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Re: The Sopranos
Yeah that first season is pure gold. I would put it in the top 10 shows ever made just using season one. In fact, I think this show would have been better had it ended there, or maybe one extra season to bring everything to a conclusion. The series started out bold and unconventional, and it hit cruise control way too early. I think the creator ran out of good ideas and just kept the series going for a paycheck.
Like the X Files, I should have stopped paying attention after season 3.
- myillusions
- Rep: 5
Re: The Sopranos
The episode "Pine Barrens" from Season 3 was on last night on A&E. That has to be one of my favorite episodes, if not my most favorite episode from the series.
Paulie and Chris were always great together in scenes.
Re: The Sopranos
Yeah that first season is pure gold. I would put it in the top 10 shows ever made just using season one. In fact, I think this show would have been better had it ended there, or maybe one extra season to bring everything to a conclusion. The series started out bold and unconventional, and it hit cruise control way too early. I think the creator ran out of good ideas and just kept the series going for a paycheck.
Like the X Files, I should have stopped paying attention after season 3.
The X-Files jumped the shark with "Fight The Future". It was all downhill from there. The first half of that series, Seasons 1-5 imo is classic TV. One of the greatest shows ever made. The second half is an embarrasing piece of crap. Most episodes aren't even bad, they just flat out suck. The first half of Season 6 was okay, and that 2-parter where they killed off the syndicate was their greatest episode ever, but also their final nail in the coffin. They had no clue where to go after that.
First half-great / Second-half terrible. I might give a slight reprieve to Season 8, because I thought Robert Patrick brought something new and fresh to the whole thing, but other than that season, no thank you.
Re: The Sopranos
I'm now into the final season. I just want it to hurry and end. The ONLY reason I'm gonna finish it is because I need to see what closure they brought to this series. There's nothing happening anymore that keeps me interested. Its obvious that the series was dragged out just for the hell of it and not because they have a story to tell. The old mob guys from the 80's being released from jail and becoming a factor was pointless. There were other loose ends to tie up without needing to bring in more characters.
The A.J. storyline blows. All aspects of it. If they were gonna toss aside a potential gold mine that the Meadow character represents, A.J. should have received similar treatment. I laughed when he started having these panic attacks like Tony. Shows how this series is out of gas. The Uncle Junior crap is just filler at this point. The character should have been killed off in season 3 or 4.
One thing I'm really sick of are these Tony dream sequences. Its just self indulgence by the creator and writers of this show. In my opinion they are just poking fun at the people who love this show and they were testing the limits of how much stupidity they could include in the show. That garbage was probably analyzed to death when it happened but it means nothing.
Why the gay storyline? Nothing wrong with bringing a subplot like that to the table, but did it really deserve to be dragged out for so long? I'm praying it doesn't last until the end of the season because I'm to the point where I'm gonna start fast forwarding through those scenes.
Re: The Sopranos
The Vito gay arc was dragged out forever, and for no reason. A.J. was ALWAYS a flat out worthless character, and should've just been wrote off or killed off in the first couple of seasons. Meadow was interesting, but not show carrying. The only way Meadow would've worked in a more fleshed out sense, is if she had went evil, and tried to take over the business.
Junior should've been killed off in Season 1, along with Tony's mom. Or was it Season 2? Can't remember.
Once again, The Sopranos = WAY OVERRATED. Only about 2 great seasons, and maybe 1-2 okay ones. The final season was horrible.
And James, not to spoil anything, but if you're continuing to watch for closure, you're gonna get a big surprise at the end... you're gonna be left butt up with a flower in it as a viewer.
Re: The Sopranos
I don't think Meadow could carry the show either, but she was worth at least 2 killer subplots that just never happened. They touched on the possibility of her becoming a drug addict in season one, but it was swept under the rug quickly. That season was so good I can see why it was dropped at the time, but they should have revisited the topic when she went off to college. A 'Meadow is a druggie' storyline could have been dragged out for an entire season, maybe longer.
Another angle could have been her getting involved in an abusive relationship, dating someone from a rival family, or if the series needed a gay storyline that bad, have Meadow come out to her dad as a lesbian.
Every time I see her now, she basically has "opportunity squandered" written on her forehead. The only semi decent storyline involving her was when she was dating that guy Tony hated when she first started college. Other than that, not much. Now that I'm near the end of this series, I'm surprised she stayed with the series for its entire run because her character was dealt with the least. She could have easily been replaced by another actress at any point and no one would have blinked an eye.
The later seasons(4-6) would have been vastly improved by giving her character more screen time. Instead we get Junior sitting in a court room half a season, the Ralph angle overstaying its welcome, and last but certainly not least, this Johnnycakes bullshit.
I also cant hardly believe how the Tony/Dr. Melfi storyline was blown. It was one of the most unique things about the series, and eventually became a caricature of itself. When these two characters are onscreen together, they just go through the motions and it doesn't advance the story one iota. They blew a huge opportunity with the rape, and also regarding her relationship with her husband and son in the aftermath of the rape. I think the creator knew they fucked up on that, and sorta lost sight of what they were trying to do with the character. Now when I see her, I just don't give a shit.
I think A.J. should have been killed right when he started going clubbing. Having Tony trying to avenge his death might have gave us a couple good episodes. Instead we're forced into listening to this spoiled, whiny dipshit season after season. His character wasn't as bad in the first half of the series when he was in high school, but in the 2nd half he's like fingernails on a chalkboard, is in meaningless storylines(who gives a shit about him charging 5 bucks admission to a party?), and too much time is spent on him when there are other fish to fry.
This series is frustrating. They hook you in with that first season, and then it just goes on a major decline from that point on.
Re: The Sopranos
Totally man. I actually taped the final 9 episodes of the series, instead of watching them live (with the exception of the series finale), just so I could fast forward through the AJ scenes. That's how much I hated them, and how awful they were. They were literally a waste of my time. Or, if I watched it live, i'd just let it run, and go to the bathroom, or make some food or tend to the dogs or something, until AJ's scenes were over.
I just am amazed out how many people call this "one of the great TV shows ever made". I can name a boatload that were better, some of which were ON TV at the time of "The Sopranos". The Shield. Rescue Me. 24. Deadwood. Stargate SG-1 (yeah, I think it's better), just to name a few.
What I think The Sopranos discovered, was that it was trying to be "Goodfellas: The TV Series", but it quickly discovered, that movies like that are meant to be one-off events. Only so much can be used, before it goes flat. The concept simply was never meant to go on as long as it did. Had The Sopranos wrapped in Season 4, I think I would be willing to call it one of the greats. But unfortunately it overstayed it's welcome, and when you combine Seasons 5 & 6 into the overall product, it's drained drastically.
I remember watching it originally, and being hooked by Season 1, but not overly convinced. Season 2 convinced me. Season 3 was amazing. It just got better and better. Season 4 was very good, but the last batch of episodes I notice almost, just... gave up. It went downhill. When Season 5 started, I was stunned. It was almost like a total re-invention. Almost nothing was picked up where it left off, and a shitload of new story arcs were created... all very un-interesting. The 'old guys get out of jail' thing, just smacked of desperation to inject new life into a dead horse. Or should I say - 'Pie O My'. The Tony B thing could've been interesting, but it was wasted, trying to give Tony B some kind of "i'm going straight angle". If he would've came out of jail, smiling like a cobra, set to take over Tony's business, it could've been pretty good, but their one shot at 'new characters, new situations' was completely squandared.
And the Tony/Dr. Melfi was also a major fuck up on David Chase's part. There was SO much stuff that could've been done with that. I personally always thought it'd be interesting and twisted, had they played it an angle of it being a complete turn-on to Dr. Melfi because Tony raped her. She was obviously facsinated in a sick way, with Tony's life and power. What if in later seasons, Tony would've left Carmella for Dr. Melfi? And he and Dr. Melfi got married? Suddenly you would have this sick woman, CONVINCED she knows Tony better than Carmella, and during the whole thing is getting her own sick thrills off of it, as she suddenly goes downhill WITH Tony. Think Lorraine Bracco's character in Goodfellas, to get an idea.
That's just one way. They had the world opened up to them (pardon the expression) with the rape, and it was totally wasted. Why? Because it didn't make Tony sympathic enough? Tony was a fat piece of crap, and it seemed David Chase wanted to turn him into a family man. WTF?
If David Chase wants to see how Tony should've been handled... he should've tuned into what Shawn Ryan was doing with Vic Mackey over on FX. How that character was handled was a thing of beauty. That is EXACTLY how Tony should've been handled, but wasn't.
And Ralphie? Great, piece of crap, character. I love that fucking joke of a man, lol. But he shouldn't have made it out of Season 3. After what he did to that young stripper... that's when Tony should've made it clear he wanted him whacked in the coming weeks.
Re: The Sopranos
Ex-"Sopranos" actor commits suicide
Police said the actor who portrayed the lover of a closeted mobster on "The Sopranos" died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in New York.
Police spokesman Lt. John Grimpel said John Costelloe, 47, was found dead at his Brooklyn home Dec. 18.
The former New York City firefighter gained fame in 2006, when he was cast as short-order cook Jim "Johnny Cakes" Witowski opposite Joseph Gannascoli, who played gay mobster Vito Spatafore.
Costelloe was performing in a theater production of "Gang of Seven" at the time of his death; he also has a role in the current film "Doubt."
