See Jane Clack – The Wire vs. The Sopranos

I’ve been covering The Wire in my Jane After Dark column at TV Squad, and I can’t help but think about the similarities to another favorite HBO show: The Sopranos. They’re both edgy and well-written and filled with knock-out characters, but they’re also very different. Here’s my rundown on these two top-notch shows:

Reality vs. Storytelling. The Sopranos is an awesome example of great storytelling. We’ve got the panic-plagued mobster dealing with his biological family and his mobster family. What could be better? I know there are people like Tony Soprano out there, but to me, The Sopranos is just a really good story.

The Wire, on the other hand, is so real that you feel like you”re watching a documentary. I’m into season three now and just noticed that there’s no soundtrack, no music at all (yeah, it takes me a while). It’s like someone is following these guys around with a camera.

Good Guys vs. Bad Guys. The Sopranos is mostly centered on Tony Soprano and his thugs and family, while The Wire gives equal time to thugs and the cops, with some politicians and dockworkers thrown in (as mentioned, I’m just into season 3, so haven’t gotten into the school system or press yet). I guess you could say that Stringer Bell, Avon Barksdale and Omar Little are the Tony Sopranos of The Wire; Stringer’s got his real estate business, and Tony’s got his sanitation business. But that’s not quite right either.

In many ways, Avon, Omar, and especially Stringer are much, much smarter than the cops. I guess Tony is, too; a mobster almost has to be in order to stay one step ahead of the law. But I recall a few times when the feds shook his house down. In The Wire, it’s often difficult to tell where the bad guys end and the good guys pick up. The line is very fuzzy, whereas in Tony’s situation, it seems more clear-cut.

Street Talk vs. Mob Talk. I can pretty much follow what Tony’s crew is saying, even though their conversations are peppered with New Jersey mob lingo. But I’ve gotta tell ya, sometimes I have no idea what the guys on The Wire are talking about. Some of my commenters over at TV Squad said to watch it with the subtitles on, and that definitely helps. That and having Prez translating the conversations on the wire.

Getting It vs. Not Getting It. There’s no doubt that you have to pay attention on The Sopranos. It can get confusing figuring out who’s related to whom and how everyone fits in. But The Wire brings complex storytelling to a whole new level. Basically, you can’t be doing anything else while you’re watching it, otherwise you’ll be completely confused. I’m ready to watch The Sopranos again, but I’ll NEED to watch The Wire at least two or three more times before I really get the gist of it.

So what do you think? Any similarities between the two shows? Or am I just barksdaling up the wrong tree here?

Clacked by Jane Boursaw
on Jul 04, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT