The Sopranos Vs. The Wire

maybe I need to see it again but I’m not sure I agree with that last paragraph, as a show portraying both a relatable reality and an alien world the sopranos was unique I thought

and it was definitely the progenitor of all prestige cable shows

don't think I would choose The Wire over The Sopranos, but for me The Wire + Treme + Show Me a Hero + The Deuce together make a greater achievement

i suppose that's probably right about the sopranos, especially given the established conventions for crime/gangster dramas. i just meant that it technically satisfied a parameter for show design that lesser shows are more apt to satisfy in ways that ask for more of a concession from the viewers e.g. bryan cranston the science teacher druglord. sopranos was able to locate a real sweet spot in that regard; its contrivance was easily naturalized within the narrative, even left behind (? i forget, it's been a while).

in that respect i think there are some prestige cable shows that are more akin to like usa-style 'blue skies' quality dramas than is generally recognized. like 'suits', episodic but continuous narrative and stylized but tv-realistic - except they gotta have the young guy mike have a photographic memory to get the basic plot going (he's not a lawyer, he works as one tho once his mentor/boss takes a shine to him), and then constantly recur to that / jeopardize the ongoing narrative with threats of revelation of his secret.

History has proven me right on this.

def

sopranos is so easy to dip into rewatching

sopranos v easily the best show of all time, zero competition

Yup

The Sopranos, even at its worst - and there were lots of dreary filler episodes and sketchy characters dragged out too long at times (obv more so in the latter seasons) - still burned more brightly than The Wire. When the The Wire took a bad turn you'd get bored to death for the rest of the season, whereas The Sopranos might be shit for an ep or two, but then make up for it with 3 or 4 killer eps in a row. The stench of David Simon is one of the worst things ever imo, I can't watch any of his shite without groaning every two minutes.

the wire and homicide are 2 of the best tv shows ever. they're just not as good as the best tv show ever

god bless the USA!

Agree with flopson's post. They're stupendous shows but they do pale in comparison to Scrubs.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EDg-YChWsAEyRtJ.jpg

yeah I used to be team wire but the sopranos is just so much more watchable, the acting is better, etc

revive otm

Sopranos is another level

The Wire generating thousands of thinkpieces didn't help its aging process.

ugh @ my 404-rotted stack of wire stills. sorry everybody

at least clay davis as done-w-mirrors projection of the bank of america and troubled stringer w a giant solar disc bursting from his head just the way he imagines himself are still there

its the wire

It is indeed.

Sopranos every day

Team Satriale's 4 lyf

The Wire is oxidising and therefore has a reduced current carrying capacity in my expert opinion

I've watched The Wire at least twice through and would happily do so again. I've seen The Sopranos once through and maybe I'll do it again someday.

I could barely get through one season of Sopranos, so The Wire.

We should do a final seasons poll for these two shows. Sopranos season 6 started so goddamn strong but Chase getting an order for extra episodes was the kiss of death for the show's momentum imo. Get outta here with your Artie Bucco episodes in the homestretch. Wire season 5 was centered around a batshit scheme but my affrontery has mellowed as I came to accept that, yes, that's exactly the sorta shit our self-destructive and -aggrandizing narcissist of a protagonist would pull.

s5's batshit scheme worth it for the profiling scene, where mcnulty is interrupted-- from demonstrating how nobody cares about baltimore violence unless it is artfully arranged to tell a titillating story, and to revolve around an unpleasant fictional character, who floats above the violence feeding, but whose story the violence is reimagined to be-- to be shown not just an unflattering picture of his own face but of his face on this figure, his face suddenly on this unjustly centered golem who only exists to trick people into paying attention to baltimore, lol

It's The Wire. I think I've seen every season at least three times at this point, but I can't imagine rewetting Sopranos, outside of a few great episodes.

ok, I'm surprised that word didn't get autocorrected...

Rewetting The Sopampers rn

https://i.imgur.com/PWTalnH.jpg

Sopranos by a country mile. Truly one of the great experiences of my life (which is both hyperbole and true at the same time) and one of those shows that has become part of my mental furniture. I called someone a malignant cunt just this morning.

"no, no, you don't understand, "malignant cunt" is the name of my dog!"

Get outta here with your Artie Bucco episodes in the homestretch.

gtfo Artie's perpetual frustration/humiliation cycle is a wonder to behold

It definitely was. Doesn't mean that an entire Artie-centric episode in the eleventh hour wasn't a misstep.

Love The Wire but Sopranos wins for the intervention scene alone...

Paulie at the intervention is so priceless

"no, no, you don't understand, "malignant cunt" is the name of my dog!"

Hahaha!

I loved Artie. I think there's a discussion to be had about the Vito Spatafore story. It might have been indicative of a particular mindset but it felt regressive. It was old when it was made and hasn't aged well.

mmm johnnycakes

I don't love his whole small-town love story arc but I do love him getting bored with it/being unable to tolerate an actual day's work as a contractor

some appalling acting/writing in that arc, but still felt deeply sad when Vito got brutally whacked.

Vito refraining from looking at his watch until he's SURE he's within a half-hour of lunch and it turns out only to be 9:30...one of a million little humorous moments that give The Sopranos a slight edge over The Wire in rewatch-ability...

he's gotta rest his hips!

Seems like whenever a Sopranos character was becoming sympathetic, they would kill somebody right before they themselves got whacked/offed themselves...Christopher, Vito, Eugene, probably others...wonder if that was a device to remind us that these guys are really just animals at heart, and shame on us for forgetting that...

Bobby is a total huggybear for most of his character arc, until the very end where Tony picks a fight w him + goads him into doing a hit and then... well yeah

well maybe not huggable, maybe more bumbling. But he's never shown doing anything particularly evil or violent

I did love the smalltown section (I could have done with the handlebar moustache) and his whacking was heartbreaking; it was the leather cap, nightclub stuff that felt ill-judged and unnecessary.

What are the chances of Furio still being alive?

https://i.redd.it/s6ish04uefv11.jpg

What are the chances of Furio still being alive?

p good? I don't think we're ever given the impression that he's upset anybody important back home.

p good? I don't think we're ever given the impression that he's upset anybody important back home.

Yeah, I hope so. Something in me just kind of assumes Tony would have used his Sicilian contacts to have him whacked.

Bobby is a total huggybear for most of his character arc, until the very end where Tony picks a fight w him + goads him into doing a hit and then... well yeah

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, October 8, 2019 8:54 AM (seven minutes ago)

it's more that he forces him to do the hit. bobby isn't in a position to say no to tony. tony knows this. it's punishment for emasculating him.