AMC launched the highly anticipated series “Better Call Saul” this past weekend in a two-night premiere event.
As a prequel to the cultural phenomenon “Breaking Bad,” the show takes place in 2002 — six years before our introduction to the most badass chemistry teacher in existence.
Following the triumph of “Breaking Bad,” show creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould essentially had the green light to bring any idea to the small screen. They decided to return to Albuquerque and bring back a few familiar characters. Is this encore a worthwhile reunion?
The series begins in the present-day with seedy lawyer Saul Goodman living incognito, working in an Omaha Cinnabon. The first six minutes of the episode is tinged with nostalgia with the use of black and white cinematography as Saul — under the pseudonym Gene — watches obsolete VHS tapes of his own commercials.
Rewind back six years, before Walter and Jesse took over the meth market and our Netflix queues, Saul was merely James “Jimmy” McGill, a down-on-his-luck lawyer fighting the cases nobody else wanted.
McGill’s inability to find success through honest work not-so-subtly foreshadows his turn to the dark side and transformation into his crime-facilitating alter ego.
Bob Odenkirk, reprising his role as Saul, is fantastic like the rest of the cast — including familiar faces like Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut and Raymond Cruz as Tuco Salamanca. New characters like Chuck McGill (Michael McKean) and Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) shine on-screen as well.
Peppered with memorable one-liners, like “It’s showtime, folks!”, a certain amount of absurdity and plenty of pop culture references, the show earns its laughs.
However, it seems to lean more towards drama than comedy. Just like its predecessor, “Better Call Saul” has already begun to question morality, justice and the American Dream, even though only two episodes have aired so far.
Despite its great cast of strong character actors, “Better Call Saul” suffers from the burden of unrealistically high expectations. It’s association with “Breaking Bad” — arguably one of the greatest shows of all time — takes its toll on this series.
The first two episodes were both entertaining and engrossing, seamlessly mixing high drama with dark comedy, but the question of whether or not an entire series should be dedicated to Saul Goodman remains unanswered. The show must justify its own existence sooner rather than later if it is to succeed. Hopefully, it will avoid becoming another pointless cash grab, like Gilligan’s last spin-off series, “The Lone Gunmen.”
Until then, we can only sit back and watch, hoping that this spin-off is more “Frasier” and less “Joey.”
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