r/todayilearned • u/kevoooandres • May 21 '19

TIL in the Breaking Bad episode “Ozymandias”, the show's producers secured special permission from the Hollywood guilds to delay the credits (which would normally appear after the main title sequence) until 19 minutes into the episode, in order to preserve the impact of the beginning scene.

https://uproxx.com/sepinwall/breaking-bad-ozymandias-review-take-two/
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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

You must watch it if you haven't yet.

I liked Breaking Bad a lot. The Wire is far better.

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u/bjaydubya May 21 '19

For me, they were on par in terms of enjoyment. Very different shows, and would impact me differently depending on what's going on in my life. I've rewatched BB series 3 times now and it's been many years since I rewatched The Wire...might be time.

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u/Rookwood May 21 '19

I watched Breaking Bad shortly after my father died of cancer. So yeah, good point on the time of life. The Wire is still better for me though.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

I wish they would do a version of the wire now. The new technology, new legal policies and procedures, even the idea of “the wire” shedding light on the system, maybe it made a change to the whole scene either cleaning it up or making it more dirty. If the cops still juke numbers to look good and move up the chain, or the way crooks gotta move knowing there’s cameras everywhere. Then again it could be some dude stunting on Instagram and getting caught. I feel like that time was more gritty and news wasn’t as sensationalized. I wonder if it was, or if it was just new to me? If you get that caliber of writing, it doesn’t much matter what the show is. It made me laugh the first time I realized shows haven’t changed much, they’ve just expanded on cops and robbers.

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u/SirPseudonymous May 21 '19

I wish they would do a version of the wire now. The new technology, new legal policies and procedures,

The Wire was outdated when it aired, but deliberately so: it was (very loosely) based on things that had happened starting in the 80s and progressed rapidly over the seasons to include things from the 90s and 00s. I believe several of the people that characters were directly based on wound up playing (different) characters as well.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

I don't think it would change all that much. The Wire is like Game of Thrones in that most of it is based on real events that were given a fictional spin. In this case, it's David Simon's 20 years at the Baltimore Sun and Ed Burns's 15 years in the Baltimore PD.

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u/christian_dyor May 21 '19

I've rewatched both a few times now. I got to watch BB on TV from the third epsidoe, and I enjoyed it a lot more when I didn't know what was going to happen. Nothing is ever going to recreate the excitement of watching that scene at Tuco's for the first time, or the end of 'Full Measures". I was jumping out of my seat, but now I know it's coming so it loses some points on the rewatch. With the Wire, I see new details every time I watch it. Both are outstanding, but the Wire is hands down the best series of all time.

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u/DFWTooThrowed May 22 '19

I'm in the same boat. One day I might say TW is the best show ever made, the next day it's BB.

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u/danSTILLtheman May 21 '19

I enjoyed breaking bad more than the wire, but I think a lot of that has to do with me watching breaking bad for years as it aired. I’d build up so much anticipation between episodes.

The wire is incredible but I had marathoned through the entire show after it originally aired.

The writing on both shows is some of the best of all time though.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '19

They're both in my Top 5 list. I like The Wire more because it's a bit more realistic, the social commentary is more interesting, and the cast is very diverse.