Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul. Seldom has many people looked forward to the kick-off of a new series more hungry. Around February 8, 2015, calendars around the world featured a large red circle with an abundance of exclamation points, smileys and OMGs. Would Vince Gilligan - the genius behind AMC's flagship Breaking Bad - be able to finally come up with a spin-off that won't bring tears to your eyes after Frasier - sprung from the sitcom Cheers? Yes Joey, I mean that insult to you. Could Saul Goodman single-handedly fill the big gaping hole that Walter and Jessie left when they left us apathetic and alone on the couch after five seasons? Better Call Saul is about Jimmy McGill, because before Saul became Saul and he assisted Walter White in Breaking Bad as a lawyer with some minor legal disputes, he went through life as Jimmy McGill, bumping into his dented, rusty Japanese van ( potential) client to client, as he plotted one day to become a big boy in the legal profession. That is indeed a very long sentence and a sentence that actually covers almost the entire meaning. With carefully thought-out shots that wouldn't look out of place when framed in a photo exhibition in any clinical white art gallery, sometimes-finger-licking dialogues and an Emmy-win-worthy cast, Better Call Saul has plenty to offer to create many other series. to make screeching jealous. The expected - often extremely subtle - references to Breaking Bad give Gilligan's new love baby a nice double meaning. Although it is often a bubble bottom that only the real Breaking Bad autists will immediately notice. So Better Call Saul is good, but has it also become the series for which you close the curtains on a warm, sunny day to be able to binge compulsively? Based on the first season, I tend to say 'mwah'. For me it is mainly in Saul himself. Not everyone can go solo. Robbie did well, but have you ever seriously considered typing the name of one of those other members of Take That on Spotify? Not me. To me, Saul is the Gary Barlow from the Breaking Bad boy band. Great in a group, but out on his own it is a bit more difficult to cover up those false notes. He's just not the man you love to hate. Not Louis Litt, who is subconsciously muttering on the couch and calling you rotten fish, not Arie Gold, who would have liked to have flown straight down the TV to his throat for eight seasons, and certainly not George Costanza. George. George, George, George. You delightfully narcissistic, aggrieved, neurotic Calimero, you. Set against these fine bastards, Jimmy just tastes a bit bland. It's not for nothing that the best episode is one in which he only plays a marginal role, as the spotlights shine in the face of another Breaking Bad giant, former cop and Sir Fix-a-lot, Mike Ehrmantraut. Give that man a quick bunch of prizes. Apart from the character McGill, the storyline is also a bit too thin for me. It never gets really exciting. On the other hand, Breaking Bad also needed a run-up and the real fireworks only started in season two, so maybe this is just another subtle parallel between the two and we have to be patient until round two.

After seeing Breaking Bad (best series ever IMO), this was of course a follow-up to start right away. I have to say that the first 3 episodes were real income. I didn't like it right away. But because it is often the case with series, I gave it some time. Fortunately. Because the further you get in the series, the more you really get into it and still look forward to the next episode. Of course only watch this series after you have seen BB in full!