Better Call Saul finally hit tv screens tonight. Find out what Brian thought of the first episode.
"My comb over. Dig it." |
Better
Call Saul is the story of shady criminal lawyer Saul Goodman who was used
primarily as comic relief as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman's attorney on BB. The twist is that the show is set
back in 2002, years before the events of BB
took place. After the show opens with a quick, grim glimpse into the fate of
Goodman after the events of BB, we are
transported back to meet a struggling defense attorney (James McGill) getting by on
bottom of the barrel work. Poor Jimmy just
can’t catch a break, he seems like a decent guy trying to do the right
things but they never work out. This will set the path for us to watch Jimmy
evolve from lowly public defender to our beloved “criminal lawyer” Saul
Goodman.
Right off the bat it is obvious this show greatly benefits
from Vince Gilligan putting back together almost all of his Breaking Bad production team. All the
direction, editing and music retain a polished, familiar feel and the show is
set in the same New Mexico location as BB, yet at the same time everything manages to still feel fresh and new. Bob
Odenkirk has been a great comedic actor for a long time. I think it was a
great choice to pass this torch to him, even though I’ve only seen the first
episode I will be surprised if awards for the work Odenkirk is doing here do
not materialize in the near future.
Better Call Saul
may be a spinoff but it will not take long for it to step out of the shadow of
its predecessor and firmly establish its own identity. Vince Gilligan has
become a master of his craft. The darkly comedic tone of Saul is perfectly matched to Odenkirk’s talent and thanks to the
complete lack of backstory of the Goodman character on BB, Gilligan has a blank slate to work with. After just one
episode of Saul it’s safe to say that I am in.