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Watch Mike from ‘Better Call Saul’ in a bizarre 1980s motivational video


 
Season 4 of Better Call Saul, which wrapped up a few weeks ago, is on the shortlist of my favorite seasons of television ever. The Emmy people have not shown Better Call Saul undue respect—it has never won a single Emmy for anything—but in my view the Vince Gilligan/Peter Gould creation is running rings around every other show in a bunch of different ways. It’s got the best acting, the best writing, and the best direction, for starters. Particularly in the writing arena, it’s a little preposterous that any other drama would beat Better Call Saul, at least that’s my opinion.

One of the amusing aspects of Better Call Saul is that it showcases so many different depictions of excellence in its narrative. Jimmy McGill (later to become Saul Goodman) is a world-class con artist, his brother Chuck is a genius-level attorney, Mike Ehrmantraut is an unusually gifted all-purpose security dude, Gustavo Fring is a regional/international drug kingpin of distinction, and Jimmy’s girlfriend Kim is a pretty gifted negotiator of plea deals and the like as a sideline to her regular gig of representing multinational corporations (with Jimmy, she also grifts unwitting saps for fun). The show has a deep abiding interest in professionalism and excellence in all of its forms.
 

 
As portrayed by Jonathan Banks, the utterly unflappable Mike Ehrmantraut has become the object of no small fascination. I know several people who’d swap places with him in an instant, given the option. Until he landed the role of Mike in Breaking Bad, Banks was a respected if by no means famous character actor whose notable credits had included the TV series Wiseguy and the movies Freejack and Gremlins.

One of Banks’ early credits was a bizarre self-help videotape from 1985 called You Can Win! Negotiating for Power, Love and Money. The videotape was intended to showcase the penetrating insights of a lady named Dr. Tessa Albert Warschaw. I’m guessing that You Can Win! was tolerably successful in its day—before most everyone had the ability to call up life advice on the Internet—for as recently as 2015 she was appearing at a TEDxPasadenaWomen event discussing the importance of resiliency.

In You Can Win! Banks is given the task of portraying the idealized “type” of “the Dictator,” the unpleasant, exacting prig who has precise expectations in every interaction. The video alternates between explanations from Dr. Warschaw and demonstrations of the insights by a team of NYC actors who are really not bad at all, the whole thing is really fairly good but just horribly dated. Skip through it for the bits involving Banks (who knows, you might have a use for a clip of Banks saying the words “Massage! ... ha ha ha ha ha ha, don’t be perverse”). But mainly it’s best to think of it as a highly bizarre conceptual play.
 

 
via r/ObscureMedia
 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
‘Twin Peaks,’ ‘Better Call Saul,’ ‘Mad Max,’ & more as ‘70s-style Topps trading card wrappers
The hilarious ‘Squat Cobbler’ scene from ‘Better Call Saul’ will become legendary

Posted by Martin Schneider
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11.05.2018
08:26 am
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Two superfans just created a movie-length version of ‘Breaking Bad’
03.13.2017
09:46 am
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It seems quite likely that history will single out Vince Gilligan’s majestic Breaking Bad as the pre-eminent narrative of the Obama era.

Breaking Bad‘s debut as an AMC show took place on January 20, 2008, precisely one year before Obama’s inauguration as president of the United States. The pilot aired to little fanfare; thanks to the Writers Guild of America strike occurring at the time, the show’s first season was a truncated one—only seven episodes—which made the feat of Bryan Cranston winning an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series all the more impressive, a sign of things to come. By the time the show ended, on September 29, 2013, the series had become a national obsession—the saga of Walter White/Heisenberg could be found absolutely everywhere.

Despite this intense bout of national fandom, there are people out there who still haven’t seen it.

If you’re like me, every few months you find yourself having one of those “You haven’t seen Breaking Bad?” conversations. As great as it is—and it is great—it’s a tricky thing to ask someone to dedicate 62 hours to a narrative he or she likely has no actual investment in. You can hear the excuses before you finish your schtick: But I’m so busy—Raising nine children—Two jobs and night school too—I’m still catching up on ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘House of Cards’ and ‘The Walking Dead’—the bar exam is coming up…....

If this scene is familiar, then you will be grateful for a recent editing feat pulled off by Gaylor Morestin and Lucas Stoll, who somehow have taken 62 episodes of high-quality TV episodic drama and transformed it into a tight, 2 hour and 7 minute crime drama of the kind Hollywood puts out in movie theaters, just like Carlito’s Way or something. The original show took approximately 3,000 minutes to consume (!)—this one takes 127 minutes, which means that only 4% of the original footage is in the “movie” version.

On their creation, Morestin and Stoll write:
 

After two years of sleepless nights of endless editing, we bring you the answer to that very question. A study project that became an all-consuming passion.

It’s not a fan-film, hitting the highlights of show in a home-made homage, but rather a re-imagining of the underlying concept itself, lending itself to full feature-length treatment.

An alternative ‘Breaking Bad,’ to be viewed with fresh eyes.

 
Naturally, the “feature” version loses a lot of the fun scenes that depended on Gilligan’s masterful use of the slow burn—I’m thinking in particular of the season 2 scene in which Badger gets busted by an undercover DEA agent on a park bench. Still, “Breaking Bad: The Movie” does a great job of supplying the general ups and downs of the saga of Walt/Heisenberg and all the people he affects in his drive to become Albuquerque’s #1 producer of crystal meth.

One advantage of the plot compression is that the (in retrospect irrelevant-feeling) “airplane” subplot of Season 2 is entirely absent.

Watch ‘Breaking Bad: The Movie’ after the jump…

READ ON
Posted by Martin Schneider
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03.13.2017
09:46 am
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Floor plans of the homes from ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘Mr. Robot,’ and other TV shows
11.07.2016
09:51 am
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Floor plans of the domiciles of fictional characters is not a new concept. As far back as the 1990s, an artist named Mark Bennett had bestowed upon us architectural plans for the houses of Boomer-era classics such as The Flintstones, Family Affair, Batman, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I’m also aware of plans for Seinfeld and Friends and a few others.

Many of the shows that receive this treatment are filmed on TV studio sets (often in front of an audience), meaning that such floor plans almost always have a large fictional element. The artists involved must use their powers of imagination to fill in necessary blanks, but the insights derived can often be startling. For instance, would anyone care to speculate on the price tag for the vast “Elliott Bay Towers” penthouse of a certain Seattle radio personality from the 1990s?

Last week Ben Sanford of the real estate blog Homes posted a sorely needed update including floor plans for homes in recent hits, including Joyce’s house in Stranger Things, Elliott’s dumpy single-bedroom apartment in Mr. Robot, and the middle-class residence of Walter White and family in Breaking Bad.

If you’re listening, Ben Sanford, my request list for any future floor plans includes the D.C.-area Jennings residence from The Americans, the bar in Horace and Pete, the Pfeffermans’ modernist Pacific Palisades house from Transparent, Jimmy Shive-Overly’s Silver Lake pad from You’re the Worst, and Sharon and Rob’s house from Catastrophe.
 

 

 
Much more after the jump….....
 

READ ON
Posted by Martin Schneider
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11.07.2016
09:51 am
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No, Internet, there isn’t a ‘sexy Ebola nurse’ costume for Halloween (or is there?)


 
Some troll today tweeted a shocking and, it was implied, inevitable idea for a Halloween costume: sexy Ebola nurse.  The apparent price was 45 pounds, as you can see in the image.

This offensive costume idea elicited considerable outrage on Twitter, which is understandable considering that Ebola has already killed thousands (around 5,000 as of this writing) in 2014 alone. Then there is this sobering fact from the World Health Organization: “A total of 450 health-care workers (HCWs) are known to have been infected with EVD up to the end of 23 October.” Three days ago the first known case of Ebola in New York City was confirmed.

On Twitter, user @thei100 tweeted, “Are people really trying to sell a ‘Sexy Ebola nurse’ outfit for Halloween?” to which user ‏@cfly97live responded “Unbelievable.” Perhaps @thei100 will be heartened to hear that the answer to your question appears to be no. The UK website Metro was on the case. It turns out that the sexy Ebola nurse is fake. The images were taken from a preexisting costume idea which is pretty absurd in its own right: a sexy Walter White costume. 
 

 
So it’s all good news, right? Humanity is redeemed. There is no “sexy Ebola nurse” constume. But wait! It turns out there IS a “sexy Ebola containment suit” costume, available on the brandsonsale website—it costs $59.99 per outfit.
 

 
Here’s their product description for that one:
 

As the deadly Ebola virus trickles its way through the United States, fighting its disease is no reason to compromise style. The short dress and chic gas mask will be the talk of Milan, London, Paris, and New York as the world’s fashionistas seek global solutions to hazmat couture. Ending plague isn’t the endeavor of a single woman, so be sure to check out our men’s Ebola Containment Costume for a great couple’s costume idea.

 
Long story short, if you’re hung up on the word “nurse,” then you’re in the clear. But this other costume is just about as bad, so faith in humanity—dashed.

Posted by Martin Schneider
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10.26.2014
01:42 pm
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Walter White goes Gonzo: ‘Breaking Bad’ illustrations by Ralph Steadman
10.14.2014
04:11 pm
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Saul Goodman Ralph Steadman
Saul Goodman by Ralph Steadman
 
For the upcoming limited-edition Blu-ray release of Breaking Bad, show creator Vince Gilligan joined forces with Gonzo illustrator Ralph Steadman to create six different covers for each season of the show. Available in February, these spectacular collectibles will be sold exclusively by Zavvi.com ($30 bucks each). Pre-order is going on now but be forewarned, the Gus “The Chicken Man” Fring edition for season four (as well as Mike Ehrmantraut’s season five and Hank Schrader’s show finale edition) have already sold-out. Images from each of the six covers follow.
 
Gus Fring by Ralph Steadman
Gus Fring
 
Walter White by Ralph Steadman
Walter White
 
Hank Scrader by Ralph Steadman
Hank Schrader
 
Mike Ehrmantraut by Ralph Steadman
Mike Ehrmantraut
 
Jesse Pinkman by Ralph Steadman
Jesse Pinkman
 
Via Paste Magazine

Posted by Cherrybomb
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10.14.2014
04:11 pm
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‘Breaking Bad,’ the Opera
08.27.2014
10:56 am
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Just a couple nights ago, Breaking Bad beat out True Detective, Mad Men, and Game of Thrones to win the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series for the second year in a row. Breaking Bad had a great night, picking up three acting awards and a writing award as well. The glorious and gut-wrenching fifth and final season, which came to an end last September 29, was an authentic cultural phenomenon, which the pile of Emmys merely confirmed.
 

 
One relatively unexpected product of Season 5 is an actual operatic adaptation of Breaking Bad. The composer, Sung Jin Hong, also the artistic director of One World Symphony, was so inspired by the series that he wrote the entirety of “Breaking Bad—Ozymandias” in the four or so months between the end of the series and its premiere in New York on January 26, 2014. “Ozymandias” is the title of the 14th episode of Season 5, and is a reference to Percy Bysshe Shelley’s 1818 sonnet of the same name, which touches on the fleeting nature of empire.

Sung Jin Hong was urged by his sister to watch “the best show ever” (she’s certainly not alone in this judgment), and before he knew it, the show had become “an addiction.” As Sung Jin Hong says, “The eureka moment probably occurred after I explored and exhausted many possibilities. I had been sketching for almost a month and had not committed to a motif or rhythm. After a long morning run in early November in Prospect Park, I felt as if I could hear my heart beating. I immediately committed to elaborating on what has become the Heisenberg chord and his rhythmic heartbeat in my composition.”
 

 
As with the series itself, one of the more attention-getting aspects of the opera has been the character Jesse Pinkman’s propensity for using the word bitch in conversation. “Breaking Bad—Ozymandias” features a “Bitch Aria” that requires significant audience participation (see video below). The opera was performed twice on January 26 & 27, 2014, at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Chelsea in Manhattan. The two performances required the use of folding chairs to accommodate demand, and the reviews appear to have been very positive.

On this page are two snippets of songs from the opera in a format that we unfortunately cannot embed here. The first song is called “The Moment,” and was inspired by “Fly,” episode 10 of Season 3. Here are a few lines from it:
 

That was the moment
that night
I should have never left home
Maybe things would have…
I was at home watching tv
Skyler and Holly were in another room
She was singing a lullaby
Ah
If I had just lived right up to that moment and not one second more
That would have been perfect

 
Soprano Dorothy Smith Jacobs, who played the part of Jane, Jesse’s drug-addicted friend from Season 2, said, “I think there is a need for operas to be 2014 scandalous, not 18th-century scandalous, while never ever sacrificing musical integrity.”
 

 
Perhaps emboldened by the success of “Breaking Bad—Ozymandias,” Sung Jin Hong has chosen as the inspiration for his next work another televised embodiment of pure evil: Hannibal Lecter.
 

 
“Bitch Aria”

Posted by Martin Schneider
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08.27.2014
10:56 am
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Replicas of the floating pink teddy bear from ‘Breaking Bad’ for sale
07.30.2014
12:18 pm
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Think Geek just released a life-size replica (18 inches tall to be exact) of the iconic pool-floating pink teddy bear from Breaking Bad.

I have to say that all this Breaking Bad merchandise is getting a bit stale. Come on. The show ended last year. But I do dig this gnarly pink teddy bear… in a Mike Kelley sorta way.

  • Now you don’t have to throw your own teddy bear into the swimming pool
  • Life-size replica with screen-accurate airplane damage (and only one eye)

It’s reasonably priced at $29.99.


 

Posted by Tara McGinley
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07.30.2014
12:18 pm
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‘Breaking Bad’ troll writes to advice column pretending to be ‘Skyler’
05.02.2014
01:37 pm
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Oh dear, this one happened yesterday in an advice column for the Winnipeg Free Press. I do wonder if Miss Lonelyhearts has figured out she’s been trolled yet?

Via Geekologie

Posted by Tara McGinley
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05.02.2014
01:37 pm
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Animated ‘Breaking Bad’/‘Street Fighter’ mashup is weirdly satisfying
04.01.2014
10:38 am
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Street Fighter Walter White
 
This video is only a minute long, and there’s really not that much to it, but—I don’t know, it just works. UK-based animator Junior Jessman wanted to pay homage to a favorite video game and TV series, both of which happen to have a purchase on a distinct style of badassery, and the result is this slapdash Ryu-vs.-Jesse Pinkman masterpiece. All the characters look somewhat like Playmobil figurines or possibly Mr. Potato Head, but the love still flows through, what with the use of well-chosen audio samples and video effects. I love the cacti wearing cowboy hats to give the battle a solid sense of place.
 
Street Fighter Jesse Pinkman
Jesse uses his special “magnet power” move to subdue his foes
 
Jesse’s power move derives from his most famous utterance on Breaking Bad—“Yeah, bitch! Magnets!” from the Season 5 premiere. But when Ryu gets Jesse in a tight spot, who saves him but Walter “Heisenberg” White swooping in like a never-to-be-fucked-with Lo Pan in Big Trouble in Little China.
 

 
via RocketNews24

Posted by Martin Schneider
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04.01.2014
10:38 am
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If you like ‘Breaking Bad’ you’re gonna love ‘Break So Bad’


 
This is one of those things I clearly missed the boat on. Okay, let’s just call for what is… I missed the damned yacht! (This is some 2013 shit right here!) If you, like me, haven’t seen the Chinese bootleg of Break So Bad you’re in for an eyeful treat.

With the cancerous concern lonely man must use chemistry skill in making most potent of drugs methamphetamine. Danger and serious threat comes to man’s family to bring his to life to serious impact.

According to what I’ve read online about the glorious bootleg cover art is that it was done on purpose to avoid legality issues. Whether or not this is true, I simply don’t know? Could it be the work of an evil genius photoshopper? Perhaps. Perhaps.

Update: It was done by these folks back in 2012. 
 

 

 

Posted by Tara McGinley
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03.27.2014
03:00 pm
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Methstorm: ‘Breaking Bad’ blue sky snow globe
12.11.2013
04:21 pm
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You know, for that meth-loving snow globe collector in your life. Or maybe just for a completest Breaking Bad fan… I guess

Anywho, it’s for sale at Firebox for around $41.09.


 

 

Posted by Tara McGinley
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12.11.2013
04:21 pm
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If ‘Breaking Bad’ characters were on ‘The Simpsons’
10.10.2013
12:38 pm
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Walter White and Jesse Pinkman
Walter White and Jesse Pinkman
 
Brussels-based illustrator and art director Adrien Noterdaem loves to make Simpsons-ized versions of TV and movie characters. Recently he turned his attention to Breaking Bad and came up with these delightful images.

I would still like to see Lydia! and Tuco! and Gomie! and Badger! and Gale Boetticher! Much like meth addicts, Breaking Bad fans are not famous for ever being satisfied.
 
Walter White
Walter White
 
Skyler White
Skyler White
 
Hank Schrader
Hank Schrader

More after the jump…
 

READ ON
Posted by Martin Schneider
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10.10.2013
12:38 pm
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‘Breaking Bad’ propels Badfinger’s ‘Baby Blue’ up the charts … but who gets the money?
10.07.2013
10:52 am
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Baby Blue
 
It isn’t so often that a song becomes singularly wedded to a specific movie or TV show. Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” will forever be associated with the Sopranos finale. Bobby Vinton’s “Blue Velvet” now has David Lynch’s kinky stank all over it. And who can listen to Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle with You” and not think of vivisecting an undercover cop after seeing Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs?

We may have to add Badfinger’s “Baby Blue” and Breaking Bad to the list.

Last week (as you may have heard) the Breaking Bad series finale was broadcast, garnering an audience of 10 million viewers, an incredibly high figure in this splintered, post-Netflix era—especially for a smaller channel like AMC. And that audience, while not large compared to that of, say, the series finale of M*A*S*H, consists almost entirely of media-literate tastemakers with purchasing power.

Without spoiling even a single plot detail, the “outro” to the series was Badfinger’s “Baby Blue,” a catchy ditty that a good portion of the audience might not have heard before, a song that references regret but in a curiously upbeat way—and the damn thing even features the word “blue” in the chorus! The first line of the song is “Guess I got what I deserve,” and it’s impossible to hear the lines “Did you really think I’d do you wrong?” and not think of Walter White’s maniacal fidelity to his family or the apparent father-son bond he shares with Jesse Pinkman. As with so much else, Vince Gilligan and his colleagues chose very, very well.
 
Badfinger
 
Originally from Wales, Badfinger is famous for two things most of all: they were one of the first bands signed by the Beatles’ Apple Records label, and they were snakebitten by tragedy at every turn. The chaos stemming from the dissolution of Apple affected the band in myriad unfortunate ways; facing financial disaster, singer and songwriter Pete Ham hanged himself in 1975, cursing the band’s manager Stan Polley in his suicide note (“Stan Polley is a soulless bastard”). In 1983, with Badfinger income from the Apple era still in escrow, singer/bassist Tom Evans hanged himself as well. Stan Polley was to Badfinger what Allen Klein was to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, the unscrupulous manager who mercilessly took advantage of the inherent naivete of pie-in-the-sky musician types.

By the Monday morning after the Breaking Bad finale, “Baby Blue” had been downloaded more than 5,000 times, according to Nielsen SoundScan—an uptick of almost 3,000 percent. Nielsen’s tracking week ends on Sunday night, so only the first few hours of the mad rush to download “Baby Blue” is represented in that week’s figures—it will surely chart higher in the following week, according to Bloomberg/BusinessWeek.

In the wake of the tragic suicides of Ham and Evans, the royalties accruing from Badfinger’s estate are today more fairly apportioned, according to a royalty and publishing payment agreement that was hammered out in court. For all songs released by Apple and Warner Brothers under the name Badfinger—this group includes “Baby Blue”—the main songwriter (most often Ham) or the main songwriter’s estate receives 32 percent of the publishing royalties and 25 percent of ASCAP’s songwriting royalties. The rest is divided equally among the band members and the group’s first manager, Bill Collins. Ham’s estate receives an annual income of about $150,000 unless something unusual happens, as when Mariah Carey covered “Without You” in 1994—Ham’s estate received more than half a million dollars that year.

It looks like 2013 will be another “unusual” year! It couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch.
 
Have a listen to “Baby Blue” on YouTube (or even better, buy it!)

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
‘Maybe Tomorrow’: The Iveys’ 1969 album and the genesis of Badfinger

Posted by Martin Schneider
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10.07.2013
10:52 am
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‘Metástasis.’ the Spanish-language remake of ‘Breaking Bad’
10.03.2013
09:43 am
Topics:
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Colombian Walter White
 
The explosive success of Breaking Bad was bound to generate some copycats shows, but Spanish language media company Univision took it a step further, decided to cut out all those pesky middlemen (I think they’re called “writers”), and do a direct Spanish language remake. The Univision version will be set in Colombia and called Metástasis, the term for the spread of cancer- I assume “breaking bad” doesn’t really translate. The project seems intent on keeping every iconographic piece of the show they can, down to “Walter Blanco” (yes, really) in his famous white briefs. They even named his wife “Cielo Blanco”- “Cielo” being Spanish for “sky.”

Of course, some things will have to change to make sense to Univision audiences. The RV that houses Walt’s first meth lab will be replaced by a school bus, since RVs aren’t common in Colombia. Honestly, though? I feel like the context of the show is so American that an RV is going to be the least of their plot problems. Colombia’s relationship with drugs is, to say the least, very different from drug culture in the U.S. So much of the show’s premise is based on U.S. drug wars, especially our border with Mexico and our DEA. Colombia has already decriminalized cocaine and marijuana, and are arguably on their way to doing the same with meth.

Still, I’m really curious about how this will turn out. I may have to tune in just to see a Colombian Saul Goodman!
 
Breaking Bad cast Colombia
 

 
Via A.V. Club

Posted by Amber Frost
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10.03.2013
09:43 am
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Celebrating ‘Breaking Bad’ fandom with the best scene analysis ever
09.29.2013
03:50 pm
Topics:
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A flower
 
NOTE: The following is SUPER-SPOILERIFFIC. Seriously. If you haven’t already seen at least Season 4 of Breaking Bad, you are urged to stop reading now.

Even with the above disclaimer, I’m going to be circumspect here. As Season 4 of Breaking Bad drew to a close, one of the plot points generated a fair bit of discussion among the show’s fans. In what Clive Thompson called “a great example of modern talmudic video-parsing via Tivo and Youtube,” a YouTube user named Jcham979—apparently the real-life identity of that user is still not known—cracked one of the central puzzles of Season 4 a few days before the airing of “Face Off,” the Season 4 finale, on October 9, 2011, posting an intelligent and carefully argued case positing a particular theory of the action. By the time the episode was over, Breaking Bad‘s viewership had been treated to a shocking revelation—but Jcham979, at least, wasn’t surprised.

A video like Jcham979’s is emblematic of what it is to be a devoted fan of a TV series today. It isn’t just the shows anymore, it’s recaps and online communites poring over every relevant detail. The shows are now clearly being made with this mode of consumption in mind.

We at Dangerous Minds wish all of Breaking Bad‘s fans a satisfying conclusion to the series tonight!
 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Best scene in Breaking Bad?
Addicted to ‘Breaking Bad’? Here’s an EPIC four-hour interview with series creator Vince Gilligan

Posted by Martin Schneider
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09.29.2013
03:50 pm
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