Better Call Saul
AMC, Sundays 10/9 Central
Feb 06, 2015
Web Exclusive
Breaking Bad is one of the best shows to have graced television in a long time, and Vince Gilligan’s exploration of the Walter White universe now continues (from co-creator Peter Gould) in Better Call Saul. Bob Odenkirk returns as Saul Goodman, the fast-talking, loose morals, legally shady lawyer in the spin-off. To be sure, the term “spin-off” rarely implies great things for a television show (how often has one been better than the original?), but if Breaking Bad proved anything, it’s that story is always Vince Gilligan’s top priority. Nothing happens—be it a scene or a shot or a line of dialogue—without reason, so the same should hold true for an entire television series, if Gilligan’s behind it.
Before Saul Goodman was Saul Goodman, he was James McGill, a floundering attorney struggling to score clients and move out of his embarrassingly sorry office. So how did he become the TV lawyer Heisenberg turned to? Clearly, Gilligan felt there was enough of the character left to explore to warrant an entire show, and true to form, the co-creator delivers an engaging, well-plotted series that doesn’t disappoint. Odenkirk is on top of his game as the smarmy, self-serving Saul (née James McGill), and appearances of future players in the Walter White saga—including fan-favorite Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks)—are ticklishly fun.
Granted, the series’ biggest flaw—a completely unavoidable and forgivable one—is that it will forever and inherently be compared to Breaking Bad, a standard that will in all likelihood prove impossible to meet. For Saul to succeed, odd as it might sound, the two shows need to be separated as much as possible. Better Call Saul is an extension of Breaking Bad, but it is not Breaking Bad; it is its own entity. Even without Walter White or Jesse Pinkman, Saul—with his bizarre acquaintances, his oily courtroom performances, his willingness to throw people under the bus to save himself, his me-first attitude, and his incredible potential for bad situations—makes for some darn good television. (www.amctv.com/shows/better-call-saul)
Author rating: 7/10
Average reader rating: 9/10
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