'Breaking Bad' Renewed by AMC; Series to End After Final 16 Episode Order

TV By the Numbers ^ | August 14, 2011 | Robert Seidman

[tlb]

After contentious negotiations between Sony and AMC over Breaking Bad, AMC has renewed the show for 16 episodes and the series will end after that. Because sixteen episodes is a little longer than normal, it is not yet clear whether AMC will air one last season of 16 episodes or break it up into two mini seasons.

Given reports that AMC originally wanted to go with a shortened episode count for season five, this is probably a win for fans — you might be getting a short season five, but there will be a short season six to go along with it, and it adds up to more than a 13 episode fifth season.

[max americana]

I read the Game of Throne books years ago, and Camelot I download because my girlfriend wanted the romantic angle of it (I know, it’s a chick thing). The good part about Camelot is Eva Green naked. ;)

I have all episodes of Spartacus. It’s hard moving on from Andy Whitfield, the Spartacus in the first season and everyone knows he’s battling some type of cancer and lost 30 pounds. When you mentioned Thailand, I was just remembering The Hangover part 2 LOL

[expat1000]

The good part about Camelot is Eva Green naked

What episode is that? :-)

have all episodes of Spartacus. It’s hard moving on from Andy Whitfield, the Spartacus in the first season and everyone knows he’s battling some type of cancer and lost 30 pounds.

The way they did the prequel impressed the hell out of me. The story line made sense; the actors that played gladiators lost all the muscle and weight they had in the first season - the whole thing held together. They could have thrown together a modified story line with a new lead without all that effort - I mean it's obviously challenging particularly for the actors to do a prequel like that, but did not take the easy way out.

I've saved both seasons as well - I'm avoiding viewing them again until Breaking Bad is finished. ;-)

[max americana]

>What episode is that? :-)<

Episode 1, when she bangs the new warlord in her castle (Most of episode 1 is her naked and shagging the dude), and episode 10 when she showers naked while one of her henchmen peeps thru the curtains..and gets caught peeping...which impresses her.

Not that I kept count (cough)

[TADSLOS]

lol. Good description.

[darth]

Watched a few episodes.

Good points: Showed the complexity of the main characters. Demonstrated the extreme BAD KARMA you deserve when you are selling meth death. Accurately showed the extreme lowlife users and evil, psycho dealers. Purposely (I think) skewed the chemistry so that the wannabees in the audience will kill themselves if they try to duplicate the on-screen fantasy.

Bad point: Hollyweird again trying to glorify a death dealing meth cooker.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Always seemed amc was trying to glorify the lives of drug dealers.

You must be watching a different show. The one I'm watching is about a man who, believing that he's dying, sets out to make some fast money for his family and ends up descending into hell, leaving hundreds of victims in his wake and destroying the family that he started out trying to help.

[SamAdams76]

Every show should end by the 3rd and 4th season.

I agree with that and most of them should end in one or two. A great TV show need not have a "jump the shark" moment. End the series on a bang with the audience wanting more (as opposed to being sick of it and tuning out).

Too many great TV shows got off to a great start (i.e. X-Files, Sopranos, The Shield, LOST, etc.) but went on for too many shows so that the plot lines got too convoluted to resolve properly and the audience couldn't keep track of all the back stories any longer.

A classic example of a show that should have lasted one season was "24." If it stopped after that first season, it would be remembered as one of the best shows in TV history as well as quite plausible. However, it stretched all credulity that Jack Bauer and his CTU unit would be in such an intense situation at least seven more times!

Getting back to Breaking Bad, my wife and I just discovered it on Netflix. I must say that the concept of the show initially turned us off as it appeared to glorify running a meth lab - one of the most contemptible scourges in the drug world. However, as we get into the episodes, it is clear that this is not going to encourage young kids to start their own meth lab. Cooking and distributing meth is nasty business!

[Future Snake Eater]

Have you watched the show?

[Future Snake Eater]

Always seemed amc was trying to glorify the lives of drug dealers. I dunno... making a meth labber the hero just didn’t seem appropriate.

I can tell you don't watch the show. There's nothing glorified about it. Their lives are a living hell b/c of their choices.

[discostu]

He’s not the hero, he’s the main character. It’s an important line. Same one all the good mob movies make.

[max americana]

It’s how you look at it. The dude has cancer but if we are in the 5th season, then his cancer isn’t terminal. He already made millions from a couple of sales and he still couldn’t stop. Then again, it’s just a TV show.

[publana]

Only television show I watch.

[Poser]

Is it just me or does Walter remind anyone else of a cross between Basil Fawlty and John Locke?

[tlb]

>>> The dude has cancer but if we are in the 5th season, then his cancer isn’t terminal.

In viewer time it may be the fifth season, but in the show’s internal timeline it’s been about a year from beginning to now. A remission isn’t a cure. We’ll see.

>>> Only television show I watch.

Then you missed a pretty good Walking Dead episode tonight, also on AMC. But yes out of all the programs on the schedule, Breaking Bad was alone on my “refuse to miss it” list.

>>> Is it just me or does Walter remind anyone else of a cross between Basil Fawlty and John Locke?

It’s just you.

btw, I am not persuaded Gus is dead.