Better Call Saul

Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Michael Mckean, Rhea Seehorn, Patrick Fabian, & Michael Mando

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Series Facts:
- The series takes place in 2002, six years before the beginning of Breaking Bad and seven years before Saul's first appearance.

- Saul Goodman is a pseudonym that was picked because it sounded Jewish and sounds like, "it's all good man."

- Better Call Saul scored the second highest debut rating in cable TV history.


For the die hard fans of Breaking Bad, the series ending was a crushing blow, and as is the case with the more popular series, few were happy with the way it ended. The fans wouldn't be disappointed for long however, as it was soon announced that fan favorite, Bob Odenkirk, who played shady lawyer Saul Goodman, would be getting his own spin-off and once again Vince Gilligan and the beloved genre he created lived on.

Better Call Saul is not what most of us expected it to be, as we assumed, Saul wouldn't stay where he was after the events of the Breaking Bad finale, and that we'd come to see what's next, but in fact, it's just the opposite. The series begins with a depressed and sentimental Saul, taking a look back at where it all started, back when he was kind of an honest man, who kind of cared about a few people, and went by his real name, James McGill. McGill was a con-artist who was frequently bailed out by his brother (Michael McKean) who was a big time lawyer at a huge firm. It was he who convinced Jimmy to turn his life around and try to follow in his footsteps and that's what he did....kind of.

Lets start with the show, because it is every bit as clever and well written as Breaking Bad was. You might not have the shocking violence, at least not yet, but as with it's predecessor, the show is always three steps ahead of you, it's clever, humorous in that dry kind of way, and it is extremely entertaining.

Also similar to Breaking Bad, you have some great side characters, but one man is the show, and that man is Bob Odenkirk. If you thought he was good on Breaking Bad, you haven't seen anything yet. By the time he was Saul, he was a complete con-man, everything was a joke or a scam, but Jimmy, he hasn't really crossed that line completely, he has his moments, but he still has his humanity and compassion. That internal struggle between doing what's right and doing what he deems is necessary is at the heart of the show, and Bob Odenkirk is the heart and soul of the show.

The bottom line, Better Call Saul is not on the same level as Breaking Bad...YET, but it's headed that way. What did you think of Breaking Bad after twenty episodes? Did you feel the same way as you did after sixty? That's the point, Saul is feeling his oats, building his story and his reputation. As for Vince Gilligan, he learned from his mistakes and I think people are going to catch on and get hooked a lot faster this time around. This show has the same feel to it and things are only going to get bigger and better, so if you're putting off on watching it until you start hearing more hype, that's your choice, but you're missing out on some pretty good stuff.