Film Fanatics - Chat Thread II

Must admit that I've never seen The Sopranos Or CYE, or Seinfeld

Also I feel distinctly un-British if I don't mention Extras (the first series, the second one got a little bit egotistical) and Spooks in any conversation about great TV.

I also have mad love for Oz and The X-Files.

And if Boardwalk Empire continues in the same quality then that will soon become a classic.

I also have mad love for Oz and The X-Files.

And if Boardwalk Empire continues in the same quality then that will soon become a classic.

I immediately got bored of Boardwalk Empire. It just felt repetitive and trying too hard to be like The Sopranos, IMO. Oz is fantastic, funny how most of The Wire cast were in Oz.

No, The Sopranos is the best TV show ever. The Wire is very high up on the list, but The Sopranos is the best.

The Sopranos gives a snapshot compared to The Wire's panorama. Far too focused on Tony, and due to that, some of the plots started getting a little carried away, ie. the Russian in the woods. The psychiatric segments of each episode were alright for first two series, maybe even the first 3, but in 4 and 5, the reasons why Tony was still attending became increasingly incredulous. 4 years, and in his summarizing rant he revealed a single insight uncovered by the practice. I felt the audience was well enough acquainted with Tony that continuing his catharsis scenes was overemphasizing the fact that he revealed the same in each emotional upheaval.
Some of the characters were underdeveloped- Pussy, you never felt anything when he got whacked, and never felt he was as central to the business as Tony purported he was. The flashback scenes, when they realized that Pussy wore a wire on numerous occasions, were sloppy. The actor playing Silvio overstates his character to the ridiculous (perpetual tensing and grimace) and, despite the fact he is the leading Capo for the majority of the series, little interpretation of his importance to the business can be made, as backstory and background are lacking. I will have some more criticisms when I can remember them, but, The Sopranos=9.3/10, The Wire=9.7/10 (that is a fact btw, trying to source it now, make take a while)

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Scores mean very little. It's my personal opinion. I'm not saying The Wire is rubbish because I love it to bits, just The Sopranos is the greater TV show in my opinion. I can't explain it, I just love The Sopranos a lot more than The Wire. Maybe it's Gandolfini and the rest of the cast creating characters that are in many ways likeable and over the course of all the series, we grow to love them. It's my opinion at the end of the day. The Wire vs The Sopranos is a very divisive thing, but it seems a bit ridiculous trying to compare it to The Wire as they're both very different shows; The Sopranos, as you said, offers a close look at a crime family and how it affects the people around them. The Wire offers a look at many aspects in social issues and politics of America. Both have their faults, but both are still the best shows to be produced by HBO.

Also, spoiler the bits about Pussy, some people on this thread haven't watched it and will probably want to in the future.

I am a devoted fan of The Wire, but I don't know if it's the best TV show ever. I consider Deadwood to be just as good, and Six Feet Under to be quite close. Best comedy for me is either Seinfeld or The Larry Sanders show. Both famous trailblazers and hilarious in their own right, but the latter gets short shrift when people talk about its influence. Without Larry Sanders, we wouldn't have The Office, Extras, Curb, Louie, etc.

I think it's more appropriate to say without Seinfeld we wouldn't have Curb.

I watched Seinfeld after Curb and I could immediately see how Curb is actually very similar to Seinfeld in a way, especially the character of George.

If we're mentioning great British t.v., I think Peep Show certainly deserves a mention. As does The Office.



Extras was good, but I do feel it was eclipsed by The Office. As for Spooks, I didn't like it beyond the first two seasons. Already, at that point, it was endlessly repeating the same 'countdown-to-save-the-world' scenarios.


I've only seen sporadic episodes of The Sopranos, so I can't judge. The Wire is, however, phenomenal. Likewise, Seinfeld could rightly be called the forerunner for most sitcoms (especially Friends).

Also does anyone watch Entourage? Need something to get into during the summer and it looks cool. Might give it a watch later.