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The Sopranos-the greatest TV show ever?

musicismylife78musicismylife78 Posts: 6,116
edited February 2008 in All Encompassing Trip
Well is it? And I looked in previous threads, and there wasn’t a serious discussion of the final episode. What happened to Tony and his family? If nothing happened, why did the camera linger on the African American kids and that “members only” guy? Whats the use of showing that if the family is gonna have a nice evening where nothing happens? And additionally, why did the camera linger on Meadow parking her car for so long?

I came late to the Sopranos party, only last year did I finally pick up the Season One DVD set. I fell in love immediately. What was hilarious was that I am of Italian heritage, my mother and her side of the family grew up and lived in Jersey, and I took 2 years of Italian to fill my language requirement in college. Problem was, not once did my professor or classmates ever mention The Sopranos. I hated that class, instead of going to class 2 or 3 times a week, you had class every day, and it was intense. If I had known about the show back then, I most likely would have majored in Italian, or had that as a double major. I would have relished going to class as opposed to how I really felt.

I love the language and terms used on the Sopranos-madone, gabagool, proscuit, baked ziti, moozadell, rigott. I never used to put sauce on my pasta in the past, but because of the show, I now put the “Sunday gravy” on it.

I love the locations-satriales, the bada bing, the downstairs meeting place next to the furnace or the water heater or whatever that was, vesuvios. It makes me want to visit Jersey

I love the characters and their relationships Paulie Walnuts, Johnny Sack, Uncle June, Silvio, bobby bacala, Janice, the apriles, carm, meadow, AJ

Quite simply I do think it is the best show ever created. No other show has that kind of strength. How many other shows portray cold blooded killers as conflicted beings? By and large in society, movies and life, people seem to think if you are a killer you are a killer, that that is your entire identity.

People were surprised in a previous thread when I suggested the mafia wasn’t all that bad. In many ways this ties in here. This show makes me proud of my Italian heritage. David Chase isn’t using stereotypes and trying to demean Italians, he provided a worthwhile and masterpiece of a show.

Although I didn’t start watching the show in 1999 or whenever it started it still feels like the fact that the show isn’t on anymore leaves a big hole in the television world, that I don’t see being filled for quite a long time to come.
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Comments

  • pjoasisrulepjoasisrule Posts: 3,412
    The Simpsons is the best ever
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  • pearljam0000pearljam0000 Posts: 450
    I also think the Sopranos is the best television show ever. It never gets old watching any episode of the series.
  • cuyler41cuyler41 Posts: 383
    Being on HBO they can have/use content that regular TV shows cannot. So comparison to historical tv shows is tough.

    Its a good show, but not the best imo. Too many greasy dudes in track suits for my taste.
  • MasterFramerMasterFramer Posts: 2,268
    The Wire is above and beyond the great show that The Sorpranos was.
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  • South of SeattleSouth of Seattle Posts: 10,724
    MasterFramer wrote:
    The Wire is above and beyond the great show that The Sorpranos was.

    +1
    NERDS!
  • 1STmammal2wearPants1STmammal2wearPants Posts: 2,938
    It's certainly up there. Never had seen an episode, then watched the first season this year and went back and bought all the box sets after. Such rich writing and performances, you forget this is TV sometimes and think you're watching one long, extended movie.
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  • Stone Is GodStone Is God Posts: 1,331
    1STmammal2wearPants wrote:
    It's certainly up there. Never had seen an episode, then watched the first season this year and went back and bought all the box sets after. Such rich writing and performances, you forget this is TV sometimes and think you're watching one long, extended movie.

    Be prepared to be disappointed with everything after season 3.

    I used to love that show and I guess waiting a year and a half to see garbage episodes really turned me off. It went from a great show to horse shit.

    I don't watch TV shows for artistic merit. I watch then to be entertained.
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  • 1STmammal2wearPants1STmammal2wearPants Posts: 2,938
    Stone Is God wrote:
    Be prepared to be disappointed with everything after season 3.

    I used to love that show and I guess waiting a year and a half to see garbage episodes really turned me off. It went from a great show to horse shit.

    I don't watch TV shows for artistic merit. I watch then to be entertained.

    No, I've seen em all. While I thought season 4 was their weakest, the show at its weakest was still better than 90 percent of the shit on TV. Season Five was pretty stellar, imo. I didn't feel at all that the show turned to shit, although the first three seasons were the best.
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  • inmyrvminmyrvm Posts: 933
    Stone Is God wrote:
    Be prepared to be disappointed with everything after season 3.

    I used to love that show and I guess waiting a year and a half to see garbage episodes really turned me off. It went from a great show to horse shit.

    I don't watch TV shows for artistic merit. I watch then to be entertained.
    ha i hated it after the 2nd season. it was complete garbage after the 2nd season. steve buschemi was the only redeeming part of the show from there on out. deadwood completely owned the sopranos. hbo sucks.
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  • 1STmammal2wearPants1STmammal2wearPants Posts: 2,938
    inmyrvm wrote:
    ha i hated it after the 2nd season. it was complete garbage after the 2nd season. steve buschemi was the only redeeming part of the show from there on out. deadwood completely owned the sopranos. hbo sucks.

    someone's been smoking too much of the herb.
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  • Brain of J.LoBrain of J.Lo Posts: 3,259
    Six Feet Under is the best show ever, actually. But The Sopranos was pretty good, too. :)
  • mole1985mole1985 Posts: 1,119
    Not sure about the best (if there can ever be one) but defo up there. Haven't seen the last series yet tho so can't comment on the end altho i heard it's not exactley clear cut.
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  • inmyrvminmyrvm Posts: 933
    1STmammal2wearPants wrote:
    someone's been smoking too much of the herb.
    never touched it. no one in my family liked it after then. i don't see what people saw in the later seasons. it was not entertaining. we all kept watching it thinking thinking it would improve. the ending was fitting for how boring the show was for years.
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  • intodeepintodeep Posts: 7,228
    I don't have and have never had hbo so it is hard for me to say.

    My favs i guess though would have been

    seinfield
    fraser
    simpsons

    But by far the best show in it's hayday a few years back was Baseball Tonight :)
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  • Get_RightGet_Right Posts: 13,138
    pjoasisrule wrote:
    The Simpsons is the best ever

    EXACTLY
  • thunderDANthunderDAN Posts: 2,094
    Big Sopranos fan, but I like The Office better. I'm not sure if it's the best, but I enjoy it more
  • inmyrvminmyrvm Posts: 933
    simpsons for sure. arrested development second possibly. deadwood should be at the top too.
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  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    i think that the sopranos is the best tv show ever. its so addicting. i was actually watching some of season 2 on demand today and man is that good. the episode when janice kills richie is one of my favorite ever. the pine barrens is one of the best episodes of any television show ever, in my opinion. best fucking show ever. i wish the dvds werent so expensive and i cant wait for them to release a box set of all the seasons like they recently did for seinfeld.
  • ZosoZoso Posts: 6,425
    I have been obsessed with it as of late. I recently recieved seasons 1 & 2 (thanks my girl :)) and have to say it's the best drama series of all-time. As far as writing goes and the rich language used it's unmatchable in it's category. The only other show I thought topped it was The Office UK version.
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  • elmerelmer Posts: 1,683
    I think Tony got whacked by the guy who had been sitting at the counter and then drifts to the toilet, I had initially thought that he was the guy from College-season1, it'd have been pretty fucked up if it was but no, it wasn't.

    Bobby: " you probably don't ever see anything when it happens"

    Stevie Van Zandt said on an audio commentary that there were in fact NOT three endings filmed, and that it was the end of the Sopranos, y'know, there s been these film rumours.
  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    paulie walnuts is amazing. too bad the show ended...his career now consists of doing commercials for denny's!
  • NickyNoochNickyNooch Posts: 629
    No question the Simpsons is the greatest show ever.

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  • The JugglerThe Juggler Posts: 48,908
    RIP Phil Leotardo
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  • hedonisthedonist Posts: 24,524
    Brain of J.Lo said:
    Six Feet Under is the best show ever, actually. But The Sopranos was pretty good, too. :)
    SFU and the Sops - *Italian finger-kiss*  Absolutely stellar in every way.

    I sense a trend in the films ol' Frank was in.  RIP indeed.
  • SmallestOceansSmallestOceans Posts: 13,542
    RIP Frankie Vincent.

    And definitely the greatest TV show i've ever seen.
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  • PJ_SoulPJ_Soul Posts: 49,950
    I think Breaking Bad was the best show ever myself, but the Sopranos was pretty good... it wore thin after a while for me though, so I stopped watching it maybe halfway through the series. Then I just came back for the final episode... and I loved the ending. Of course something happened OP. Are there people who actually think that nothing happened and they just enjoyed their dinner? I personally think (along with most others I think) they were all blown away, perhaps by a bomb, but maybe a hit man.
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  • SmallestOceansSmallestOceans Posts: 13,542
    Breaking Bad was a damn good show and had maybe the best final season of any show ever. But The Sopranos was better in every aspect pretty much. 
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  • Cliffy6745Cliffy6745 Posts: 33,840
    edited September 2017
    PJ_Soul said:
    I think Breaking Bad was the best show ever myself, but the Sopranos was pretty good... it wore thin after a while for me though, so I stopped watching it maybe halfway through the series. Then I just came back for the final episode... and I loved the ending. Of course something happened OP. Are there people who actually think that nothing happened and they just enjoyed their dinner? I personally think (along with most others I think) they were all blown away, perhaps by a bomb, but maybe a hit man.

    The wife and I just finished this, me for the 2nd time her for the 1.5th time.

    I really hope he wasn't killed in front of all of them.  They obviously want you to think he was killed, but I don't think David Chase would have him killed in front of his whole family like that.  AJ would kill himself 100%.  I don't want that to happen to that family, so I am going with the theory that he is just going to be paranoid forever and never comfortable.
    Post edited by Cliffy6745 on
  • Indifference71Indifference71 Posts: 14,844
    PJ_Soul said:
    I think Breaking Bad was the best show ever myself, but the Sopranos was pretty good... it wore thin after a while for me though, so I stopped watching it maybe halfway through the series. Then I just came back for the final episode... and I loved the ending. Of course something happened OP. Are there people who actually think that nothing happened and they just enjoyed their dinner? I personally think (along with most others I think) they were all blown away, perhaps by a bomb, but maybe a hit man.

    Agreed on Breaking Bad being the best show ever.  The Sopranos is close, but there were too many weak spots for me to consider it the best ever.  And that ending didn't help things....I'll never forget watching that with a bunch of friends and we all freaked out thinking that the cable went out when the screen went to black.  That was crazy.
  • MayDay10MayDay10 Posts: 11,727
    edited September 2017
    I'm not a huge Sopranos fan.  1st 2 seasons were dynamite... but they ended up dragging everything out.  You would have to wait a long time for a 'good episode' to happen.  Lots of loose ends and sloppy storytelling.... and the stories weren't even that captivating.  By the 4th season-ish, I really didn't care for any characters, nor did I have any strong feelings against any....   I kind of hung on the last few seasons to see how they would end it... and then, to my horror, they really didn't end it.  

    Maybe I dont give it enough credit as it kind of pushed the drama series envelope.... but I would argue Oz was the one to do that as it came first.  Then since, series have hit a new level of writing and captivating audiences.  Breaking Bad, Wire, GoT, House of Cards, among many others, put Sopranos to shame IMO.  

    Still miffed about the ending. Either nothing happens and fatso eats onion rings.... or he is offed, off-camera, off-series by some C-level side character we never know.  Wow, great job.  I had hoped/expected some culmination of the Feds, NYC family, Internal strife, etc to suffocate Tony and watch him either prevail or be done in for the final season.  
    Post edited by MayDay10 on
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