The Sopranos at 20--thoughts?

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

After over a year and a half of watching an episode a week (starting in 2017), going strictly in order, and nearly always with a bottle of red wine, my wife and I are finally done with this series. I am not a huge lover of mafia-inspired entertainment, and while I enjoyed the original Godfather, I never watched any of the sequels. I have never seen Scarface or Goodfellas, etc. I watch very few movies.

Nevertheless, I have never been taken in by a television drama like this before. The great acting, fascinating multidimensional characters (well, some are multidimensional), moral ambiguity, humor, and superb videography kept me coming back for more every week. Of course, it is a soap opera of sorts, but a superbly well done one.

In any case, I am glad we are done with it. It was great, but time to move on to something else; I don't need to see someone get whacked every week for the rest of my life. We will undoubtedly revisit certain favorite episodes, but not for a while.

A few thoughts/questions:

Why did Tony kill Christopher--out of mercy, or as a convenient means of ridding  himself of a liablity? (I lean toward the latter interpretation)

What is your interpretation of the ending?

Is there some cockamamie licensing or other reason why Amazon Video--through which we bought the last two seasons--did not include all the episodes??? Years ago, when we had cable (LOL, used to have a landline and Windows 95 too!!!) I watched a few episodes on A&E, and I could have sworn there was one in which Tony and Jennifer Melfi slept together. I also could have sworn that there was an episode when Uncle Junior was dining with Tony and family at Tony's house, after Uncle Jr shot Tony--and Tony became increasingly angry with him throughout the meal. Those episodes were nowhere to be found among the entire seasons we bought from Amazon!

I am looking forward to the prequel.

Any thoughts on the series? Any thoughts on what other series a Sopranos lover might like??

[Ken B]

After over a year and a half of watching an episode a week (starting in 2017), going strictly in order, and nearly always with a bottle of red wine, my wife and I are finally done with this series. I am not a huge lover of mafia-inspired entertainment, and while I enjoyed the original Godfather, I never watched any of the sequels. I have never seen Scarface or Goodfellas, etc. I watch very few movies.

Nevertheless, I have never been taken in by a television drama like this before. The great acting, fascinating multidimensional characters (well, some are multidimensional), moral ambiguity, humor, and superb videography kept me coming back for more every week. Of course, it is a soap opera of sorts, but a superbly well done one.

In any case, I am glad we are done with it. It was great, but time to move on to something else; I don't need to see someone get whacked every week for the rest of my life. We will undoubtedly revisit certain favorite episodes, but not for a while.

A few thoughts/questions:

Why did Tony kill Christopher--out of mercy, or as a convenient means of ridding  himself of a liablity? (I lean toward the latter interpretation)

What is your interpretation of the ending?

Is there some cockamamie licensing or other reason why Amazon Video--through which we bought the last two seasons--did not include all the episodes??? Years ago, when we had cable (LOL, used to have a landline and Windows 95 too!!!) I watched a few episodes on A&E, and I could have sworn there was one in which Tony and Jennifer Melfi slept together. I also could have sworn that there was an episode when Uncle Junior was dining with Tony and family at Tony's house, after Uncle Jr shot Tony--and Tony became increasingly angry with him throughout the meal. Those episodes were nowhere to be found among the entire seasons we bought from Amazon!

I am looking forward to the prequel.

Any thoughts on the series? Any thoughts on what other series a Sopranos lover might like??

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Wire

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

I agree it is one of the great episodic television shows, which led the way for the current "golden age" of sophisticated storytelling.

I am sure Amazon is not missing any episodes, your memory must be playing tricks. You can always double check by consulting the episode list on wikipedia.

I am quite sure Tony never slept with Dr. Melfi, although he tried and she had her moments of attraction.

The episode with Junior could have been misremembered from any number of other scenes. For instance there is one where, due to his advancing dementia, Junior develops a verbal tick of mentioning Tony's unsuccessful high school football career repeatedly every time they gather for a meal. Tony gets more and more agitated. Sounds similar to what you remember. This came a season or two before Tony was shot by Junior.

I think mercy had nothing to do with killing Christopher. I remember Tony looks in the back of the car and sees the baby car seat with disgust, as if thinking, "this looser can't even hold himself together with a baby coming, and I trust him with my life?" He comes to see Christopher as a worthless person who will only disappoint him, and takes the opportunity to rid himself of the risk.

[lisa needs braces]

Journalist Michael Tracey had a nice write up about the recent get-together of the cast and crew.

https://spectator.us/sopranos-twenty-years/

[drogulus]

     The Sopranos

     

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Yes, I suppose I've misremembered things. One episode I saw on AE years and years ago was the one where Tony and Christopher steal several cases of expensive wine, and when the employees unloading the wine came out and discovered what was happening, Christopher pointed his gun, ordered them to get down, and called them "filthy cockroaches". THat was a great line and I laughed my ass off. I was awaiting that in the DVD, but instead, the phraseology was something along the lines of "you f**** mother**** c***-sucker." Hee, sometimes a less profane expression can actually be funnier.

[drogulus]

     You should watch Goodfellas, it's one of the great gangster films and it's hilarious.

     Spoiler Alert: One scene stands out as profound beyond any other in the history of the genre:

MOTHER: Have some more. You hardly touched anything. Did Tommy tell you about my painting? Look at this.
(Pulls out an oil painting from alongside the refrigerator.)



JIMMY: It's beautiful.

TOMMY: I like this one. One dog goes one way and the other goes the other.

MOTHER: One's going east, the other's going west. So what?

TOMMY: And this guy's saying, "Whaddya want from me?" The guy's got a nice head of white hair. Beautiful. The dog it looks the same.

JIMMY: Looks like somebody we know.

TOMMY: Without the beard! Oh no, it's him! It's him.
(A thumping noise is heard through the open window from the trunk of the car parked outside.)

TOMMY: What's that?

   

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Yes, my wife has seen Goodfellas and has been bugging me to watch it.

Last night, like a pig rooting for truffles in the cul-de-sac of Netfilx and Hulu, I finally came up with Castle Rock, a Hulu Series by Stephen King. My wife is a huge Stephen King fan (has read It and The Stand a zillion times), so she was agreeable to this. I really enjoyed Creepshow 2, but I've never read any of his books. Anyway, we actually really enjoyed it! I am not a fan of slasher horror movies; I like suspense and mystery, and this one certainly has plenty of that. I'm not sure whether there is a supernatural element to this one after seeing only the first episode, but surely there is something rotten and evil going on. We are looking forward to episode 2, and season 2. As much as we enjoyed The Sopranos it is nice to see something different.

[Ghost of Baron Scarpia]

I've been rewatching the series. One of the running jokes that I like is when the mobsters try to sound sophisticated and use the wrong word. Often it's Little Carmine, but they sometimes do it with Tony Soprano as well.

Perhaps my favorite character is "Paulie Wallnuts," who portrays himself as a stereotypical tough guy, as his pettiness and insecurities are gradually revealed.

One thing about the show that doesn't ring true is that everyone who gets run over by a car ends up in the hospital with tubes coming out of them and Tony telling them he will make it right. Apparently there is no such thing as a fatal car accident in Sopranos world...

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Yes, Paulie is very entertaining--a raging sociopath, but you almost feel a bit sorry for him because of his insecurities, rough background, and his lack of wife, friends. I also really enjoyed the one season Ralph Cifaretto (sp?) and Richie Aprile were around wreaking havoc and shooting their hilarious mouths off. Speaking of unrealistic, I'm always amazed at how those guys would frequently discuss businness (incl. having someone whacked) in public or semi-public places, and how actual whackings (i.e., shootings  ) would often occur in broad daylight in front of witnesses (e.g., the last one Phil Leotardo)...

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

You've seen this I trust--the best imitation EVER.

(NSFW!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSS3m8MT0kY&t=3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhS7V3NB9Mk