Missing Your 'Breaking Bad' Fix? 'Better Call Saul' Will Hit The Spot
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
The first two episodes of AMC's "Breaking Bad" prequel will air this Sunday and Monday. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says the new show, "Better Call Saul" is a rare achievement - a great series spun off of one of TV's best dramas.
ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: Here's something that seems like a spoiler but really isn't. The first few minutes of "Better Call Saul" answers a nagging question for "Breaking Bad" fans. What happened to fast-talking lawyer Saul Goodman? Bob Odenkirk, the guy who plays Goodman, says his new show had to answer that question first just so viewers could focus on their story.
BOB ODENKIRK: So to satisfy that a little bit gets that out of the way. Now let's go and do this journey about who is Saul Goodman, really?
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ODENKIRK: (As Saul Goodman) Traffic accident? Better call Saul. Hi, welcome to the law offices of Saul Goodman and Associates.
DEGGANS: On "Breaking Bad," Saul Goodman was a hyped-up attorney for drug dealers with garish TV ads and a used-car salesman's patter.
ODENKIRK: The first time I did Saul on "Breaking Bad," the crew joked about the spinoff because the character was so loud and forceful, and he emitted so much energy.
DEGGANS: AMC's spinoff starts back when Saul is practicing law under his given name, Jimmy McGill. Jimmy McGill is a penny-ante player, short on cash and barely hanging on. He complains to his brother and legal mentor, Chuck, about the terrible cases he's had to take.
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ODENKIRK: (As Jimmy McGill) I just had a case, Chuck, with three clients. Do you know what I took home? 700 bucks. Yeah, I might as well head down to Skid Row and sell plasma.
DEGGANS: His brother, Chuck, is suffering from a mental illness and stepped down from a job leading a big law firm. Jimmy wants to negotiate a severance package but isn't taken seriously, so he starts one negotiation by quoting a scene from the film "Network."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BETTER CALL SAUL")
ODENKIRK: (As Jimmy McGill) You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Hamlin, and I won't have it.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As receptionist) Do you want me to call security?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) It's OK, Brenda. We got it.
VINCE GILLIGAN: He's far more heroic than I would've ever given him credit for being able to be.
DEGGANS: "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan, who also co-created the spinoff, sees McGill as a much better person than "Breaking Bad's" antihero, Walter White.
GILLIGAN: Walter White was fascinating, but if I saw him coming I'd cross the street to avoid him. The guy I'd want to have a beer with would be Jimmy McGill.
DEGGANS: But McGill's good-guy intentions are undermined by his craving for easy money. He brags to two knuckleheaded cronies about his past as Slippin' Jimmy, a guy who would pretend to fall in front of businesses for quick payouts.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BETTER CALL SAUL")
ODENKIRK: (As Jimmy McGill) Slippin' Jimmy had it dialed in. OK, one good fall, he'd clear six, eight grand.
DEGGANS: Fans love seeing other characters from "Breaking Bad" pop up on "Saul," including Mike Ehrmantraut, a hit man and fixer whom McGill first meets when he's working as a parking lot attendant.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BETTER CALL SAUL")
JONATHAN BANKS: (As Mike Ehrmantraut) Three dollars.
ODENKIRK: (As Jimmy McGill) I'm validated. See the stickers?
BANKS: (As Mike Ehrmantraut) Well, I see five stickers. You're one shy.
ODENKIRK: (As Jimmy McGill) Five stickers, six stickers. I don't know from stickers because I was in that court back there saving people's lives, so...
BANKS: (As Mike Ehrmantraut) Oh gee, that's swell. And thank you for restoring my faith in the judicial system.
DEGGANS: He still had to pay the $3. Gilligan directs the "Better Call Saul" pilot with a cinematic, understated skill, likely learned from his years on "Breaking Bad." That connection could be a double-edged sword for the spinoff, giving it wide attention while raising fan expectation to a ridiculous level. But Odenkirk sees nothing but upside so far.
ODENKIRK: I think it's because "Breaking Bad" ended before people were done with it. And if it had exhausted the viewers, I don't know if we would have this great first step.
DEGGANS: Indeed, "Better Call Saul's" early episodes are an amazing first step - a compelling new tale about a man's journey to his criminal future, crafted by the men who know how to tell that story best. I'm Eric Deggans.
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