The Sopranos

Okay, so I finally saw The Sopranos all the way through for the first time ever. I know, I wanted to have it done much longer ago too. Whatever.

Preface: I had seen bits and pieces of the show, I received Season 6 Part 2 on DVD as a gift when it came out in 2007ish, but I never saw the episodes prior to. Seeing the last season of a 7 season show is as brutal as it gets; no clue what was really going on, just enjoying 9 episodes and saying "okay, well, that's how it ends." In between I had seen some of seasons 3/4/5 through friends and On Demand, but I never really saw the whole thing. This past December Best Buy had a deal on it (and I was going stir crazy) so the timing was great. Add in the cold weather and lots of long Bolt Busses between NYC and Philly, I've had enough time on my hands to bang this out. That's also why I haven't been blogging much. I didn't forget you kids. I'm coming back to you.

So my verdict? I really enjoyed it. I didn't love it. I think it really messed me up that I knew much of what happened - especially key things in the second half of the series. Especially the ending. Try watching Lost for the first time when you know how it ends with all the smoke monster/Jacob/flash sideways crap from the very beginning. It ruins the whole show.

To be honest, the first and second seasons really weren't that great to me. It felt like an early Mad Men where every episode has a new "client," and the new "client" is "dealt with," and then you never hear about it again. There wasn't as much flow, so it didn't work for me. In that same sense, some of the story lines really didn't add up - and I think it's because "x" amount of time is supposed to pass between each episode, but for me it was about 3 seconds. AJ goes from coming out of suicide ward to getting a girlfriend, blowing up a car, getting a job, and getting a new car in about a episode and a half. When did Bobby Bacala become a serious player? Some of the things shows do to keep it interesting - new characters, or the short story arc characters - most of it felt forced, like you knew they weren't going to be here past the season anyway. Like Julia Stiles' character on Dexter.

I think there's two things that lead me to my verdict: a) I'm 100% biased by The Wire, and because I believe that they set the bar so high, it's hard for anyone else to really compete with it (in my mind anyway). In seeing that first, Sopranos never had a chance to be the best. Reason b) because everyone says Sopranos is good/greatest/best ever, it makes you look harder at the series because you want to be able to justify it for yourself. I can justify The Wire, I don't know if I can justify this in the same way. Not yet anyway - let me watch it again in a couple months knowing the whole story and let me analyze it again. I said the same thing about Mad Men, when I first saw it, I thought it was as boring as a PBS telethon. Now I can justify it better after having it in my system for almost a year. It's also been almost 14 years since the original premiere of the pilot. It's safe to say a lot has happened in the real world that effects the way we tell stories - mainly with the way we communicate over cell phones and the internet.

Quick side note: I would love to see one more season of Seinfeld with e-mail/cell phones/texting/facebook/youtube/twitter/wikileaks/Antoine Dodson and just see the dysfunction. They started with e-mail on the finale, but now that we're so techy, it would be great to see how George would handle the Facebook breakup. Kramer could make a killing on eBay. Elaine is on match.com. Jerry's get's videos on YouTube of how much his acting sucks, etc. It would be beautiful. That's what season 7 of Curb was missing.
It's so different watching a show on demand/DVD in succession because you can go through episode after episode without having time to really process/think/ponder/speculate on what's next, instead you just go into the next one. Obviously I used this blog last year as my Lost brainstorm, where every week I'd go "OMFG THIS IS WHAT I THINK MIGHT HAPPEN, BUT IF IT DOESN'T, THEN IT WILL BE THIS, BUT I COULD ALSO SEE SOMETHING BETWEEN THE TWO, BUT, THEN AGAIN, I'M TOTALLY WRONG WHAT IS GOING ON AHHHH." That conversation basically went on in my head for a week straight, until a new episode, when I'd start the process all over again. I'm not kidding. Anyways, you don't do that when you can watch multiple episodes at a time. Or maybe I'm just growing up. Probably not though.


There felt like there was too many people on the show. I couldn't keep up, they all looked the same and would come/go/die too quickly for me to tell the difference or to care about the minor characters. I say the same thing about Boardwalk too. Speaking of that - I realized I just really don't like Steve Buscemi's style. He plays Tony's cousin in Sopranos, and I wasn't sure the difference between that and Nucky Thompson except for speaking style and attire. Feels like the same character. Clearly I'm in the minority, as Stevie is winning all these awards for Nucky. Good job kid.


As for my take on the "final scene" - I don't think he died. That's such a stupid idea. They called a truce, it was over. The smash cut to black is just a way to end the show. Meadow walks in, they sit down, it's all fine. It was a way to have it go out with a bang instead of a "fade to black" as they all sit at that diner. Whoop-ti-do. It got your attention. It worked. Everyone can't be content with the way a show ends, that's just how it works. You love it or you hate it.
I think we're a little obsessed with the idea of the mafia, and as we heard in the news lately, it's much more real than some of us admit/realize. I have no idea how "real" any of this really is. I'm sure some of that stuff goes on. I'm sure some of it doesn't. I would like to believe that the FBI would have developed enough technology to stop these shenanigans, but I also believe that since 9/11 our attention has turned towards protection than fraud - similar to the cry we hear in The Wire, where nobody cares about the drug addicts as long as no bodies are dropping. This story isn't totally about the mafia, that's where people who haven't seen it are misled. It's called The Sopranos, not The Mafia. The story is about impact of real family as it's impacted by it's father is a mafia boss. How Tony balances being a boss while being a father. The special treatment by others. The arrests. Etc. That's the story here, not just the mafia. That's the wrong answer.

Speaking of The Wire (is it clear how hard I crush on that show? This post is about another show and I'm already over it) I've got two great articles I've been meaning to share - the first is from Wire creator David Simon, as he bashes back against the Baltimore PD who claims Baltimore will take years to overcome the "smear" that was left from The Wire. Awesome "Eff You" letter.

The other is very stupid, but I love it. Social Media According to The Wire. If you've seen the show, you'll agree, if not, don't waste your time.

If you don't laugh at this then we can't be friends.

I'm getting very sidetracked, so before I stop, I do want to say that James Gandolfini did an excellent job as Tony Soprano, the mob boss we all kind of picture in our head, really is one of the reasons of the shows success. An actor like him who has such a presence and ability to play so many different roles on one; Mob boss, father, husband, nephew, cousin, therapy patient, etc.
I'm looking forward to watching The Sopranos again in a couple months, and I'm sure upon a second take will have further appreciation for it. Next up on my TV conquest - Breaking Bad. or I'm re-watching The OC. That wasn't a joke.