AMC's Breaking Bad vs HBO's The Wire

[Goondal]

Breaking Bad is a and all-time great show that I really enjoy, I cannot wait to see how it end.  When all is said and done, barring a disaster of an ending, it will have a place on my Top Ten. 

 

That being said, anybody saying it is the best ever though is simply living in the moment.  It happens all the time.  Whatever is happening right now is the best ever.  Hell, a friend of mine said yesterday that Miguel Cabrera is on the verge of surpassing Albert Pujols on his all-time list.  People are so quick to adopt the new that they forget how great what came before it was.

 

Simply put, The Wire is the finest show ever made.  One could easily argue that each of the first four seasons are among the twenty greatest seasons in television history.  Breaking Bad does have the opportunity to have a superior Season Five however.

[teeray]

Sopranos > The Wire > Breaking Bad

 

And GOT is the best show on TV right now and has a chance to be my #1 show all time depending on how it all ends.

[Goondal]

dexter

 

...had two great seasons, two above average ones, and four mediocre to bad ones.

 

Do not get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy it most weeks, but it is not in the same league.

[Goondal]

Both are cream of the crop.

The Wire is the best show in the history of TV.

Breaking Bad is certainly in the discussion though.

Been trying to watch GoT but it just isn't clicking for me yet.

 

How many episodes in are you?  You should keep watching.  It is a show like no other and has some of the best characters on TV.

[Goondal]

Sopranos > The Wire > Breaking Bad

 

And GOT is the best show on TV right now and has a chance to be my #1 show all time depending on how it all ends.

 

The Sopranos is the one show where if someone put it #1, as long as The Wire  was second I am cool with it.  In my opinion Tony is history's greatest character and I cannot fault anybody for having the show on top as well.  There was so much to like about it and it truly did change television for the better and forever.

[CarolinaNCSU]

Finally started the Sopranos a week ago. Loving it so far and I don't think I've ever heard a person who didn't love it. 

[Dpantherman]

Bryan Cranston is top notch.  

[Inimicus]

I finished the Wire last week and I have to say that while it was good and Top 10 worthy The Wire doesn't come close to the level of Breaking Bad.

 

Is it better than most TV shows? Hell yes!  But that said there is only the tiniest chance that I would ever watch it again where by contrast it is a metaphysical certainty that I will watch Breaking Bad all the way through again.

 

 

Of course that's just my opinion on the two shows.

[PanthersBigD]

I love both shows. Both of them are real in a way that many other shows are not. I rarely feel like someone is being written out of or into trouble. Story arcs follow the natural outcomes of good or bad choices.

 

I loved The Shield, but in the latter seasons of the series, it became comical how Kurt Sutter and Co. would write characters into and out of trouble. Now he's done even worse on Sons of Anarchy. What they do on The Wire and Breaking Bad is much more subtle and believable.

 

The difference for me between the Wire and Breaking Bad is that I always felt that while The Wire's ensemble cast was fantastic, it was just an ensemble cast. No one actor was the standout throughout the series as Bryan Cranston has been on Breaking Bad. To me, that's what makes Breaking Bad special, similar to Tony Soprano on the Sopranos. I still think The Sopranos is probably the best show ever, with Tony Soprano the best character ever.

 

That said, Bryan Cranston and Michael Chiklis are probably my two favorite television actors. I didn't know enough of James Gandolfini to have any problems believing he could be a mob boss, but I would never have believed that Hal Wilkerson and the Commish could become Walter White and Vic Mackey.

 

For all of the crap music that's coming out right now, we're really lucky to be enjoying the current age of television. I can't remember when there have ever been this many great shows on at one time. It's impossible to keep follow all of them at the same time. Thank God for Netflix! Speaking of Netflix, Orange is the New Black is a great show if you haven't started watching it yet.

 

 

 

 

[SOJA]

That's tough. I love both shows. They are in my opinion number 1 and 2 in the history of television. I can't quite put my finger on why, but I think Breaking Bad has an edge.

 

Both are fantastic shows though. If you haven't seen one or either it's worth your time if you enjoy a good tv drama. 

[CarolinaCoolin]

Breaking bad easy.

[Zaximus]

I love Breaking Bad, but I can't put it above The Wire.  Yeah, Wire didn't have a "stand-out actor" but that is what makes it better, because you had handfuls of great characters and actors.  You also have a show that changed up each year to a new subject matter and new actors, it was amazing, and I just don't think anything can touch it.   For me, it's Wire > Breaking Bad > Sopranos > The Shield.   Boardwalk Empire is gaining on The Shield though.

[CarolinaNCSU]

I love Breaking Bad, but I can't put it above The Wire.  Yeah, Wire didn't have a "stand-out actor" but that is what makes it better, because you had handfuls of great characters and actors.  You also have a show that changed up each year to a new subject matter and new actors, it was amazing, and I just don't think anything can touch it.   For me, it's Wire > Breaking Bad > Sopranos > The Shield.   Boardwalk Empire is gaining on The Shield though.

 

Haven't seen the Shield or finished the Sopranos yet, but I agree. Especially about the acting. BB is great...but my God, the Wire had 20+ awesome characters.

[bleys]

i haven't seen the wire. i just finished watching BB season four on netflix and i don't have cable so i can't keep up with the current season... so i'll have to watch the wire.

 

you can keep up with any show online..  netflix is a last resort in my world.  actually, it isn't even an option.