Theres no question that both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are some of the best hour long dramas to ever hit the airwaves. But early in Breaking Bad's production, a prior commitment for Bob Odenkirk meant that Saul Goodman wouldn't be available. So instead Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan created the character of Mike Ehrmantraut to fill the gap. Little did he know, Mike Ehrmantraut would be a seminal part of not only Breaking Bad but the future prequel series Better Call Saul.
#breakingbad #walterwhite #bettercallsaul #nerdstalgic
12 Times A TV Series Leveled Up With The Addition Of One Character
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Jonathan Banks was the best choice for Mike. Despite him not originally being in the show, he really brought a lot of heart to the character. It wouldn't have been the same without him.
Mike was basically my inner old man spirit animal. I think we all become Mike in some way in this crazy world.
I got a lot more than 20$ asshole
Almost every character on screen feels necessary, and even if they're not they're still entertaining. That's hard as hell to pull off, especially across two shows.
I couldn’t imagine someone else playing Mike. He was perfect.
I'm glad Banks got a chance to play Mic for six more glorious seasons.
more... he was in the spin off prequel as well.
@@classic.camerasthats what they are talking about by 6 more seasons..
@@classic.cameras You realize there is only 5 seasons of breaking bad? and Mike isn't in the first season at all
Mic
@@JustDanish199and you realise that Better Call Saul has exactly 6 seasons and mike is in every single one?😅
Mike cemented himself as essential to the BB/BCS world with the "Half Measures" monologue.
I took a screenwriting class in college a few years ago and that monologue gave me inspiration from an assignment I had to do and imagined one of the characters essentially being like Mike but talking about something else
His scene in Five-0 is probably one of the best between both series.
I looked at Mike's death in a whole different light after watching Better Call Saul.
How so?
Love Mike and that he got to have his story expanded. Him and Nacho are probably my two favorites even.
The fact that Nacho and Lalo were just random name drops that got turned into fully fleshed out character is nuts. Vince is a genius.
@@AtracBreezy Again we say it, bravo Vince
@@AtracBreezyBravo Peter Gould
The best character of both series - by far. Mike was the reason I continued to watch.
can barely continue BB rn because they killed off Mike, it doesn't feel right without him there
Shoutout to Professor Buzz Hickey!
He's down on his luck He does not give a fuck He likes drawing a duck.
@Aukejorrit it's one duck, his name is Jim and publishers ARE INTERESTED!
@@scottymacdewder5229 .....what the hell? 🦆
I have always admired the writers of this show to come up with credible, yet unimaginable characters that some times wasn't even suppose to be evolving the way they were. It's masterclass in direction really. Mike is easily one of the greatest characters I've ever come across in any TV series or movies, and i have seen thousands of films and series in my ~50 years on this planet. And so brilliantly played my Jonathan Banks, an actor i first saw opening a radar screen to see how his washing was going in "Airplane" from 1980.
Kid named finger:
waltuh, put your dick away waltuh
Kid named finger:
Kid named finger:
Kid named finger:
Kid named thumb:
I wonder how Saul would have evolved further and even into BCS if he was the one doing gruesome dirty work like cleaning up a OD scene, Saul always liked doing crimes from the comfort of a leather chair especially after what he went through in BCS, crazy to think Saul could have been a completely different character had it not been for that schedule conflict.
It basically would have been the same but Saul would be telling Jessie what to do over the phone as some random actor playing a goon walks around in the background.
Not Walter White promoting baseball before the video started 😂
"Here's what's gonna happen ..." A new character, who knows how to handle any problem, will step in and clean everything up. And, .. "You're done."
When an older guy took your gun out of your hand and unarmed it before you could react, best don't react. Just take an appreciative step back. One of the most down to earth muscle roles ever. And very relatable. In both series.
Adding Mike was their best decision ever. He is my favorite character in both shows.
Bob being busy that day is the ultimate example of a blessing in disguise, isn't it?
Mike's backstory pre-Breaking Bad in Better Call Saul was such a fantastic inclusion and made both series that much better than they would have been without
That’s serendipity of the best kind. Terrific addition to the cast
and that kids, is how we got Mike
I’m still hoping for a Mike Ehrmantraut prequel series.
At 77, he would definitely need another actor to play the younger version when needed. Good idea though.
But without Jonathan Banks, the show wouldn't be nearly as compelling.
Better like Mike
@@fatalshore5068 😆
THANKS for still uploading content on the best TV shows of all time! Even 10 years after ending i can still watch essays about breaking bad and discover new details or just hear about how brilliantly written it is. And with BCS, we now have much more details to discover for the next years.
Breaking bad could not have been what it was in later seasons without Mike.
FINALLY, a "What you didn't know about Breaking Bad" that I actually didn't know. Great vid
An essay about one of my favourite fictional characters of all time? Thanks!
thank you how i met your mother
Very interesting that he wasn’t a part of it and became a necessary extension because they couldn’t have Saul. Mike functions very differently because he constantly calls Walter out on who he is and what he does, he’s very pragmatic while Saul either caves or rationalises things in the spirit of good business. Plus, Mike is a bit of a better foil for Walt, because he too did what he did for his family. While Walt said he did it for them, Mike genuinely did it for them, out of guilt and remorse for his son’s death.
So much of Breaking Bad is “who can we replace this person with”
And absolutely knocking it out of the park every time
Jonathan Banks also starred in the iconic Airplane!, and he is brilliant in the role of Gunderson
so much of breaking bad and better call saul was written seemingly on a whim. i think divine intervention gave us this show
Mike has always been my favorite character in the series
Mike is my favourite character in both shows.
Yep. Mike was the best character in both shows and that is saying A LOT. Both shows were great with many great characters but Mike was just... like a god or something... Props to JB for playing that role to perfection.
Out of all the series or movies I've ever watched, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are the only series in which whatever happens feels like it was supposed to happen and nothing feels like it's doesn't make any sense for their own worlds, no matter how crazy and unexpected things may get and all the characters feel necessary.
Mike is honestly my favorite character in the show 😂
Great video.
Goddamnit do I adore Jonathan Banks and Mike Ehrmantraut.
Have you considered making a video on the failure of the Netflix Adaptation of Avatar, on how it misses in character development and dialogue? I would be interested in hearing your take on it
I think "serendipity" is the word you are looking for. Fits what you are saying better than "happenstance." Like the video, though. Good job!
Uncle Iroh
I was a little confused 😕 when Mike was added to BB because it was not simply explained who he was or what he was. I figured it out as the show went on.
I think that was the point?
Waltuh
When Walter and Jesse were still leveling up Mike was already max level
6:31 I sort of hate that I know where that grainy film young Banks footage is from LMFAO
Cant wait for the premiere of "The Vet".
I know I bonded more with Mike than any of the others. I just wish he could have gotten out. As much destruction that he was involved in, he deserved better (to me).
Characters we meet after they already have a full arch... Thats every female led, Marvel/Starwars/Disney in general film todate.
Except Andor, the exception proving the rule. Deedra Mero is fucking incredible.
All because Brian Cranston was in how I met your mother 🤯
Think it was Bob Odenkirk not Cranston
Bob Odenkirk was in HIMYM. Bryan Cranston was in an episode of The X Files though, and I believe it was an episode Gilligan wrote for.
Cranston was in HImYm before Breaking Bad
Great analysis Crappy background music imo, and too loud >:(
Background music is too loud:(
Surprised Duchovney never made an appearance, other X Files actors were on Breaking Bad
No half measures
Anyone think Breaking Bad was partly a story about father-son relationships?
All is said and done when mike says: Waltuh!
I never saw it as for “children,” but it was on brand for Fox as more juvenile and less sophisticated. Still fun. Still I need to say that as a child of the 80s / early 90s, while the IDEA of Alfred E Neuman was iconic, I can’t be sure I’ve actually ever seen a physical copy of the magazine, and I’m sure I’ve never seen anyone reading it ever.
now I need to watch Stir Crazy again
Dean Norris and Jonathan Banks are my favorite actors.
Oh man the episode Hank dies broke me. In my top 2 episodes of TV ever. (The other was Negan's breaking of Rick in TWD)
@@fatalshore5068 I agree. I have skipped that part since.
what if mike never went to Belize
Never thought I’d be grateful for that shit sitcom.
Bro, where is the rock criticism vdo
Wondering that as well.
I don't want to live in a World without Finger
“No more half inches Walter.”
Reminds me of uncle Iroh from ATLA
When Saul is first introduced you can say he is "complete"
Wow.. whole another story we missed in breaking bad😮
Breaking Bad mike was a prick and i was not sad to see him die. I loved better call saul mike, before he became breaking bad mike.
Mike is the best character of Breaking Bad
Jesse might of been the heart of the show but Mike was the brain.
Just think about the fact that Mike exists(and Better Call Saul) because of HIMYM
Waltuh...
As i wannabe voice actor/ actor i hope its not to late to get in..
The only thing I didn’t buy about Mike was that he was as good of a fighter as they portrayed him as. Dude was like 60 to 70-something, maybe 5’8 and pudgy. And yet he has that kind of ferocious speed and a right hook like a Mac truck? I don’t buy it.
That’s a more than fair and valid point and one I’ve admittedly struggled with on occasion, but given Mike’s history, it’s something I personally can buy. In universe, he’s probably not quite as old as he looks and more importantly, he was a cop for years and it’s also heavily implied in BCS that he served in Vietnam. I can buy that all that experience taught him how to make himself a formidable fighter even in spite of his physical weaknesses. But that’s just my take and this is still an excellent point, so I’m very glad you and others raise it and hold it to scrutiny because it absolutely should be judged critically imho.
Tbf Mike does get the shit beat out of him on a few occasions.
5:17 - I think you mean nihilistic.
9:01 fin.
i cant even imagine saul cleaning up the scene instead of mike.... it just feels weird
Totally unrelated, but Banks is also in Airplane. I just wanted to share that
My wife cried when she heard mike was dead in the show.
Kid named Finger
How I Met Your Mother literally saved television.
Mike is my favorite character on both BrBa and BCS. The happiest accident in television history!
👍
The real Walter White was such a boring story that I'm amazed they made a show after him.
waltuh
YT offered to translate this lol. I was hoping it would change it to Walter.
Vravo, Bince!
Smells like a Mahn.
Man did you really have to throw in a big BCS spoiler on a video that's ostensibly only about Breaking Bad? Shit...
How I met your mother idk I seen a KZhead video with Bob (Saul) and Conan O’Brien bob said it
I didn’t watch this video
THIRD!!!
You say unquote AFTER you say the quote. Not quote unquote then the quote... You are literally saying the quotation marks. So annoying that people can't comprehend this.
The most beloved Villains henchman to ever exist. ❤
*SpoilerAlert* I actually cried when Mike died in the show. Actual tears, my husband laughed at me.
Was Hank for me. I was truly stun locked watching the credits in silence.
@@fatalshore5068 yea Hank and Gomez were HARD also. I totally wanted them to march Walt into jail in handcuffs.
Kid named finger: