FTA-TV The Sopranos

[nicky]

I loved the scenes with Dr Melfi and Tony. Gives you a great insight into how Tony's mind works.

Yep, without Melfi scenes we are left with a two dimensional Tony.

You're both right.

I think it's actually 'her' i find a bit unbelievable. He gets under her skin with too much ease and as a psychiatrist she should be stronger (at times) than what she is.

I find their relationship unbelievable*

*i'm just being picky, it had to be that way.

 

[Silent Alarm]

My favourite show of all time.

Spectacular on all counts.

 

[Mr_Bojangles]

Yep, without Melfi scenes we are left with a two dimensional Tony.

Anyway on a different note, the eps where T is in the Coma after Junior shot him....that flashing light on the tower (is it the Eiffel?) creeps me out still all these years on.

I think its that trapped sensation that he is in the coma and cant escape from it.

Watched the final season again over Xmas and that's definately the case. Also the bit where he almost dies and the wind is blowing with a little girls voice (Meadow in the real world) calling out for her father. So well done.

 

[Hodgepodge]

I liked that scene where Ralphi beat that stripper to death. That was my favourite era, when Ralph and Tony were locking horns.

 

[nicky]

That scene was hideous!

 

[Gasometer]

I liked that scene where Ralphi beat that stripper to death. That was my favourite era, when Ralph and Tony were locking horns.

...yeh and he got what for that from T.

He gets under her skin with too much ease and as a psychiatrist she should be stronger (at times) than what she is.

...with the hissy fits, flip outs, and come on's to her I think he would get under anyone's skin stuck in that Office with the door behind him...

(remember that scene where both T and Mrs T were in the session at the same time! Gold! )

Outside of that both her and her Pscyh friend knew WHO and WHAT he did.

What was probably unreal was the fact that she tolerated him for so long.

 

[Hodgepodge]

That scene was hideous!

Hideously awesome.

The viewers got what the retribution they were after although Tony only got mad cos of the business.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Yeah, utterly odious was Ralphie. The most evil character in the series, no doubt. The most endearing moment of retribution was his strangulation – utterly deserved.

But the power balance in the Sopranos is the best thing. Why do we stick up for Tony and egg him on? He's as malicious as Ralphie, albeit in a less obvious manner. The idea of the anti-hero is so smart. He's this line between anti-hero, and hero.

 

[nicky]

I haven't seen it all so need to be careful about what i read in this thread.

Ralphi has grown on me, I'm up to the season where tony is finding out about his sexploits. Funny stuff.

My favourite characters are;

Adriana, Meadow, christopher, Junior, Janice (is annoying but she's pretty funny), Ralphi is growing on me

Tony is a fat **** who pisses me off. I actually hate these people - they are the scum of the earth. What about how they exploited that non for profit organisation to get cheap housing; which costs the tax payers and put poor black people on the street.

 

[LouisCK]

Hideously awesome.

The viewers got what the retribution they were after although Tony only got mad cos of the business.

Actually Tony killed him over a horse. Because he's a psychopath.

Psycho's tend to overvalue things like children and animals, because they often view people as either 'all good' or 'all bad' hence to Tony Ralph killing a stripper wasn't as bad as killing an innocent horse.

 

[LouisCK]

He did not get shot, the fade to black is just the carmera turning off and we stop seeing his life. His life just went on to what ever it was going to do IMO.

It is so obviously spelled out that he was shot, that there's no need for anyone involved to 'officially' confirm it.

Everything about that last season is leading up to Tony getting killed. It was expertly crafted but imo went over the head of a lot of the fans who were into Sopranos for the **** and violence and glorification of criminals.

The show has always been about relationships, they are the typical American family who happen to be in the mafia.... its also why when the show started focusing too much on the crime side of things after season 3, the show felt like it lacked direction.

 

[PVF]

Thank god for SoHo on Foxtel otherwise I wouldn't have watched all of this show. I had the first season on DVD but didn't really want to spend $30 on each season.

Anyway after 5 years of the show being over and even though I heard about the ending I watched it and didn't really know how to feel.

It was almost like when you have been with the girl of your dreams for years and then she leaves you without an explanation.

I've only finished watching it an hour and a half ago. At first I was pissed off and now after thinking about it I love the ending. I would think the hardest thing about TV shows and especially shows like the Sopranos for writers is to plan the ending. This ending is perfect for probably the greatest TV show ever because it's not a cheap ending like some other shows have done. There is no fairwell, there is no sign of happily ever after and there is no flash to the future like they did with the conclusion of The Godfather and Harry Potter. It keeps the fans wondering and I love that. It makes me wonder what direction the writers of Breaking Bad will make when the show ends because that show is on the Sopranos level for awesomeness.

Another thing I love about the show is that it never went down in quality and didn't go on so long that people could put it down and say stuff like "Oh the first 5 seasons were great but it went downhill after that". I think the show had to end when it did.

Some fans just like it for the violence and **** and everything but what I love about it is the interactions with each character. I thought some of the scenes with Tony and Carmella were bloody intense and very good acting. Also the scenes with Tony and that crazy girl that ended up killing herself(can't remember her name) were so intense and I was soo drawn in when I saw it. I also found the dream scenes very interesting.

 

[NSWCROW]

Chrissy's intervention
One of my fave all-time scenes

 

[Footypie32]

I didn't like the ending, but admit it would be really hard to write a good one, especially for a show like the Soprano's. It did kind of show how important the theme of family really was during the show. Having the whole family (nearly) together at the end, I thought summed the series up well.
The show went through ebbs and flows, but was remarkably consistent. I remember wanting Tony's mother to die so much. She was annoying as * towards the end.
I always loved the scenes in Dr Melfi's office. The play between the two of them is superb. Seeing just how far she could push him until he snapped.
It was sad to see it end. Nothing has grabbed me since. I'll be watching repeats for many years.

 

[djrossie16]

I didn't like the ending, but admit it would be really hard to write a good one, especially for a show like the Soprano's. It did kind of show how important the theme of family really was during the show. Having the whole family (nearly) together at the end, I thought summed the series up well.
The show went through ebbs and flows, but was remarkably consistent. I remember wanting Tony's mother to die so much. She was annoying as **** towards the end.
I always loved the scenes in Dr Melfi's office. The play between the two of them is superb. Seeing just how far she could push him until he snapped.
It was sad to see it end. Nothing has grabbed me since. I'll be watching repeats for many years.

Very good acting performance imo. Never disliked any female performances in this show.

Watched the Sopranos for the second time the ending really left me feeling a bit deflated.

 

[PVF]

I hated Janice but that's about it. Thought see was very annoying but I can see why she was important for the show.

Also Frank Vincent who plays Phil Leotardo is a very underrated actor. I love him in Goodfellas and Casino.

 

[Silent Alarm]

Thank god for SoHo on Foxtel otherwise I wouldn't have watched all of this show. I had the first season on DVD but didn't really want to spend $30 on each season.

Anyway after 5 years of the show being over and even though I heard about the ending I watched it and didn't really know how to feel.

It was almost like when you have been with the girl of your dreams for years and then she leaves you without an explanation.

I've only finished watching it an hour and a half ago. At first I was pissed off and now after thinking about it I love the ending. I would think the hardest thing about TV shows and especially shows like the Sopranos for writers is to plan the ending. This ending is perfect for probably the greatest TV show ever because it's not a cheap ending like some other shows have done. There is no fairwell, there is no sign of happily ever after and there is no flash to the future like they did with the conclusion of The Godfather and Harry Potter. It keeps the fans wondering and I love that. It makes me wonder what direction the writers of Breaking Bad will make when the show ends because that show is on the Sopranos level for awesomeness.

Another thing I love about the show is that it never went down in quality and didn't go on so long that people could put it down and say stuff like "Oh the first 5 seasons were great but it went downhill after that". I think the show had to end when it did.

Some fans just like it for the violence and **** and everything but what I love about it is the interactions with each character. I thought some of the scenes with Tony and Carmella were bloody intense and very good acting. Also the scenes with Tony and that crazy girl that ended up killing herself(can't remember her name) were so intense and I was soo drawn in when I saw it. I also found the dream scenes very interesting.

Interesting post. This is the favourite show of me and the old man's, so we were talking about this tonight. The ending is great. I've always liked open ended finishes. But your examination of the whole thing is something I've not thought about. How do you end a show like this? Interesting.

I guess in relation to that is the artistic integrity of the show. Something like Dexter has just gone on far, far too long. The Sopranos had depth and width and still ended in less than ten seasons. The film and TV industry is almost recession-proof (in comparison to most industries), so it's easy for a show to just carry on because its a cash cow and the writers can keep buying good coke. It's worth heralding how much integrity they had to end it where they did.

There is nothing crass about the Sopranos, which is why I like it. It's gritty but you never feel as though it's there for the sake of filling some "uh, it's HBO, let's just chuck it in!" mentality. Like when Ralphy beat the prostitute, or when Melfie was raped. But people really underestimate how great a show it was for the examination into the human psyche.

I mean, think about these guys... there's this perception in Hollywood that mafioso are these all-powerful, alpha males. Not many films really challenge the questionable notion and cliche of this kind of family. But are they all tough and physically/mentally strong? These guys all had power, but they were all fundamentally flawed. They weren't good with weapons (the absolutely hilarious and entertaining Pine Barrons is an example: Chrissy and Paulie couldn't shoot s**t), they were pampered (Paulie's famous tanning techniques), and prone to getting upset about the small things (Tony Tony Tony). They are just flawed and soft as everyone else.

And I just think it's a great slice of life. Almost none of us are raking in millions and ordering hits, but jesus, we're all ****ed and damaged and have our own issues. The greatest actor in this whole thing was Janice. What a specimen. The writer's also employed a pretty cool technique with her son... he was only ever spoken about. Most shows could have an entire series revolving around a relationship that Janice had with Harpo. But to keep him as this elusive figure was really cool. Just added another dimension to an already diverse and deep character. I guess the thing is, is that there are people genuinely like that – Janice is unsteady and on the brink of a breakdown, but puts up this la-de-dah facade of family and calm. It's normal to know someone like that. A great piece of acting, she really nailed that part... so convincing and seamless, I swear she must've had a mental aunty or something herself.

And I don't think Breaking Bad is anywhere near as great as The Sopranos. It's a really good show, no doubt, but the reception it has is pretty hyperbolic. The character depth and development, the humour, the depth... it just isn't there, whereas The Sopranos is a benchmark for all of that. I also reckon Breaking Bad is pretty refined and plastic feeling... just something about the lighting, language, and cinematography.

I could go on...

 

[Silent Alarm]

I hated Janice but that's about it. Thought see was very annoying but I can see why she was important for the show.

You're insane! Such a mental case.

I reckon people underestimate the comedy in this show as well. Do you guys remember when Chrissy got into writing? He made this film called Cleaver, which really fuarked his relationship with Tony, but the surrounding plot was quality. Like when he met Ben Kingsley and kept calling him "Sir Kingsley," or, when he'd spew something like "he's done Law and Order: The SUV." Good value and the kind of thing that's rewarded by being engrossed in the Sopranos world.

 

[placebo]

I could go on...

This kinda sums it up for me. I could talk about The Sopranos for hours and hours and still not really articulate all the great things about it, to the point where I find it hard to talk about full stop. It's the pinnacle of TV for me and it's influence on TV drama is immense and will continue to be for years to come.

I agree with pretty much all of the rest of your post aside from a minor disagreement, which was about Breaking Bad's 'plastic feeling'. I personally think it's the most visually interesting show currently on TV. The cinematography, editing and camera work are far and away above most other current TV shows.

 

[placebo]

Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri: You're not gonna believe this. He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator.
Christopher Moltisanti: His house looked like s**t.

Chris' delivery of that line still kills me. Pine Barrens fullstop still kills me.

 

[PVF]

Silent Alarm I wish I could like your post more than once because you explained pretty much everything I love about the show.

The show basically turned out completely different to what I imagine it would be when I first started watching but I would blame that on previous mob movies that I have seen. For example when I first started watching I expected a war against another family earlier in the series and not in season 6. Whereas say the Godfather for example is based on family but alot of the first film is about the war with other families of New York. This has happened in most mafia films that I have seen but the Sopranos are so different because it's not all about violence but about the actual people. They are just like any other person we've come across.

With the Breaking Bad comparison I would agree that it's not as solid all-round like the Sopranos are and I don't think any other show can match that. I don't really like comparing the two shows because they are very different even though they both fall under the 'crime' category. But I will be interested to see how Breaking Bad does finish because as I said before I don't think it's easy to end a show.

 

[PVF]

You're insane! Such a mental case.

I reckon people underestimate the comedy in this show as well. Do you guys remember when Chrissy got into writing? He made this film called Cleaver, which really fuarked his relationship with Tony, but the surrounding plot was quality. Like when he met Ben Kingsley and kept calling him "Sir Kingsley," or, when he'd spew something like "he's done Law and Order: The SUV." Good value and the kind of thing that's rewarded by being engrossed in the Sopranos world.

One of my favourite parts was when Tony B makes his first hit after his release from jail and the car ends up rolling over his foot and he's hobbling to make the getaway

 

[Silent Alarm]

I agree with pretty much all of the rest of your post aside from a minor disagreement, which was about Breaking Bad's 'plastic feeling'. I personally think it's the most visually interesting show currently on TV. The cinematography, editing and camera work are far and away above most other current TV shows.

Well you dig the Sopranos and Leon Black, so I don't really want to disagree with you! The thing is, I just don't think the cinematography is awfully original. It seems pretty stock, almost straight out of art school. An issue I have is the lack of swearing or real grit, but I understand that's an AMC thing. Also, the unrealistic lameness of Gus's death. Characters don't have an awful lot of complexity and are pretty cookie-cutter and predictable as well. Just me, though.

Silent Alarm
With the Breaking Bad comparison I would agree that it's not as solid all-round like the Sopranos are and I don't think any other show can match that. I don't really like comparing the two shows because they are very different even though they both fall under the 'crime' category. But I will be interested to see how Breaking Bad does finish because as I said before I don't think it's easy to end a show.

In my world: It seems Todd has come out of nowhere and, essentially, might put Jesse and Walt in danger. So throw a red herring out. Todd convolutes the story, forcing Jesse to decide whether his heart is in the meth business. Jesse goes to Portland. The viewer never sees him again.
Walt is being slowly caught up by the DEA. However, Hank has no solid grounds for arrest and a warrant search pulls up nothing. Feeling the heat, Walt devises a simple plan to erase his involvement and place it on Todd. Todd is happy to take the blame on two conditions: If, on release, he is given complete control of the manufacturing and selling; And if h'es financially and physically secure in jail. This is agreed upon.
Todd goes to jail and is killed quickly by an inmate who has been paid off by Walt (through Walt's anxiety and paranoia). Walt's cancer is found to be back during a routine check-up. Skylar is distraught. Walt believes that this is the end and that his sole interest (meth) is exhausted. Not wanting to be brought down by something other than himself, he leaves for the desert, presumably to die.
Dark screen. Come back. We find something out. Skylar has used Saul to hire a corrupt doctor who was paid to tell Walt he had cancer, despite it being completely removed from his body. Skylar keeps the money. She packs with her kids and goes to the state border, flipping a coin, much like she did in an earlier episode: We don't know where the coin lands. The End.

 

[Dirtywhirl]

I have been re-watching the episodes on SoHo as well and reading the AV Club reviews, I think when I first watched the series a lot of the finer details went by unnoticed so it has been great to go over it again and gain an appreciation for the depth of the show. The latter half of season 6 is just consistent quality, maybe it's because it is fresh in my mind but there are so many memorable scenes in that stretch of episodes. Bobby and Tony fighting at the lake, Christopher's death, Tony and Paulie on the boat, AJ's attempted suicide and Tony and Carmela's fight when she didn't let Tony put money on the Jets using her profits from the spec house.

Overall season four is probably the one I enjoyed the most and Christopher, Adriana and Tony B are my favourite characters. Artie is another one I like but he never really got his own storylines apart from that one episode where he clashed with Benny

 

[Silent Alarm]

Overall season four is probably the one I enjoyed the most and Christopher, Adriana and Tony B are my favourite characters. Artie is another one I like but he never really got his own storylines apart from that one episode where he clashed with Benny

Hmm, Artie was a weird character. Just a really pathetic man who was caught up in something that didn't really reflect who he was. I couldn't help but feel he was living a life he never wanted to live, and that his whole existence was to be treated like s**t. He's one of the biggest losers on the show.