Dexter vs. Breaking Bad

[Alcantara]

The Lumber Jack story line was good cause it showed he failed at trying to be normal, only problem this should have been done in season 6, this show DID NOT need 8 seasons. We know once he became a lumber jack and lost everything, he was going to continue killing, especially that cold look he gave the camera but it feel to abrupt.

We all hated seasons 6,7,&8 because the show really needed to get darker.

Wasn't Dexter getting played on CBS for a bit? May be show runners wanted to tone it for syndication?

 

[Daniel.]

The Lumber Jack story line was good cause it showed he failed at trying to be normal, only problem this should have been done in season 6, this show DID NOT need 8 seasons. We know once he became a lumber jack and lost everything, he was going to continue killing, especially that cold look he gave the camera but it feel to abrupt.

We all hated seasons 6,7,&8 because the show really needed to get darker.

I personally loved that Lumberjack end and think people that shyt on it with the memes just flat out don't get or don't want to get the significance of it because of the lead up. Although I personally don't think he kept on killing, I felt like it was a self imposed exile worse than murder, capture or suicide - he truly felt guilt for what happened to Deb and felt he didn't deserve the happy end he searched so long for. That level of introspection and guilt hit me hard as fukk. But like you said, it could've/should've happened sooner without the filler storylines. A LaGuerta chase with Deb as an accidental casualty right after Ritas death would've hit the same note but would've been more poignant given that he did this with characters and in response to characters that mattered from day one and not throw ins.

That's what I loved about BB. Characters from day one remained, no frills, the core that existed from day one all evolved. No need for special guest stars every season to center your show around, let them all develop organically instead of rushing shyt (Batista having a bar mid life crisis only to ultimately go back as Lieutenant, Masuka and his pointless but bad af daughter). No one knew who the fukk Camargo (ITK) and Murray (Lila) were before Dexter and they are both two of their greatest characters. They have success with Smits and Lithgow and they just got trapped in the guest star cycle that took away from the core cast and their importance to the Dexter universe.

 

[Daniel.]

And it definitely needed to go darker. Walter White was damn near killing little kids to manipulate people for his own gain, they couldve toned down the humor a bit given the circumstances. The new show runners deciding to have Dexter tell Astor and Cody about her death in a Mickie Mouse hat and naming the fukking episode "My Bad" was a big red flag for the direction the show was going in. Him going bat shyt on the guy was about the only good thing done that episode and it was downhill from there for season 5.

 

[ECA]

Season 4 of Dexter is so overrated. shyt was straight, but that goofy reveal of the Trinity killers daughter had me

And of course we all knew how the last three seasons went

 

[ECA]

"Dexter" was doomed after season 4 because the show runner left. They changed show runners a couple times after that, which is why the show was a mess.

This is a good comparison but everything "Dexter" did "Breaking Bad" did better. Or hell, not even better....just right in general.

Skyler found out about Walt in the first episode of season 3....the whole world found out by the end of the series. Deb found out about Dexter in season 6....and the world at large never finds out.

That alone is enough to sink "Dexter". shyt man....I remember the threads back on SOHH, it was a foregone conclusion that Dexter would get caught. It was never "if", it was just discussing the circumstances. "Breaking Bad" was far from realistic but the plot gymnastics "Dexter" had to pull just to keep him from getting caught were

If a character found out about Dexter you knew they were either dying, or being written off the show. I know cats like to sit there like "I never felt Walt/Jesse/whatever was in any danger"....bullshyt. I was in the threads, people were sitting there every week "who is gonna die, will he get caught?" People need to cut the bullshyt out. It didn't end long enough ago that you can rewrite history.

To put it into perspective the best episode of "BB" is "Ozymandias", and the show ended 2 episodes later. The best episode of "Dexter" is probably something from season 4, take your pick....then the show went on for 4 more seasons. I don't understand saying "well, 'Dexter' at it's best is better than 'Breaking Bad'" when "Dexter" had a solid 3, maybe even 4 seasons where it wasn't as good as the initial 4.

Fred.

Season 3 of Dexter is weak too

i feel like a lot of people need to go back and rewatch the seasons of dexter that are considered good/great and realize how it was never anything special. entertaining but never amazing.

the show fell of so hard that it's beginning some how got overrated which is a bit of a weird phenomenon. same thing with prison break season 1. it was a cool season of television but since the next 3 were utter trash, it gets pushed up as one of the GOAT 1st seasons of television.

its such an easy narrative to write, but its lazy more often than not, imo.

You right. First couple of seasons of Dexter was like a better than average version of a CBS crime procedural.

 

[We Major]

Dexter from seasons 1-4 (for the most part) Dexter from season 5-7 that ending

Breaking Bad season 1 from then onwards


When it came to Dexter, the last time I really felt really gripped week-by-week was season 4. When it came to breaking Bad, I was gripped from around season 3 (when I started watching it live).

Breaking Bad probably wins throughout it's whole existence but Dexter was on some other shyt in its early seasons. I loved probably more than BB upto the end of season 4.

 

[hex]

BB wasn't even in the radar in the mainstream until the last year. Then everyone just jumped on the bandwagon. So cringeworthy when they compare to classics like The Wire and The Sopranos. Not even close.

How are you holding that against "Breaking Bad" but not "The Wire", which was never "in the radar" until years after it ended?

"The Wire" was so unpopular it got cancelled after season 3, and the creator literally had to beg for 2 more seasons.

Let's not rewrite history. Anytime a TV thread gets made people talk about "The Wire" like "oh man, it was HUGE, I watched from day 1"....but the people that worked on the show say otherwise. Nobody was watching that shyt when it was on. David Simon actually told all the bandwagon fans to because none of them were watching the show when he was begging not to get cancelled. I love "The Wire" but let's keep it real here....it's the definitive bandwagon show.

Fred.

 

[dennis roadman]

#WPOY

 

[Alcantara]

How are you holding that against "Breaking Bad" but not "The Wire", which was never "on the radar" until years after it ended?

"The Wire" was so unpopular it got cancelled after season 3, and the creator literally had to beg for 2 more seasons.

Let's not rewrite history. Anytime a TV thread gets made people talk about "The Wire" like "oh man, it was HUGE, I watched from day 1"....but the people that worked on the show say otherwise. Nobody was watching that shyt when it was on. David Simon actually told all the bandwagon fans to because none of them were watching the show when he was begging not to get cancelled. I love "The Wire" but let's keep it real here....it's the definitive bandwagon show.

Fred.

The Wire never got that mainstream like BB did. No major awards nothing. We all know why too.

 

[hex]

The Wire never got that mainstream like BB did. No major awards nothing. We all know why too.

I don't give a fukk about award shows either way.

People didn't check for "The Wire" on any level until it ended, now out of nowhere everyone's seen it and it's "classic". That's the definition of bandwagon.

Again, let's keep it real. David Simon himself has said this, basically word for word.

And "BB" was solidified in the mainstream prior to the last season. It's season 2-4 numbers were about average for a cable drama. Nobody says "Homeland" or "Boardwalk Empire" or "Mad Men" wasn't in the mainstream, or known....and "BB" was doing comparable numbers. It just started breaking records in the last season....that don't mean it was completely unknown prior to that.

Fred.

 

[hex]

Doakes dying early on would've been worth it had they used the LaGuerta storyline earlier. End season 2 in denial, have Prado end up dead and suddenly the slow suspicion begins. Once Rita is dead, LaGuerta should've been on his ass, not Quinn. That in itself could've been an end game, with Mathews being involved and/or Deb finding out then. They had a solid base for characters in place where they didn't need to include more guest stars that were one offs. Instead, it takes 5 seasons for her to give a shyt about Doakes' death?

There's a lot of things that could've worked but it's all predicated on them ending it at 5, maybe 6 seasons.

To continue the comparison, imagine if Hank suspected Walt in season 1. Season 2 he's investigating him, and by the season finale he's dead.

Now....what do you do for seasons 3-5?

The writing/pacing problems that eventually sunk the show were present from day 1....it just had a good show runner to work around them. I'm guessing he left because he knew the show wasn't sustainable beyond 4 seasons. People say 1-4 were great but always criticize 3, because it lost steam with the death of Doakes. Season 4 rebounded in a big way because Trinity was such a great villain....but at that point they should've been eyeing the door. Season 5 should've been Doakes and/or LaGuerta finding out, leading to Deb finding out, and an "Ozymandias" style break down, with 2-3 eps leading into the series end.

Hell man, "BB" did it the way it did because it's the most logical way. They wasn't re-inventing the wheel.

Fred.

 

[dennis roadman]

@hexagram23

why are you even entertaining this ridiculous thread breh

Dexter is a starter tv show for people who are used to USA and CW dramas. doesn't mean its without merit but anyone stanning it is fukking nuts

 

[Czerka]

@hexagram23

why are you even entertaining this ridiculous thread breh

Dexter is a starter tv show for people who are used to USA and CW dramas. doesn't mean its without merit but anyone stanning it is fukking nuts

@Suicide King

 

[Lakers Offseason]

First 4 seasons of Dexter >>>> first 4 seasons of Breaking Bad

 

[Phillyrider807]

And it definitely needed to go darker. Walter White was damn near killing little kids to manipulate people for his own gain, they couldve toned down the humor a bit given the circumstances. The new show runners deciding to have Dexter tell Astor and Cody about her death in a Mickie Mouse hat and naming the fukking episode "My Bad" was a big red flag for the direction the show was going in. Him going bat shyt on the guy was about the only good thing done that episode and it was downhill from there for season 5.

"My Bad" was a top 10 episode of the entire series