Better Call Saul: Season One

Bob Odenkirk plays a struggling lawyer trying to get both respect and clients in Albuquerque, NM, in this prequel series to the award-winning Breaking Bad. Before he was shady lawyer Saul Goodman (Odenkirk), he was actually Jimmy McGill, a con-man (he earned the nickname Slippin' Jimmy) who cleaned up his act, obtained a law degree from a dubious school, and hung out his own shingle in a utility closet in the back of a strip mall beauty shop. Better Call Saul—from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan—is a dark comedy that chronicles Jimmy's struggles as the younger brother of a once successful and respected lawyer (Michael McKean) who is now holed up with a phobia over electrical signals. Jimmy chases clients with more bravado than confidence and sees schemes backfire terribly before he finally lands a case that could make his reputation as well as his fortune. The series also introduces Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), the ex-cop who will become our anti-hero's reliable field man. Odenkirk is a mix of salesmanship and desperation as Jimmy/Saul, who isn't taken seriously by clients or other lawyers—a man with a needy soul under the pose, who would really like to play it straight and prove himself. Better Call Saul was nominated for seven Emmy Awards and Odenkirk earned Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations. Presenting all 10 episodes from the 2015 first season, extras include episode commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, and a music video (exclusive to the Blu-ray release are additional featurettes, interviews, and deleted scenes). Recommended. (S. Axmaker)