Better Call Saul

"Breaking Bad" was undeniably one of the greatest shows of the 21st century. If you then hear that one of the characters got a spinoff show, you could be forgiven for doubting the quality. Well, doubt no more. "Better Call Saul" is an equally fine piece of work.

The protagonist is lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), who it turns out is actually named Jimmy McGill. He engages in all manner of shady activity, while other characters from the previous show have their own things to deal with. As with the previous show, it's a serial, with episodes ending in cliffhangers. And make no mistake, you'll want to keep watching.

Basically, it's the type of series that you have to see to believe. There have been lawyer shows and crime dramas, but never have they gotten combined so splendidly. It's the perfect mix of comedy, tragedy and thriller. Definitely see it.

So here it is at last: one of the most highly anticipated new TV-shows of the year, the spin-off from probably THE most highly praised TV-show in the history of Television. Naturally, expectations were over the roof - and it was a forgone conclusion that meeting those expectations would be next to impossible. Well, here's the good news. Judging from the first couple of episodes, 'Better Call Saul' will be good. Just how good remains to be seen, but as far as promises go, those first episodes made a big one.

For those who haven't seen it yet: relax - I won't spoil a thing about the storyline. Instead, I'll concentrate on all other aspects of the show. The first thing you notice (as was the case with Breaking Bad) is the camera. The photography is simply gorgeous. All the visual trademarks I've grown to love so much in BB are there: the playful camera angles; the creative ways to establish even a simple scene with unusual, interesting shots (yet without ever distracting from the storytelling) - it's just beautiful to look at.

Then there's the music. From the wonderful introductions (before the opening credits) to the last scene of an episode, music is not just used as background "noise": carefully picked songs are there to give clues and are as much an integral part of the story as they help establish the tone of certain scenes. And the original music by Dave Porter feels as organic to 'Better Call Saul' as it did in 'Breaking Bad'.

The writing, directing and acting (so far) are on par with BB; anyone afraid this would be a rushed production trying to surf on BB's success can relax; not for a second did I get the feeling this was somehow not well thought through or cheaply constructed by a committee of writers - and although we do of course get some of our favorite characters back, new ones are introduced that promise to be just as original and interesting as the ones that helped turn BB into a cultural phenomenon. And adding high calibre actors such as Michael McKean ('This Is Spinal Tap') to the cast is probably an indication that Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould will not content themselves - or us - by mainly exploring the characters we already know.

And then, finally, there's the magnificent Bob Odenkirk. Starting off as a slightly one-dimensional character and comic relief in BB, the character we've come to love as the sleazy, slick Saul Goodman has already shown more layers in the first half of the first season of 'Better Call Saul' than over his entire run on BB. And that's as much thanks to Odenkirk as the fantastic writing: the actor obviously relished the opportunity to show what he's capable of as his character charms, squirms and threatens his way through his scenes, but - somewhat unexpectedly - he also manages to move you during the more quiet moments.

To sum up my overall impressions: 'Better Call Saul' is a darkly comic, multilayered story that could end up being just as unusual and exciting as we all dared to hope. The tone may be consistent with 'Breaking Bad', but make no mistake: this is very much its own thing. The writing, directing and acting - as well as the production values - are top notch, and if what we've seen so far is anything to go by, we're in for a great first season of a very promising new show. My (provisional) rating: 9 stars out of 10

Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

People who are fans of Breaking Bad should definitely watch this it expands the Albuquerque criminal underworld to unparalleled heights. It's easily one of the most tragic, beautifully written and directed shows of all time and for me at least is at the top of the list of my favourite shows it's tied with Breaking Bad. I'm not really someone who's into the crime genre but this show as well as Breaking Bad are two all time great crime dramas that I actually LOVE. It's a master class of writing and direction. This show is the fastest show I've binged I finished the first 4 seasons in a matter of 3 days. Season 5 isn't out in Canada on Netflix yet.

As of today, it's officially been 9 years since Better Call Saul was released. It's been a little over a year since the finale aired and I'm still mesmerized about how this crew lead by Peter Gould & Vince Gilligan pulled it off, again.

When Breaking Bad reached its finale, it was hard for me to imagine any other show being able to reach it's level, let alone arguably surpass it. And when I heard that there was a spin-off regarding Saul Goodman, I thought maybe the show could have some solid and funny moments, and maybe bring a bit of depth towards some beloved Breaking Bad characters.

Spin-offs in television are usually seen to me as fan service, or a way to make more money off of a franchise that was loved. That doesn't mean that all of them are bad, but most of them don't have the passion or care that'd make you think it was extremely necessary to make a spin-off, especially considering the risk of making previous characters look bad writing wise. And while Better Call Saul was AMC's idea to make more money off of the franchise, I'm shocked with how the creators and writers were able to make another masterpiece.

This show was always meant to be in the shadow of Breaking Bad in my eyes, and I never would've thought of these shows as something that'd be deserving to talk about in the same breath as one another. But Better Call Saul took the ball that Breaking Bad was rolling, picked it up, and launched it forward.

While I think Breaking Bad has peaks that no other show can reach, Better Call Saul was able to do things that it's predecessor never could. The depth and writing of these characters are honestly perfect. So much so that I'd consider the shows leads Jimmy and Kim to be two of the best written characters in television history. And while the cast of this show is extremely stacked, Chuck McGill to me is a character that's honestly overlooked compared to the rest. His character has a pretty clear consensus amongst most people, but there's so much to him and Jimmy's dynamic that's it's honestly not as black and white as most people make it out to be, despite both being objectively wrong in certain aspects of the series. It's really fascinating to me.

The main aspect of the show that baffles me is how perfectly timed the arcs are considering this is a prequel. Every event in the show is written so well and is paced in a brilliant way to the point where no character arc seems to be rushed, yet the show still remains interesting. You think you've reached the pinnacle of a characters journey, then a curveball is thrown that changes everything.

That's not even mentioning how balanced both the lawyer side and the cartel side of the show are. When I first started the show I was eager to get more of the Mike and cartel portion, but the lawyer side of the story honestly paved the way for the first half of this show and was the most compelling part of the first 3 seasons.

My word of advice to anyone who watches this show.

1. Be patient 2. Understand that this is not Breaking Bad.

At some point the show will get very intense, but enjoy what arcs you are given at the time because before you know it, you'll look back and realize you were in the good times of the show. If you watch Better Call Saul after watching Breaking Bad, you might ask for one thing early on. But when you actually get it, you'll realize that the destination wasn't the key, but it was the journey to get there.

Considering most of the characters in this show were never even supposed to exist, it's safe to call Better Call Saul a miracle in television. Whether that was because of an actor wanting to be written off, an actor having a busy filming schedule, or a throw away line that created two of the greatest characters in the entire universe, it's amazing that Breaking Bad was able to pave the way for one of the greatest shows of all time. But what's even more impressive is Better Call Saul makes it to where Breaking Bad is not even complete without its existence.

Kudos to Peter Gould, Vince Gilligan and the entire crew that returned to create Better Call Saul, and I'm grateful I got to experience this universe come to a close.

Let's face facts: Spin-off TV shows tend to fare poorly to the original content. I was furious when I heard about the spin-off to the amazing Break Bad. Nonetheless centering around the buffoonish clown of a character Saul Goodman?! I was livid and heartbroken. I wanted Breaking bad to end on a high note and not let this potential disaster ruin it's legacy.

Breaking Bad was an absolute masterpiece of a show, with an amazing story, script, cinematography; you name it, it's there. But the one thing that made Breaking Bad shine, and in my option, be one of the greatest series ever made was it's deep, deep burial into the characters that made us either absolutely love or loath them. It didn't rely on special effects and had no fat to it whatsoever. No other show encapsulated a slow unfurling of characters so well that it was as if we were getting to know them in our real lives.

I finally decided to give Better Call Saul a shot after hating it's first episode on release. I figured, maybe I could eventually forget about the fact that it was attached to my favorite TV show, and when everybody who watches it is telling you it's amazing, there must be something there.. right?

Boy, were they right. Better Call Saul is just as good as it's predecessor. It maintains it's very high standard to every aspect of the production, and most of all, character development, motivation and relationships are centerfold once more. It is easy to find Better Call Saul even better than Breaking Bad, although I would chalk this up to it being more current and therefore more in the forefront of our minds in the Breaking Bad universe. If you, like me, have hesitated to give this show a shot for the same reasons, stop it. Let yourself feel uncomfortable for the 1st half of the first season, and then let it get it's clutches into you.

I'm so, so very happy I finally decided to give Better Call Saul a shot again 4 years later. With no hesitation, 10/10.