BETTER CALL SAUL

The Breaking Bad spin-off series Better Call Saul has everybody curious. Some people really want it, some  really don’t but one thing is consistent for all of us: nobody knows jack.

Will the show be a prequel? A sequel? Will there be cameos from other Breaking Bad characters? There’s a lot of speculation but very few firm facts. That’s surprising since AMC is hoping to get the show on the air in Summer/Fall 2014.

Bob Odenkirk, the once-and-future Mr. Goodman, spoke with IGN and filled in some of the blanks. Still, it seems like a lot of the show is up in the air.

First things first: will the show be a sequel series of a prequel series? Odenkirk isn’t sure but maybe it’s both.

Well, I’ve talked to Vince [Gilligan] and Peter [Gould], who are writing and creating the series, about this and I’ve said that a lot of people do want to see what happens to next to Saul. So, I don’t know what they’re going to do. I know they’ve talked about prequel, but they’ve also talked to me about sequel, and they’ve also talked to me about a mix of prequel and sequel.

I have no idea how a prequel and sequel show would work. Would it be like the beginning of The Hobbit when Bilbo hangs out with Frodo for about twenty-five minutes before strolling down memory lane? Because, let me tell you, that wasn’t the most exciting creative choice ever made.

The most interesting fact is that Odenkirk claimed the show will be “70% drama and 30% comedy.”  I definitely didn’t see that coming. Odenkirk has shown he can pull of the dramatics but, let’s be honest, Saul Goodman has always been a comic relief. I don’t think heavily focusing on the drama is a bad idea but it’s definitely not one I expected.

I feel like I’m the only one who still really, truly wants Better Call Saul and my reasoning is simple: Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould (and all the writers) earned a massive amount of goodwill with Breaking Bad. If some other team was taking on Saul,  I would be shaking my head and wagging a finger at AMC. But it’s not a different team, it’s the same people who gave us Breaking Bad.  If you can’t give these guys the benefit of the doubt then you’ve got some serious trust issues.