The Sopranos Vs. The Wire

The Wire is a lecture is the most ridiculous hot take in ILX history.

it's definitely a bit "do you see" quite often and i don't think this is controversial.

simon really let the "do you see" take a hold with treme

I also studied soap operas academically in college. And how the structure, content and context is gendered feminine and thus often used as a pejorative

Wire is also very much "Here comes another person who thinks they're different, let's watch how the system gradually thwarts them," Sopranos is much more about people who mostly know that they are not going to escape the system they're in, where the rare exceptions are thwarted almost immediately (Vito's brief escape, Carm's confrontation with the therapist, etc.)

Chris's dabblings in acting, film, etc. -- they are played comically, the audience is in on the tragic joke and knows he doesn't stand a chance.

"One thing you can never say, is that you haven't been told." Best line in all of The Sopranos.

not to accuse anyone of sexism who is saying "how dare you call the Sopranos a soap opera" -- I think structurally, with the popularity of multi-season "premium" dramas, with seasonal "arcs," that there is a tendency to emulate the structure and content of soap operas, and, there is a tendency for certain viewers or critics or creators to not see that they are basically reinventing the soap opera, as opposed to creating something totally different, because, the soap opera was seen as not-serious and deemed a pejorative

I cared more about every single one-scene corner boy than Meadow and AJ combined.

Sopranos is much more about people who mostly know that they are not going to escape the system they're in

ohhhhh? uhhhh ... did you watch the Wire? Did you?

some of these criticisms fail to acknowledge that the Sopranos did wide-lens stuff on systems to great effect: police, local and state govts, schools, etc.

The exploration of the failures of American systems was scaffolding for a series of incredibly vivid and wonderful characters.

I’ve actually grown to love Treme but if it was a relative failure it’s that it lacked the structure and made its characters too low-key for the most part.

the only one i remember was the columbus day parade ... not saying you are wrong, just that I really remember very little about this show, and i watched every single episode

the sudden shift to the port at the start of s2 of the wire is the best move ive ever seen a tv show make

im watching sons of anarchy now and sopranos lets be clear is waaay better but the comparison of what the shows *are* is i think valid

the only one i remember was the columbus day parade ... not saying you are wrong, just that I really remember very little about this show, and i watched every single episode

― sarahell, Tuesday, October 8, 2019 12:42 PM (one minute ago)

one of the worst episodes of the show

im watching sons of anarchy now and sopranos lets be clear is waaay better but the comparison of what the shows *are* is i think valid

― too many cuckth thpoil the broth (darraghmac), Tuesday, October 8, 2019 12:44 PM (eight seconds ago)

trolling

i kinda feel like Season 2 with the dockworkers makes for a tidier comparison with Sopranos -- in that it is the least apples/oranges

im not!

xp - how is that trolling? He is otm.

if i were trolling id be on the breaking bad thread telling ye that sons of anarchy is better

which btw i also believe to be true

some of these criticisms fail to acknowledge that the Sopranos did wide-lens stuff on systems to great effect: police, local and state govts, schools, etc.

― The Ravishing of ROFL Stein (Hadrian VIII), Tuesday, October 8, 2019 2:40 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

I didn't mean those things as criticisms at all. But I didn't really feel like those moments were "wide lens" -- it more felt like the larger forces' presence was mostly implied and occasionally came directly into the frame. The Wire felt much more about how all of the different pieces were interwoven, the Sopranos seemed very much about the mafia while acknowledging the presence and influence of those other pieces.

ill bump the thread sarahell but thx as always for yr otm support

Just two different approaches to making a show, neither superior. xp

Having watched the Sopranos before the Wire, didn't know there were connections between 'em like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQjtvBpUSF4

dude, jim, you are going total Turrican rockist about the Sopranos itt ...

ah lets not lose the run of ourselves its just getting started in here

sil: OHHHHWWW

Breaking Bad is better than both the Sopranos and Sons of Anarchy

ok what other shows now make the inevitable poll

sons of anarchy apparently?

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Sons of Anarchy is basically a "Born to Be Wild" Peaky Blinders

statements about sons of anarchy itt:

its of a type with the sopranos ito focus on characters and their development

its better than breaking bad

its better than the sopranos

wheres the lie

xp also what omar little said tho youd imagine he may be biased

not to accuse anyone of sexism who is saying "how dare you call the Sopranos a soap opera" -- I think structurally, with the popularity of multi-season "premium" dramas, with seasonal "arcs," that there is a tendency to emulate the structure and content of soap operas, and, there is a tendency for certain viewers or critics or creators to not see that they are basically reinventing the soap opera, as opposed to creating something totally different, because, the soap opera was seen as not-serious and deemed a pejorative

― sarahell, Tuesday, October 8, 2019 9:35 PM (ten minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Booming post.

Sopranos obviously fell prey to this tendency. It played out good, not bad, imo, but denying this seems silly. The Wire was an entirely different beast imo.

"One thing you can never say, is that you haven't been told." Best line in all of The Sopranos.

― henry s, 8. oktober 2019 21:35 (eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yeah, agreed. Just thought of it the other day while watching another film. Such a damning phrase.

And yeah, the shit to the port, and the way the plot is even slower in season 2 than in season 1, is where The Wire really builds itself into something great.

almost stopped watching the wire at the beginning of season 2.

the actors in sons of anarchy were more attractive than those in the sopranos -- esp. the men

also, realizing that the actor who played the Irish priest in SOA frequently was cast as a crime boss in British tv.

i forgot BOSCH was on SOA as an Irish crime lord

i want to watch bosch

boy SOA really did have some of the worst characters in the "golden age" of "prestige" TV, in terms of conception and execution

iirc sarahell and i were comparing BOSCH and the wire awhile back, there's a lot of crossover with actors and a bit with the politics/system stuff. but it's pulpier and not as funny. Good cast tho, solid entertainment.

almost stopped watching the wire at the beginning of season 2.

― Seany's too Dyche to mention (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, October 8, 2019 3:03 PM (forty minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

It's such a great fuck you move: "Stay tuned for the action packed Season 2 of Cops vs Drug Dealers: White People Unloading Stuff From Container Ships"

Tbf they deployed boobs to keep the audience engaged

also, realizing that the actor who played the Irish priest in SOA frequently was cast as a crime boss in British tv.

― sarahell, Tuesday, October 8, 2019 3:09 PM (forty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

that's jeor mormont from GOT

I've probably mentioned it before, but when Homeland destroyed Carries career at the end of season 1, they contrived a reason to have her back on mission in episode 1 of season 2. In The Wire McNulty isn't back with the detail until episode 8. It's that patience, and the willingness to get rid of characters when their stories ended, that meant it stayed so great for four seasons, and had a pretty good season after that.

for me Dominic West is such an awful actor I think The Wire would have been much better without him tbh

he is kind of bad and yet iconic to that show somehow

MVP* of Sopranos: Ulver poster in Meadow’s bedroom

Also Nicky Sobatka in The Wire: a Guided by Voices and Disturbed fan, apparently!

*Most Valuable Poster

I liked when McNulty went to visit his kids and you could tell they were growing up because they were listening to Dead Meadow now.