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Clash of Titans: The Sopranos Vs. The Wire

Better show

  • The Sopranos

    Votes: 98 29.3%

  • The Wire

    Votes: 237 70.7%
  • Total voters
    335
bar_bar12

bar_bar12

The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
2,439
Two shows often regarded as the greatest of all time.

One show is about Tony Sopranos, and is dedicated to peeling back all the layers of his psyche. We get to very intimately know Tony and can't help but still root for the evil murderous scumbag (Until season 6 usually). Tony is the scum of the earth, one of the vilest depictions of a human being, and yet we understand why he is the way he is and slightly sympathize with some of his everyday struggles.

The other is a brutal depiction of life in a city where its systems and institutions failed it. The Wire is about Baltimore, as the city is probably intended to be the main character, with each season peeling back the different layers of its institutions, and showcase how each one is heavily affected by the cycle of violence the city is caught in. It is an incredible social commentary and is perhaps more relevant today than it was when released.

I personally prefer The Wire, which I consider to be the greatest show of all time, but the Sopranos came very close to dethroning it.
 
Magneto

Magneto

Prophet of Truth
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,449
I tried to answer that question for years, but i just can't.

I'm #teamthewirethesopranos
 
Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse

Member
Nov 2, 2017
2,941
My perspective as someone who (1) is about to finish their first watch of The Sopranos (literally only have the last episode left) and (2) watched The Wire back around 2012:

I think The Wire is better, and it's not really all that close. I'd even dare say The Sopranos is a tad overrated.

Maybe it's been long enough that my hazy memory of TW is making it more favorable than it really is (and some attention must be given to the dip in quality in S5), but I felt it was a much greater achievement, if nothing else. Not that a more personal story focused on an individual is an indictment of TS, but TW gives you a 360 city-level perspective of an entire aspect of life. It's almost as close to a documentary as fiction could be, as hyperbolic that might sound.

I think TW was more consistent as well with less cruft. I found TS to be unnecessarily torturous at times, particularly in exhibiting the flaws with Livia and AJ.

However - TW has no gabagool. That's a big minus.
 
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Kolx

Kolx

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,505
I finished sopranos like a year ago, and going through the wire right now (still in season 3) and I can say Sopranos is definitely better.
 
Vilam

Vilam

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,055
A better poll would list Sopranos vs The Shield.

The Wire isn't good enough to be considered alongside either of those.
 
adelante

adelante

Member
Oct 27, 2017
204
Rewatching The Wire, currently at season 4.

It's a close battle but I'd pick The Wire over Sopranos.
 

Deleted member 42055

User requested account closure
Banned
Apr 12, 2018
11,215
If it comes to which one I will rewatch more often it would be the Sopranos, the wire is just really really heavy
 
Golden

Golden

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Dec 9, 2018
928
Definitely the sopranos. Very different shows though. Dramatically the sopranos has more levels to it though, you have an overriding season plot, individual episode plot, the ongoing family drama and importantly the humour.

Although a season of the wire is memorable can we say that any individual episode stands up on its own? There are tons of individual classic sopranos episodes that are fantastic viewing in their own right even removed from the the context of the series.
 

Deleted member 41520

Banned
Mar 29, 2018
7,078
I am very pained between the two.

The Wire is a greater achievement without a doubt. It's an almost unprecedented, fly-on-the-wall, realist look at a whole chunk of human culture. It's totally holistic, beautifully crafted and considered. The level of detail from the vernacular to the politic to the urban chaos-vs-order represented perfectly on screen... Just unbelievable.

But... Most of it just isn't entertaining? IMO. It's poorly paced and overly dense, and many episodes just feel like strange set-up rather than meaningful actions (seasons 3 and 4 dodge a lot of this) even though ALL if it is important.

The Sopranos is, on paper, less ambitious, less high-concept genius, less real and impressive - but it is infinitely more pleasurable and beautiful to watch, while also covering important and meaningful topics of the soul and human nature. It feels infinitely better structured and paced.

I could never choose. It's like two different genres.

There are tons of other great shows that deserve to be in the conversation, too IMO.
  • The Shield
  • Mad Men
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Malcolm in the Middle
  • Adventure Time
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender
All also 10/10 shows which achieve incredible feats of onscreen storytelling.
 
OP
OP
bar_bar12

bar_bar12

The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
2,439
Vilam said:
A better poll would list Sopranos vs The Shield.

The Wire isn't good enough to be considered alongside either of those.
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That's funny, I'm watching the Shield now for the first time, and while I think it's a good show, it doesn't hold a candle to Sopranos and the Wire.
 
DarkChronic

DarkChronic

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,037
Yeah, it's The Wire. I watched both of these for the first two back to back this past year.

The Wire is just...masterclass in plotting, writing, and character development. It makes The Sopranos look like a Saturday morning cartoon. (ok ok, The Sopranos isn't THAT bad. It's still a great show. But I'm not sure how well it's aged).
 
Vestal

Vestal

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,297
Tampa FL
Vilam said:
A better poll would list Sopranos vs The Shield.

The Wire isn't good enough to be considered alongside either of those.
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Oh you are just asking for it now.

0Rr9eSY.gif
 
Vestal

Vestal

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,297
Tampa FL
It's the Wire..

The Wire also gave us some of the greatest .gifs of all time.

ahQQsZh.gif

pARktmd.gif

Gpgio2d.gif


Its true!
Sq3DF33.gif
 
Liquid Plejades

Liquid Plejades

Member
Mar 3, 2018
4,512
Sopranos is incredible and infinitely rewatchable, but the Wire for me.


ryseing said:
LMAO.

The show often referred to as The Great American Novel of television isn't good enough to be considered? Ok.
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seriously,... there are professors that use the Wire in their classrooms for sociology, criminology, anthropology , published papers and journals on the wire, written their thesis based around the wire.

had my friend who studies anthropology watch the show and it blew their mind with the character interactions. They could see and explained to me in certain scenes how they were using various aspects of game theory and cultural anthropology, gives me chills just remembering our conversations.

and not to sound pretentious and elitist for all of that, its just such a well written show with amazing characters.
 
Magneto

Magneto

Prophet of Truth
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,449
bar_bar12 said:
That's funny, I'm watching the Shield now for the first time, and while I think it's a good show, it doesn't hold a candle to Sopranos and the Wire.
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Finish the goddamn show and let's talk about it. Trust me, you're not the first one at all to say this here (Spoiler : you'll change your mind, just like everybody else)
 
Double 0

Double 0

Member
Nov 5, 2017
7,443
It's The Wire but the two shows are apples and oranges to me.

For me it's The Wire vs Deadwood (I still pick Wire). And Sopranos vs The Shield (much harder for me).
 
Fancy Clown

Fancy Clown

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,407
I'm actually going through The Sopranos for the first time right now (middle of season 3) and it's fucking great. That being said, The Wire is better for me thus far. The Sopranos has a thinner supporting cast and sometimes struggles to come up with compelling B plots for Tony's family.
 
QuinchoOsito

QuinchoOsito

Member
Oct 10, 2018
545
The Wire is the greatest TV show of all time. The Sopranos is the second-greatest TV show of all time, but it's not particularly close. Of course, there's also a big gap between The Sopranos and whatever one might consider the third-greatest show to be. Also, I used to think Mad Men was great, then I watched The Sopranos and realized that most of what Mad Men did was done way better by The Sopranos (particularly in terms of Don Draper and Tony Soprano).
 
bangai-o

bangai-o

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,527
The Wire is a good show, but it is also super depressing. If you like making yourself depressed, I guess it is better.
 
Ipitythafool32

Ipitythafool32

Member
Oct 25, 2017
810
The Wire will always be my #1 .. it's the show that I wish I could forget just to watch it again and feel that feeling all over again for the first time. I've watched it 4 times all the way through, 2 times on my own and twice with 2 ex girlfriends who said they wouldn't like it. Both by the end were in love with it.
 
Serein

Serein

Member
Mar 7, 2018
2,346
The Sopranos is very entertaining but I find myself far more emotionally invested in The Wire. I've watched it maybe 5 times over the years and just get completely drawn into the world and the lives of the characters every time. My favourite tv show by far.
 
Timbuktu

Timbuktu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,234
I prefer the Wire, but take nothing away from Sopranos. They are completely different shows to be fair in terms of scope and focus on characters. I mean, I would quite like a limited series with Sopranos' focus on a specific Wire character like Stringer; or a series with a Wire like view on the mafia (My Brilliant Friend might come close to that).

There are already other shows like Mad Men that comes close to Sopranos and clearly follows its lineage, but I'm not sure if we will get a show like The Wire again, even David Simon and Ed Burns can't do that.
 
Sacrilicious

Sacrilicious

Member
Oct 30, 2017
3,322
Timbuktu said:
There are already other shows like Mad Men that comes close to Sopranos and clearly follows its lineage, but I'm not sure if we will get a show like The Wire again, even David Simon and Ed Burns can't do that.
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It depends on how you define "like The Wire" but I'd say Mindhunter has several notable similarities.

There are also plenty of differences (as there are between Sopranos and Mad Men) but it's the closest modern series that comes to mind and I'm not the first to see some connections between them.
 
BobLoblaw

BobLoblaw

This Guy Helps
Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,300
The Wire. What other show had like 100 characters that all felt unique and realistic?
 
Sibersk Esto

Sibersk Esto

Changed the hierarchy of thread titles
Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,512
The Sopranos is a better character based show, The Wire is a better sociological show.

The Sopranos is more experimental and subjective, relying on symbolism and imagery while The Wire is more objective and purposefully understated in its presentation.

They both have their ups and downs, and I guess if we were to point out their downs it would be the various dropped story lines in Sopranos or The Wire's fake serial killer plot.

It's really a matter of preference.

bangai-o said:
The Wire is a good show, but it is also super depressing. If you like making yourself depressed, I guess it is better.
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After binging the entire series, the final episode of The Sopranos is devastating




 
Dalek

Dalek

Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,953
This was a brutal decision. They're both fantastic top tier of all time. The Sopranos I could watch on repeat-binge watch all day, because it's so fun and enjoyable and you can't wait to see what happens next. The Wire is more darker, realistic and devastating. I have to pace myself watching it.

I have a friend who was an actor in both The Sopranos and The Wire-what a resume.
 
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