FTA-TV The Sopranos

[Beerfish]

So, do you think Tony was killed?

He should have been along with the rest of them and we should have seen it.

 

[Santana]

So, do you think Tony was killed?

There are so many things pointing to Tony being whacked. Even the creator of the show let it slip that Tony was murdered.

 

[Quokka]

Tony being wacked or not I could have coped with but I wanted to see Silvio walk away into the sunset. Him being left in a coma broke my heart

 

[mcnulty]

Tony being wacked or not I could have coped with but I wanted to see Silvio walk away into the sunset. Him being left in a coma broke my heart

After what he did to Adriana? Another great character everyone bought into, even though he was evil. These were ruthless, horrible people that we actually liked because they were so well written and performed. What a show.

 

[Quokka]

Absolutely, by their standards Adriana gave Silvio no choice and he was pissed about that. Fantastic show and well in the mix for 'best ever' for me.

What I really don't like is that it set the standard (and it was probably there before) for any show about criminals etc needing to finish with them all 'getting their comeuppance' . You can show bad people being bad but you can't let them get away with it.

Spoiler: For other shows

Sons of Anarchy did exactly the same (imo) and Animal Kingdom looks to be going the same way

 

[mcnulty]

Absolutely, by their standards Adriana gave Silvio no choice and he was pissed about that. Fantastic show and well in the mix for 'best ever' for me.

What I really don't like is that it set the standard (and it was probably there before) for any show about criminals etc needing to finish with them all 'getting their comeuppance' . You can show bad people being bad but you can't let them get away with it.

Spoiler: For other shows

Sons of Anarchy did exactly the same (imo) and Animal Kingdom looks to be going the same way

But are we much different? Who hasn’t fantasised about giving the likes of Ralph Cifaretto their comeuppance. This is (part of) the greatness of the show for mine…they’re not Patrick Bateman/Hannibal Lecter types…they’re just us.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

About to finish another rewatch, have blitzed series 5 and 6 the last couple of weeks. Goddamn the episodes just keep getting better towards the end, so much darker yet still funny. This is probably my 4th time watching through and have also been listening to the Talking Sopranos pod and reading the Sopranos Autopsy blog as I go (bit behind on that though).

I still have no doubt Tony was killed, everything in the last season pointing towards it not the least of which is Phil Leotardo's demeanor. Another great character there, Frank Vincent is just immense from the minute he enters. I still piss myself every time they refer to him as the Shah.




The great thing about the last 2 seasons is the amount of characters they introduce yet it just keeps rolling. Feech La Manna another great one.




Still don't like the Vito to New Hampshire storyline, that's the only weak one for the entire series I reckon.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

Surely everyone's watched by now but just in case, you'll want to skip this post

 

[Demonic Ascent]

The Members Only guy hits Tony as he's coming out of the bathroom at Tony's "3 o'clock" - Christopher warned Tony and Pauly about 3 o'clock after he got shot in season 1 or 2

Not to mention Tony's flashback to the scene with Bobby in the second last episode "you probably don't hear it when it happens"

A lot of the songs in the last couple of episodes also seem to fit the narrative of Tony being killed - starting with "When The Music's Over" by The Doors
It's Alright Ma (I'm only bleeding) - Dylan
All That You Dream and Scratch Your Name seem to fit the narrative too

They could all be red herrings but it seems clear to me Tony got killed

Best TV show ever made, I'd love to see the one that tops it. 14 years after the final episode and people still debating what happened. Covers so much, the Mafia aspect for the entertainment, the family relationships, exploring depression and the existential crisis of America/the west at the turn of the 21st century, the war on terror then just feeds into that in the latter seasons. Absolutely fantastic work of art.

 

[mcnulty]

About to finish another rewatch, have blitzed series 5 and 6 the last couple of weeks. Goddamn the episodes just keep getting better towards the end, so much darker yet still funny. This is probably my 4th time watching through and have also been listening to the Talking Sopranos pod and reading the Sopranos Autopsy blog as I go (bit behind on that though).

I still have no doubt Toby was killed, everything in the last season pointing towards it not the least of which is Phil Leotardo's demeanor. Another great character there, Frank Vincent is just immense from the minute he enters. I still piss myself every time they refer to him as the Shah.




The great thing about the last 2 seasons is the amount of characters they introduce yet it just keeps rolling. Feech La Manna another great one.




Still don't like the Vito to New Hampshire storyline, that's the only weak one for the entire series I reckon.

“...our family name is Leonardo, but when they came to Ellis island they changed it to Leotardo”

“Why did they do that?”

“Because they’re stoopid, that’s why.”

Sadly passed away a few years ago, but I could have watched Frank Vincent read a washing machine instruction manual.

 

[bok_party]

The Members Only guy hits Tony as he's coming out of the bathroom at Tony's "3 o'clock" - Christopher warned Tony and Pauly about 3 o'clock after he got shot in season 1 or 2

Not to mention Tony's flashback to the scene with Bobby in the second last episode "you probably don't hear it when it happens"

A lot of the songs in the last couple of episodes also seem to fit the narrative of Tony being killed - starting with "When The Music's Over" by The Doors
It's Alright Ma (I'm only bleeding) - Dylan
All That You Dream and Scratch Your Name seem to fit the narrative too

They could all be red herrings but it seems clear to me Tony got killed

Best TV show ever made, I'd love to see the one that tops it. 14 years after the final episode and people still debating what happened. Covers so much, the Mafia aspect for the entertainment, the family relationships, exploring depression and the existential crisis of America/the west at the turn of the 21st century, the war on terror then just feeds into that in the latter seasons. Absolutely fantastic work of art.

Sopranos is great but I still think the Wire is the GOAT

 

[mcnulty]

Sopranos is great but I still think the Wire is the GOAT

Think the final season let The Wire down a bit, but it’s a toss up for mine.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

Sopranos is great but I still think the Wire is the GOAT

Yeah I've got The Wire neck and neck but I think Sopranos edges it (but its semantics really, they're both great).

The reasons I have Sopranos over The Wire

• Sopranos humour is fantastic, it really is a great comedy amongst everything else despite the dark subject matter. The Wire is extremely dark and has the humour as well but not to the same extent;
• This adds to The Sopranos re-watchability, you can chuck on any episode at any time and just sit back for an enjoyable 45-60 minutes;
• The lack of clarity around the ending which still has people debating it til this very day - did Tony get killed or not? (and that will never be resolved so will be discussed forever);
• The lack of weak seasons/storylines - The Wire was solid from start to finish as well but I thought season 5 didn't live up to the standard of the others - a lot of people have season 2 as weak but I think it is fantastic and is better on the second watching (after seeing the rest of the show play out
• Paulie Gultieri

It really is semantics though, the first time I watched The Wire I thought it slightly edged The Sopranos but then after rewatching Sopranos and then The Wire again I had Sopranos ahead. Either way I think they are both head and shoulders above any other show in recent memory including Breaking Bad, Mad Men and others which are put in the same category. Twin Peaks is the only other one I would have on the same level but I can see why some people wouldn't.

The Wire is a fantastic portrayal of the destruction/decay of a modern American/western city at the turn of the century.

The Sopranos is a fantastic portrayal of the destruction/decay of the modern American/western individual at the turn of the century.

Both fantastic and glad we have both. They complement each other tremendously.

That final scene of The Sopranos - finished it last night and had to rewatch it a couple of times. Ooof!

 

[STFU Donnie]

Sopranos is great but I still think the Wire is the GOAT

Every arc based TV show owes an enormous debt to Hill Street Blues. It was revolutionary in its day, and did away with the self-contained one-off episodes. And the list of actors who played minor parts before going on to major careers is stunning.

 

[STFU Donnie]

Did Tony die at the end?

I'm firmly in the yes camp. If you look at the structure of the final scene, you'll see that every time the door bell dings, we cut to Tony looking up and the very next shot is Tony's POV of the person entering and walking towards him. Every time. Except one. After Meadow's epically bad parallel parking she walks to the door. The bell dings and we see Tony look up. And then <BLANK SCREEN> just when we should see Tony's POV of his daughter walking towards him.

Why then? It just seems so clear to me that that is the instant Tony's brains are blown out.

 

[Quokka]

Yeah I've got The Wire neck and neck but I think Sopranos edges it (but its semantics really, they're both great).

The reasons I have Sopranos over The Wire

• Sopranos humour is fantastic, it really is a great comedy amongst everything else despite the dark subject matter. The Wire is extremely dark and has the humour as well but not to the same extent;
• This adds to The Sopranos re-watchability, you can chuck on any episode at any time and just sit back for an enjoyable 45-60 minutes;
• The lack of clarity around the ending which still has people debating it til this very day - did Tony get killed or not? (and that will never be resolved so will be discussed forever);
• The lack of weak seasons/storylines - The Wire was solid from start to finish as well but I thought season 5 didn't live up to the standard of the others - a lot of people have season 2 as weak but I think it is fantastic and is better on the second watching (after seeing the rest of the show play out
• Paulie Gultieri

It really is semantics though, the first time I watched The Wire I thought it slightly edged The Sopranos but then after rewatching Sopranos and then The Wire again I had Sopranos ahead. Either way I think they are both head and shoulders above any other show in recent memory including Breaking Bad, Mad Men and others which are put in the same category. Twin Peaks is the only other one I would have on the same level but I can see why some people wouldn't.

The Wire is a fantastic portrayal of the destruction/decay of a modern American/western city at the turn of the century.

The Sopranos is a fantastic portrayal of the destruction/decay of the modern American/western individual at the turn of the century.

Both fantastic and glad we have both. They complement each other tremendously.

That final scene of The Sopranos - finished it last night and had to rewatch it a couple of times. Ooof!

OT: The West Wing probably didn't maintain the quality throughout to match The Soparanos and The Wire but imo it absolutely joins the conversation for that second tier. At its best it was as good as any other show and it was at its best for a lot of its run.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

OT: The West Wing probably didn't maintain the quality throughout to match The Soparanos and The Wire but imo it absolutely joins the conversation for that second tier. At its best it was as good as any other show and it was at its best for a lot of its run.

Haven't seen the west wing will give it a run one day.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Did Tony die at the end?

I'm firmly in the yes camp. If you look at the structure of the final scene, you'll see that every time the door bell dings, we cut to Tony looking up and the very next shot is Tony's POV of the person entering and walking towards him. Every time. Except one. After Meadow's epically bad parallel parking she walks to the door. The bell dings and we see Tony look up. And then <BLANK SCREEN> just when we should see Tony's POV of his daughter walking towards him.

Why then? It just seems so clear to me that that is the instant Tony's brains are blown out.

Me too though though I've thought about it a fair bit since watching it the first time.

I wondered if what we saw - everything going to black - is what could occur at any moment?

Tony's reality is that the end could come at any time, from anyone. Never see it coming so he is constantly on edge. Would always have it in the back of his mind, never truly relax or feel comfortable. That edge (constantly being an instant from death) is the root cause of why he behaves the way he does, why he is stressed etc.

What we saw in that final scene is what Tony is scared of

I'm not sold on my theory though haha

 

[bok_party]

Think the final season let The Wire down a bit, but it’s a toss up for mine.

Yeah I didn't feel that way but it's definitely out of these two for the mantle.

 

[HirdyLannister]

Think the final season let The Wire down a bit, but it’s a toss up for mine.

Last episode of the wire was mint, McNulty send off was

 

[krided]

UP IN DA CLUB

 

[Xtreme]

I've finally burned through the purchases I made pre August lockdown. I've been interested in owning the series on dvd or bluray.... but wasn't thrilled at the price (eg wasn't going to pay $130* for the bluray version). But I see with the current 20% off at JBHIFI the bluray set is under $80.... much more palatable.

 

[STFU Donnie]

I've finally burned through the purchases I made pre August lockdown. I've been interested in owning the series on dvd or bluray.... but wasn't thrilled at the price (eg wasn't going to pay $130* for the bluray version). But I see with the current 20% off at JBHIFI the bluray set is under $80.... much more palatable.

I bought them season by season, at about $39 per, many years ago. Even $130 for the whole run sounds pretty good.

 

[Xtreme]

I bought them season by season, at about $39 per, many years ago. Even $130 for the whole run sounds pretty good.

I guess, but I think it also depends on how one values the show itself and the price they're willing to pay for it.

For me The Sopranos is a good show but not the best or definitely not my favourite - ever. Hence why whenever I've seen it on sale, I've had the.... maybe when it goes cheaper mindset. But I know $70-$99 ($99 seems to be the normal RRP for it on bluray) is pretty damn good for a complete series set. Hence why I'll probably click and collect it soon.

Incidentally 20 years ago, a single season of a tv show on dvd was going for $130-$150!!! WOWSERS
For me if I'm desperate to own a tv series upon release, I'll pay $50-$60 for it (as I have done in the past) - otherwise I'm happy to hold off and wait until they go for $20-$30 per season (usually when the current season is released the previous seasons drop down in price as a promotion).

 

[Xtreme]

Well I ordered it Monday and it arrived today

and case in point

I would not have paid the (original) price for it at $140, but $79.20 is acceptable