OT: Sopranos Prequel | Page 3 | The Boneyard

OT: Sopranos Prequel

tzznandrew said:
So many of the people in The Wire are all similar, but circumstances made them different. That's really the beauty.
Expand ...
I can't think of any other show with so many interesting and essential characters, almost all of whom were likable for one reason or another; and all of whom were seriously flawed.
 
8893 said:
I can't think of any other show with so many interesting and essential characters, almost all of whom were likable for one reason or another; and all of whom were seriously flawed.
Expand ...
Carcetti I hated, but what a great character
 
Madmannsucks said:
Watching Jaws now....Go Shark!!!!
Expand ...
FB_IMG_1625167883304.jpg
 
Last edited:
Waquoit said:
If you are trying to say that viewers weren't rooting for Tony, you're nuts. I was rooting for Tony.
Expand ...
Fascination with a complex amoral individual is not the same as rooting
Of course you don’t want to see him
killed off because that would end the theater.
The show were his Italian American analyst is a sexual assault victim who trusts the justice system however when her assailant gets off on a technicality.
You are probably rooting for her to tell Tony
who you know will exact justice.
However she never does because she plays by a different set of rules.
You left that episode wondering where your conscience would take you. That’s the dilemma you faced weekly.
 
.-.
AZHuskiePop said:
Fascination with a complex amoral individual is not the same as rooting
Of course you don’t want to see him
killed off because that would end the theater.
The show were his Italian American analyst is a sexual assault victim who trusts the justice system however when her assailant gets off on a technicality.
You are probably rooting for her to tell Tony
who you know will exact justice.
However she never does because she plays by a different set of rules.
You left that episode wondering where your conscience would take you. That’s the dilemma you faced weekly.
Expand ...
The need to 'root' for characters of movies or TV shows is very human and as flawed as the characters are. DVR kind of cured me of superstitions while watching sports. So we can watch the outcome of TV shows completely divested of personal accountability for our rooting interests, the outcome is even more pre-ordained.
 
.-.
superjohn said:
It's amazing, I'm jealous that you have the chance to watch it all. I've gone through it a few times, the last viewing I realized it's one the greatest comedies ever.
Expand ...

Underrated aspect is the humor. AJ was such a little fart knocker in the earlier seasons.
 
Husky25 said:
Back to The Wire, McNulty (and maybe Bunk) deserves a spot on the list. He may have been on the "correct" side of the law, but he was not a good guy.
Expand ...
They are all "bad" in a way but more just flawed human beings caught in a hopeless cycle. Jimmy is a scumbag in a lot of ways but also an ends to a means guy. He'll break all the rules knowing you have to do some bad stuff for the overall good. Status quo doesn't work in places like that.
 
superjohn said:
It's amazing, I'm jealous that you have the chance to watch it all. I've gone through it a few times, the last viewing I realized it's one the greatest comedies ever.
Expand ...
I started watching it last year and then it came off Hulu after I finished episode 1 so never kept going. Think I'll have to start it up again soon
 
navery12 said:
Maybe I'll get around to actually watching the series now before this comes out
Expand ...

Do it.

I love the discussion of flawed characters with The Wire, and I think The Sopranos is very very similar. Tony had TONS of likeable, human elements. But he was a mobster. That was the conflict. You found yourself relating to him in ways and despising him in others.

If a show or movie just has straight up good guys and bad guys, it's probably not that deep. And I'm not always that deep, but the show has to have some layers and character development. Walter White is exactly the same thing.

I'm a bit confused about the discussion of whether or not to "root" for these guys. It's not a basketball game.
 
Can’t wait. Miss all those great hbo shows from early 2000s Thru 2010
 
.-.
Spoilers

The Wire or the Sopranos what's the better show? I don't know but for me they're the two best. The Wire- You're dealing with hardcore people, dealing with hardcore stuff. It's a cops and robbers show, most of those type shows are good v. evil. Not the Wire, the entire time you vassilate between rooting for law enforcement and rooting for the criminal. As you watch it play out you realize some dudes in the drug game and some in the law enforcement game aren't that much different, you have to make decisions on who is redeemable. Nothing is cut and dry and the line between cops/robbers, good/bad is razor thin. It makes you truly think about about circumstance and what separates the people who "make it.' Between all of that they have a bunch of true heroes on both sides of the law and the backdrop is "Bubbles." A hardcore drug addict street surfer who floats in and out of homeless criminality for a buck wherever he can get it, sometimes as a law enforcement narc. Everyone on the show, cops and robbers knows the streets but the one guy who knows it from both perspectives better than all of them is "Bubbles." That little homeless guy is the heart, heartbeat, and the conscience of the show.


Sopranos- It's brilliant but I'm not sure it carries the same depth. Tony is probably the most complex character I've ever seen, tv or film but he's the show, or so much of it that it's kind of overwhelming. Deeply bruised and battered which explains so much of his internal struggle- the family drama, panic attacks, his fits of rage, and that weird "overwhelming mother son dynamic" that made him seek out professional help. In between Tony being Tony there's just so many great characters. Paulie Walnuts is an all-time terrifying tough guy but he's also so much of the comedic backbone of the show. He's a walking talking ridiculous caricature of a person but that type of guy exists in real life and if you think he's a joke do so at your own peril, Don't cross him or it's lights out for you. So many characters to delve into but again, it's a show about Tony and holy did he become the guy. His headstone should read- Tony Soprano played by James Gandolfini.

Not making light of the man's death or career but I don't think anyone in the history of the acting game ever became the character and was associated with the role the same way he was. He was the menacing guy in True Romance and had a couple of other nice roles but he ate up the screen as Tony Soprano. RIP.
 
I watched the Wire and I don’t remember much of it. It just didn’t get much traction with me,

I thought Gandolfini nailed the Leon Panetta role in Zero Dark Thirty.
 
ZooCougar said:
I watched the Wire and I dson’t remember much of it. It just didn’t get much traction with me,

I thought Gandolfini nailed the Leon Panetta role in Zero Dark Thirty.
Expand ...
My one gripe with The Wire was I found the drinking scenes unbelievable. Weird take, I know, but for some reason I found those gratituous, over the top, and silly.

My favorite non-Tony roles were Winston Baldry in "The Mexican" and Albert in "Enough Said".
 
superjohn said:
Spoilers

The Wire or the Sopranos what's the better show? I don't know but for me they're the two best. The Wire- You're dealing with hardcore people, dealing with hardcore stuff. It's a cops and robbers show, most of those type shows are good v. evil. Not the Wire, the entire time you vassilate between rooting for law enforcement and rooting for the criminal. As you watch it play out you realize some dudes in the drug game and some in the law enforcement game aren't that much different, you have to make decisions on who is redeemable. Nothing is cut and dry and the line between cops/robbers, good/bad is razor thin. It makes you truly think about about circumstance and what separates the people who "make it.' Between all of that they have a bunch of true heroes on both sides of the law and the backdrop is "Bubbles." A hardcore drug addict street surfer who floats in and out of homeless criminality for a buck wherever he can get it, sometimes as a law enforcement narc. Everyone on the show, cops and robbers knows the streets but the one guy who knows it from both perspectives better than all of them is "Bubbles." That little homeless guy is the heart, heartbeat, and the conscience of the show.


Sopranos- It's brilliant but I'm not sure it carries the same depth. Tony is probably the most complex character I've ever seen, tv or film but he's the show, or so much of it that it's kind of overwhelming. Deeply bruised and battered which explains so much of his internal struggle- the family drama, panic attacks, his fits of rage, and that weird "overwhelming mother son dynamic" that made him seek out professional help. In between Tony being Tony there's just so many great characters. Paulie Walnuts is an all-time terrifying tough guy but he's also so much of the comedic backbone of the show. He's a walking talking ridiculous caricature of a person but that type of guy exists in real life and if you think he's a joke do so at your own peril, Don't cross him or it's lights out for you. So many characters to delve into but again, it's a show about Tony and holy did he become the guy. His headstone should read- Tony Soprano played by James Gandolfini.

Not making light of the man's death or career but I don't think anyone in the history of the acting game ever became the character and was associated with the role the same way he was. He was the menacing guy in True Romance and had a couple of other nice roles but he ate up the screen as Tony Soprano. RIP.
Expand ...
Comparing The Wire to the Sopranos isnt a fair fight, the latter is just a great tv show & never intended to be profound. The Depth of the wire & societal commentary surpasses every other show IMO. It may not be the best show entertainment wise or everyone’s cup of tea, but it artfully showed as much truth of systemic city problems as any fictional book, show or movie ever.
 
.-.
storrsroars said:
My one gripe with The Wire was I found the drinking scenes unbelievable. Weird take, I know, but for some reason I found those gratituous, over the top, and silly.

My favorite non-Tony roles were Winston Baldry in "The Mexican" and Albert in "Enough Said".
Expand ...

Oh yeah he was great in “The Mexican”. Did he ever do a bad job?
 
With all the 'what are you binge watching' thread responses, I don't think I saw Lilyhammer mentioned once. For those needing a Sopranos fix, you might find Lilyhammer a fun watch. Little Steven as a fish out of water mob informant in witness protection in Norway. It's played as a comedy. Paulie Walnuts and others have cameos. Was one of Netflix's first series. I enjoyed it. YMMV
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,640
Messages
4,587,336
Members
10,497
Latest member
Orlando Fos


Top Bottom