I just uncorked a bottle of chianti in preparation for the last new episode of the The Sopranos. For the last couple of months, this is how we spent our Sunday nights. I can't say it has been a routine - settling in with a nice meal and a bottle of chianti - only because the show isn't on often enough for it to seem that way. It wasn't unusual to have to wait well over a year between seasons.
I'm curious about how they will end the show. The mood that has been building this season is ominous and dark. I don't have a preference - just hope that it will be the usual high quality, meaty fare.
Rather than mourning the loss, I appreciate what The Sopranos has done for TV. It has shown what is possible in this medium when the creators are free from network interference, ratings worries, the need to be an instant success, and broadcast standards and regulations. The result is a TV series that plays out more like a novel than a dramatic series. Add in lush cinematography, brilliant musical soundtrack choices, excellent writing and acting, and you have got one helluva show. I am sure that HBO was rewarded with many new subscribers who came because of this show, and stayed because of all the other great series: Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, ROME, Carnivale, and Deadwood, just to name my personal favorites.
10 comments:
Due to lack of Cable, I never did get into the Sopranos.
I'm with myutopia...never watched a single episode, no HBO, although I can't say that I would have watched even if I had it.
I know the show is supposed to be great. But I don't get HBO and the few times I've seen episodes (in hotel rooms, at friends' houses) I've not been drawn in.
I started watching the A&E reruns recently, but they seemed so heavily edited that I gave up.
I understand the ending of the finale was rather controversial.
I liked how it ended. The tension was ratcheted up sky high and then you're watching a black screen in total silence. You don't know if Tony had a nice dinner with his family or was a second away from getting whacked. It was a Schrodinger's Cat kind of ending and I think it was a good way to go out. Maybe even brilliant.
I didn't expect them to tie up the loose ends, although it was nice of them to give Phil such an interesting and unambiquous ending.
I have never seen one episode of the Sopranos and it's blogs like this that make me wonder what the heck I'm missing.
I also feel the same way about Smallville. I love it, but will not mourn the loss once it's gone ... probably after this season.
I didn't even want to watch it when it first came out. I just wasn't interested in yet another mob-themed thing. But after being cajoled into watching one episode, it really grabbed me and I wanted to watch it more. A bad episode of The Sopranos is better than most shows.
I wouldn't bother with the reruns on A&E. Jim is right; they are edited beyond all recognition. If you ever want to watch it, try the DVDs.
Thank God it's over, so now I can start watching like I did with Seinfeld after they closed out the show. I'll probably put in an order for the first season now.
mr. schprock - welcome. I did the same thing with Buffy and Angel. Never watched a single episode until they were cancelled, then I watched each season on DVD within a short time period, like I was reading a book. That's probably how I'll watch Lost as well.
I used to travel a lot and can identify with Jim. I'd catch an episode in a hotel room. As an aside, not having HBO, it would really piss me off to be stuck in a hotel before laptops and highspeed wireless internet and see that everything on HBO was dreck, or dreck that I'd seen before.
For a long time now, I've not watched much series TV that depends on you having seen prior episodes. TiVo has changed that a bit.
I only got into it last season when I suddenly and for no reason got HBO for free. I really liked it but I felt no need to go back and watch the earlier seasons on DVD. I had heard so much about the characters that I already knew enough.
Like everyone else last night, I had a "what the...?" moment when they cut to black. But what a perfect way to end it. If Tony died, or didn't die, or went into witness protection, or went to prison, lots of people would have been unhappy. This way we can imagine it any way we like.
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