Is The Sopranos the greatest tv show of all time?

[Newell Steamer]

I would have to go with Breaking Bad.

It had everything; bad assery, geekery, drama, comedy - and they were all just right.

Plus, the ending was phenomenal.

 

[Mai72]

I think the 70's was the era for TV.

Mash
Happy Days
Threes Company
Fish
All in the Family
Welcome Back Carter
Taxi
Brady Bunch
Sanford and Son
The Jeffersons
Charlie's Angles
Love Boat
Bonanza
What's Happening

Out of the TV shows I posted I would pit MASH, Happy Days or All in the Family against Breaking Bad and Sopranos.

 

[slayer202]

It was very good, imo. Greatest of _all_ time? Hard to say. I thought Breaking Bad was tremendous. Walking Dead is very, very good too. It would be hard/impossible for me to pick a greatest of all time.

Comparing Breaking Bad to something like The Sopranos or The Wire isn't reasonable. Adding Walking Dead is just ridiculous


The Sopranos is the best of all time imo

 

[Gooberlx2]

Comparing Breaking Bad to something like The Sopranos or The Wire isn't reasonable.

Why not?

 

[nageov3t]

I think the 70's was the era for TV.

Mash
Happy Days
Threes Company
Fish
All in the Family
Welcome Back Carter
Taxi
Brady Bunch
Sanford and Son
The Jeffersons
Charlie's Angles
Love Boat
Bonanza
What's Happening

Out of the TV shows I posted I would pit MASH, Happy Days or All in the Family against Breaking Bad and Sopranos.

it seems a bit like comparing apples and oranges to compare a serious drama to a sitcom, though. I'd definitely put MASH and Breaking Bad on comparable levels, but I'm not sure how you'd weigh either one against a show like All in the Family.

(and, generally speaking, I actually think sitcoms had a lot more room to be risque and groundbreaking back in the 70's... there's not much today that would shock an audience)

 

[purbeast0]

umm ... the sopranos is about a billion times better than the slow ass boring godfather series. does not feel dated at all.

greatest show ever? i don't know about that.

one of the greatest shows ever? for sure.

 

[Mai72]

it seems a bit like comparing apples and oranges to compare a serious drama to a sitcom, though. I'd definitely put MASH and Breaking Bad on comparable levels, but I'm not sure how you'd weigh either one against a show like All in the Family.

(and, generally speaking, I actually think sitcoms had a lot more room to be risque and groundbreaking back in the 70's... there's not much today that would shock an audience)

Good points. I do miss sitcoms.

You don't see many produced anymore.

 

[NoStateofMind]

I think the 70's was the era for TV.

Mash
SNIP

M.A.S.H. was and is good. Surprised as to what the words of the theme song was though, so depressing. If you only watched the TV show you only heard the music (which just about anyone can recall) but the movie which spawned the show has some morbid words

Mash
"Suicide Is Painless" Lyrics

Through early morning fog I see
visions of the things to be
the pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see...
[REFRAIN]:
that suicide is painless
it brings on many changes
and I can take or leave it if I please.
I try to find a way to make
all our little joys relate
without that ever-present hate
but now I know that it's too late, and...
[REFRAIN]
The game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
so this is all I have to say.

Out of the TV shows I posted I would pit MASH, Happy Days or All in the Family against Breaking Bad and Sopranos.

While those 70's shows have their place they do not hold candles anywhere near those two.

 

[Printer Bandit]

LOST is the GOAT

 

[poofyhairguy]

LOST is the GOAT

If you ignore the ending.

 

[slayer202]

I may or may not have rewatched the first 7 episodes of LOST on Sunday

 

[nageov3t]

as much as I loved LOST, it had some serious fundamental issues.

the thing that made watching it great was the community surrounding the show, more than anything else actually on-screen.

 

[poofyhairguy]

the thing that made watching it great was the community surrounding the show, more than anything else actually on-screen.

That is how I feel about all BSG after the third season.

 

[Carson Dyle]

I think the 70's was the era for TV.

Mash
Happy Days
Threes Company
Fish
All in the Family
Welcome Back Carter
Taxi
Brady Bunch
Sanford and Son
The Jeffersons
Charlie's Angles
Love Boat
Bonanza
What's Happening

Are you just randomly naming shows from the 70s? Surely you don't think crap like The Love Boat and The Brady Bunch are among the best TV shows in history? Nobody is that vapid.

How the f*ck do you list Fish and not list Barney Miller?

 

[mugs]

I think the 70's was the era for TV.

Mash
Happy Days
Threes Company
Fish
All in the Family
Welcome Back Carter
Taxi
Brady Bunch
Sanford and Son
The Jeffersons
Charlie's Angles
Love Boat
Bonanza
What's Happening

Out of the TV shows I posted I would pit MASH, Happy Days or All in the Family against Breaking Bad and Sopranos.

It's Welcome Back, Kotter.

70s comedies don't hold up well at all. All In the Family is still worth watching, and probably MASH.

The Love Boat? That's some bad TV.

Columbo is a 70s show that I'll never get tired of rewatching.

 

[squarecut1]

The Wire is kinda like the iPhone 1..

A bit opposite actually. Iphone was a great commercial success, massive following and all. The Wire has only had a cult following, not mainstream like BB. Also I believe it got ignored for awards as well. It is a serious, thoughtful show. I was greatly moved, especially by the story of the kids.

 

[Phoenix86]

It makes the conversation but probably not even the top 10.

 

[slayer202]

It makes the conversation but probably not even the top 10.

this should be good....

 

[Platypus]

In general that seems to be the case with tv shows. But still this too is subjective. The Wire is considered going downhill over the seasons but I didn't think so.

Wire did degrade in the 5th season but nothing nearly as clusterfucky as the Sopranos did. The last season and a half of that show are just utterly unwatchable to me, doubly so in retrospect going back to re-watch them. They murdered what was an excellent show. With the Wire it didnt tarnish the rep of the show like Sopranos did imo.

But again, this is all wildly subjective so don't let me rain on your parade.

 

[Markbnj]

as much as I loved LOST, it had some serious fundamental issues.

the thing that made watching it great was the community surrounding the show, more than anything else actually on-screen.

Such as ceasing to make any sense at all around season 3.

 

[Markbnj]

Comparing Breaking Bad to something like The Sopranos or The Wire isn't reasonable. Adding Walking Dead is just ridiculous


The Sopranos is the best of all time imo

You lie, sir.

 

[BudAshes]

Chappelle show or Planet Earth.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Chappelle show

If that gets in so does Firefly.

 

[Train]

Sopranos was amazing in it's time, but wouldn't stand out as much today. You gotta remember season 1 was in 1998! In 1998 everyone was trying to replicate Friends or ER, and reality TV was still just for MTV kids

It paved the way for high production value TV dramas. If it weren't for Soprano's, we wouldn't have GOT or Breaking Bad.

Also, missing from a lot of the list's above is Six Feet Under. One of the best all around shows, IMO

 

[Train]

Wire did degrade in the 5th season but nothing nearly as clusterfucky as the Sopranos did. The last season and a half of that show are just utterly unwatchable to me, doubly so in retrospect going back to re-watch them. They murdered what was an excellent show. With the Wire it didnt tarnish the rep of the show like Sopranos did imo.

But again, this is all wildly subjective so don't let me rain on your parade.

A LOT of shows fall from Glory in their later seasons. Dexter was an epic let down after the awesomeness that was Season 4. Weeds was fun the first couple seasons then went god knows where. Walking Dead started out awesome and is now in officially in facepalm silly territory. In comparisons, the last couple seasons of Soprano's wasn't nearly as bad a falloff as a lot of shows that hang around milking the cash cow.