Walter White - Caltech PhD, Cancer & Meth Cook

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the television show "Breaking Bad," focusing on the character Walter White, a chemistry PhD who turns to cooking meth after being diagnosed with cancer. Participants share their viewing experiences, opinions on character development, and thematic elements of the show, including moral dilemmas and the portrayal of drug dealing.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express enjoyment of the show, highlighting character development and engaging storylines.
  • Others note a shift in the show's tone, suggesting it increasingly glorifies drug dealing, particularly in later seasons.
  • A few participants mention the necessity for the show to conclude with a sense of self-destruction to avoid a "cheesy" ending.
  • One participant discusses the moral dilemmas presented in the plot, indicating a change from outright danger to more complex ethical situations.
  • There are mentions of the show's planned five-year run, with some expressing relief that it will not drag on indefinitely.
  • Participants share mixed feelings about specific characters, with some expressing dislike for Walter's wife.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express a mix of agreement and disagreement regarding the show's themes and character portrayals. While many appreciate the character development, there is contention over whether the show glorifies its subject matter or critiques it.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference specific episodes and plot points, indicating that their views may depend on their current position in the series. There is also a mention of the need for the show to evolve to avoid repetitive storytelling.

Mépris
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http://youtu.be/--z4YzxlT8o

PhD in Chemistry from CalTech, Walter White has lung cancer and cooks the finest meth on the market.

Anybody here watch the show? I've seen the first two seasons; very addictive. Like with a lot of shows I have seen though, if one were to watch "just" the first season, one would be equally satisfied. The only reason I kept on watching is because it was still awesome (albeit not reaching the same levels of awesome as consistently as the first season) which made for good entertainment.

Character development is pretty cool and (some) behaviour that seemed unexplained are explained when one gets a chance to peek into a given character's life/story. Relationship dynamics are interesting. Nice soundtrack to boot. All in all: great show.
 
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Yes, I started watching at the beginning of the second season and I've been hooked ever since. I liked the second season best, but that's probably because I didn't watch the first season until the second season was over. I have the first three on DVD and I'm watching the fourth. Character development is very good - they definitely change over time.
 
Walter has come a long way haha
 
Best show on television.
 
I liked it at first, when he was desperate, but now it seems to simply be glorifying drug dealing.

I couldn't watch the Sopranos for the same reason (glorifying organized crime).
 
Yeah Walter is glorifying it, by it feels like the writers arent (ie Walter is going to be taught a lesson.)

This is just one of those show tha must end in a downward spiral of self destruction or it will be cheesy.
 
DaveC426913 said:
I liked it at first, when he was desperate, but now it seems to simply be glorifying drug dealing.

I couldn't watch the Sopranos for the same reason (glorifying organized crime).

I haven't seen the third season yet. I did start getting that vibe though, which is one of the reasons I very much preferred the first season.

Pythagorean said:
Yeah Walter is glorifying it, by it feels like the writers arent (ie Walter is going to be taught a lesson.)

This is just one of those show tha must end in a downward spiral of self destruction or it will be cheesy.

Definitely. His life is never too "perfect" and yes, too much of a "happy" (lol!) ending would be plain annoying.
 
I just started watching the show since I saw it mentioned here. I am maybe half way through second season. They seem to be going for more of a moral dilemma situation now (I last watched the "Peekaboo" episode) than the outright danger of dealing with criminals and getting caught by the police. I do not know what happens so perhaps I am wrong about the way the show is going but they obviously need to change up the plot direction otherwise it becomes a Gilligan's Island scenario of repeatedly postponing the seemingly inevitable.
 
Thanks for the heads up. It's in the queue.

If we have any West Wing fans here, you might take a look at the one season of Commander and Chief, with Geena Davis as the first woman President. It's a West Wing wannabe but it's not bad. Many of the scenes and plots are even similar to some from WW.
 
  • #10
Ivan Seeking said:
Thanks for the heads up. It's in the queue.

If we have any West Wing fans here, you might take a look at the one season of Commander and Chief, with Geena Davis as the first woman President. It's a West Wing wannabe but it's not bad. Many of the scenes and plots are even similar to some from WW.

Ah, thank you Ivan. I remember seeing ads for that but I forgot about it. Geena Davis is always nice to see. She reminds me of a girl I had a huge crush on in high school.
 
  • #11
TheStatutoryApe said:
Ah, thank you Ivan. I remember seeing ads for that but I forgot about it. Geena Davis is always nice to see. She reminds me of a girl I had a huge crush on in high school.

Donald Sutherland is particularly good in this.

I think one character was cast horribly. It could be the writing but I'm thinking it's the casting. I'm curious to see if you see what I see.
 
  • #12
Pythagorean said:
Yeah Walter is glorifying it, by it feels like the writers arent (ie Walter is going to be taught a lesson.)

This is just one of those show tha must end in a downward spiral of self destruction or it will be cheesy.

The show is only going to last 5 years. Gilligan has already said so and accepted the deal to end the show next season.
 
  • #13
gravenewworld said:
The show is only going to last 5 years. Gilligan has already said so and accepted the deal to end the show next season.

I take that as good news. I'd rather see the show not end horribly.

I've started the third season today - watched the first four episodes.

So far, it's been brilliant. I loved the first episode, really. Spoiler alert:

The intro and ending scenes of every episode so far have done a good job at keeping me intrigued. It gets very addictive, like popping one smarties after another. The first episode's intro was pretty interesting. You had this guy crawling all over the place no one paid any attention to him. And I thought to myself: "Why is that? Generally, when one sees another in that kind of state, they'd do something, try help...but maybe there is no reason to help." That's where I noticed that the dude had bits of clothes wrapped around his knees and elbows which meant that he was not dying and up to some weird stuff. The two other dudes randomly showing up in a fancy Mercedes and starting to crawl further built up the "tension". Then, when something *interesting* happens, the opening theme kicks in!

On another note: I hate Walter's wife.
 

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