup of tea, but it’s easily my favorite show and the show I consider to the best show of all time (well, that I’ve seen). And like others have said, I suggest watching maybe the first season, at least. Just one episode of ANY show won’t reveal its greatness that quick. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/18 "2015-09-19T10:19:02Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > One doesn’t really need to watch an entire season of Oprah or — in the past, the Jerry Springer Show — to work out it’s trash. Uh, well, those are talk shows…They don’t really have a plot, yanno, unless you consider “I was impregnated by my aunt’s lover’s brother’s cousin’s dog” to be a plotline. Talk shows are pretty different from TV shows that are fictional and have an actual, preplanned/made plot. ---
**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:** [September 19, 2015, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/19 "2015-09-19T10:41:17Z")
Liking Breaking Bad isn’t compulsory. I know lots of people who don’t, and even more people who I can’t imagine would. That doesn’t affect my opinion of those people at all. I don’t try to talk people into liking it. If they don’t like it, nothing I say will change their minds, and if they do like it, they don’t need me to tell them why. If you gave it a shot and didn’t like it, hey, life goes on. And, sure, maybe I could tell you to watch a couple of seasons before giving up on it. But I actually think the pilot is a pretty good litmus test. If you watch the pilot and don’t at least think “huh, this is interesting”, then you probably won’t get hooked. But yes, it is the best show ever. That’s just an objective fact. 😉 What makes it stand out the most, IMO, is the complexity of the characters. Look at the BB episode threads, or threads where we discuss how evil or otherwise Walt or other characters are. There was a thread recently (maybe still going) where we were listing the most despicable characters on TV. The thread was mostly just a list, but as soon as a BB character was mentioned, it immediately threatened to break out into debate, character analysis, and philosophical musings about what makes someone evil. That sort of thing just doesn’t seem to happen with any other show. I’ve seen Walter White called the most complex character ever to appear on TV. That’s probably about right. Plus, the show is fun. Don’t underestimate fun. ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2015, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738/20 "2015-09-19T10:59:33Z")
I’d give that title to The Wire. It’s probably somewhere in the top five, though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-really-the-best-show-ever/731738.md?page=2)