Better Call Saul: The Hot Press Verdict

Set long before Walter White ever stripped down to his underpants and found out that the path to green was blue, we already know how everything is going to end up. In fact, the almost silent opening five minutes of Better Call Saul show the titular hero, working - in serious fear - in a pastry shop, shuffling home to watch his old commercials on VHS.
This, then, is going to be about the journey. Already, there's more than enough reason to strap yourself in tight.
Before we go any further, SPOILER ALERT. If you haven't yet jumped on Netflix, you may want to delay reading any further than here...
The first thing that strikes about Saul is how utterly fearless it is. You'll remember the start of Breaking Bad, which was more slapstick comedy than the tension-filled drama that eventually became its calling card. There's no sign of a tentative opening here; instead, it confidently revels in the anticipation that has built up around the show. Occasionally, it basks in silence; elsewhere, it happily delivers moments that will have BB fans cheering at the screen.
Mike Ermantraut is there, but he's simply manning a parking lot; the final, glorious, shot reveals everyone's favourite meth-dealing loudmouth Tuco Salamanca. Strangely, though, he's silent.
Indeed, even Saul isn't actually Saul; he's James M. McGill, a wildly unsuccessful legal eagle living in the shadow of his older brother Chuck. How he goes from McGill to Goodman is the most obvious nod towards the multitude of questions that will need to be resolved as the show goes on.
The cameos aren't moments to bring back memories of BB. The strange camera angles (the inside of a postbox, anyone?), the lingering background noises that instantly put viewers on edge (the tapping of the typewriter); these are Vince Gilligan staples, and they're deployed stylishly here.
From the casting - the hustling skateboarders are superb - to the technicolor magnificence in which the action takes place, there's much to love about the show. It has the unmistakable swagger of a pre-determined hit, but all the quality and substance to back it up.
And better still, there's less than 24 hours to wait until the second chapter...