Disclaimer: I don’t typically like dramas and stick mainly to cartoons, sitcoms and sci fi when I choose to watch television (which isn’t that often in the grand scheme of things).
I heard great things all throughout Breaking Bad’s airings, from people from all walks of life. It vaguely interested me, but I’m not one to get into serious dramas really, and if I do, I only will consider doing so once the entire show is done and I can watch it all at once. I also only like to watch a show if I know that fans generally liked the ending, because too many people get burned with unpopular or poorly written endings. I heard nothing bad about the ending to Breaking Bad, and family and friends all recommended to me that I watch it and predicted I would like it, so I’ve recently picked it up.
I’m half way through season 3 and I just saw the episode Fly, which was by far one of the most boring, painful hours of television I’ve ever suffered through in my life. I googled it right after it finished and found out that evidently Fly is not only one of the best episodes of Breaking Bad ever according to critics, it’s also one of the best episodes of any TV show ever in the modern era. I couldn’t disagree more.
I keep waiting and waiting for this show to get better. Everyone tells me it starts off slow but it pays off in the end. So I’ve made it this far, and while it has had its moments, each episode is becoming more and more boring and uninteresting. After Fly, I just don’t know if I have it in me to watch any more. I really feel like giving up.
But, what do you all think? Without spoiling stuff (fortunately nothing about the show has been spoiled for me yet), are the last 2 seasons of the show drastically different/better than the first 2 and half seasons I’ve already seen? I am getting really tired of the soap opera-esque drama of the families, I really don’t care about what happens to any of the characters, and the show’s great moments are way too far and few between for me.
IIRC, Season three of breaking bad was when the show really began hitting its stride. If you still don’t like it, go ahead and find something else to watch.
Agreed. I’m a huge fan of Breaking Bad, and if you were only in EPISODE 3 I was all ready to tell you to keep going. But if you’re in SEASON 3 and you don’t like it, well, I guess you don’t like it.
(The Fly, by the way, is a very divisive episode. Some love it and some hate it. So you’re certainly not alone there.)
You’ve given it a fair shot. If you don’t like it so far, you’d be best off giving up.
I think your disclaimer is key. If you don’t tend to like dramas, I’m not surprised that you don’t like Breaking Bad. I am surprised that you found so many glowing reviews about “Fly”, since that tends to be considered one of the worst episodes by many fans. (I like it, but I don’t love it.)
Ditto. Two and a half seasons are certainly enough to get the show’s measure. The payoff is only great if you’ve been enjoying what has come before. At this point if you still find it tedious and uninvolving, I’d say you have more than given it a fair shake and there isn’t much point in pursuing it further.
“Fly” certainly isn’t the best episode, but it is one of the more pivotal ones. You can absolutely describe Breaking Bad up until the point you’ve watched it as pretty slow-moving. But post-“Fly”, it really does pick up. You have three episodes left in the season, and I think they’ll be a much better gauge of what you can expect for the final two seasons. I’d base your decision off of the season finale, not off of “Fly”.
The real episode 1 or the broadcast episode 1? There is a big difference. The broadcast debut left me uninterested, it was only after some friends forced the DVDs on me with the appropriate intro that I got into it.
Not to say you might still have disliked it either way :).
Ok I just read a summary of the next couple seasons. I may or may not watch the rest of it some day. Thanks for the opinions folks. Guess it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Which is a real shame considering how much everyone loved it, I feel bad that I’m missing out on something great but I really just don’t get it I guess.
I also heard how fantastic Bryan Cranston was in this show as Walter White but I have been thoroughly unimpressed. I much preferred his acting in Malcom In The Middle… but that was a sitcom so I guess that’s just my bias showing.
I’d suggest to stick it out for three more episodes if you can. You are just about to the halfway point, and it does pick up quite a bit from where you are.
I hated “The Fly” when I first saw it, but I read a thread on another board a few years ago on what a character study the episode was, so while it still isn’t my favorite, I do appreciate it.
I introduced one of my best friends to the show and it is by far his favorite show now, but during the fly and the episodes before he turned to me and said “This isn’t what you hyped it up to be”
At this point, the only real “Heisenberg” thing you’ve seen from Walt is regarding Jane.
Sorry that you aren’t connecting with the show, but I’d love to hear if you do at least check out the next three episodes.
You’re not into drama and halfway through the series you haven’t been sucked in yet. Yeah, quit wasting your time with it and move on to something else. Opportunity costs and all that.
Honestly, my feeling is that, if you’re not sucked in after the opening scene of the pilot, you’re not going to be sucked in. Personally I loved the show, but I realize not everyone is me.
FWIW, even though I am a big fan of Breaking Bad, I didn’t care for the Fly episode either. And I found the plane collision to be completely unrealistic, because I’m familiar with TCAS.
Thanks for that. I could not get into the first episode and turned it off early. I have wondered if I should go back to it, but I really didn’t want to. You’ve given me reason enough to think I made the right decision.
Actually I thought the opening scene of the pilot was a bit pretentious. It wasn’t until episode 3 or so that it really got its hooks into me, although after that it very quickly became one of my top 3 or 4 favorite shows of all time. Ymmv.
If you watched “One Minute” (Hank meets the Cousins) and did not like it, then I don’t think you’ll like the rest of the show. That episode was amazing.
I don’t think the Fly was the best episode in the series but it was the episode that made me care about and watch the series. I caught it on accident and wasn’t even aware of what I was watching. After that episode I quickly caught up and watched the last 3 seasons in real time so to speak. I really like that episode.
For someone who’s watched the majority of three seasons of a show and not liked it, I can’t see how just three more episodes will change the OP’s mind.