TheSecondSpitter
Member
Season 2 had the best set of breasts in the history of television. Period.
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TVGAF, The Wire or Mad Men?
- Thread starter ShooterMcGavin
- Start date
Season 2 had the best set of breasts in the history of television. Period.
Wire Spoilers:
Rawls in the gay bar
johancruijff
Banned
uuuuh come on, GoT is nowhere near The Wire nor Mad Men
RoyaleDuke
Banned
The Wire, Mad Men is trash.
RichiRamjag
Member
Game of Thrones had good enough writing before they left the books. Now, it's enjoyable and fun enough, but it's hardly great writing.
Sopranos is also a damn fine show.
PeakPointMatrix
Member
Oh look a bandwagon. Watch Mad Men anyway. Why does it have to be one or the other. I envy anyone who hasn't watched Mad Men, it's one of the most special pieces of television media in existence.
I envy the limited free time you have to browse GAF. Worse advice is regularly given.
To clarify my thoughts on The Wire in a way GAF will find more palatable. The Wire is a lot like a better version of Netflix's Daredevil (Especially S1) without the costumed superheroics.
I personally rate Daredevil a C if we are using letter grades. The Wire is about a B
Ultimately if you connect with the characters at a deep level (like many did) then you will overlook the flaws in writing/pacing. If you don't then the shows dreary nature will likely suffocate your interest.
Yabberwocky
Member
Oh, man. The Wire, then Mad Men, then Deadwood, if you haven't seen it. And when you're done with them, Black Sails, which is Game of Thrones meets Deadwood meets The Wire with pirates, with its complex and well-rounded morally gray characters and mic-drop political commentary on those whose stories are erased by history and cast aside by civilization. (Plus a glorious abundance of queer leads, amazing female characters, and jaw-dropping cinematography.)
Obligatory Breaking Bad rec, too, just in case, but it's Breaking Bad, so that's obvious.
I haven't rewatched The Wire in aaaaages. The GOAT of goats.
...I have a rewatch itch coming on.
Obligatory Breaking Bad rec, too, just in case, but it's Breaking Bad, so that's obvious.
I haven't rewatched The Wire in aaaaages. The GOAT of goats.
...I have a rewatch itch coming on.
Fancy Clown
Member
They're both top 5 shows of all time so you can't go wrong with either. I'd probably give the edge to The Wire though.
RichiRamjag
Member
A bunch of people just can't like The Wire? If you prefer madmen, cool, but you don't have to be like that in an effort to discredit anyone.
I get the point you're trying to make and I agree that the show is better depending on how much you connect to the characters (which is true for most shows honestly), but this part right here is just crazy. The connection doesn't work really.
The HD remastering is very well done, IMO. I just re-watched it in HD for the first time a few weeks ago, and thought it was really well done.
Yeah, I experienced this too. Season 2 improved for me a great deal on my second viewing (although I still enjoyed it the first time around, mind). I guess I was just really invested in seeing what happened next with
the Barksdales
the Major Crimes Unit was disbanded
the Sobotkas and "The Greek"
no kidding
and I say that as someone who has watched and enjoyed person of interest
I respectfully disagree. Game of Thrones is my favorite series ever. Great acting and writing, epic action and drama, memorable characters... what more could you want?
Dorne was admittedly terrible and a huge waste of time, though
Personally, I feel like what Thrones has lost in writing, it has made up for in spectacle and also consistent payoff for events that were years in the making, but that's just me. The
Loot Train Attack
Also, agreed, Sopranos is great TV as well. It also has one my favorite TV series intros ever ( "Got yourself a gun!").
How is it crazy. Both shows (The Wire/Daredevil) feature a small team of people (Cops/Lawyers) working to take down institutionalised criminal behavior in a poor rundown forgotten area of innercity America (Baltimore/New York)
Both shows are about fighting the good fight against entrenched social factors. This is especially true of Daredevil in S1. In season 2 it gets increasingly overthetop/stupid
As for Person of Interes (POI). Both shows lasted 5 seasons with final seasons of lesser quality then what had preceeded it. In its first 4 seasons there were 90 episodes of Person of Interest vs 50 episodes of The Wire.
Person of Interest had more bad episodes then The Wire but due to volume it also had more good episodes for the same reason. However Person of Interest mostly benefitted from the extra episodes as it helped with the overall world building. Something that could be "blink and you miss it" with The Wire.
TheDarkKnight774
Member
No it's not boring at all. My point is a lot of shows especially when, You think of shows labeled as cop shows have a lot of flashy moments, but this isn't what the wire is about. It establishes the characters, sets the theme of the seaon, and then moves the pieces around until you get a great conclusion. It plots things more like a single novel would, versus having big hooks at the end of each episode to get you to return, but more like chapters. Which is why go into watching the show like you would approach a book because it's structured more like it
It also helps tremendously now you can watch it in batches. I watched the wire day one, week one (because I was a big Homicide life on the streets fan and the Simon connection). Initially watching it weekly it took me some time to adjust to its different pace. But the pace of the show is amazing.
The wire is by far my favorite TV drama show
Its well filmed super hero stuff that has a kinda sorta stretching it similarities but otherwise its a laughable comparison. DD S1 and 2 isn't even on the same planet in terms to how it deals with and portrays things like the drug game and actual gang politics and life styles and really most anything else.
The Wire, an episode a day is the way to watch. Don't under any circumstances marathon it. You will want to, but fight it. Limit yourself to one episode a day.
The Shield has perhaps the best ending to any television series.
The Shield has perhaps the best ending to any television series.
Shalashaska
Member
The Wire. I liked Mad Men and it's great, but there's too much filler.
I first watched The Shield after having watched The Wire, big mistake. It looked like amateur hour. I enjoyed it but it took a long time to get used to the pacing compared to The Wire.
johancruijff
Banned
The Shield is more action oriented character study. The Wire...it is life in American city itself.
TwoDurans
"Never said I wasn't a hypocrite."
5 seasons, with one bad is 80/20. Or are you saying some of season 2 was good? Specifically 5% of it?
DarkMaigle
Member
The Wire
Then The Leftovers
Then The Leftovers
RespectThySole
Member
Mad Men. Might be the greatest character driven show ever.
The Wire is great as well, but not consistently. I just finished watching it so it's really fresh in my head. Season 2 and 5 are worse than any season of Mad Men.
The Wire is great as well, but not consistently. I just finished watching it so it's really fresh in my head. Season 2 and 5 are worse than any season of Mad Men.
Vulcano's assistant
Banned
Mad Men is the best execution of an idea put on TV (that idea/premise can only go so far though). But it is a character driven show; you are not chasing a plot and the tension that drives it. The Wire is just as good if not better at times, and it has the tension of a life or death plot. You should watch both, but choosing between the two depends on whether you want to watch a show about the whole put in service of individuals, or about individuals put in service of the whole.
tearsintherain
Member
OP, skip everyone's advice and instead watch 2 Broke Girls
number of times Kim Kardashian appeared on The Wire: 0
number of times Kim Kardashian appeared on Mad Men: 0
number of times Kim Kardashian appeared on 2 Broke: 1
checkmate, Avon Barskdale
also there are no british actors on 2 Broke Girls who fake an American accent
number of times Kim Kardashian appeared on The Wire: 0
number of times Kim Kardashian appeared on Mad Men: 0
number of times Kim Kardashian appeared on 2 Broke: 1
checkmate, Avon Barskdale
also there are no british actors on 2 Broke Girls who fake an American accent
RichiRamjag
Member
Other than that loose similarity, the shows are nothing alike. That's ridiculous. May as well say law and order is like daredevil. It's not even worth debating further if that's how you came to that conclusion.
I wonder if she or he really even watched it tbh.
It really is. I came up in philly and the show really feels super authentic.
I respectfully disagree. Game of Thrones is my favorite series ever. Great acting and writing, epic action and drama, memorable characters... what more could you want?.Dorne was admittedly terrible and a huge waste of time, though
Personally, I feel like what Thrones has lost in writing, it has made up for in spectacle and also consistent payoff for events that were years in the making, but that's just me. Theis the kind of thing I never though I would see in a TV show. So good! Anyway, this is getting off-topic, as we're supposed to be discussing The Wire vs. Mad Men, in which case the answer is clearly Thrones > The Wire > Mad Men.Loot Train Attack
Also, agreed, Sopranos is great TV as well. It also has one my favorite TV series intros ever ( "Got yourself a gun!").
Oh yeah, sopranos rocks.
"He was an interior decorator"
Chmpocalypse
Blizzard
The Wire by a mile.
Mad Men was... good... but really unfocused. I eventually stopped caring. The Wire was far too compelling to ever make me want to turn away.
Mad Men was... good... but really unfocused. I eventually stopped caring. The Wire was far too compelling to ever make me want to turn away.
Chmpocalypse
Blizzard
I mean, opinions, but no. And lol at your pretentiousness.
Even at their worst they're better than POI.
The back half of Mad Men picks back up though. It only really gets bad when it crashes hard end of s04 into s05. Then it's up and up.
equippedwithtowel
Member
Both shows are in a class of their own when it comes to lomg form tv drama. I'll never understand people who think mad men fell off in its back half, that's when the character work really starts to pay off.
Phrynobatrachus
Neo Member
The Wire, then The Corner. Simon's written work is great too.
Cesare Borgia
Banned
S2 of The Wire is one of the ballsiest things to ever be aired on television. It's great and one of many testements to Simon's brilliance, and the subversion of TV tropes/demands. S1's low ratings and majority black cast poised quite a dilemma for HBO. Yet instead of simply adding a bunch of random white people to the show in order to attract white viewers, Simon decided to focus on the white America that we pretend doesn't exist. You can see shades of the 2016 election in that season. The death of manufacturing, the dismantling of unions, the opioid crisis...it's all there. It's an ugly portrait, an ugly reality; juxtaposed with the ugly reality of drug crime in Baltimore.
Chmpocalypse
Blizzard
I think Deadwood is far better than MM, even with it being cut short. It's really special.
You just made me want to watch it again right now.
StopMakingSense
Member
Mad Men is consistently great while The Wire has some really low lows, like the bulk of the last season. The serial killer thing is seriously the stupidest shit.
| Praxis |
Banned
Yeah, season 2 is brilliant.
Even if you end up liking another show more, The Wire is probably the best show ever made.
The writing is excellent and never obviously reuses ideas. Its always moving forward and feeling fresh with each beat. Each season takes big risks and succeeds nearly all the time The dialogue is amazing. The acting is very solid. Nothing is reached for or particularly forced. There aren't any dramatic fakeouts with edits, to manufacture drama. Like Game of Thrones just did. Episodes end after big notes, for you to ponder and think over. Not cheesy cliffhangers. You'll be singing the theme song all the time. Characters feel connected to eachother because of what they do and say.
It's only real negative is that the final season's ideas just don't prove to be quite as good of viewing. Maybe they could have used some more time on writing? I dunno. It's not awful, not at all. But the final season can feel a little less connected.
Mad Men is easily in the top shows of all time. I love it to bits. The period piece aspects are amazing and you should listen to some of the commentaries to gain more awareness and appreciation for this. They often leverage the period in subtleways which are much more than simple set dressing.
The dialogue is amazing. The acting is solid to high level. Characters are consistently themselves and grow on ways which feel right for them. Not simply to service a plotline or the audience.
As someone already said, the show has no action or genre heavy attractions. It's all character, all the time. More than most shows, characters feel like they are actually interacting and speaking to eachother. Not just a bunch of writing. As such, there are almost no throwaway scenes or dialogue lines. And it will frequently having you recalling parts of your life and examining how you interact with and appreciate others.
The blu-rays will make you fall in love with your tv, all over again. Its a beautiful show. And they are very affordable. I have never payed more than $25 for a season and most I got under $20.
The only problem Mad Men ever has, is that it does re-use a certain angle in the writing, 3 times. Twice, it is written well and feels well used, to reset some things for some fresh ideas. But the third time it was an obvious reach to cheese some drama and momentum. And it felt stupid, unnecessary, and kinda ruined the feel it had going. And while the ending is ultimately a touchdown, a couple of characters were fumbled a bit, in the final season. And you don't feel quite as "in it" as usual, because that 3rd re-used angle doesn't afford them time to fully resettle AND end the show.
The writing is excellent and never obviously reuses ideas. Its always moving forward and feeling fresh with each beat. Each season takes big risks and succeeds nearly all the time The dialogue is amazing. The acting is very solid. Nothing is reached for or particularly forced. There aren't any dramatic fakeouts with edits, to manufacture drama. Like Game of Thrones just did. Episodes end after big notes, for you to ponder and think over. Not cheesy cliffhangers. You'll be singing the theme song all the time. Characters feel connected to eachother because of what they do and say.
It's only real negative is that the final season's ideas just don't prove to be quite as good of viewing. Maybe they could have used some more time on writing? I dunno. It's not awful, not at all. But the final season can feel a little less connected.
Mad Men is easily in the top shows of all time. I love it to bits. The period piece aspects are amazing and you should listen to some of the commentaries to gain more awareness and appreciation for this. They often leverage the period in subtleways which are much more than simple set dressing.
The dialogue is amazing. The acting is solid to high level. Characters are consistently themselves and grow on ways which feel right for them. Not simply to service a plotline or the audience.
As someone already said, the show has no action or genre heavy attractions. It's all character, all the time. More than most shows, characters feel like they are actually interacting and speaking to eachother. Not just a bunch of writing. As such, there are almost no throwaway scenes or dialogue lines. And it will frequently having you recalling parts of your life and examining how you interact with and appreciate others.
The blu-rays will make you fall in love with your tv, all over again. Its a beautiful show. And they are very affordable. I have never payed more than $25 for a season and most I got under $20.
The only problem Mad Men ever has, is that it does re-use a certain angle in the writing, 3 times. Twice, it is written well and feels well used, to reset some things for some fresh ideas. But the third time it was an obvious reach to cheese some drama and momentum. And it felt stupid, unnecessary, and kinda ruined the feel it had going. And while the ending is ultimately a touchdown, a couple of characters were fumbled a bit, in the final season. And you don't feel quite as "in it" as usual, because that 3rd re-used angle doesn't afford them time to fully resettle AND end the show.