The Sopranos vs The Wire

Bounty Hunter

Argueably and IMO the two best television shows ever made, but which is better ?



the following links to critical arguements for both shows
http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/feature/2007/09/15/best_show/index.html


Sopranos- Created by David Chase, the series revolves around mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads.


The Wire- Created by David Simon, each season of The Wire focuses on a different facet of the city of Baltimore. They are, in order: the drug trade, the port, the city bureaucracy, the school system, and the print news media.

Jilm

I was a big fan of the Sopranos but the last 2 seasons were comparatively poor.

The Wire wins for me as it's the best TV series in recent times.

timmy69

Has to be The Sopranos! The Wire a close second though.

scholes19

A can of worms has been opened,

I didnt follow either from the beginning but at Easter I began watching the Sopranos. Finished the whole 6/7 series there about 2weeks ago. Twas quality.

So last week I began watching The Wire, finished season one, and Im impressed by what ive seen so far. However the pic up top has kinda given me a inkling that Omar(the fag) is gonna remain throught the series and compete with T. Im afraid T will win hands down.

Sopranos gets my vote 'cause of the shere wit and comic scenes, while the Wire has left me wanting more. Its a tough one, i must say!:rolleyes:

Mr.Nice Guy

The Sopranos. Why you ask? Well because...

/fade to black

madrab

the wire mainly because its plot actually went somewhere

ronnie3585

The Wire by a country mile. Sopranos is very good but The Wire surpasses it on every level I'm afraid.

godtabh

The Wire because I said so

JP Liz

The Wire

ojewriej

Even Steven. They are both great. I would throw The Shield to the mix too.

ixoy

'The Wire' by a long, long way. Always felt 'The Sopranos' is a very over-rated show.

Mossy Monk

A tough decision. But The Wire wins for me.

techdiver

The Wire all the way. Fantastic show!

The Wire by a long way. The sopranos had so much hype, looking at it now it's just a soap opera with blood and cuss words.

Davei141

Sopranos. I loved watching them both but the sopranos was more enjoyable to me. Both shows are over rated(especially the wire on boards) but both great to watch.

Ludo

Definitely The Wire IMHO...by a long way.

But having said that, The West Wing kicks both their asses

dr.bollocko

The Sopranos is one of the most well crafted television shows ever made whereas The wire is the carlsberg special brew of the crime genre.

lukin

I've never seen The Wire would you believe, but I intend to start watching season one soon. I think The Sopranos is the best series I've ever seen, The Wire would have to be pretty good to top it.
I saw a trailer for the first series on youtube, it looks like any other cop show to be honest.

godtabh

Davei141 wrote: »

Sopranos. I loved watching them both but the sopranos was more enjoyable to me. Both shows are over rated(especially the wire on boards) but both great to watch.

I dont think its a matter of it being over rated its just got a massive cult following.

lukin wrote: »

I've never seen The Wire would you believe, but I intend to start watching season one soon. I think The Sopranos is the best series I've ever seen, The Wire would have to be pretty good to top it.
I saw a trailer for the first series on youtube, it looks like any other cop show to be honest.

If you think the Wire is like CSi or the like you're very much mistaken. CSi is something you can jump in and out of any time you want. You cant do that with the Wire. Its a thinking mans show

ronnie3585

kearnsr wrote: »

Its a thinking mans show

Nicely put.

ilovemybrick

Its like asking which lung I need more. I vote both of them.

jor el

The Wire wins hands down. Sopranos is good, but I felt very let down by the way it all ended, and not just the final scene, but pretty much the whole final season.

Fighting Irish

Sopranos ftw

The wire was good but not as great as everyone makes out

Davei141

kearnsr wrote: »

I dont think its a matter of it being over rated its just got a massive cult following.

Its definitely over rated by this cult following on boards, i mean the show is great but the way people go on about it makes my eyes bleed.

Its a thinking mans show

Please...

shane86

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

The Sopranos. Why you ask? Well because...

/fade to black

Holy god no. Dont let terms like innovative and original overshadow terms such as lazy writing.


Cant judge, Ive only seen maybe 3 eps of The Wire given its biazrre scheduling (and I just cant be arsed going to the hassle of downloading tv shows)

The Wire by a long way. I never really liked the Sopranos, sure it's an entertaining show but it neveer went anywhere. I can easily sit down and rewatch all of the Wire, which I have done on numerous ocassions but I cannot bring myself to rewatch the Sopranos.

Kur4mA

The Wire easily.

godtabh

Davei141 wrote: »

Its definitely over rated by this cult following on boards, i mean the show is great but the way people go on about it makes my eyes bleed.



Please...

good argument. I'm sold

TheScript

It has to be The Sopranos, its the best show ever made!

GhostInTheRuins

When I saw the Sopranos first I thought it was brilliant, but when I went to watch it again I saw it in a completely different light, it just didn't seem anywhere near as good as the first time I saw it. The wire, on ther other hand, is entirely rewatchable, actually, it's better the second time around.

tvnutz

Has to be the Wire. Have always felt the Sopranos was way overrated. Great show,but overrated and not as good as the Wire. Both brilliantly written shows,both brilliantly acted,but the Wire just always had more for me. The Sopranos had about a dozen or so main characters for the run of the show while the Wire had probably double that,and I felt more for every character in the Wire than in the Sopranos.

Perhaps one of the main things for me was that I never liked Tony Soprano. I know he was a bad man,but a lot of people I have talked to love the character despite this. Its not uncommon in tv shows,in Dexter the guy is a serial killer,but for some reason you root for him. In the Wire,Omar is a gangster killing people but you root for him,same with Stringer Bell. Don't kwo what it was about Tony,I always wanted him to get what was coming to him,I was rooting for him to die in the last episode.