Just on Entertainment Value... Breaking Bad is Leagues Above The Sopranos

[ThaRealness]

Why do we have to compare the two? Because I watched the sopranos off the strength of the comparison. I have to say, I was dissapointed.

Look, I know the Sopranos was the pioneer in premium television. It is artistically as good as any show - the cinematography, unconventional episodes etc.

Breaking bad is all lean... Sopranos is a lot of lean with plenty of fat as well.

The Furio Carmela plotline sucks. Steve Buscemi fell flat. Paulie dealing with old ladies and shyt.

I lost interest countless times. Stretching a mob film into 100 hours just doesn't work. Too much meandering and anticlimactic plots.

Breaking Bad is genius, because Walter White deals with so many different organizations. Plus, White is a nobody so that adds a level of suspense, as he's always an underdog. Tony can always get someone killed. He cant be touched by dudes like Ralph, Ritchie etc. The only real threat emerges in the last season when Phil starts applying pressure.

Ive already seen the whole Sopranos. I tried going back and picking out episodes and I just cant do it

If I put Ozymandias on right now that shyt still hits

 

[Tasha And]

Nah breh. I'd agree that BB is leaner, but being leaner doesn't mean more entertaining. Hell, the off the cuff side action brings out some of funniest parts of the series. The fukkery outside the lines is what makes it so rewatchable.

And you want to talk about plotlines that suck? Try any and every subplot of BB that doesn't involve Walt. I'd watch 10 episodes of random Carmella fukkery than watch another second of Marie stealing shyt. The supporting cast of BB is just leagues below the supporting cast of the Sopranos. Some of the best episodes of the series barely even feature Tony. Imagine saying the same thing about BB and Walt.

 

[ThaRealness]

Nah breh. I'd agree that BB is leaner, but being leaner doesn't mean more entertaining. Hell, the off the cuff side action brings out some of funniest parts of the series. The fukkery outside the lines is what makes it so rewatchable.

And you want to talk about plotlines that suck? Try any and every subplot of BB that doesn't involve Walt. I'd watch 10 episodes of random Carmella fukkery than watch another second of Marie stealing shyt. The supporting cast of BB is just leagues below the supporting cast of the Sopranos. Some of the best episodes of the series barely even feature Tony. Imagine saying the same thing about BB and Walt.

I think this is what it comes down to - I watched Breaking Bad first, and most people watched the Sopranos first.

Once you've seen The Sopranos, Breaking Bad doesnt have the same "awe" factor, and vice versa.

Sopranos was dope, but it just wasnt hitting for me

 

[Lootpack]

I'm sorry to hear that. Personally, I enjoyed the grounded crime aspect of The Sopranos and felt like most of the characters on that show were layered more deeply than the ones on Breaking Bad. An ensemble cast that delved deep into everyone.

Watched Breaking Bad before diving into The Sopranos, and these are two phenomenal shows. I loved BB's way of creating tension and suspense in its story, but I felt like The Sopranos was more of a classic drama and timeless all in all to me. All the subtleties that went into that show....man. I love a good character study, and really dug the way Tony's complexities as the main protagonist were explored heavily through dozens of arcs.

 

[old pig]

maybe if your definition of “entertainment value” is high on action then I can see why someone would choose BB over the sopranos in terms of that...not saying that as a knock...it just boils down to what the individual defines as “entertaining”...personally I found the dialogue/interactions between characters on the sopranos to be far more entertaining than what breaking bad had to offer which for me was mostly “oh shyt” moments

 

[obarth]

@ThaRealness Have you seen The Shield?

 

[ORDER_66]

I like walter white as a character more than tony soprano... he's a very likeable.. tony is a fukking racist man child murderer scumbag who never got his comeuppance even though he needed it...

 

[phillycavsfan]

I like walter white as a character more than tony soprano... he's a very likeable.. tony is a fukking racist man child murderer scumbag who never got his comeuppance even though he needed it...

The fukk he is? He poisoned an innocent child to get his sidekick back in his good graces.

 

[ORDER_66]

The fukk he is? He poisoned an innocent child to get his sidekick back in his good graces.

Jane was an adult....

Also didn't tony kill a man while on a road trip with his daughter??!

 

[Lootpack]

I like walter white as a character more than tony soprano... he's a very likeable.. tony is a fukking racist man child murderer scumbag who never got his comeuppance even though he needed it...

"You probably don't even hear it when it happens, right?"

I envisioned him getting his brains blasted in front of his entire family. Death or living in a world of paranoia and having to look over your shoulder every second. I'm glad it ended the way it did.

 

[ORDER_66]

"You probably don't even hear it when it happens, right?"

I envisioned him getting his brains blasted in front of his entire family. Death or living in a world of paranoia and having to look over your shoulder every second. I'm glad it ended the way it did.

I truly though someone was gonna air them out in that restaurant...

 

[old pig]

Jane was an adult...

he’s not talking about jane

 

[ORDER_66]

he’s not talking about jane

Then who is he talking about?

 

[Lootpack]

Then who is he talking about?

Brock

 

[hex]

I wish SOHH was still around so I can pull up old threads. I don't get the action angle for "Breaking Bad". 90% of the time people were complaining the story moved too slow.

I think people are confusing pacing with actual action. Because when it comes to death and violent scenes, "Sopranos" has "BB" beat probably 10x over. But the pacing of "BB", especially in season 1 and 5A and B was relentless.

The same cannot be said for "Sopranos". Tony started off as the boss, and was the boss in the last episode. The show was about the journey. "BB" was about the destination. People tuned in to see how far Walt would fall.

Which is whatever, it comes down to preference. I love both shows. And "BB" wouldn't even exist without "Sopranos".

The supporting cast of BB is just leagues below the supporting cast of the Sopranos. Some of the best episodes of the series barely even feature Tony. Imagine saying the same thing about BB and Walt.

The first sentence I agree with.

The last sentence....not so much. "Salud" is one of the best episodes in "BB" entire run and Walt is in it like 5 minutes.

Fred.