Yeah, that is pretty rediculous. 3-5 months is bad enough. The only show I've been lucky enough to watch in it's entirety after it ended was The Wire.

Don't go into the How I Met Your Mother thread. Those guys are constantly whining that the schedule isn't done like Mad Men and Lost. They want 7 months off and then 22 episodes in a row. Then 7 months off again. They claim the "Lost" model of TV is the future and CBS just hasn't realized it.

I think the BB schedule is better than the HIMYM one, but I want more than one season per year.

I remember that happening in that thread. The season was so bad I didn't feel much of a need to participate anymore.

wtf, more than one season per year?

Would be awesome, dont you agree?

Seeing as how they only have like 13 episodes in their seasons, I guess I would indeed like more than one season per year.

I just don't see how it's feasible to write, film, and produce more than one season a year.

I think the more serialized a show is, the better it works in short runs every single week + months off as opposed to spread out over a full season.

Yeah, you guys know it takes more than an hour to film these things, right? There are production schedules, people have other responsibilities, television channels want that hour to put other shows in, etc.

Also I stayed away from this thread because I feared epic ******ation and it's even worse than I thought, unless "I wonder if Gale is dead?" stuff is some injoke level from the beginning of the season.

I actually thought this season is getting overrated by people riding the high of the excellent ending. The last two episodes were great, but the season as a whole was unfocused as far as plotlines. The bulk of the season was resolving the conflict between Gus+Walt vs. the cartel but that got more or less resolved, then the end switches to a new conflict between Jesse+Walt vs. Gus which then escalates incredibly quickly.

Two other little things that bothered me:

1) Gus's accent. Was there a pattern to when he used it?

2) It seemed off that Gus, a man capable of having the Mexican police assassinate a high-level cartel boss, meets with rando street level dealers and runs his primary manufacturing operation personally with 2 guys for muscle and zero lieutenants.

I didn't mind the pace of action this season. Even though it seemed incredibly fast, it's seemed so to me from the beginning-- I thought when I was watching the pilot, that I was watching a flash forward to the end of the series-- and just seeing how rapidly getting seriously involved in the drug trade deteriorates, and what it does to lives, is part of the drama for me, at least. After all, they are dealing in speed.

1)My observations: Je kept to a neutral accent when in public, and spoke with his (presumably Chilean) accent when talking to members of the Cartel. When dealing with his employees, or at least Walt, he spoke more neutrally when things were pleasant, but slipped into his accent when he got serious or angry.

2)I don't think he would have met with those dealers if he wasn't dealing specifically with Walt and Jesse. He wants to send Jesse a message (I have an eye on this entire organization, so don't you dare **** up, because Walt is the only reason you are here).

1) Yeah, that was the general theme, but he used the accent when he was with Gale in his apartment. Not sure if there was some significance to that.

2) He claimed those guys were trusted employees, he sent Goodman's PI to rescue the Chinaman, the short-haired muscle guy did literally everything else. It's dramatic necessity to cut down on the number of characters and I understand, but that scene especially felt really off. Random dudes with dope in their pockets don't get to meet the chief. Why does a guy who otherwise is in charge of a ~$400M/yr business even considering buying that tiny bit of weight from Jesse earlier in the season? He eventually did it to get to Walt, but before that the reason he didn't want to do it was because Jesse is a junkie.

The real reason should be that he doesn't **** around with buying a few pounds here and there from randoms, that **** is how people get caught.

The size and scope of Gus' operation has been inconsistent.

I agree with Fly. People who want 20-26 episodes of season, can you name a single elite serialized TV drama that has had that many episodes in a season? There is a reason for this.

Obviously, it was a wish, I know there is a good reason why they dont do it.

I am willing to argue that 24 episodes per season make up for a ****ty show, in which half the episodes are fillers. I like the 13 episode "a la Sopranos" format.

The West Wing. Though yes, in general trying to produce too many episodes a year will dilute the quality of a show.

Nevermind "elite", just how many hour long series are there where its 20+ episodes a season? Seems like all the shows i can think of off the top of my head which are 20+ are half hour shows, so it seems to me that its either usually roughly 24x30m or 12x60m.

Here's my take on most of the things you mentioned, Fly:
I assume that was done to convey the seriousness of the matter.

I drew the conclusion that Victor is his right-hand man for internal business and Mike is his man for outside affairs (investigations, etc.) I assumed that if Gus is planning to corner the entire Southwest that he has a structure in place for doing so. I figured we were just seeing a small slice of it.

As far as the street guys, I didn't think Gus would have done it unless this was a unique situation, involving his prized cook and his assistant. It might even be a ****up on Gus' part, but Gus was trying to either scare Jesse straight or engineer a confrontation, and it wouldn't have been possible without showing Jesse that he has his street guys' back (in the first case) or letting the guys get a visual on Jesse and a warning to expect something (in the second case).

IIRC it was pretty clear that Gus had no intention of buying from Jesse until Mike told him Walt and Jesse were on the outs. He had no interest in dealing with him otherwise (until he saw him as a way to bring Walt back into the mix, and his arrangement with the Cartel allowed him to deal with "certain local manufacturers".

Kinda true, but part of the drama of this season was seeing just how deep and wide-ranging Gus' plans for his operation really well. I think Gus just has a tendency to micromanage (hence the meeting in person in "Half Measures") and his goal all along has been vertical integration (why he wants Walt on board, and why even his street dealers are "trusted employees").

veronica mars did 20+ per season

wow, my last post is full of typos.

Son of a BITCH!

http://warmingglow.uproxx.com/2010/0...ntil-july-2011

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

I kinda agree with this. The sloppiness of this is especially noticeable if you've seen The Wire. You don't talk about drugs using the real names, use the same phones, ever have drugs in your possession or nearby, etc...

I just got done watching the 3rd season, watched it all over the course of a week. Pretty awesome stuff. The only thing I don't like really is Walt's family life/drama. His son is annoying because he's always whining and it's like listening to a ****** talk, and his wife does nothing but whine too. Every scene where they are talking to the drug boss is money though.

gee, how about that

I think it's a little simpler than this - Victor is a businessman, Mike is the muscle.

Maybe watching tv turns off my compassionate side, but I just want him to spit it out when he's talking. He slows down every scene while you're waiting for some garbled whining to come out, and his character serves no purpose other than to act as a backdrop for Walt. I would probably have the same complaint if he didn't have CP because his character just doesn't do anything.