Best show of all time: Sopranos, The Wire, Mad Men or Breaking Bad? - Page 4

of course i do. CYE is a fantastic show, brilliant humor. but its not in the league of the shows in the OP imo.

Throwing in cartoon comedies into this discussion makes no sense. I'd keep it to dramas/hour long shows.

It's best "show" of all time. Not best "hour long drama." I say anything goes that has been on TV as a series.

+1 to The Simpsons being in contention. I've always said it's between The Simpsons and The Sopranos for me.

I never really got into Breaking Bad, though I could see how people could enjoy it. The Wire did nothing for me in the handful of episodes I watched, but I keep telling myself to give it another try. I've never seen Mad Men, owing mostly to the taste of people I know who love it.

will you please watch the wire. do it for me baby.

Mad Men was good the first season but after that I found it to be thin and untextured. I really don't see how it can be in the discussion of the greatest shows of all time.

The Wire is easily the best television series that has ever been written. The other series are excellent, but there is something so insightful and deeply visceral about the Wire, that it teeters on the verge of masterpiece.

Unlike this vapid poast.

somebody is feisty tonight lol

Also an incredibly anti-goverment, pro-libertarian show.

Mad Men: I love it, but every now and then I find it misses the mark. Distant 4th.
The Sopranos: The top 3 are all so close, and so a third place finish is by no means an insult. I found it slowed towards the series end.
The Wire: Amazing. As a sociologist, I point to this for a clearer understanding of the world we live in. Number 2.
Breaking. Not as well written as The Sopranos, nor as complex and indepth as The Wire, but the characters and plots are just so engaging I give it a number 1.


Other Shows Mentioned:

Firefly: Amazing show. Incredibly mad at the cancellation. It could have been so great, or it could have been cancelled before it got bad. I found Serenity a bit lack-lustre in comparison. Not sure if it was an indication of what the show would have become, or merely and attempt to bring a show that would likely have been extremely in depth to close in under 2 hours.

Lost: The first 2 season had me hooked. I love shows in which an overall tapestry of a universe is woven, where each part scene brings more meaning to the rest. I thought that was what this was. Then I realized they're just running around with no end-goal, no real "big picture" in mind.

BSG: First season was some of the greatest on T.V. Afterwards.... I don't know. Still unsure about the ending. But it's up there on my favourites of all time.

Third season was the best imo. Hated the last season, though.

I'll try to get around to it soon, although it may be tough to work in, given MrsG and I recently started re-watching The Sopranos, and we're not watching as much TV lately as we once did. Perhaps I will pick it up when the first-run season ends for the networks in the next month or so.

The replay value of The Sopranos and The Simpsons should also be noted. I'd imagine that I have probably seen some episodes 50 times or more. Who knows. Both are equally enjoyable to watch while eating. Perhaps because food was such an integral part of The Sopranos, and memories of watching The Simpsons I had recorded on VHS everyday after school as a kid while having a snack. It's always amusing when someone says "have you seen that episode of The Sopranos when", then they go onto to horribly misquote a scene that I could recite verbatim.

How about The Shield? I'd put that up there with the Wire or perhaps right below it.

Love the Shield, but it didn't have nearly the ambition of The Wire, BB, or Sopranos. Overall I do like it more than Mad Men, even though it had some pretty preposterous story elements.