# Is Breaking Bad the best show ever made? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669 "2010-04-28T20:57:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robgotabingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@robgotabingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robgotabingbang)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/1 "2010-04-28T20:57:37Z")
Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/2 "2010-04-28T21:01:01Z")
No, it’s 3rd, behind (1) The Wire and (2) The Shield. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/3 "2010-04-28T21:01:22Z")
Asked and answered, I guess. It’s great but it’s not at the same level as “ **The Wire**.” ---
**Author:** ![robgotabingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@robgotabingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robgotabingbang)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/4 "2010-04-28T21:03:16Z")
just asking, wire and shield fans, but why do you think so? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/5 "2010-04-28T21:04:45Z")
You mean you’re asking us to back up our opinion with examples and reasoning, instead of a one word answer? You started the thread - let’s hear your reasons regarding “Breaking Bad” first. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/6 "2010-04-28T21:07:03Z")
I tried to watch the Wire. Made it through one and a half episodes. I was riveted from the opening sequence of Breaking Bad and my enthusiasm has never ebbed. Never caught the Sheild. So for me? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![robgotabingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@robgotabingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robgotabingbang)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/7 "2010-04-28T21:13:46Z")
sure- loaded with morality debates, perfect balance of comedy/tragedy, a sense of veritas like I’ve seen in no other show (the viewer gets a sense of what is happening with border issues, the cartels, the American Southwest, etc.), perfect musical arrangement, menacing characters, actually having a person with a disability playing a person with a disability (Walt, Jr.), new-Western appeal like in “No Country For Old Men”, et cetera… I can go on for paragraphs here ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/8 "2010-04-28T21:41:10Z")
> [@](#): > > just asking, wire and shield fans, but why do you think so? With respect to important and dramatic storytelling, The Wire has a breadth and depth that no show has come close to equaling. It hits everything perfectly. As a writer, it was amazing to watch and it evoked the same giddy sensations I got when I read great fiction. I knew I was seeing something incredible. It was an elevating experience. I can’t say the same for The Shield because it’s an awful, embarrassing show with almost no redeeming qualities. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/9 "2010-04-28T21:52:55Z")
I would place _Breaking Bad_ in my current Top Five. Right now I’m preferring the new show _Justified_ and the slightly older _The Good Wife_. Once you bring in older shows for an All-Time ranking, I move other shows above _Breaking Bad_ but I’d still say Top Ten for it. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/10 "2010-04-28T21:54:21Z")
Never seen Breaking Bad, but my #1 show is Six Feet Under. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/11 "2010-04-28T21:56:30Z")
Skyler. Walt Jr. Neither of them were on The Wire, so The Wire must be better. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/12 "2010-04-28T22:15:48Z")
Just over a month ago I started [Your Favorite All-Time TV Shows](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=556753) on 03-22-2010, 08:28 AM. The summary of the voting is in [this post.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12284275&postcount=63) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/13 "2010-04-28T22:34:56Z")
We were talking about this the other night. One of the reasons I like it so much is the writing makes you pay attention to get all the plot elements. Lots of subtle references that you don’t make the connections with right away. Makes you think, and it is very satisfying. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/14 "2010-04-28T23:46:33Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > We were talking about this the other night. One of the reasons I like it so much is the writing makes you pay attention to get all the plot elements. Lots of subtle references that you don’t make the connections with right away. Makes you think, and it is very satisfying. This is true about _The Wire_ as well. _The Wire_ also covers **robgotabingbang** ’s comments about morality debates, a balance of comedy/tragedy, a sense of veritas, menacing characters, etc. Plus, it had some characters that you can actually **like** , and while I enjoy watching the BB characters, I can’t say that I like any of them. _The Wire_ is being taught in sociology classes at some major universities. I don’t know if _Breaking Bad_ will ever reach that level, at least not for sociology. It just doesn’t cover enough territory. The scope is narrower. I don’t know where it’d fit in a curriculum – psychology, maybe? I don’t think it’s the best ever but it’s in my top ten, and I can’t come up with any complaints about it. I think it’s a small masterpiece. I think _The Wire_ is a large masterpiece. 🙂 But if BB ever comes up with a scene that has the wallop of “This is me, right here” [Wallace], I might reconsider my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![robgotabingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@robgotabingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robgotabingbang)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/15 "2010-04-29T00:34:15Z")
Wow, 11 for Deadwood. I mean, it was good and all, but…11? ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/16 "2010-04-29T02:48:37Z")
One and a half episodes is about what I caught of The Wire when it first started, and I managed to ignore it for a couple of years. Then I happened to catch, on the recommendation of a few people, the beginning of the 4th season and for some reason got hooked. When I went back to watch it all, I could see why I dropped it the first time, but then all these pieces that took a lot of time to build and introduce started clicking together and there was no turning back from there. The first few episodes seems like a standard cop show, only more boring because there’s never anything resolved. It builds. Best TV show ever. Breaking Bad is VERY good, too, but doesn’t have the scope, either in subject matter or socio-political exploration/exposition that The Wire has. ---
**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:** [April 29, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/17 "2010-04-29T03:00:39Z")
> [@Palooka](#): > > Skyler. Walt Jr. > > Neither of them were on The Wire, so The Wire must be better. I agree with this. I don’t really like the plots with Walt and Skyler. And while I think the kid that plays Walt Jr. is pretty awesome, I think his character is a bit too childish for his age. I like _Breaking Bad_ and I’ve watched every episode, and I find it incredibly slow. Sometimes painfully slow. The bits that are not slow are wonderful, but there’s just something about it that makes me _yawn_ an awful lot. I feel the same way about _Lost_, too. Plenty of stuff to dig your teeth in to (and I watch it like a semi-crazed fan), but still too much fluff inbetween. I realize _The Wire_ does take 5-6 episodes to get in to, and that was true for me as well, but once you “get it” it never seemed slow. Every episode was just so…rich. Maybe _Breaking Bad_ is just too desert-y for me. Or there’s too many characters who do more staring than talking. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/18 "2010-04-29T03:12:51Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Maybe _Breaking Bad_ is just too desert-y for me. Not just desert-y, but raw and spare and soulless – dare I say it? – kinda ugly. Some of the desert scenes are gorgeous but that just emphasizes these joyless characters and their bleak, depressing lives. I’m sure it’s done by design because it fits perfectly with the show, but it can be kinda hard to watch. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/19 "2010-04-29T03:24:08Z")
> [@robgotabingbang](#): > > Wow, 11 for Deadwood. I mean, it was good and all, but…11? Yes, 11. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669/20 "2010-04-29T03:39:35Z")
Actually, the top two are _Arrested Development_ and _The Venture Bros._ I’ve never seen _Breaking Bad_ (or any of the other shows that have been mentioned), but I’d say that, at a minimum, making me pay for a premium channel to watch a show pretty much disqualifies if from consideration as “best.” N.B. I do not purport to know which of the mentioned shows are on premium channels. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-breaking-bad-the-best-show-ever-made/537669.md?page=2)