Where do you rank Breaking Bad, tbh?.. [Archive]

HarlemHeat37

09-30-2013, 10:45 AM

Following a fitting and quality finale, where do you rank BB on the pantheon of great shows, tbh?..

I'd have it in the top 3 with the Wire and Sopranos, easily above any other shows I've watched..

If I had to break it down:

Breaking Bad had easily the best final season of the 3, and depending on your feelings towards the Sopranos finale, probably the best ending..

Walter White and Tony Soprano are probably the two most fascinating and polarizing characters in TV history, while the Wire wasn't centered around their characters, despite the memorable figures on the show..

The Wire is obviously the deepest show from a social and moral perspective, and the Sopranos offered an interesting psychological perspective, along with the memorable dream analysis, while Breaking Bad doesn't really attempt to send a message or anything..

Breaking Bad's characters are scarce and you already know that all of the main characters are going to live until the end of the series, Sopranos as well(although to a lesser extent), while the Wire had an abundance of characters, allowing them to frequently kill off key characters..

Breaking Bad is the least predictable and offers more "shocking" moments, while the other 2 are more centred around dialogue..the Wire and Sopranos are a lot slower, which turns off a lot of people, tbh..

Sopranos has the most charismatic characters and by far the best dialogue IMO..it's the funniest show of the 3..the Wire has it's fair share of charismatic characters, though..I've never found Breaking Bad to be particularly funny tbh, and I don't understand why people find entertainment in the Skiny Pete and Badger characters, I don't find them funny in any way, tbh..

Breaking Bad doesn't have a weak season and it progressively improved, which is a rarity in any facet of entertainment.. season 5 of the Wire is a weak point(although overplayed) and season 6A of Sopranos was easily the weakest season of all 3 shows IMO..the Vito shit was dull and an overt attempt at sending a message/trying to be edgy..

oh crap

09-30-2013, 10:52 AM

1.The Wire
2A/2B.Breaking bad = The Sopranos

Phillip

09-30-2013, 10:53 AM

Unfortunately I can't jump into this discussion just yet. I'm currently getting caught up on SOA and Mad Men. My next shows I plan to watch are The Wire, The Shield, then Sopranos (in that order). I'm way behind on my TV watching :depressed

Spurminator

09-30-2013, 11:00 AM

The Wire is still #1 for me, but BB made it closer than I thought possible.

Breaking Bad is the only show I've ever seen that got progressively better every season and went out at its peak. If I were ranking the seasons, I'd go: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. (I might put 5a behind 3 and 4 if you split season 5 up, but I'd still have 5b at the top.)

The Sopranos deserves credit for changing TV to the degree that shows like The Wire and Breaking Bad can air and thrive, but I give the latter two a leg up because they started strong and got better. The Sopranos' best seasons were 1 and 2... The Wire hit its peak in seasons 3 and 4, and BB just kept getting better.

As someone said in the other thread, those are the clear top three and I'm not sure there's a close #4 right now.

JudynTX

09-30-2013, 11:03 AM

1) Breaking Bad
2) LOST
3) The Sopranos

AntiChrist

09-30-2013, 11:05 AM

I guess I need to start watching The Wire.

2centsworth

09-30-2013, 11:06 AM

Sopranos and 24 I liked better. Season 5 of BB was by far the best season.

PakiDan

09-30-2013, 11:06 AM

I've never seen a single episode of the Wire... can I get this on Netflix? Hulu? Amazon?

Joyrider

09-30-2013, 11:20 AM

The Shield is an underrated runner here. I still need to catch up on Wire and finally get over my hate for Sopranos and watch it.

TDMVPDPOY

09-30-2013, 11:24 AM

shield looks like a joke with all these flop casts who are known to be in flop shows even when they were the antagonists/protagonists...

HarlemHeat37

09-30-2013, 11:34 AM

I've heard great things about The Shield, I should check it out, tbh..

Should I watch Lost?..I always hear mixed reviews about it..

timtonymanu

09-30-2013, 11:38 AM

I just started watching the Sopranos so I can't comment on it yet.

Between the Wire and Breaking Bad, I still rank the Wire as the higher show. I like watching character study shows and the Wire does it exceptionally well. There are numbers of characters I liked on the Wire. Breaking Bad is definitely easier to follow and I do agree that it didn't have a weak season. Season 5 of the Wire, while still great, is inferior to the other seasons. And to be honest, the Wire can have pretty boring moments, but that's more of a problem if you are new to the series. The Wire gets better after more viewings. I'll have to rewatch Breaking Bad to see if it gets better with more viewings. So I still rank the Wire over Breaking Bad, even though Breaking Bad just got better and better as each season progressed.

I haven't seen much drama shows but my rank is:

1. The Wire
2. Breaking Bad

3. Game of Thrones

:lol Walking Dead

Joyrider

09-30-2013, 11:41 AM

:lol At the dumb fucks who call TWD the best drama on television. Can't wait for the next black character to get the axe as always.

Skull-1

09-30-2013, 11:48 AM

Worst final scene ever.

baseline bum

09-30-2013, 11:57 AM

I gotta easily take The Wire #1: Bubbles, Stringer, Omar, Prezbo, and Dooky are just incredible characters, and DeAngelo, Wallace, Snoop, Partlow, and Wee-Bey were such memorable supporting players. And even the shitty characters had really memorable scenes; e.g., Ziggy getting beat down and having his car stolen by Cheese right in front of Frog 60 seconds after Zig was threatening Frog for coming up short.

For #2 it's a tough call for me between Sopranos and Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad's characters were so much more interesting whereas everyone in Sopranos was completely one-dimensional and I never found myself rooting for any of them. But Sopranos had some really creative episodes like when Tony was dreaming about Big Pussy at the fish market and the two Kevin Finnerty episodes, and I thought it was a so much more interesting portrayal of the mafia than either of the Godfather movies, Casino,... shit, everything but Goodfellas (which is the only thing I put on par with Sopranos for portraying the mafia). Still, it made a lot of sense; the DeCavalcante Family that Sopranos was based on is the most retarded crime family I think I have ever heard of, and everyone on the show save Melfi was portrayed as an overemotional dipshit. But watching the transformation of Walt as he burned the world down around him was pretty incredible; especially seeing the way he took Jesse down to hell with him.

So #2 is a coin-flip. I said Sopranos yesterday, but now I'm not so sure.

baseline bum

09-30-2013, 12:05 PM

I gotta agree that Breaking Bad just got better and better as the series went on. I can't think of any other show where I'd rank the seasons in the order 5,4,3,2,1 (for The Wire I'd rank them 4,2,3,1,5; not sure about Sopranos). Breaking Bad would make you think they were painting themselves into a corner so many times and then the series would just surprise the hell out of you.

09-30-2013, 12:13 PM

The last 3-4 episodes alone of BB catapult it above The Sopranos IMO. I admire everything about The Wire and its hard to put anything above it. I'd have BB above it if we were to nitpick parts of the show tho.

2centsworth

09-30-2013, 12:55 PM

I've heard great things about The Shield, I should check it out, tbh..

Should I watch Lost?..I always hear mixed reviews about it..

1st season is fantastic and then you can stop and not miss a thing.

xmas1997

09-30-2013, 01:01 PM

Isn't even close to being as good as Hell On Wheels IMHO!

AntiChrist

09-30-2013, 04:00 PM

Any fans of Six Feet Under?

johnsmith

09-30-2013, 04:06 PM

Spurminator

09-30-2013, 04:26 PM

Wow, this thread is surprising.

I'm so far through the first season of The Wire and I thought it moved extremely slow. However, several people told me that this was the case and that I needed to be patient until season 3 and 4.

I would agree that Seasons 3 and 4 are the peak, but if you don't like it after the whole first season, I don't know how much more you're going to like the rest of the show.

johnsmith

09-30-2013, 04:31 PM

I would agree that Seasons 3 and 4 are the peak, but if you don't like it after the whole first season, I don't know how much more you're going to like the rest of the show.

Not so much that I didn't like it, it just moved slow. Part of my problem is that I've been watching it during these last few episodes of Breaking Bad and I'm far more invested into that. Now that BB is done, maybe I will appreciate it a bit more.

SnakeBoy

09-30-2013, 04:39 PM

I've heard great things about The Shield, I should check it out, tbh..

Should I watch Lost?..I always hear mixed reviews about it..

I'd put Breaking Bad and The Shield as my top two. It's free streaming on Amazon Prime. It's similar to breaking bad in that it gets stronger every season and they bring the series to a great conclusion. Also the main character is a bad guy that you root for.

Like other said Lost is good for a couple of seasons then it's just more of the same.

monosylab1k

09-30-2013, 05:58 PM

Any fans of Six Feet Under?

Six Feet Under was great, and may have the greatest series finale in TV history at least in terms of being an absolutely perfect way to end that show, but overall it's not close to BB or The Wire.

koriwhat

09-30-2013, 06:18 PM

1) married with children
2) breaking bad
3) fresh prince

skut_farkus

09-30-2013, 06:40 PM

Number 1 in my book. I need to check out the wire tho. Was a big fan of niptuck and still into soa but breaking bad seems to be my favorite

DJR210

09-30-2013, 07:02 PM

Soprano's at #1, Breaking Bad at a very close 2nd.

DJR210

09-30-2013, 07:06 PM

Worst final scene ever.

How so? It gave closure to Walt, Pinkman, Lydia, Todd, his Arian family members... earlier in the episode closure to Skylar, the kids, the bodies of Schraeder and Gomez.. People had legitimate reason to gripe with the Soprano's, not here. I'm just upset to see the show end.

IronMexican

09-30-2013, 08:44 PM

I would still go The Wire #1. The world just had so many more people in it and you were interested in what would happen to most of them. You grow to love all the kids, even Namond.

Skull-1

09-30-2013, 09:27 PM

How so? It gave closure to Walt, Pinkman, Lydia, Todd, his Arian family members... earlier in the episode closure to Skylar, the kids, the bodies of Schraeder and Gomez.. People had legitimate reason to gripe with the Soprano's, not here. I'm just upset to see the show end.

It wasn't much of a death scene for me. I will watch it again. Am I to take it he died loving meth making? Affectionate patting of the equipment.... Or perhaps it was just chemistry...

FuzzyLumpkins

09-30-2013, 09:34 PM

The Wire at best was some of the best there has ever been. I almost couldn't make it through the last season though it did finish strong.

Breaking Bad was excellent from start to finish so I give it the nod just for consistency. I need to rewatch the Sopranos, its been a long time and I do not think it's fair to comment.

baseline bum

09-30-2013, 10:35 PM

I would still go The Wire #1. The world just had so many more people in it and you were interested in what would happen to most of them. You grow to love all the kids, even Namond.

I thought Randy was a faggot.

DJR210

10-01-2013, 12:24 AM

It wasn't much of a death scene for me. I will watch it again. Am I to take it he died loving meth making? Affectionate patting of the equipment.... Or perhaps it was just chemistry...

To me it was just to touch on where it all began.

CuckingFunt

10-01-2013, 12:27 AM

The Wire > Breaking Bad = Mad Men >> Six Feet Under > Treme

Not sure what I'd place next without giving it more thought. I love the performances on The Sopranos, and a number of the moments, but I think it was a very flawed show and it would probably end up pretty low on my list.

DJR210

10-01-2013, 01:52 AM

Might have to get HBO for the month just to watch the Wire. Must be a reason you all keep mentioning it..

I think it was a very flawed show and it would probably end up pretty low on my list.

What didn't you like about it?

IronMexican

10-01-2013, 07:45 AM

Might have to get HBO for the month just to watch the Wire. Must be a reason you all keep mentioning it..

What didn't you like about it?

I don't think HBO even airs re-runs of The Wire anymore. Best bet is illegally getting it, or buying it on DVD(no Blu Ray)

Creepn

10-01-2013, 09:01 AM

1) Breaking Bad
2) LOST
3) The Sopranos

LOST? That show was a clusterfuck.

THEGOAT

10-01-2013, 09:09 AM

Worst final scene ever.

funny that you don't like the final scene because it wasn't believable enough but you believe everything in the bible.

HarlemHeat37

10-01-2013, 09:13 AM

funny that you don't like the final scene because it wasn't believable enough but you believe everything in the bible.

:lol BANG BANG, tbh..

resistanze

10-01-2013, 09:16 AM

funny that you don't like the final scene because it wasn't believable enough but you believe everything in the bible.http://replygif.net/i/1049.gif

CuckingFunt

10-01-2013, 09:26 AM

I don't think HBO even airs re-runs of The Wire anymore. Best bet is illegally getting it, or buying it on DVD(no Blu Ray)

But with a subscription to HBO you could watch it on HBOGo.

CuckingFunt

10-01-2013, 09:46 AM

What didn't you like about it?

I just had a lot of issues with pacing and the lack of real character development. It's similar to its cousin Boardwalk Empire in that sense, as both are shows that I really respect and admire in terms of their ambition and their technical proficiency, but I just don't viscerally love either one of them. And considering how much of a fan I've always been of the gangster/mafia genre and the people involved and the world the two shows live in and all of that, I should love them. Since I don't, watching each episode made me far too aware of wasted potential.

JudynTX

10-01-2013, 10:28 AM

LOST? That show was a clusterfuck.

It's not my fault you didn't understand it.

Creepn

10-01-2013, 10:30 AM

It's not my fault you didn't understand it.

Ok, at least explain the polar bear to me. What was that about?

leemajors

10-01-2013, 10:41 AM

I don't think HBO even airs re-runs of The Wire anymore. Best bet is illegally getting it, or buying it on DVD(no Blu Ray)

they don't really have to, it's on HBO Go.

timtonymanu

10-01-2013, 10:43 AM

My Comcast cable has all the HBO full series on demand. It's how I saw the Wire and now how I'm seeing the Sopranos.

HarlemHeat37

10-01-2013, 11:08 AM

I just had a lot of issues with pacing and the lack of real character development. It's similar to its cousin Boardwalk Empire in that sense, as both are shows that I really respect and admire in terms of their ambition and their technical proficiency, but I just don't viscerally love either one of them. And considering how much of a fan I've always been of the gangster/mafia genre and the people involved and the world the two shows live in and all of that, I should love them. Since I don't, watching each episode made me far too aware of wasted potential.

I don't disagree with your point, but Sopranos has the disadvantage of basing the premise of the show on sociopathic characters with antiquated views on the world, tbh..

The majority of the characters are in the mafia, an organization with a flawed system in comparison to the rest of society and limited potential growth from a mental and social perspective, tbh..

As BB said earlier, the characters on the show are mostly one-dimensional, but that's because they are based on real life figures, tbh..mafia figures are mostly uneducated, barbaric types that perpetually remain stuck in their ways..I don't know how Chase could have exhibited real growth in any of his characters when he's basing it on a real faction of people/rules of their life..

For example, they did toy with the idea of potential growth from Christopher, similar to Jesse, with his disdain for Tony + his passion for becoming a movie writer, but he always reverted back to the mafia lifestyle in fear of living a "normal, boring" life(as shown in the scenes where he sees the White trash family after Adriana admits to being a rat + the scene where Christopher shoots a bakery clerk because he isn't afraid of him) ..I just don't see how they could have made the characters more dimensional or likeable, since its based on such a barbaric group of people..

CuckingFunt

10-01-2013, 11:35 AM

I don't disagree with your point, but Sopranos has the disadvantage of basing the premise of the show on sociopathic characters with antiquated views on the world, tbh..

The majority of the characters are in the mafia, an organization with a flawed system in comparison to the rest of society and limited potential growth from a mental and social perspective, tbh..

As BB said earlier, the characters on the show are mostly one-dimensional, but that's because they are based on real life figures, tbh..mafia figures are mostly uneducated, barbaric types that perpetually remain stuck in their ways..I don't know how Chase could have exhibited real growth in any of his characters when he's basing it on a real faction of people/rules of their life..

For example, they did toy with the idea of potential growth from Christopher, similar to Jesse, with his disdain for Tony + his passion for becoming a movie writer, but he always reverted back to the mafia lifestyle in fear of living a "normal, boring" life(as shown in the scenes where he sees the White trash family after Adriana admits to being a rat + the scene where Christopher shoots a bakery clerk because he isn't afraid of him) ..I just don't see how they could have made the characters more dimensional or likeable, since its based on such a barbaric group of people..

Character development =/= character growth.

The Sopranos, and a lot of other shows, define their characters according to what they do and what is done to them. But that's plot. Character growth or progression is also generally based in plot or narrative. But character development, at least as I see it, involves making the characters feel like fully fleshed out people living in a real world, and The Sopranos always fell short of that mark for me. The performances can occasionally mask the lack of development, and certainly someone like Gandolfini imbues even the thinnest characters with a wealth of personality and mannerisms that feel real and authentic, but in my opinion most of the characters felt as though they existed for no reason other than to advance or hinder narrative progression, which I find quite distracting in a drama.

baseline bum

10-01-2013, 11:46 AM

Character development =/= character growth.

The Sopranos, and a lot of other shows, define their characters according to what they do and what is done to them. But that's plot. Character growth or progression is also generally based in plot or narrative. But character development, at least as I see it, involves making the characters feel like fully fleshed out people living in a real world, and The Sopranos always fell short of that mark for me. The performances can occasionally mask the lack of development, and certainly someone like Gandolfini imbues even the thinnest characters with a wealth of personality and mannerisms that feel real and authentic, but in my opinion most of the characters felt as though they existed for no reason other than to advance or hinder narrative progression, which I find quite distracting in a drama.

Fully fleshed out people? The New Jersey mafia was a bunch of simpletons who were literally count to potato retarded. It's hilarious that their biggest caper was robbing a bank in the World Trade Center of like $2-$3 million, but none of it was in US dollars and of course they had no way to change all that money. To make matters worse, they took their masks off as soon as they left the elevator, so their pictures were all over the front page of the NY newspapers. And to make it worse when the robbers flipped, the higher ups in the crew still worked with them immediately after seeing their photos on the front page, not really putting two and two together that the only reason the robbers were free was because they flipped. And then the whole family flipped, including the boss that Tony was based on.

No one in the real life crew was a fully fleshed person, and I'm glad Sopranos didn't try to give any of them any sophistication whatsoever. It's good that they didn't portray them quite as stupid as they were in real life though, as it would have then been an equivalent to "Ernest Joins the Mafia". The DeCavalcantes were a bunch of Bobby Bacalas. :lol

Brunodf

10-01-2013, 12:20 PM

Top 1 drama series

Medvedenko

10-01-2013, 03:55 PM

Hmm, good choices here: In no order
Six Feet Under
Oz
BB
Lost
Heroes Season 1 and 2 honourable mention

DJR210

10-01-2013, 05:41 PM

I don't think HBO even airs re-runs of The Wire anymore. Best bet is illegally getting it, or buying it on DVD(no Blu Ray)

It's On Demand with Directv.

Xevious

10-01-2013, 05:59 PM

It's On Demand with Directv.

I like that you can watch all of their shows on demand (that's how I caught up with GoT during my free subscription), it's just too bad that their shows will probably never be on the streaming services. I can't get myself to pay for premium channels.

Cane

10-01-2013, 06:16 PM

1. Lonesome Dove
2. Band of Brothers
3. Breaking Bad

First 2 are kind of cheating since they're miniseries but Lonesome Dove had quite possibly one of the GOAT casts ever.

Personally I think The Wire didn't age well, same with The Sopranos, but they're both great shows still

My TV list sucks and I also want to throw in BBC's Sherlock, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and Frasier into the mix

while Breaking Bad doesn't really attempt to send a message or anything..

I thought Vince Gilligan and Co. took a pretty big shit on issues like the health care industry, midlife crisis, drug war, and financial inequality. From the start of BB to the end we saw how people are exploited by rich and powerful scumbags and how it helped spark the transformation for Mr. Chips to turn into Scarface

vander

10-01-2013, 06:36 PM

4th

oh, 5th if Band of Brothers is in the mix

baseline bum

10-01-2013, 06:47 PM

Personally I think The Wire didn't age well, same with The Sopranos, but they're both great shows still

How so? The only thing that seems out of place now on The Wire is the pagers from Season 1, but otherwise the country is still fucked, newspapers are still dying, the drug war continues unabated with no end in sight, the American dream is still on life support, the schools still suck and still teach to the test... I mean, I think it's more relevant than ever with Obama looking like a carbon copy of Carcetti.

leemajors

10-01-2013, 06:53 PM

Cane

10-01-2013, 06:54 PM

How so? The only thing that seems out of place now on The Wire is the pagers from Season 1, but otherwise the country is still fucked, newspapers are still dying, the drug war continues unabated with no end in sight, the American dream is still on life support, the schools still suck and still teach to the test... I mean, I think it's more relevant than ever with Obama looking like a carbon copy of Carcetti.

I meant more as a TV show instead of an essay because the themes definitely carry over. The cinematography, characters, screenplay, acting, pacing, etc. didn't age well imo, or at least falls short to the other greats. Like The Sopranos there's also too much fat to chew through. Don't get me wrong they're still great shows but they were more like GOAT's of the moment to me

baseline bum

10-01-2013, 06:55 PM

My TV list sucks and I also want to throw in BBC's Sherlock, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and Frasier into the mix

Simpsons? Seriously? It was once an incredible show in the first 6 or 7 years, but now it has had 15 straight of being one of the worst things on TV. I mean crap like Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory is way more watchable now than Matt Groening's steaming turds. Dude completely checked out on Simpsons once he got Futurama. What a piece of shit Simpsons became and has now been for the strong majority of its time on air.

Cane

10-01-2013, 06:58 PM

Simpsons? Seriously? It was once an incredible show in the first 6 or 7 years, but now it has had 15 straight of being one of the worst things on TV. I mean crap like Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory is way more watchable now than Matt Groening's steaming turds. Dude completely checked out on Simpsons once he got Futurama. What a piece of shit Simpsons became and has now been for the strong majority of its time on air.

Yea its more for the golden years of The Simpsons and its influence on the industry. Even Futurama was barely average imo but had its moments and I'm a scifi nerd

baseline bum

10-01-2013, 07:09 PM

Yea its more for the golden years of The Simpsons and its influence on the industry. Even Futurama was barely average imo but had its moments and I'm a scifi nerd

To me The Simpsons is the Gilbert Arenas of TV. Great for a few years, but so bad the rest of the time so as to completely ruin the legacy.

Skull-1

10-01-2013, 07:40 PM

funny that you don't like the final scene because it wasn't believable enough but you believe everything in the bible.
Do not misrepresent my position..

I believe every spiritual truth in the bible. Believing "everything" implies I take everything literally, which I don't. Because the book is packed with metaphors, symbolism, parables, and prophecies I can believe it is true, but in no way is it history or science, particularly the OT.

Nice try.

ChumpDumper

10-01-2013, 07:41 PM

I'll bite. How does your ending go, skulk?

DJR210

10-01-2013, 08:44 PM

I like that you can watch all of their shows on demand (that's how I caught up with GoT during my free subscription), it's just too bad that their shows will probably never be on the streaming services. I can't get myself to pay for premium channels.

Yeah, I watched every episode of The Soprano's, Lucky Louie, most of OZ, Eastbound and Down, and Summer Heights High before my free 90 day trial expired. I haven't tried the streaming service yet.