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Better Call Saul In The Media


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Vince Gilligan did an AMA.

Q: Do you feel like your work gets over-interpreted?

 

A: That’s a good question! The short answer is no. That’s because I view people interpreting Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul very closely as the highest form of flattery. However, I will admit that a great many of the interpretations that people have of both shows involve details and conclusions which—frankly—I never had in mind. But my opinion is that these shows, once on the air, belong to you the fans as much as they belong to me and those who act and work on the shows, so your reactions are just as valid as mine.

 

Q: What other characters from Breaking Bad might we see in Better Call Saul?

 

A: Anybody and everybody. The sky’s the limit! That’s the beauty of this format. The story takes place six years in the past, where all the Breaking Bad characters are alive and well, but that’s not to promise that you’ll see every character that we introduced in Breaking Bad. We’re still feeling our way through Jimmy McGill’s format, discovering how and why he becomes Saul Goodman—and in the process, there's any number of directions our story can take. So I couldn’t really tell you even if I wanted to who will show up, or when. Better Call Saul is still very much a work in progress.

 

Q: What were your greatest fears in producing a spin-off for Breaking Bad? How did you overcome them?

 

A: Without a doubt, my greatest fear was abject failure—and that is still my greatest fear. Seriously: I was afraid that the show would go on the air and people wouldn’t like it, and—worse than that—people would say it sullied their memory of Breaking Bad. But fear is never a reason not to try something. That’s what I told myself throughout the months of production and pre-production on Season 1, and that’s what I tell myself now. Fear is a good thing—it’s the fire in the boiler that drives your locomotive, so to speak. I try to temper the fear with hopefulness, and I try to use it to keep me going, but it’s always there no matter how much success I experience. I always feel like the next time around—for instance the next season of Better Call Saul—could be the one when people finally say “This guy sucks.” Here’s hoping that won’t happen. I can tell you for a fact that that fear drives me and Peter Gould to make sure that Season 2 will be every bit as good as Season 1.

 

Q: Chuck McGill's arc was brilliant. How did you come up with the idea for the resolution? The lack of a main villain, then turning out to have been a good guy in such a subtle, painful, and awful way was really brilliant.

 

A: Thank you. Believe it or not, the idea of Chuck being the “bad guy” was a late addition to Season 1. We were probably working on episode 7 when the idea dawned on us that Chuck had been the reason Jimmy had never moved forward at HHM. When that idea dawned on Peter Gould and I, along with our writers, we got very excited. But back to an earlier answer, this points out one of the things I love most about writing for TV. There are enough episodes and enough lead time (if you’re lucky) for writers to change the direction of a story midstream. We took advantage of that in Season 1 of Better Call Saul, and in the past for Breaking Bad. It’s a great creative opportunity to have at one’s disposal.

 

Q: Why was Nacho used so sparingly in Season 1 of Better Call Saul? A lot of fans thought he'd be more of a major player. Love the show.

 

A: We thought Nacho would be more present in Season 1 as well. We did not shy away from using Nacho as a character—and we love Michael Mando, who plays him. This is a great example of how—like it or not—a television story takes on a life of its own. As a writer, you have to follow the thread of the story you’re writing, even if that means spending less time with certain characters. In other words—to put it succinctly—there was so much more story to tell relating to Jimmy and his brother Chuck that we writers found it hard to fit in more great moments from Nacho—but don’t despair, you’ll be seeing much more of Nacho in Season 2. You heard it here first!

 

Q: I heard that Saul Goodman's Office at the Shopping Center location is now a Bar in real life and can't be used as a set anymore. At the end of Breaking Bad you had to shoot scenes at weird camera angles where it looked as though they were outside Saul's office with the inflatable Statue of Liberty in the background. What will you use as a new location when Saul establishes himself? What other problems do you run into when a whole town is part of your story? (Also is Kaylee a toddler vampire?)

 

A: That’s an excellent question—where we will put his new office, or where we should put his old office, so to speak. The exterior of his old office is now a country-western bar, complete with a mechanical bull that you can ride. It’s in an L-shaped strip mall, and luckily there are a LOT of L-shaped strip malls in Albuquerque and in the US. When the time comes, I think we can find something that matches the old one welland the interior we can match on the sound stage!

 

Kaylee is NOT a toddler vampire, to the best of my knowledge. Kaylee (as portrayed on Breaking Bad) is about twelve years old, and six years earlier she’s played by an actress who is about five, so her age is played out correctly to my knowledge.

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(edited)

Congrats to Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks on their wins!

 

It was great to see Vince and Peter there in the audience to support their guys even though the show itself wasn't up for any awards. They are two of the classiest guys to ever work in television.

 

I usually don't care about any of the lower-tier awards - and the Critics Choice awards are low-tier in my book - but with BCS still in its early stages any publicity is good publicity at this point. Plus the low-end awards will be in the back of peoples' minds when the better awards start rolling around so I guess I'm good with it.

Edited by Tabasco Cat
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Extra aired a clip tonight with Bryan Cranston, and they asked if he would be doing an appearance on Better Call Saul.....and he got all coy and said "well that could happen"  but then he would not admit to it actually happening.   

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(edited)

Good showing at the Emmy nominations today.  The show, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, and Gordon Smith (writer of Five-0), all got a nom.  It's gotten seven in total.  Congrats, guys!

Edited by thuganomics85
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Kelly Dixon also got two nominations for her editing work. 

I just looked that up and I don't understand it. She's listed once on her own, and once with Chris McCaleb.  I'm assuming it's for 2 different episodes but they don't list a particular episode in any of the nominations in this category. (The other nominations are 2 for Game of Thrones and 1 for Mad Men.) Well, no matter, it ups her chances of winning from 20% to 40%, so way to go, Kelley. (And keep up the podcasts. They may be a pain in the neck, but we love 'em.)

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I just looked that up and I don't understand it. She's listed once on her own, and once with Chris McCaleb.  I'm assuming it's for 2 different episodes but they don't list a particular episode in any of the nominations in this category. (The other nominations are 2 for Game of Thrones and 1 for Mad Men.) Well, no matter, it ups her chances of winning from 20% to 40%, so way to go, Kelley. (And keep up the podcasts. They may be a pain in the neck, but we love 'em.)

I'm guessing either she will win on her own for Five-0, or they will win together for Marco.
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Anyone watch Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO? If not, please check out the episode about Sex Ed. (it's a repeat of a recent show that's being reaired lots this week.) Anyhow, in his history of sex education in America, there is a really old video featuring a very young Jonathan Banks. And John Oliver had to point him out, because he was REALLY young. As Oliver says, "If that's not the basis for a pre-quell to Better Call Saul, I don't know what is!"  Stick around until the end of the episode, because current day Banks shows up in Oliver's updated sex ed video (which is screamingly funny).

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Anyone watch Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO? If not, please check out the episode about Sex Ed. (it's a repeat of a recent show that's being reaired lots this week.) Anyhow, in his history of sex education in America, there is a really old video featuring a very young Jonathan Banks. And John Oliver had to point him out, because he was REALLY young. As Oliver says, "If that's not the basis for a pre-quell to Better Call Saul, I don't know what is!"  Stick around until the end of the episode, because current day Banks shows up in Oliver's updated sex ed video (which is screamingly funny).

 

That was the BEST part of the episode for me, Quilt Fairy - especially the bit at the end.  Hilarious!

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Better Call Saul got shut-out at the Emmys.  I was prepared for it to lose most of them, but am still pissed that Jonathan Banks lost, especially to Peter Dinklage.  I know opinions vary, but I just can't see how a voter can look at Banks' amazing work on Five-0, but prefer Dinklage just basically being a mean drunk for the majority of his season.

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I am also majorly pissed. As happy as I am for Jon Hamm's win, I think I'm more angry about Jonathan's loss. I just don't think the voters all watched that ep. Yes, they're supposed to, but it was on the honor system this year. Plus, I've read that HBO has a big voting bloc, so that may be another reason Dinklage won. One consolation is that Dinklage appeared to believe that Jonathan should have won, too.

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AMC announced today that the "Breaking Bad' prequel will return on Monday, February 15, at 10 p.m. !!!

 

Sepinwall


“Jimmy McGill's journey takes surprising, left-handed turns in season two of ‘Better Call Saul.’  He goes to places we'd never, ever expected.  As for Mike Ehrmantraut, he's pulled deeper into a world he was sure he’d left forever,” the show's co-creator Peter Gould said in a statement.  “We can't wait to share the next chapter of ‘Better Call Saul’ with the fans who have embraced the show.”
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/the-dartboard/better-call-saul-season-2-wont-make-you-wait-like-some-other-cable-dramas#zL920UTxI4yLS6c0.99

 

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Better Call Saul Season 2 Is Going To Be Awesome. Here's Why

 

Perhaps the most crucial takeaway [from the teaser video in link above] is the promise that "it's never stopping me again," which suggests Season 2 could be a far wilder ride as Saul tosses aside his moral compass and takes the cases that are going to earn him big bucks.

One big question for the second season: how far can the writers take Saul in the other direction without sacrificing his likability? Whereas Walter gradually morphed into what can only be described as a villain, Saul ultimately needs to stay within the realm of a morally ambiguous character.

It's a line the writers will need to straddle, but if they get it right, Season 2 has every chance of building on the first to become an even more entertaining series, and one capable of finding rare depth in its portrayal of the law – which is why it's likely to be seriously awesome.

 

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Check out the new poster for BCS:

 

http://images.amcnetworks.com/amc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/BCS-S2-KeyArt-Poster-1920.jpg

 

 


Life hasn't been easy on ol' James McGill, and it looks like Season 2 of Better Call Saul will cover even steeper slopes. The new poster for AMC's Breaking Bad spinoff features McGill (Bob Odenkirk) in his pre-Saul days, trudging up an Albuquerque street with his trusty lawyer's briefcase.

 

The poster is full of Easter eggs for Breaking Bad fans, like the Wash Tub Laundry from the show's pilot episode, and Dog House, where Jesse Pinkman once sold meth. There's even a teeny, tiny Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) skulking on the corner of 12th Street — because he's always there when you need him.       Link
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I absolutely could not help myself but see "Saul" in Bob at his table some moments after he failed to win the Golden Globe award.  He looked like he didn't want to be there, wondering why he ever thought something good would happen.

I missed that, but it sounds so heartbreaking!
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For some reason I didn't realize until just a couple of minutes ago that Season 2 of BCS has been cut down to 10 episodes (even though it was originally renewed for 13 episodes).  I saw a post about the number of episodes on Spoiler TV, from back in November, and it appears to have been confirmed by Peter Gould.

 

I wonder why Season 2 was cut from 13 down to 10 episodes?  Any guesses?  I would assume that some of the episodes will be supersized, at over 60 minutes.

Edited by Sherry67
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I was just checking my AMC listings for the next week because I wanted to see if, by chance, Season 1 of BCS was being repeated before Season 2 begins (so far, from what I can tell, Season 1 is being repeated on Feb. 15th).

 

And... I happened to notice that there is a show called Talking Saul on the schedule!  I had to chuckle because I vividly remember Chris Hardwick saying last year that there was not going to be a show called Talking Saul.  I think people gave him grief for doing Talking Bad in Breaking Bad's final stretch, when he is already doing Talking Dead after The Walking Dead.  Also, I suspect that AMC wanted to see if BCS was a hit before devoting a talk show/wrap-up show to it. 

 

So... will it be Chris Hardwick hosting Talking Saul? Does anyone else see Talking Saul in their AMC listings for February 15th or overnight Feb. 16th, or am I hallucinating?

Edited by Sherry67
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There's this: http://www.amc.com/schedule-mobileSchedule?day=15&resize=l&tz=MT but maybe it's just a one-off?

 

Well, at least I know I wasn't hallucinating or imagining Talking Saul!  Thank you for checking and confirming it.

 

Interesting.   I didn't really expect an after-show for BCS quite yet, just based on the tone and pacing of Season 1.  Maybe AMC wants to try it and see if it is a success after the first episode or two.  They might as well.   Even The Bachelor just had an after-show (it only lasted for 4 or 5 episodes, I think) where celebrity guests could discuss (with Chris Harrison) what just happened on that night's show. 

 

It's funny that no one ever did a wrap up show for Mad MenTalking MadTalking Men?  They didn't even try it.

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I wasn't sure where else to post this comment, so I figured I'd do it here as it is media-related. 

 

I don't follow any series on Twitter or Instagram (there's only so much social media I can take), but I do follow everything I love on Facebook.  It's very interesting how AMC handles Better Call Saul.  They essentially ignore it on Facebook.  All of their posts are about The Walking Dead, or occasionally about whatever random new series they have coming up, or random movies.  If I had not known that BCS was an AMC show before going to AMC's Facebook page, I would probably still not know it -- and I would think that the only show AMC cared about was TWD.

 

Of course, The Walking Dead has its own Facebook page separate from the AMC page, and it is updated on a regular basis.  Better Call Saul also has its own Facebook page, and it is almost always neglected.  Up until a couple of days ago, when someone finally changed the BCS Timeline cover picture and profile picture, the BCS Facebook page had not been updated since mid-February.

 

Why do you suppose BCS is largely ignored on the main AMC page, and then also largely ignored on its own page?  AMC is definitely playing favorites with TWD -- I get that it's an enormous hit for the channel, and I watch TWD too -- but BCS has almost become an afterthought to AMC on social media.  At the very least, they certainly don't give it even half of the attention they give to TWD.

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I wasn't sure where else to post this comment, so I figured I'd do it here as it is media-related. 

 

I don't follow any series on Twitter or Instagram (there's only so much social media I can take), but I do follow everything I love on Facebook....

Why do you suppose BCS is largely ignored on the main AMC page, and then also largely ignored on its own page?  AMC is definitely playing favorites with TWD -- I get that it's an enormous hit for the channel, and I watch TWD too -- but BCS has almost become an afterthought to AMC on social media.  At the very least, they certainly don't give it even half of the attention they give to TWD.

First, this is the perfect place to post this.

Second, Occam's Razor suggests that the answer to your question is within your post: That BCS fans are not heavy Facebook users. I don't know if there is an active Twitter or Instagram following for BCS, but I would bet the podcasts are where BCS fans live--in addition to here and other message boards (like IMDb).

It's possible/likely that AMC only assigns people to update FaceBook pages that have high traffic.

I'm one of those fans who spends too much time on message boards, but not Facebook. My sister doesn't follow media for TV shows, but she is a heavy Facebook user (100s of "friends" to my dozen or so). When we had a family crisis, she bullied us all into joining a Facebook messaging group because she couldn't "handle all these emails." We obliged because she was (and still is) doing the lion's share of dealing with that particular ongoing situation, and so she has earned the right to choose the social medium that makes her load seem lighter. But her use of Facebook combined with her personality has left me with the (probably incorrect) impression that heavy Facebook users are like Mac users used to be: Believing that their chosen technology is The Chosen technology. But there is no single social medium that works for every social phenomenon or event. There are some shows that don't get much posting here, but nevertheless have high ratings. I think Rosewood might be one. Perhaps they have an active Facebook community. I haven't bothered to look.

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I like my Facebook, but I'm more likely to just add BCS to the TV Likes section of my profile than actively follow its own page. Of course, on the other hand, I try to pretend I'm a hipster so I followed the Vamanos Pest Facebook page. (Vamanos Pest. They're totally obscure and you've never heard of them, man.)

Point being, I tend to agree that the average Saul fan doesn't go for show info to Facebook. We want more depth.

Having said all that, I don't do podcasts either. But I love to scour this here board and the Reddit page for good opinions and interpretations.

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(edited)

I'm curious -- probably not curious enough to start stalking Twitter and Instagram pages -- if AMC plays favorites and mainly showcases/promotes The Walking Dead on their other forms of social media (just as they do on Facebook).  And I am curious if the Better Call Saul Twitter, etc., accounts are more frequently updated than the BCS Facebook page is updated. 

 

In other words, is AMC largely forgetting BCS on every form of social media so that their mega-hit show, TWD, can take center stage?  Or do they give BCS a bit more love on those other social media (non-Facebook) platforms?

Edited by Sherry67
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Here's a funny bit:  My husband saw a picture of some protesters holding signs regarding the prime minister of Iceland's involvement with Panama Papers money and one of them said "Better Call Saul".  He does have a global reputation it seems.

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Once again, I wasn't sure where to put this.  For some reason I thought we had a dedicated thread for just listing off the Breaking Bad callbacks, Easter eggs, hidden jokes, references, Gilligan-esque visual suggestions of BB things, etc., as they appear in BCS episode -- I could have sworn that I saw such a thread -- and apparently we don't have that.  I guess the BB Easter egg mentions have just been scattered about in the episode threads as they have come up.

 

Yesterday I realized that there had been far more Easter eggs thrown into these episodes than I ever realized.  Some of them I have caught here and there, but some of them have totally gone over my head.

 

This list is not even complete and not updated to include the latest (and, in fact, the writer refers to Sandpiper when he should have said Casa Tranquila, but he had the right idea).  There are more Easter eggs and callbacks in every BCS episode, but it's a fascinating start:

 

http://screenprism.com/insights/article/what-are-some-breaking-bad-easter-eggs-found-in-better-call-saul

 

It's interesting that 2 of the references the writer mentions are to articles of clothing (a Gus shirt and tie, and a Heisenberg jacket and hat).  Those are more along the lines of the visual suggestions -- sort of reminders of Gus and Walt -- rather than shots of Gus' actual shirt or Walt's actual jacket, as far as I can tell.

 

I noticed a similar visual suggestion/reminder scenario in the episode where Mike and Hector met for the first time, at the diner.  Before Hector comes in, there are 2 guys who are very Walter/Heisenberg-ish in one shot, and there is no way it was an accident.  One bald guy with glasses walks by in a very Walter White-looking outfit.  Another bald or balding guy wearing bright Heisenberg yellow -- like the color of the suits that Walt and Jesse wore when they cooked -- sits at the counter (and eats, I think -- or maybe he reads).

 

Obviously those 2 guys in that scene were not Walt, nor were they were supposed to be Walt.  But I know that it was no coincidence that they were there in that scene, as though Gilligan wanted to remind us, visually, of Walt in that diner.  I know it was intentional.

 

I also couldn't help but notice quite a few purple accents in last Monday's episode -- particularly involving Howard or the background behind Howard.  We know how Gilligan likes his colors, and we know who else liked purple.

Edited by Sherry67
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It's only natural that echoes of Breaking Bad would stir as Saul's season nears its end and Jimmy faces high-stakes compromises. Even more so in an episode Gould chose to write and direct himself. Viewers are entitled to feel antsy about seeing Jimmy's full transformation into Saul, but let's not forget: Walter White didn't become a homicidal kingpin overnight. There's still one episode left in season two, and I am dying to learn about other things. How will Hector survive whatever Mike has in store with his prescription meds? Will Chuck's blow to the cranium make Kim re-think the karmic repercussions of what she's doing? And where can I watch that documentary on Rupert Holmes?

 

Apart From All That:

    Best episode of the season so far.

    Jimmy's karmic payback for not flushing number two: Folks are ditching his matchbooks in urinals.

    As always, such terrifically terse writing (and readings), especially Chuck's "You and Mozart, huh? You both started young."

    Of course Jimmy made fake IDs in high school.

 

Much more goodness at link.  http://www.vulture.com/2016/04/better-call-saul-recap-season-2-episode-9.html

 

AND AV Club's.

http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/pride-goeth-fall-schemers-better-call-saul-235064

Unintended consequences lurk beneath the surface in Jimmy’s decision to humiliate Chuck, too. We don’t have to approve of anything that drives Chuck—his obsession with his professional reputation and disgust at the unlaunderable stain that is Jimmy McGill—to be appalled at the havoc that decision wreaks. Kim extricates Jimmy from Chuck’s accusations by pointing out that Chuck has no hard evidence, only an all-too-plausible circumstantial case. If Jimmy doesn’t know his brother well enough to predict that Chuck will try to get that evidence, Kim does. Jimmy doesn’t get to the copy shop fast enough to beat Ernesto, whom Chuck has sent in to reconnoiter the situation before subjecting his frayed nervous system to the store’s electromagnetic maelstrom. So when Jimmy lays out some cash to persuade Copy Shop Lance to deny seeing him the night of the sabotage, he’s not just covering his tracks. He’s hitting Chuck with a whole new round of gaslighting. Lance said yes to Ernesto, but then stubbornly repeats no to Chuck, whose lifeboat is already awash in a sea of crazy after the 1216 Rozelle debacle and Kim’s refusal to admit the obvious truth. It’s all too much, and as Jimmy watches helplessly from across the street, Chuck collapses, his head ricocheting off the sharp edge of the counter.

 

I don't agree that Jimmy's motive was to humiliate Chuck.  His motive was to steal back the client that Chuck and Howard stole from Kim.  Although this?  Was a thing of beauty.  Chuck finally revealed.

 

My loudest gasp (of many) during this episode came when Chuck asserts that Kevin and Paige are wrong about the address of their own proposed expansion site (while covering his mic, wincing in pain): “You are mistaken, and with all due respect, you’re muddying the waters.” That’s the moment Chuck’s “victory lap” turns into Jimmy’s triumph instead, as Chuck displays to his colleague and clients the extent of his hubris.

 

One more.  IGN  http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/04/12/better-call-saul-nailed-review

 

Holy s--t.

I don't know where I was expecting the Jimmy and Chuck storyline to go, but I don't think anyone was expecting it to go there. When Chuck collapsed and then hit his head on the corner of the counter, I legitimately jumped in my seat. Is Chuck dead?! What a huge turn if that actually is the case.

 

Chuck's collapse was just one highlight in what was Better Call Saul's best episode to date of Season 2. (I'm reserving judgment on whether it's the best of the season, considering the finale is next week.) "Nailed" featured a much better balance of all of the core characters, and the pacing and forward momentum of the episode made it especially tense, well-directed and well-acted.

 

Edited by Umbelina
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I finally listened to a BCS podcast last night (the one for the Nailed episode) -- with Kelley Dixon, Vince Gilligan, Johnathan Banks and some other people.  I hadn't listened to any podcasts all season last year or this year.   I wanted to see if anything was mentioned about the Mike-Fran flirtation, and it was briefly touched on.

 

The podcast from last year was the one that was on the AMC site, correct?  Or am I wrong about that?  That one was discontinued, wasn't it?

 

It's interesting to hear Jonathan Banks when he is not in character.  He just sounds so much... lighter, I guess.  He laughs, he jokes, he chats -- nothing that Mike does, in other words.   He is also getting his honorary doctoral degree, and you could tell he was so proud to be receiving that honor (more on that here -- http://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/04/actor-jonathan-banks-to-speak-at-iu-cinema ). 

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I don't agree that Jimmy's motive was to humiliate Chuck.

While the end result, of course, WAS Chuck's humiliation, I agree with you, I didn't see it being Jimmy's motivation.
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