Hope you saw that we posted the podcast late last night/early this morning (depending on timezone). If you liked it and haven’t had a chance yet, we’d really appreciate a positive iTunes review. If you didn’t, tell us why. We also have a poll up on Facebook asking your preference about podcasting formats. We like talking about Breaking Bad, and we’re going to continue doing it, but any guidance you can give on what form that talk looks like would be helpful.
So Jim dropped the bombshell on us last night that the talks between AMC and Sony for renewing Breaking Bad aren’t going well. This is starting to become a worrying trend at AMC. Jim made it sound like Sony was the bad guys in this deal, but it turns out that changing the order from 13 episodes to 7 is an AMC cost cutting measure, that has nothing to do with serving the show’s creative side, and Sony appears to be wearing the white hat in this deal. If you want a brief synopsis, this one over at the LA Times will do nicely, and if you want more in depth analysis about what this means for AMC as a whole and it’s other properties (Mad Men, Walking Dead, The Killing) check out this Hollywood Reporter piece.
For a lighter take on the issue, Grantland’s Andy Greenwald has some tongue in cheek speculation about what Breaking Bad would look like on other networks. Here is his take for Breaking Bad on FX: “After struggling with recent launches, FX is thrilled to snatch a proven hit. In pursuit of network continuity, however, actor Dean Norris is immediately replaced by the equally bald Michael Chiklis who reconceives affable DEA agent Hank as a lawless renegade. In the span of one episode, Chikilis-as-Hank shoots his partner Gomey in the face, beds Skyler, disappears Jesse in the desert, and uses a phone book and pair of pliers to get a more favorable cash-split with Walt. The rest of the season passes without incident.”
Steve Kandall, also with Grantland, has his weekly “Powerless Rankings” of the most impotent men on television, and not surprisingly, Walt again comes out on top. Money quote: “The double whammy of realizing that Skyler’s approach to getting the car wash actually worked brilliantly and being chided for buying a $340 bottle of champagne to celebrate leaves Walt with a sinking feeling: He’s not even the best meth kingpin in his own household. And she already knows it.”
For official content, AMC’s Breaking Bad Insider has their 403 episode up. They also have a tantalizing, if bewildering “extended preview” of the next episode, “Bullet Points“.
I liked this recap, by Tim Surrette of TV.com, because it considers another angle to the Skyler debate which I had touched o
n in last night’s podcast but not full considered, that what she did by breaking Eyebrow Man’s balls was sloppy and dangerous.
“One of the last things I’d want to do would be to buy a business from a man who’s already got it out for me, out of fear that he may try to take revenge in the future. On a show that’s all about decisions and consequences, it’s this kind of hubris that’s going to come back and bite Skyler and Walt in the ass.” Do you think we’ve seen the last of Bogdan?
That’s it for today. If you still can’t get enough, be sure to follow our Twitter account @BreakGood, as Jim posts stuff for you all day, every day. Email us your thoughts about the show, any links or news we might have missed. We love all your feedback, it’s the juice that keeps the podcasts flowing. See you tomorrow!