loved the Sopranos but The Wire is off the scale better, truly a modern epic.

True dat,all in the game yo,all in the game

Another that has tried and failed, having watched the Wire and BB first. I expect it’s just a bit dated for me.

May try Deadwood.

what like the guy who is a bit short on dosh, so raids his mother’s elderly friend’s under-the-mattress stash, only she comes home unexpectedly so gets strangled to death and then he jauntily saunters out with the cash? 🤣

Agree the mum/kids are horrible people, not unexpected though given what they’re exposed to even if they started out decent. Made the show really interesting as there’s definite character progression (even if it’s all bad!) Don’t think there’s a single uncorrupted character by the end… didn’t even the FBI guy end up doing Tony a favour?!

I forgot about Paulie doing that, Bobby almost gets through it innocent, a bit of intimidation here and there, but Tony orders him to kill someone.

The FBI guy warns Tony there’s a hit out on him, I think that’s it.

Another that has tried and failed, having watched the Wire and BB first. I expect it’s just a bit dated for me.

May try Deadwood.

Yep, don’t bother with dated Dramas based on the 90s and 00s, go for a fresh one set in the 1800s 😉

I’m kidding, Deadwood is excellent, and there’s even a Feature Length conclusion now, it got cancelled a series early.

The Deuce is another good one that usually free to watch on-demand if you’ve got Sky / NowTV, its from the guy who made The Wire, its a 3 series story arc, it’s dark, gritty, sad like the Wire, but has lighter moments, and doesn’t require you to know a lot of Drug Dealer speak to watch. It’s not as good as the Wire and didn’t make nearly the same impact, but it’s good.

His Wife, who is probably the most evil person in the whole series

Nope.

Janice, his sister, takes that award

I’m genuinely baffled by the people saying Breaking Bad is in the same league as The Sopranos and The Wire. It’s repetitive, lazy nonsense, with entire seasons devoted to Walter going “I won’t make meth, I won’t make meth, I won’t make meth… Oh go on then” in minute detail, and a wife who’s just a caricature of an actual character.
For me the best 3 TV series are The Sopranos, The Wire and maybe controversially, Bosch which feels like it has similar story pacing and character development to The Wire. The Shield is the best of the rest

My ranking of TV shows.

1. Sopranos (because it did it first)
2. The Wire (because it had a couple of lazy seasons and The Sopranos did it first)
3. The Americans
4. Deadwood
5. Breaking Bad (this is where they go from awesome to just very good)
6. Battlestar Galactica (had a lot of lazy episodes, but was amazingly good)
7. Game of Thrones (first three seasons would have beaten Deadwood, but it limped to a sad, pathetic conclusion)
8.Succession (This may end up #5 before it’s finished)

There are some other great shows, like Watchmen, Russian Doll, and Counterpart, but they were only a season or two, so didn’t sustain the greatness.

Bosch and Southland were solid shows, but not quite at the same level. Same with The Deuce. They get a B+, the shows above are all solid A grade to A++

There are also some shows that I just never got round to watching that I should. Madmen and Atlanta, for starters.

I got bored of Sopranos after a few seasons.

Dexter was better.

The wire and game of thrones I would say are the best series ever, for different reasons.

I found Dexter dull also!

Am surprised no one is mentioning Six Feet Under, that’s in my top 3.

Madmen is another I didn’t get.

Some things just don’t take a second watch though do they… I was really chuffed when Generation Kill was repeated recently. I swear it was one of the best series I’d seen in my life! Watched it all again.. and, well, it was good, but not brilliant.

Madmen is another I didn’t get.

I forgot about Mad Men. I really wanted to like that and tried a couple of times but just couldn’t get into it much. Not sure I got past the first season, should I give it another go? I was giving up smoking when I first saw it though…

Regarding ‘The Big Three’ – they all have weak points, subjective or not. A  lot of people moan about S2 of The Wire being boring for example, but that’s one of my favourite seasons and It really works in the full context of the body of work. I get bored with that whole dream-sequence bit in The Sopranos. There’s also a bit in BB which always gets on my nerves – we’re led to believe that Gus Fring is an all-powerful, ultra-cautious, shadowy villain, but then he puts everything on the line to defend those two street dealers that Walter ends up running over.

Yeah, I think after the Sopranos, it’d be The Wire, Mad Men and The West Wing in some kind of changing order depending what kind of mood I was in.

The last couple of series of GoT really, really let it down, especially the final one which was absolute pish. It could have made my top five if it had continued on it’s early level, but probably barely scrapes top fifteen in the end.

The Wire is my all time favourite, enjoyed Breaking Bad apart from the 3rd series and we’ve just caught up with The Bridge, which is now up there too.
I gave up the Sopranos around series 5 or 6, just got tired of watching Tony make the same mistakes, shame really, its really good but we only have an hour most nights and don’t like to waste it.

I think the Sopranos was fantastic, it is slow but then again many shows like it and the Wire are.

I loved Breaking Bad, lots of little subtle things you have pick up on in re-watching, but for Better Call Saul is even better, so well written.

Currently watching Band of Brothers / the Pacific on the turbo a the moment, i forgot just how well written that was and the amazing cast that launched so many now famous people (noticed Gwyneth Paltrow in it yesterday for a total of 8 seconds).

Other TV series that have stood up as i have rewatched them on turbo:

The Shield
Firefly
Battlestar Galactica
Hell on Wheels

the amazing cast that launched so many now famous people (noticed Gwyneth Paltrow in it yesterday for a total of 8 seconds).

Gwyneth Paltrow was famous way before BoB/The Pacific came along, are you sure it was her?

The last couple of series of GoT really, really let it down, especially the final one which was absolute pish. It could have made my top five if it had continued on it’s early level, but probably barely scrapes top fifteen in the end.

It should be noted that in GOT, the TV series was going way faster than the writer could write properly. So they rushed the story and pumped out the last series with new writers, with the origeonal writer just providing advice on a consultative basis.

Noted. It still went to pish.

Tried both the wire and sopranos in recent times but can’t get past an episode or two. It does seem dated which doesn’t help but I’m disappointed with myself so will try again.  Seems like it requires concentration which,  as others have mentioned,  isn’t my strong point these days.

A mate swears by Sopranos as the best telly ever.

No accounting for taste! I found Firefly utter dross, Battlestar Galactica mediocre sci fi. Agreed re last season of GoT. Paltrow well established in 90s (Sliding Doors for one)

Gwyneth Paltrow was famous way before BoB/The Pacific came along, are you sure it was her?

Discussed here, i know very little about her, but it was clearly, she plays a lady who has slept with Nazi officers, so is stood by side of the road with head shaved and holding her child, episode 4, apparently it is littered with little cameos, like Jimmie Fallon

https://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/movie-tv/band-of-brothers/9348133/page-4/

Firely was fun, a bit tounge in cheek, I thought, i liked it. it could have had some legs if they developed the story but it was cancelled after series 1.

Firely was fun, a bit tounge in cheek, I thought, i liked it. it could have had some legs if they developed the story

the story was the worst thing about it, just cliched bollox! It was great because it was a MOTW show like the A-team, only a western, and in space 🤣

Tried both the wire and sopranos in recent times but can’t get past an episode or two. It does seem dated which doesn’t help but I’m disappointed with myself so will try again.

It was probably easier to concentrate on them at the time (especially Sopranos) because there was very little other good telly on to get distracted by! Much more difficult now. I also watched it weekly over a much longer time period than you spend if you binge-watch a show now. I think when you watch a show like that you become much more invested in the characters and spend the time between the episodes thinking about and discussing what might happen – now you just immeadiately crank up the next episode to see! So you are less “involved” in the show. Probably the only other show I’ve watched religiously every week like that was GoT.

I’m having another go at Breaking Bad, its okay but I keep getting the urge to find Malcolm in the Middle and rewatch that instead.

The Sopranos is amazing, I remember the double bill on C4 with Oz afterwards, two very intense drama series.

The Wire is up there and I’d put Deadwood in my top three as well.

I’m not sure there was another golden age of TV, I just think The Sopranos ushered in bigger budgets to TV shows which was no bad thing.  Outside of The Shield I think I’ve preferred the Scando TV shows more than British or American dramas in recent years.

1. Sopranos (because it did it first)

The first truly gritty adult drama that I can remember was Oz, which I feel was truly ground breaking. I have thoroughly enjoyed most if not all of the series mentioned above, but I think my favourite has to be Deadwood.

The first truly gritty adult drama that I can remember was Oz

Twin Peaks was the real starter

3. The Americans
8.Succession (This may end up #5 before it’s finished)

Yes, both of these are great. Breaking Bad is very watchable but it’s fluff compared to a lot of others and Better Call Saul is better TV.

6. Battlestar Galactica (had a lot of lazy episodes, but was amazingly good)

I’m a big sci-fi fan but lost interest after a few series.

Anyone watch Halt and Catch Fire? A parallel history of the computer/tech boom – the first series was sort of an interesting history and I thought it got better and better as it went on.

While the US might have been the driving force in big budget quality TV. IMO “Life on Mars” should be on the list of best “quality” tv shows, unfortunately its legacy has probably been diluted by the inferior ashes to ashes.

I thought his relationship with his mother was one of the highlights of the whole thing.

I thought it was a scene-setter that dragged on too long. Important to the story and character of Tony, but was relieved she when she finally passed away, although maybe that was the intention! …..But I agree about her character being played excellently

The Wire just tops it for me, although the final season was nowhere near as good as the rest. The Sopranos ending was genius.

IMO – (for all The Wire fans) Homicide: Life on the Street is worth re-watching

There is a brilliant cut in the Sopranos. Carmela is admiring architecture in Paris cuts to Pauli requesting birds**t be cleaned off the sign outside Bada Bing. Small detail, but comic perfection in timing.

Has anyone mentioned Boardwalk Empire yet?
Definitely up there with the Sopranos for me.

House Of Cards was a cracker too.

Whatever happened to Kevin Spacey?

There is a brilliant cut in the Sopranos.

Is there more to that than one character being appreciative of culture, the other not and being about business?

Think it’s just the juxtaposition* between the opulent Paris architecture and back down to earth with a shit-covered tiittybar sign in New Jersey.

*hate that word. Must learn another.

I tried to watch it after people kept going on about it. Didn’t get past the first series. Just found it to be really boring in plot, acting and the way it was shot. Appreciate that it opened up the long form TV series, just not for me. Absolutely loved The Wire and have watched the whole thing three times. I think that Spiral and the first series of The Killing (proper one, not the shit US version) are up there for me too.

Breaking Bad is okay, but I still see him has Hal from Malcolm in the Middle. Takes the edge off a bit. Fargo, first three series of Vikings and Better Call Saul are other favourites.

The Sopranos is fantastic and does get better, but it is of its time and many of the themes are explored commonly today (peaky blinders, Yellowstone, Billions). The whole less than human protagonist, screwed up family values…

But it was ground-breaking, deliciously entertainingly and extremely well put together.

One of the best endings to a series ever in my opinion!

The Shield is the best of the rest

The ending of the Shield was the best telly I’ve ever seen. So many questions asked just by Vic walking out of a room.

Sopranos is superb, still regularly get sucked in to a couple of episodes when channel surfing.

BB? Meh, still have not finished it, think I lost interest towards the back end of series 3.

Not started The Wire yet.

Used to really love the sopranos but never saw the last few seasons, didn’t it go from C4 to sky? Think that was why I stopped watching. I notice is still not free on prime and not on Netflix.

Sons of Anarchy, really very very good…. Indeed.

I thought it was a scene-setter that dragged on too long

She died after the end of the 2nd series. They did some very ropey CGI in the 2nd episode of the 3rd series to give her an on screen ending.

The whole thing was effectively 7 seasons long seeing as the last series was double the length of every other, so she was in it for 2 seasons out of 7.

. I notice is still not free on prime and not on Netflix.

Not available on streaming stuff outside of Sky as they have the Sky Atlantic deal with HBO. Although you can buy the box set on different streaming platforms, but it’s not available for viewing without you paying for it