6 ms·

There are not many shows taht are better than the Wire Oz ?

by ttoinou 9y ago

spenuke 9y ago
Not even close. The only contender is Deadwood (RIP).
- tomjakubowski 9y ago
  Surely The Sopranos is a contender as well. In my mind those three occupy a tier above all other television dramas.
  - _asummers 9y ago
    Sopranos is in the tier JUST immediately below The Wire and Breaking Bad, for me. Amazing TV, but not quite at that extra-elite level. I have not yet watched Deadwood, and judging from these discussions, I should.
- yannickt 9y ago
  I would count both The Sopranos and Breaking Bad as contenders, personally.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - jancsika 9y ago
    I think the Wire excelled at a more difficult game because the writing adhered to a kind of journalistic dogma that didn't allow for many of the tricks used in the storytelling of Breaking Bad or The Sopranos. Walt could blow up a room and not only survive, but convince a psychopathic drug dealer to do business with him by that very act. Tony Soprano could garner empathy and understanding by showing us his dream sequences. But The Wire gave its audience only what its characters said and did. Characters who-- by and large-- couldn't just "problem solve" their way out of their circumstances like Walt did so often.
    - DanBC 9y ago
      McNulty planting evidence in the Journalism season was such bullshit though.
      - balls187 9y ago
        How so? Season 5 is the most underappreciated season, but I've really started to appreciate it. McNulty has been a character who believes the ends justify the means. In Season 1, he falsifies that Sidner (iirc) was on the roof, thus allowing the police to admit phone tapped evidence. In Season 5, it shows how taking that mentality of by any means necessary can quickly spiral out of control.
- ttoinou 9y ago
  I stopped watching Deadwood in the middle of season 2 because the acting was so bad it didn't felt real (but I liked it apart from that) Oz is still one of my favorite tv show, it has so many good characters and the huit clos format (closed doors) is really perfect for focusing on them
- lz400 9y ago
  I think nobody really touches David Simon in TV. He's like Miyazaki in anime I feel. First it's him, then everybody else. The Wire, Treme, Generation Kill... it's just another level. On the next step below we'd have things like Man Men, Deadwood, The Sopranos, etc.
- balls187 9y ago
  I enjoyed deadwood, and I thought the story arc with The Comstock and George Hearst as a robber baron was going to have a huge payoff, but instead the series was cut short which is a huge shame. There is just enough foolery to make it easily tier 2 for me: Francis Wolcott's story arc, Olyphant's acting, Seth Bullock's attempt at morale highground. If folks aren't turned off by violence, profanity, and prostitution, it's definitely must watch tv.
cholantesh 9y ago
Oz is terrible; so hammy and unrealistic. J.K. Simmons is about its only saving grace.
- badpenny 9y ago
  > so hammy and unrealistic That's what I liked about it.
balls187 9y ago
I've come around to the thinking that Sopranos (even if I prefer the Wire) was the best show on television. Before it, nothing on television came close to the depth that the Sopranos did. It laid the foundation for epic shows like The Wire, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad.
- tootie 9y ago
  Maybe I'm nuts, but I couldn't stand The Sopranos. I didn't find Tony Soprano to be a sympathetic antihero at all. Just a vile gangster who I just wanted to be killed in every episode.
  - Larrikin 9y ago
    I felt the same. I watched it all the way through and understand that it laid the groundwork so a better show like The Wire could be produced. But I agree with you. I hated Tony and basically everyone he associated with and was glad to see some of them killed off. I guess that means it was well written but its the reason I haven't bothered to rewatch. The Wire on the other hand I've seen completely atleast 5 times and always notice something new.
  - badpenny 9y ago
    Maybe you're not supposed to find him sympathetic. Maybe you're not even supposed to find him unsympathetic. Maybe that's one of the things that differentiates good shows from great shows.
  - balls187 9y ago
    > Just a vile gangster who I just wanted to be killed in every episode. Yes! Seeing the family struggles of a vile gangster is what made the show amazing.
- unclebucknasty 9y ago
  Overall, The Sopranos stands near the top in my book, but it did suffer from some unevenness. There seemed to be experimentation with directors that didn't always work (an Imperioli episode comes immediately to mind). And, there were some episodes and arcs that didn't have the same weight overall. Still top-tier, and I think it laid a foundation that others have built upon, in sheer game-elevation alone.
nulldev 9y ago
I'm an Oz fanboy and this is as close to objectively wrong as any subjective value judgment can get. Even the best of Oz is barely as good as the worst of the Wire - and Oz just got progressively worse as the seasons went on.

There are not many shows taht are better than the Wire Oz ?

spenuke 9y ago

Not even close. The only contender is Deadwood (RIP).

tomjakubowski 9y ago
Surely The Sopranos is a contender as well. In my mind those three occupy a tier above all other television dramas.
- _asummers 9y ago
  Sopranos is in the tier JUST immediately below The Wire and Breaking Bad, for me. Amazing TV, but not quite at that extra-elite level. I have not yet watched Deadwood, and judging from these discussions, I should.
yannickt 9y ago
I would count both The Sopranos and Breaking Bad as contenders, personally.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- jancsika 9y ago
  I think the Wire excelled at a more difficult game because the writing adhered to a kind of journalistic dogma that didn't allow for many of the tricks used in the storytelling of Breaking Bad or The Sopranos. Walt could blow up a room and not only survive, but convince a psychopathic drug dealer to do business with him by that very act. Tony Soprano could garner empathy and understanding by showing us his dream sequences. But The Wire gave its audience only what its characters said and did. Characters who-- by and large-- couldn't just "problem solve" their way out of their circumstances like Walt did so often.
  - DanBC 9y ago
    McNulty planting evidence in the Journalism season was such bullshit though.
    - balls187 9y ago
      How so? Season 5 is the most underappreciated season, but I've really started to appreciate it. McNulty has been a character who believes the ends justify the means. In Season 1, he falsifies that Sidner (iirc) was on the roof, thus allowing the police to admit phone tapped evidence. In Season 5, it shows how taking that mentality of by any means necessary can quickly spiral out of control.
ttoinou 9y ago
I stopped watching Deadwood in the middle of season 2 because the acting was so bad it didn't felt real (but I liked it apart from that) Oz is still one of my favorite tv show, it has so many good characters and the huit clos format (closed doors) is really perfect for focusing on them
lz400 9y ago
I think nobody really touches David Simon in TV. He's like Miyazaki in anime I feel. First it's him, then everybody else. The Wire, Treme, Generation Kill... it's just another level. On the next step below we'd have things like Man Men, Deadwood, The Sopranos, etc.
balls187 9y ago
I enjoyed deadwood, and I thought the story arc with The Comstock and George Hearst as a robber baron was going to have a huge payoff, but instead the series was cut short which is a huge shame. There is just enough foolery to make it easily tier 2 for me: Francis Wolcott's story arc, Olyphant's acting, Seth Bullock's attempt at morale highground. If folks aren't turned off by violence, profanity, and prostitution, it's definitely must watch tv.

cholantesh 9y ago

Oz is terrible; so hammy and unrealistic. J.K. Simmons is about its only saving grace.

badpenny 9y ago
> so hammy and unrealistic That's what I liked about it.

balls187 9y ago

I've come around to the thinking that Sopranos (even if I prefer the Wire) was the best show on television. Before it, nothing on television came close to the depth that the Sopranos did. It laid the foundation for epic shows like The Wire, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad.

tootie 9y ago
Maybe I'm nuts, but I couldn't stand The Sopranos. I didn't find Tony Soprano to be a sympathetic antihero at all. Just a vile gangster who I just wanted to be killed in every episode.
- Larrikin 9y ago
  I felt the same. I watched it all the way through and understand that it laid the groundwork so a better show like The Wire could be produced. But I agree with you. I hated Tony and basically everyone he associated with and was glad to see some of them killed off. I guess that means it was well written but its the reason I haven't bothered to rewatch. The Wire on the other hand I've seen completely atleast 5 times and always notice something new.
- badpenny 9y ago
  Maybe you're not supposed to find him sympathetic. Maybe you're not even supposed to find him unsympathetic. Maybe that's one of the things that differentiates good shows from great shows.
- balls187 9y ago
  > Just a vile gangster who I just wanted to be killed in every episode. Yes! Seeing the family struggles of a vile gangster is what made the show amazing.
unclebucknasty 9y ago
Overall, The Sopranos stands near the top in my book, but it did suffer from some unevenness. There seemed to be experimentation with directors that didn't always work (an Imperioli episode comes immediately to mind). And, there were some episodes and arcs that didn't have the same weight overall. Still top-tier, and I think it laid a foundation that others have built upon, in sheer game-elevation alone.

nulldev 9y ago

I'm an Oz fanboy and this is as close to objectively wrong as any subjective value judgment can get. Even the best of Oz is barely as good as the worst of the Wire - and Oz just got progressively worse as the seasons went on.