Breaking Bad vs. Game of Thrones

Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones are leading examples of high-quality television programming, something that was not conceivable earlier. Sucking audiences into their respective worlds, both shows are at the top of their game but I can’t help but feel they are not on the same level. One show, in my opinion, has the upper hand. (Before going on  I have to say I love both shows.)

Now, I know people who have watched Breaking Bad and those who have watched Game of Thrones but not many who have seen both and more importantly loved both enough to judge which is better. Quite obviously BB fans would defend the show against GoT fans and vice versa but I’d be very interested in finding what fans of both shows have to say. As for me, I am more inclined to say Breaking Bad is the better TV show.

I find that Breaking Bad serves better as binge-watching material. I had finished season 2 in a day, that was how gripped I was. When it came to Game of Thrones, I couldn’t watch more than 2 or 3 episodes a day. This made me question why that was.

Well, the most clear reason I could think of was the fact that in Breaking Bad the focus lies on a set group of characters and their stories are told better. Walt and Jesse’s journey across five seasons is fascinating to watch, blurring the lines between moral and immoral in ways very shows have. Mike, Saul and Gustavo Fring were amazing characters, so it’s not as if only the protagonists hold viewers interest.

On the other hand, I feel that in Game of Thrones,  there are quite a lot of characters who have potential and sadly we don’t get to identify with them as much because they are killed off. While GoT fans argue that it is the fact that no character is safe makes the show that much more interesting, I feel the stories of certain deceased characters weren’t developed properly and ended up becoming  merely pawns in the drama. Then there are quite a few characters who I’m just not interested in and their story arcs are something I fast forward. If I were being honest, the only characters I truly like are Robb, Jon, Daenerys and Tyrion. I don’t really care much for the others. (Yes, this also can be said of the books, not strictly the TV show.)

But what Game of Thrones does a remarkable job of  is portraying what is written in the books so well. However, it’s very Freudian in its emphasis on violence and sex. At times, the nudity just seems overbearing in the first season and it decreases as the show progressed which was a relief. Breaking Bad doesn’t rely on sex and aggression for its drama to such an extent.

Also, the fact that Breaking Bad was written for television makes for better episode story arcs and cliffhangers. Game of Thrones as book series has to be broken down into ten episodes so some can be quite dragging especially when a character you look forward to seeing does not have many or any scenes. (Yes, I get very bored when Tyrion isn’t around.) I guess that’s why some GoT seasons aren’t as interesting.

That’s why I believe as a TV drama, Breaking Bad works better.

Stitching up 2014

Many things made my year and while I can’t recount the good memories and interesting experiences (good and bad), I can certainly sum up all 365 days in the form of books, music, movies and TV shows.

I re-read quite a lot of books this year and discovered some absolute gems. A Song of Ice and Fire is definitely going to dominate 2015 considering I received this for Christmas:

Music wise, I listened to a lot of new albums and felt nostalgic enough to repeatedly listen to songs I’d lost track of in my iTunes. I had quite the Hans Zimmer immersion, with the release of Interstellar reminding me to download scores from Inception as well. And for some reason, I went through a Fray phase in the later half of the year. They say it’s brilliant to discover a new tune but it’s even sweeter to rediscover one, wouldn’t you say?

It was a good year for movies and I may be saying that keeping purely Interstellar and PK (a Bollywood movie) in mind. Once again, I binge-watched Breaking Bad and find myself hoping that Reign will be renewed for more seasons.

Here’s to hoping next year will bring more and better.

Spin offs just spin out of control

Lately spin offs have been enjoying success on the silver screen and I just have to say that I don’t really care for them. To me, spin offs, attempt to ride along the success of the original show and borrow from its success with the masses. It’s as if the network wants to expand without caring much about quality and that is exactly what I think whenever I hear about a new spin off soon to be aired.

My problem mainly lies in the fact that spin offs are rarely ever as good as the original show and this is mostly because they have large shoes to fill. I enjoyed watching The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars (both in their earlier seasons) but their spin offs The Originals and Ravenswood are disastrous to say the least. I loved Friends to death but Joey was average at best. I’m not even excited about the possibility of a Harry Potter spin off.

Perhaps the only spin off I might be excited about is Better Call Saul because I refuse to let go of the world of Breaking Bad. I’ve always thought that Breaking Bad benefited from the comedic criminal lawyer without his character’s presence diminishing the seriousness of the show. Now it would be nice to see the balance between comedy and drama on Better Call Saul, centering around Saul Goodman’s life before having met Walter White. I’m just waiting for this one to be aired but sadly I’ll have to do so until 2015!

Binge-Watching is better than Stinge-Watching

I’ve always found it easier to go to the extremes of the spectrum instead of sitting square in the middle of it. I listen to the same song on repeat until I get sick of it and the same goes for food and there are a few regrets there but one thing I do not regret is binge-watching. Call it being immature or being unable to exercise self control but I binge-watch TV shows A LOT.

Being a college student wrapped up with deadlines and assignments at the end of the semester, there isn’t much time to get your head around a really good TV series. When you’ve got time off before your finals, however, binge-watching is back with a bang, filling days that you should be studying with much more entertainment than they should be.

I just finished binge-watching Breaking Bad for the third time and god knows how many times I’ve done the same with Friends. When things get too intense in the drama, comedy acts as a nice little reprieve so at least there is some sort of balance in my binge-viewing.

When I first started watching Breaking Bad it was on an overnight bus ride where I couldn’t sleep. I’d been postponing watching the show for a while and then I thought what the hell and pressed play. That was it. I was hooked from the word go. Suddenly when my laptop battery died I was left on the edge of suspense and what would ultimately lead to a full-fledged addiction to the show. I remember finishing the entire second season in a day.

Some  people think binge-watching is unhealthy because it disrupts your sleep cycle  resulting from the inability to stop watching multiple episodes continuously and it could also potentially lead to obsessions with TV series.

To this I argue that when you focus on one show in particular you can really invest in the plot and the whole world behind it instead of just skimming the surface. It really sticks with you and it can be intense, depending on the show of course.(Plus, I don’t sleep early anyway so I might as well do something with that time, right? )

However, my only issue with binge-watching is that you don’t get to watch a TV show evolve over time like I did with Dexter.

What are your thoughts?

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