Is it safe to say Breaking Bad > The Wire?

[SC kid]

No question bb.

And i love the wire.

 

[rexanglorum]

I posted about two years ago and gave the nod to Breaking Bad. I am changing my mind. Breaking Bad did nothing wrong. It is as great as it was in 2011 and these final episodes have all been great. I still feel like Breaking Bad had a story line that caused me to be much more invested in the characters and what happens from one week to the next.

I still changed my mind because I watched the Wire a half season at a time and seeing it over course of a few months instead of in weekly doses, spread over many years, makes for a better viewing experience. The Wire really is like a dense, 19th Century novel and like those classics, the Wire's scope and the complexity of the subject matter sometimes makes the fate of anyone character not as engaging as the fate the protagonists that we see in fictions of smaller scope, like Breaking Bad.

It seems like a relatively narrow focus allow a a reader or viewer to become much more personally invested in the protagonist. As great as Breaking Bad is, it does not engage grand and universal truths in the way that the Wire does.

The Wire is or it should be counted as the most important work of fiction in any medium that has been made during the last few decades. The Wire fits the definition of a classic in the most classical sense of the word. remember that classic, in academic language, does not mean old, it means that it deals with foundational truths about the human condition. The Iliad is a classic not because it was written in the Time of Antiquity, it is classic because it dealt with ideas about excellence, how institutions resent excellence, revenge, wrath, heroism and the measure of a man.

The Wire deals with those same issues and just as one not not live in Ancient Greece to understand the Iliad, one does not need to live in Baltimore or be a drug dealer or a police man to understand understand this latter day Greek Tragedy, played out in a very Hellenic setting, a dangerous, violent, cruel and uncaring polis, the morally and financial bankrupt polis of Baltimore. Five or ten Centuries hence, our descendents, living in world where excellence and integrity and humanity are punished and deceit, cruelty and fidelity to the ruling institutions are rewarded will see insights and lessons to be taken from The Iliad, Antigone, Suetonius, Juvenal and the Wire.

 

[az5950]

I've never watched Breaking Bad, gonna have to check it out due to this thread

 

[36Hypno]

Nah. The Wire is a show that had way more layers and was executed very well. That takes nothing away from BB.

The Wire > BB
The Shield > BB (Learn about Vick Mackey)

 

[nicelikechrist]

I'm someone that watched The Wire in its entirety after it had already finished so theres not really a "nostalgia" factor with me. Up to date with BB and started watching after 2 seasons had aired.

Personally, The Wire has yet to be topped by BB.

 

[superblytrife]

Breaking Bad is one of the greatest things ever filmed.

Agreed. From a cinematography standpoint, there aren't many other shows touching it. It blows The Wire out of the water in that regard, IMO.

 

[the qbz]

Why was erbody in jacket I new mexico

 

[celticsfan9783]

I've never watched Breaking Bad, gonna have to check it out due to this thread

Ditto. I don't know how anything, especially on AMC, could ever be considered better than the Wire but I'm willing to give it a shot. Love Bryan Cranston as an actor.

Been trying to fill that Wire void since it ended in 2008 but nothing has come close. Boardwalk Empire is the best show since the Wire that I've gotten into.

 

[SC kid]

Just watch the first ep on youtube.

 

[luckyluchiano]

When this thread was first posted I would have clowned OP

while watching season 1 I still would have clowned OP

BUT GOT DAMN THIS SHOW GOT REAL IN THE MIDDLE.

There were multiple times in the start I was going to quit watching but around season 3 show turned God like

 

[extraordinary swag]

Earlier in this thread I said wait for Breaking Bad to end before making the comparison but damn the finale will have to have time travel involved for it not to be better overall, i'm blown away at this last season. The Wire's final season was a bore with the whole newspaper angle

 

[Teknoman]

I will have to check out Breaking Bad for myself. I'll just get the series on DVD or Blu-Ray.

 

[cashbanks]

I've seen every episode of both

The Wire is better because it's more real and it shows you the game on all levels and how it's just a cycle

Breaking Bad is fantastic tho

it's like 1a 1b to me they're pretty close an outrageous breaking bad ending could take it over the top

 

[harlemtothebronx]

I prefer Breaking Bad.

 

[eracism]

One thing that really hurt The Wire was its ending. It was pretty bad.

 

[rocman23]

One thing that really hurt The Wire was its ending. It was pretty bad.

**** in Bmore doesn't end. That's why the show didn't have an ending

 

[isnx2]

**** in Bmore doesn't end. That's why the show didn't have an ending

Amen

 

[joepac12]

**** in Bmore doesn't end. That's why the show didn't have an ending

Correct. I love my hometown but gotta get out soon.

 

[mr marcus]

**** in Bmore doesn't end. That's why the show didn't have an ending

Amen

Word!

Hated the newspaper/homeless angle in season 5 but the wire is still my favorite

In the moment I hated season 2 but once later seasons were told it cemented that season as the most important season

 

[sn00pee]

Breaking Bad was a more entertaining show, no one can deny that. But The Wire had far more impact on viewers, because that #$"# was dead real.
You could disguise The Wire as a documentary and no one would know the difference.
The Wire paints a picture of the corrupt American society, while the wire takes a picture and photoshops it a little big.
Both are great though. Both have good actors, good stories, good writers, good character development.
But The Wire will forever remind of how corrupt American society is, and will provoke thought. Breaking Bad, not so much, BUT it will entertain us.

 

[kvsm23vs24]

BB is great cinema.
The angles all the foreshadowing, really told nicely.

 

[Thats My Word]

The Wire > *

 

[girlthatsblanco]

Love both shows, but the Wire is better strictly cause it is something that is actually goin on as we speak.

 

[flatbushfiyah23]

Breaking Bad was a more entertaining show, no one can deny that. But The Wire had far more impact on viewers, because that #$"# was dead real.
You could disguise The Wire as a documentary and no one would know the difference.
The Wire paints a picture of the corrupt American society, while the wire takes a picture and photoshops it a little big.
Both are great though. Both have good actors, good stories, good writers, good character development.
But The Wire will forever remind of how corrupt American society is, and will provoke thought. Breaking Bad, not so much, BUT it will entertain us.

I agree with what you said although I find The Wire extremely entertaining and more entertaining that BB. Pulling off realism in a show like the The Wire is very impressive to me and its the best TV show ever in my opinion....the show is basically a fictional documentary. While watching and re-watching The Wire I never feel lik I am watching a TV drama.

Breaking Bad is my second favorite drama of all time but The Wire is still the best drama I have ever seen.

 

[gllahone84]

The Wire was a all around smarter show, and I'm going to say top 10 series ever. Right behind The Sopranos. 

As a matter of fact Breaking Bad isn't better than The Sopranos...which to me is the best show ever.