Published November 5, 2019

Season 5 of “Better Call Saul” is coming sometime in 2020. This career newspaperwoman wouldn’t mind seeing the Albuquerque Journal demonstrate a little curiosity at some point in an upcoming episode.

In the “Better Call Saul” world, the Albuquerque Journal did a section-front story on Jimmy (Season 1, episode 4). The same paper would have published his brother Charles’ obituary (Season 4, episode 1). A lot happened between those two editions, and beyond.

Even in a decade of cutbacks to newsroom staffing all over the country, I’d think that a long Sunday story on the McGill brothers — perhaps focusing on the increasingly intriguing character Jimmy appears to be — would at least reach the brainstorming and shoe-leather stage in the “BCS” world. I imagine an enterprising reporter stopping by their editor’s desk and starting a conversation. It might go something like this:

You got a couple of minutes?

“Hey, I had some time between stories, and anyway: You remember that lawyer we did the story on? The guy who rescued the worker who fell from the billboard a few years ago? You realize it was his brother who died at home in a house fire?”

Surely the name of at least one of the McGill brothers would ring a bell for almost any editor at the paper. The story of Jimmy’s dramatic rescue of the billboard worker led the Metro & New Mexico section. On that day, Jimmy hid the paper from Charles (a loyal subscriber) so he wouldn’t see it. Charles learned about the stunt after grabbing that day’s edition from his neighbor’s yard (leaving $5 for her), an action that prompted a visit from the police.

“Anyway, I had some free time and got curious. I made some calls and went down to the courthouse and looked through some documents. I don’t know if this is a story or not, but there’s some weird stuff in Jimmy McGill’s career path. Check it out:

(Several spoilers, says Carly, if you aren’t current on the series)

As I was saying …

“Let’s go back a ways. Jimmy starts out in the mailroom at Hamlin Hamlin & McGill, where his brother, Charles, was a partner. He gets his law degree from … the University of American Samoa? … and becomes a public defender. Then he starts his own elder-law practice. He was shooting a commercial for it when he made that rescue we did the story on. He winds up working at that big firm Davis & Main, but he doesn’t stay there long. Then he becomes half of Wexler McGill, but soon after, he’s suspended from practicing law for a year.

“My friends in local media tell me he then starts producing TV commercials under the name Saul Goodman. He shoots one at a local elementary school, and another at the base. I talked to people at each place whose nostrils flared when I mentioned the filming of those commercials. Con man was the nicest name they called him, and the only name we could print. He shot both commercials under false pretenses that generated phony goodwill.

“Relatives of some of the residents at Sandpiper Crossing, the retirement home, say he was a con man — that word comes up a lot — who represented them and then disappeared in disgrace. Something happened, but I’m not sure what. His brother, who apparently testified against him in the disbarment hearing, dies in that fire not long after that. Now, the story is that he and Hamlin Hamlin & McGill had a big falling out just before that, something involving malpractice insurance rates, and Howard Hamlin, one of the partners, forced him out.

Wait, there’s more

“Friend of mine who knows someone who knows someone who knows the McGills says Jimmy ends up selling cellphones. He then has a reinstatement hearing for the bar but is denied. He appeals and wins, and he files paperwork to practice under a different name — not Jimmy McGill, but … care to take a guess?

“Like I said, I don’t know if there’s a story here, but there’s a lot going on. And yeah, back to that story we did on him — he just happens to be shooting a commercial in front of that billboard when the sign company’s worker slips and falls, giving him a chance for the rescue? I contacted the company, and that conversation was all kinds of strange after I asked if they knew how I could get in touch with that employee. I don’t know …”

Come on, Journal, get curious!

If nothing else, this post demonstrates why I should never delude myself into thinking I could write a screenplay or teleplay or even a treatment for a movie or a show. For one thing, my characters would be way too wordy! And you should see the readability analysis Yoast SEO provides for this post! Yeesh! (If you think I have too many subheadings, you’re probably right. I wanted to get Yoast SEO off my back about my subheading distribution score. I did.)

But I do find it hard to imagine that the many interesting plot points in the life of Jimmy McGill wouldn’t at least be bar talk at a watering hole frequented by Albuquerque Journal staffers by the time Season 5 rolls around, if not long before. That said, I don’t know how the “Better Call Saul” creative team would work it into the show (and yes, even after a bit of time and digging, sometimes there’s no story — for any of a number of reasons). So I’m just thinking out loud here. Pay no attention to the lady in the purple hair. It’s the curiosity I’d enjoy seeing and not necessarily a published story. The timing might not be right, and in the end, it feels like something an alternative weekly or a magazine would probably more likely pursue to the point of publishing something. Texas Monthly, anyone?

Still, the newspaperwoman in me, whose romantic ink-stained heart has repeatedly been broken by awful portrayals of print journalists in movies and on TV, would be so happy to see even a hint of renewed interest at the paper about this Jimmy McGill character, whatever the name he’s going by now (wink wink). “Breaking Bad” did a credible job portraying breaking news covered by television and radio. Something like this would require more nuance, but it could be fun. If nothing else, it would be a hoot to see Jimmy practicing his art on a hard-boiled reporter.

So go ahead, Season 5, make my day!

Hey, a gal can dream!