Seven Things I’d Like to See in ‘Better Call Saul’

“Spin-off! Is there any word more thrilling to the human soul? Hi, I’m Troy McClure. You may remember me from such TV spin-offs as Son of Sanford and Son and AfterMannix.” – Troy McClure

As he so often does, Troy McClure makes a good point, almost certainly without realising it. Despite their overwhelming lack of success, there is a great deal of excitement around the concept of spin-offs. A spin-off from a popular TV series is likely to pull in more viewers than a new show with completely original characters, and can retain viewers out of loyalty even if the new series fails to live up to is parent. Television networks and production companies realise this, and the spin-off, along with the reboot, the reimagining and the reunion, have become rather cynical ways to keep going something which has had its time. This is not always the case, of course, but considering this, and the handful of successful spin-offs we could name among a wasteland of failures, we should probably curb our enthusiasm when a new spin-off is in the works, as we are statistically very likely to be disappointed by it.
That said, I’m extremely excited about Better Call Saul, the Breaking Bad spin-off starring Bob Odenkirk as shady lawyer Saul Goodman, scheduled to air early in 2015. Here are some of the things I’m most hoping to see.

1. The genesis of Saul’s relationship with Mike
Saul and Mike are two of my favourite characters on Breaking Bad, and the first thing I hoped for when I heard about the development of the spin-off was that Jonathan Banks would return as the gravel-voiced cleaner.

This has since been confirmed, and I would most like to see how he and Saul first come to work together. Mike also worked extensively with Gus, and it appears that he has been associated with both men for some time when we first meet him at the end of the second season. We know that Mike used to be a police officer in Philadelphia, but nothing about what led to his leaving and moving to Albuquerque. While this is not especially important to the plot of Breaking Bad, fans of Mike might like to know, and Better Call Saul is an opportunity for us to find out. It would also be interesting to see how Gus links in with Mike and Saul, but there is probably limited scope to his involvement in the new series.

2. Saul working through less-snappy catchphrases
Better Call Saul was pretty much a no-brainer when it came to naming the spin-off. The phrase was also used as the title of the first episode of Breaking Bad to feature the character, and is emblazoned on the bench where Badger sits in the cold open. Two characters speak the phrase in Saul’s cringe-inducing TV advert before we meet the man himself, and it is how Walt Jr. recognises Saul when the pair finally meet towards the end of the series. It is a phrase intrinsically linked to the lawyer, but there must have been a time before he came up with his catchy slogan. I’d like to see Saul attempting to get his business off the ground with less snappy catchphrases, such as “all you need is Saul,” “problem Saul-ved,” or “I’ll render services that you may reasonably require.” (This one would work especially well if the Belle & Sebastian song Legal Man were used as the theme tune, of which I would also approve.)

3. Huell
At the same time one of Breaking Bad’s most celebrated and most underused characters, Huell is a chap who works for Saul doing what you might call “dirty work.” Although Huell is a man of few words, he never fails to raise a smile, and could certainly be valuable in a show that is likely to be less serious and feature more comic relief than its predecessor. Appearing in only 11 episodes, and usually for no more than a couple of minutes, Huell has developed something of a cult following, and would be welcomed back to our screens by many. In a show focusing on Saul, it is also likely that there would be a bigger role for the dogsbody-type character, and Huell would be a welcome distraction from all the high-end legal jargon that is sure to be thrown around.

4. Flashbacks to Young Saul
Initially I merely liked this idea, since I’m a big fan of the flashback as a narrative and comedic device (see my favourite Simpsons episodes for evidence of this). Then I came up with the idea of casting Kieran Culkin as Young Saul, and now I love it. There’s a slight resemblance between Culkin and Odenkirk (similar mouths, and both have quite long faces), and he certainly has the right level of sass required to pull off Saul (see his performance as Wallace Wells in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World if you need convincing). Vince Gilligan has suggested that the show will jump around in time quite a bit, so there is plenty of potential to explore some of Saul’s background and his youthful days. I don’t know if the idea of Young Saul is something that the showrunners have considered, but I certainly hope so.

5. David Cross
Quite apart from my desire to see David Cross in as many things as possible, I’m a real sucker for reunions. Odenkirk and Cross created, wrote and starred in HBO’s Mr. Show during the mid-late 1990s, and their excellent comedic partnership is one of which I’d love to see more. Odenkirk guest starred in an early episode of Arrested Development, giving marriage counselling to Cross’ character Tobias Fünke, but the two have rarely appeared together since, despite stating a desire to reunite. Of course, it would be good if the Better Call Saul team could write a plausible character for Cross to play, but even if it’s the flimsiest cover for a bit of stunt casting, I’d probably be okay with that.

6. Origins of Saul’s name
Saul informs Walt during their first meeting (during which, incidentally, Walt conceals his identity from Saul) that ‘Saul Goodman’ is not his real name. (This should have been clear to most of the audience; the name is a play on “s’all good, man.”) He tells Walt that his real name is McGill, but doesn’t say whether or not Saul is his actual first name (I would guess not, as it is rather inconsistent with McGill), and this is never mentioned again during Breaking Bad’s run. Saul tells Walt he just does “the Jew thing…for the homeboys,” because “they all want a pipe-hitting member of the tribe, so to speak.” This is plausible, but a man as careful as Saul is unlikely to be so honest with a man he has just met. I suspect there is a more complicated and more interesting story behind Saul’s name, and I would like to hear it.

7. What becomes of Saul?
I’m not about to start criticising the Breaking Bad finale. It was a thrilling, brilliantly-acted and thoroughly satisfying coda to a fantastic series. Given that Saul’s part in the story was already over, and there was a lot to fit in to those final 55 minutes, I didn’t really expect Vince Gilligan to check in on him in Nebraska, but I was slightly disappointed that Saul didn’t make an appearance. I wanted to know what happens to him; forced to flee Albuquerque due to his involvement with the notorious ‘Heisenberg,’ Saul predicts that he’ll end up managing a Cinnabon in Omaha, and that’s a best case scenario. It’s highly unlikely that Saul has an interesting or glamorous life after his spell as Walter White’s lawyer, but I’d still like to know his fate, perhaps as an epilogue to the spin-off series. Better Call Saul is going to be largely a prequel, but with the potential time-jumping, I don’t see why there couldn’t be elements of sequel in there too.

As well as all of this, there’s plenty of scope for cameos for other Breaking Bad characters as well. When they first meet on-screen, Saul immediately recognises Hank as a DEA agent, so it’s quite probable that those two had had some run-ins in the past. Jesse mentions that Emilio had used Saul in the past, so the two of them might make an appearance as well. This is something usually best done in moderation; Frasier stood on its own two feet, with occasional appearances from Cheers alumni, while Joey suffered from (among many other things) the noticeable absence of his friends. A familiar face is usually a great way to raise a smile from an audience, but it’s important that it’s done well, rather than simply because it can be done.