Alex Casey recaps the fifth episode of Lightbox’s much anticipated Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. All I can say is, thank goodness there’s finally been some light shed on Chuck’s bizarre condition (candlelight of course, not anything fluorescent). After stealing the neighbour’s paper last week, the police busted in on Chuck with as much gusto as they have … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the fourth episode of Lightbox’s much anticipated Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. // Everyone is getting bloody tricked in this episode – the Kettlemans, Nacho, Jimmy, Chuck, innocent bystanders and even us plebs in the audience. The swindling is in full force, and nobody is safe as Saul Goodman slowly rises from beneath a pile … Read more
Monitor is a new bi-weekly column from Aaron Yap. Each edition will see him critically examine a new show or trend in current television. First up is Better Call Saul. // Much has been made about modern mainstream cinema’s over-reliance on mining existing properties for content. More than ever, the studios are operating in a safety bubble, with … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the third episode of Lightbox’s much anticipated Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. // The episode opens with the sort of flashback we have come to know and love in Breaking Bad. A good wig has got to be the single most effective time travel device in all of television. Charles goes to visit a much younger, … Read more
We have rounded up the important TV news of the week, so you can impress your friends and family over the weekend. // Smashing News For Smash Palace Sky has announced this week that they are working on an all-new local reality series to air on The Box called Smashed Palace. The eight-part series will … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the first two episodes of Lightbox’s much anticipated Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul. // Episode One: “Uno” “If I’m lucky, in a month from now, best case scenario, I’m managing a Cinnabon in Omaha.” – Saul Goodman, Breaking Bad Episode 15 “Granite State” Better Call Saul opens not with a bang, but with the … Read more
Fragmentary Thoughts is a new comic strip by José Barbosa, in which he’ll tackle a different television show or phenomenon each month. The first is a response to the debut episode of Better Call Saul. Warning: contains a spoiler. // Straight out of the starting blocks Better Call Saul‘s first episode didn’t quite knock it out of the … Read more
Inside the Lightbox is a new sponsored feature where we mine the extensive Lightbox catalogue for cool shows you might like to watch. This week, to celebrate the premiere of Better Call Saul, Alex Casey approaches the bench with a strong selection of similar dodgy-lawyer-based shows for you to enjoy. // Boston Legal There was a … Read more
Checking in With… is a regular column which features a Spinoff writer watching one or more episodes of a current show and attempting to decode its appeal. This week, we previewed Better Call Saul, arriving exclusively to Lightbox at 8pm on Monday 9th February. // Episodes Consumed: 1 What’s it about? Set in the same … Read more
Alex Casey assembles a car boot full of internet ammunition to defend Skyler White against the haters to the bitter end. // “I’m a bitch, I’m a lover. I’m a child, I’m a mother. I’m a sinner, I’m a saint. I do not feel ashamed” – Meredith Brooks and Skyler White, probably. There are a lot of … Read more
In this special Bad edition of Throwback Thursday, Joseph Harper looks back at Bob ‘Saul’ Odenkirk’s alternative comedy career. // Before he joined the cast of Breaking Bad as unscrupulous attorney Saul Goodman, Bob Odenkirk carved himself out a broad and varied career in the alternative undercurrents of American comedy. Stints with Second City, Saturday Night Live, … Read more
Alex Casey heads down to The Spinoff lab to mix up a beaker of piping hot Breaking Bad stats. Some of them are made up, most of them are realer than a meth head squashed by an ATM. // There are loads of good infographics out there about Breaking Bad. Want to see a colourising chart of … Read more
The New Zealand Initiative’s Head of Research Eric Crampton breaks down the depressing drug market economics which drive Walter White to murder and mayhem. // The most successful anti-methamphetamine campaign ever run in the United States came in 1995, resulting in a short-run tripling of the price of meth and a drop in purity from 90% … Read more
Alex Casey sifts through the mighty body count of Breaking Bad to rank her top ten most memorable deaths on the show. // The statistics of Breaking Bad are always impressive – it received 110 notable awards, had 10.3 million Americans tune in for the finale and over 33,000 articles written about it in the … Read more
Alex Casey has never watched a second of Breaking Bad, nor read anything about it. Going in completely blind, she has committed to watching the whole series over summer in the lead up to spin off series Better Call Saul‘s arrival to Lightbox in February. Contains spoilers, obviously. Day 22, Thursday 22 January 6.30pm Watched: … Read more
An introduction to our forthcoming methfest ‘Bad Week’: a weeklong party dedicated to Breaking Bad, ahead of the launch of its spinoff Better Call Saul. On February 9th, New Zealand time, Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul makes its debut. The show will screen exclusively on Lightbox in New Zealand, and we’ve decided to devote a whole week to … Read more
Alex Casey has never watched a second of Breaking Bad, nor read anything about it. Going in completely blind, she has committed to watching the whole series over summer in the lead up to spin off series Better Call Saul‘s arrival to Lightbox in February. Contains spoilers, obviously. Day Fifteen, Monday 12 January 9pm Watched: … Read more
Alex Casey has never watched a second of Breaking Bad, nor read anything about it. Going in completely blind, she has committed to watching the whole series over summer in the lead up to spin off series Better Call Saul‘s arrival to Lightbox in February. Contains spoilers, obviously. Day Seven, Thursday 25 December (yes, it’s … Read more
Alex Casey has never watched a second of Breaking Bad, nor read anything about it. Going in completely blind, she has committed to watching the whole series over summer in the lead up to spin off series Better Call Saul‘s arrival to Lightbox in February. Contains spoilers, obviously. Day Three: Thursday 18 December, 7am Watched: … Read more
Alex Casey has never watched a second of Breaking Bad, nor read anything about it. Going in completely blind, she has committed to watching the whole series over summer in the lead up to spin off series Better Call Saul‘s arrival to Lightbox in February. Contains spoilers, obviously.// Day One: Tuesday, 11.30pm Watched: Episodes 1-3 … Read more
Unlike her Catch Up Club colleague Joseph Moore, Alex Casey has never seen a single second of Breaking Bad. With its spin-off Better Call Saul arriving on Lightbox in February, she’s going to watch the whole thing and bring season-by-season reports on the way.// Alex: I’m screaming my butt off basically. I can’t believe I waited this long … Read more
With the huge Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul arriving exclusively to Lightbox in February 2015, Alex Casey looks at the disturbing television timeline of cast member Michael McKean.// Playing Saul Goodman’s brother Chuck in Lightbox’s much-anticipated Better Call Saul is by no means the first big television role for Michael McKean. In fact, one glance through his IMDB profile will reveal his ripe … Read more
Happy 25th Birthday TV3 This week marks the 25th year of TV3, and much like an excited 25 year old having an entire birthday week – they are going on an absolute bender. Check out this celebration page for daily vids featuring bloopers, politics, and international correspondence from the last 25 years. For more from … Read more
After a week of receiving pitches far more groundbreaking than anything on Dragon’s Den, our Spunoff competition has closed. After much deliberation, here are the results. // We asked you, dear readers, to write us the very best spinoff pitch ideas from your favourite Lightbox show. In return, you had the rare chance to win a Samsung GALAXY S … Read more
Tingly Fingers for Better Call Saul Better Call Saul, one of the more hotly-anticipated shows for next year, has managed to maintain an almost unheard of level of mystery. The Breaking Bad spinoff show has restrained its PR to mere small town billboards, classified ads and the odd trailer, leading to fever pitch levels of intrigue … Read more