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 The Sopranos is one of the greatest television shows ever aired, no argument. For 7 years since the ending people have continued to discuss the show and its meanings, analyzed the characters behaviors and actions, and weighed in on what the show was trying to say. For a second, forget all that. Forget the cultural phenomenon that Tony Soprano created. Forget the endless seasons of back and forth arguments about whether or not Tony was justified in what he did. Forget the entire popular cultural that sprang up around the show; watching parties, constant articles speculating on what might happened, the “who’s getting wacked” bets, etc.  Let’s go back to a show that debuted on HBO and for a brief moment was ignored and consigned to the dustbin of history as some piece of shock violence premium cable. Let’s start with what was at first a major curiosity that in a matter of months dominated the pop culture scene and ended up creating a legacy that defined what TV dramas could actually achieve. Let’s start at the beginning of what some people have called the “Great American Novel” and is heralded by others as on the of the greatest contributions to the medium to date.  Imagine sitting down to see the show when it started. Watching some no-name actor named James Gandolfini, maybe known for a supporting role in Crimson Tide, take control as a major player in a New Jersey Crime family. Watch him come to exists as a fragile, broken human being who’s recurring therapy sessions are as important to the show as any other aspect of his life, and experience the life he leads as a boss of a criminal organization.  Anyone watching the Sopranos for the first time now will have a much different experience. Since Tony Soprano graced our screens, we’ve seen the likes of Vic Mackey, Walter White, and Don Draper who have redefined what TV drama means. The entertainment world has been decisively shaped by what The Sopranos did, and every serious drama since then owes a small part to it.  Of course, it goes without saying ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILERS. Anyone who’s interested enough in the show to give it a try deserves the chance to experience it as the rest of us did and allow them a place to express their mind and discuss the episodes they’ve seen. In this thread we'll be re-watching the entire series of The Sopranos, on a schedule of 1 episode per week, 16 years to the day that they first aired. quote:The point of this thread is for those of us who have already seen the show to go through and relive what many of us believe to be the greatest show to grace the television screen, along with giving new viewers a place to think and talk about the episodes in a friendly, safe space. Our spoiler policy will be to attempt, as much as is possible, to only discuss "texts" (ie, episodes) we've all watched together. If you find yourself relying on facts from future seasons to critique someone else's viewpoint, consider being polite and tabling the conversation until that episode. Thanks to Tao Jones for the amazing cast list and descriptions. Schedule (all at 7:00pm EST) Episode 1: The Sopranos. January 10 Episode 2: 46 Long. January 17 Episode 3: Denial, Anger, Acceptance. January 24 Episode 4: Meadowlands. January 31 Episode 5: College. February 7 Episode 6: Pax Soprana. February 14 Episode 7: Down Neck. February 21 Episode 8: The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti. February 28 Episode 9: Boca. March 14 Episode 10: A Hit is a Hit. March 14 Episode 11: Nobody Knows Anything. March 21 Episode 12: Isabella. March 28 Episode 13: I Dream of Jennie Cusamano. April 4
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Dec 21, 2014 05:11
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Boywhiz88 posted:I will say this, one thing that allowed for a lot of discussion in The Wire Rewatch thread was just that, we all knew what happens so going back and talking about these early episodes and being able to contrast them with later ones lead to some interesting insights. There's an active Sopranos thread for that. I'm really hoping that this manages to encourage a few people to take the plunge and start watching the show for the first time more then serious discussion about comparing the start of the series to stuff that came years later.
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Dec 22, 2014 04:25
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timp posted:Is anyone else going to be watching this blind, or even somewhat blind like me? If we get stickied during the watch days we might bring in new viewers. I assume its from PM'ing the mods and asking but I don't have that feature.
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Dec 23, 2014 15:23
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britishbornandbread posted:as someone who only just finished watching the whole six seasons inside a year if you're umming and ahhing about taking the plunge then stfu and get in on this poo poo because the Sopranos is one of the best things I've ever seen It's one of the very few shows that has literally no bad episodes and that no one ever suggests "Just skip the first X episodes or season X" like you see so frequently today when discussing long TV series. Plus, its 56 minutes once a week during the TV off season, literally the best time to start watching one of the best television shows ever.
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Dec 28, 2014 09:39
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Can I get a mod to sticky this thread tomorrow a few hours before 7pm EST?
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Jan 10, 2015 04:27
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Ixtlilton posted:I watched the first episode a while ago and it was good, but I never kept going. I will follow this thread. Hopefully the fans from the Soprano discussion thread will be able to pop in and answer any questions without spoiling things. There's tons of things you'll miss on your first run only because the show is so packed with stuff going on.
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Jan 10, 2015 08:22
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So, for anyone who watched it for the first time I'd love to see some posts on your thoughts. The first season is a bit dated, "Clinton says Medicare will be bust by 2000" and there's a pre-9/11 mindset, and the having the story being cut between Tony's normal life and his sessions with Melfi were revolutionary at the time. There's a bit of blatant symbolism at the start with the ducks flying away and Tony's panic attacks, but it gets much more subtle later on and you could spend hours watching and rewatching and noticing new details every time. David Chase fought hard with HBO for how he developed Tony Soprano as a character, and College is probably where he finally won his fight and HBO backed off to let him create. College is also considered the best or one of the best episodes of the entire series.
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Jan 11, 2015 10:40
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Criminal Minded posted:Last time I watched through the entire run I ended up eating a ton of Italian subs from the deli down the street I ended up hitting up Subway more often then usual to get their Spicy Italian with a ton of vinegar and onions during my run through. One notable thing about the show is that any portrayal of food is always absolute excess. Tony with a massive loving bowl of pasta, the family dinners with a huge amount of take out food on the table, just massive consumption in general.
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Jan 11, 2015 13:32
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Sophia posted:Unnecessary violence. If this is a show about this dude's inner conflict, I don't need a guy getting shot in a butcher shop over lines of cocaine. The slyer sides of the violence, like the body disposal, were much more interesting. The violence becomes such an integral part of the show that by season 2 people were getting super excited and take bets on who'd get wacked, how many people would get murdered, etc. For the first season, there's a bit of excessive violence here and there but at some points it's almost comedic. As dark as this show gets there is some amazing black comedy that occurs pretty regularly. Dealing with the aftermath of either planned or random acts of violence is also a huge part of the show and how the fallout effects the mobsters and their associates. I'll agree with you that the first episode is a bit rough, especially when compared to more modern TV dramas, but at the time it was as revolutionary as it gets. Also, there was quite bit of creative conflict between what David Chase was trying to do and what HBO thought would get ratings. Throatwarbler posted:The guy wasn't just some random civilian, he owed money to the Mafia. People who end up owing money to organized crime usually aren't upstanding citizens themselves, or at least aren't too keen to go to the authorities. The violence committed by Tony and co. is usually framed in the context of the show as noble and measured when any sane person would view it as horrific and brutal. Real life mob guys have given interviews and mentioned how the slapdash way that organized crime is portrayed in the show would get them all caught within months. pentyne fucked around with this message at 04:42 on Jan 12, 2015 |
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Jan 12, 2015 04:40
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All right, time for the second episode of season 1. Anyone on the fence about continuing you'll see a noticeable increase in the overall quality of the show from this point on. It slowly increases until by the end of the season anyone who tries to say the show is "overrated" or "mediocre" is just objectively wrong. There are minor things you could complain about and nitpick, but on the whole the show is flawless. For some background, the first couple of episodes HBO was exerting a lot of pressure on David Chase for how they wanted the show to go and what their marketing/research department said would bring in the most viewers. Today, everyone knows that Sopranos set the standard for serious TV drama but at the start it was regarded as another shock-a-thon like Oz or Sex in the City. Chase eventually won out through sheer perseverance, and got free reign to craft the story he wanted without a exec leaning over his shoulder and saying "No, this won't work, viewers won't like this" and having to scrap ideas. For anyone going in fresh, the one thing I'd mention is to take a look at how Tony and co. are portrayed when doing "good things" for civilians who are friends/associates etc. Another major thing is how the rampant drug use among the up and coming young guys is exactly the kind of poo poo that gets people 25-life from either dealing or bad decision making and why the "golden age" is over and done with. I think this episode would've been a better pilot to draw people into the Soprano's, but the entire thing with Melfi and Tony's internal issues needed a ton of time for them to establish a working relationship and set the stage for what comes next.
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Jan 17, 2015 17:44
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46 Long A great episode, in my opinion a much better introduction to The Sopranos. We start with a news story airing in the background about ex-Mobsters talking about how the golden days are gone, the code of silence (Omerta) is a joke, and how the drug trade has destroyed the "honor" of organized crime. It's cut between a scene of Tony and co. counting huge piles of cash. This is something drilled into the audience with no subtly, that even mobsters are flawed and human and they try to convince themselves and each other that their brand of criminal activity is somehow better then jumping a guy in the street for his wallet or carjacking a guy for his car (this comes into play later). Speaking of, AJ mentions to Carmela that his science teacher had his car stolen, Tony walks in, and Carm casually asks Tony to help "find the car". The implication is clearly that Tony is tied into the criminal underworld and can make a few calls to find the car, an aspect of his life that Carm ignores when its convenient but then expects to be at her beck at call when she wants it. Also, it ties into the "noble criminal" aspect where Tony can use his power to help someone associated with the family for a good cause, but no matter how noble it is someone is going to get a gun shoved in their face. I'd say the most significant part of this episode for me is how Tony treats Chris, the up and comer, and Chris' pals. Tony really hates the casual drug use (meth) of Chris's generation and for good reason. Chris and Brenden (the methhead) jack trucks on Junior's protection route, Junior gets complaints from his customers, trouble brews etc. etc. We get a great speech from a sober Chris about "Why else be in this thing? We have to play by the rules", an attitude that is constantly espoused by all members of the mob but easily ignored when its convenient for them. Most notably when Tony takes 3 racks of suits from a unauthorized hijacking and tells Chris and Brenden to take the rest back to make things right. When you're a captain/boss you can always take a chunk for yourself and place the blame on the junior members. I'm glossing over all the Tony/Livia and Tony/Melfi stuff which is fantastic and really insightful to Tony's behavior and neuroses, plus the whole subplot with Paulie and Pussy getting the car "back", so to speak. Someone with a better grasp of critical analysis can do wonders in exploring that.
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Jan 18, 2015 14:40
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Tao Jones posted:"Oh, again with the rape of the culture." It's always great how defensive and angry the mob guys get about Italian culture, when they represent the absolute worst aspect of it. Plus half the time they're paying homage to a bastardized Italian-American version they were raised with and are ignorant as poo poo when it comes to actual Italian things.
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Jan 19, 2015 09:49
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Rushputin posted:I think what fascinates me most about it is that it's the only (reasonably realistic, non-comedy) show I'm aware of that is almost entirely about, for lack of a more concise word, evil people. The goal of the excellent writing and direction was always to portray these scum of earth criminals as regular guys or even noble villains. There's nothing David Chase hated more during the show's run then meeting people who talked about how sympathetic Tony Soprano was and how they related to him. His response was always something like "He's a amoral murdering thug who profits off of suffering and misery. How does that relate to you?"
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Jan 21, 2015 13:38
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Rushputin posted:Indeed. Without getting into specifics, rewatching the final season definitely gave me the impression that he really wanted to drive home that fact for the people who still somehow don't get it. There was always 1-2 episodes a season where it seemed like David Chase was giving the middle finger to middle-class Americans who thought Tony was a misunderstood hero or in any way noble. The Shield ended on a similar note Vic Mackie admitted to all his crimes to get immunity, and literally everyone was horrified at what he had done, even other semi corrupt cops who took a taste here and there EvilTobaccoExec posted:The show almost has about as much contempt for the lives of the educated and elite as it does for the foolish mob characters and their constant mistakes. Everyone is the butt of the joke. And, while there is a lot of contempt, the show is caring enough about those same elements/characters that it's also driven by pathos, and underlying everything it feels like there's almost... this... thematic shrug, where beyond either impulsive acts or empty platitudes that's all there's left to do sometimes. There's an episode where an upper-middle class man gets semi-involved with Tony and co, and ever scene featuring him just drips with contempt for him and his effete way of life. pentyne fucked around with this message at 14:33 on Jan 21, 2015 |
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Jan 21, 2015 14:30
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Tao Jones posted:I think the world of The Sopranos is essentially Catholic - I mean, the characters are that religion, of course, but I think the world is essentially a world filled with concupiscence, this sort of longing or urge to do wicked things. Like in the pilot, beating the HMO guy -- you can tell that Tony was getting a sense of gratification from it far beyond something that's just necessary for business. Christopher killing the Czech dude, too, I think it goes beyond just a desire to prove himself or make his bones in the mob. (A later episode in Season 1 has better examples, but I do think this is a theme throughout the series.) There's are a lot of great scenes with Carmella and the priest. She's really the only character he ever interacts with in a significant level. The idea of religion, justice, retribution, karma, etc. is a major part of the show. It's less blatant then some of the other symbolism things but definitely comes into play, especially with how some of the mobsters view their life and actions in regards to their fate. Jerusalem posted:That's still one of the most amazing scenes I think I've ever seen in television. The way the ICE Agent goes from seeming bemused at whatever "little" infractions she's about to hear, and by the end of it she's just going At the time The Shield was drawing a lot of Sopranos comparisons and the writing staff really wanted to stand out as their own show and absolutely nailed it.
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Jan 24, 2015 18:32
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Denial, Anger, Acceptance More detail after the "airing", but this episode has the most significant scene (in my opinion) in the entire series in defining Tony and Artie's relationship as genuine friends and the only person he can drop the "mob guy" attitude around.
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Jan 24, 2015 18:39
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pentyne posted:Denial, Anger, Acceptance So, the episode. I'm not one for in depth analysis of the episode, but there were a few major things to take away from the episode. 1) Tony gets real, like emotional real with Melfi when discussing Jackie's cancer. At the start, he walks in thinking he's cracked the code of therapy, commenting on the painting and trying to prove he's above it. By the end, he lets raw emotion out to her because a man he sees as an invincible titan is being eaten away by an unbeatable force that no strength of arms can stop. This is another real out-pour from him to her, progress on the therapy front, but there's no promise that it'll lead to anything meaningful. 2) Tony and Artie. Artie's wife has an extremely important role in absolutely refusing to let Artie take a little "start-up cash" from Tony. Even though as we see from the Tony/Artie food fight that Tony genuinely loves Artie and would almost certainly give him the cash with no strings attached besides "pay me back when the insurance comes" and you can see Tony's face when the word arson is mentioned, he regrets it but can't admit it to himself or anyone else. Likewise Artie keeps trying to convince his wife that it's okay to accept a "gift" from Tony Soprano, but she will never accept it because she knows where the money comes from, pain, suffering, and death. 3) Meadow. She knows what Tony does. It's not a secret at all, and Chris doesn't even bother to try and hide it, rather flat out telling her Tony would kill him for giving her drugs. He ends up giving her "safe meth" so she won't head down to the pier and possibly get some poison poo poo. Still a really bad idea. But then Chris up to this point has been nothing but bad ideas and bad friends, so its par. 4) Junior: Things have escalated fast, because one party has decided that they've been disrespected, and respect is the currency of the mob. When they start killing each other and dropping bodies in the street, its less about money and more about respect and power. 5) The Jews: We finally see brutality and ugliness straight from the hand of Tony himself. The head guy makes a deal with Tony and attempts to renege and pay him off, and gets a rough introduction into reality of getting into bed with the mob. You make Tony a promise for something you either deliver or risk a beating and possibly death. Plus, we get an introduction to something that baffles Tony like no other, a man with principles who refuses to give them up. Tony Soprano is a man who expects the world to bend and sway to his desires, and when up against a solid rock he has literally no idea what to do besides murder. As far as the show goes, things are picking up, and we're two episodes away from one of the highest regarded episodes of the entire series in "College" and what secured the Sopranos legacy. Please, anyone who's watching/watched this show pop in to comment because the run from "College" to "I Dream" is probably the clincher for securing the Sopranos audience and establishing the show as something that in 1999 was so far ahead of the curve that people literally couldn't believe it.
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Jan 25, 2015 04:56
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PrincessKate posted:So I guess basically if you are on the fence, stick with it. It is truly the best show ever made. Beyond that, it's considered the "Great American Novel" of our time. The Wire might be the greatest show ever, but it still ranks below the Sopranos in terms of sheer complexity, enjoyment, and plain fun. In 50 years, The Sopranos could be taught/studied alongside other great works of the English language in academia and especially as a watershed moment for what a TV show could be. Think of the classic, highly regarded American shows from the 1950s-90s. Almost all of them were sitcoms (another genre reinvented in the last decade) and if you wanted serious drama your best chance was catching some British/Euro imports on PBS. In just the last 10 years we've seen serialized dramas that are unquestionably some of the best TV ever. Sopranos, The Shield, The Wire, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Homeland (season 1 only), Friday Night Lights (personal preference, still great) and if you look back at the Emmy's pre-2000s you'll see a list of shows that are good, but nowhere close to anything like the last few years. TV dramas in the 80s and 90s were things like Miami Vice, Northern Exposure, X-Files, Chicago Hope, ER, NYPD Blue. Good shows, but left in the dust and now just good examples of how they made TV back then. The only exception I can think of is Homicide: Life on the Street which basically The Wire of its day. CottonWolf posted:This is actually the main thing I've taken away from it so far. There doesn't seem any separation between the troops and the leadership in action, which seems like a prime recipe for everyone getting picked up by the police. You'd think they'd be much more careful about the way that they commit these crimes. Obviously during the run of the show people were falling over themselves to talk to actual mobsters what they thought of the show, and the consensus was that they enjoyed the show, but the way criminal behavior and activity was portrayed was a terrible way to run a mob and all the guys doing that poo poo would've been caught in a matter of months. The FBI is also way less competent in the show then in real life. pentyne fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Jan 25, 2015 |
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Jan 25, 2015 18:02
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EATIN SHRIMP posted:Anyone still watching? I'm watching Season 1 Episode 7 right now. The one where Tony's mom finds out about him going to the psychiatrist. Lots of great flashbacks to Tony's childhood and his mom being just about the biggest bitch in tv history. Just wanna smother her with a pillow. Really good episode I stopped because there was no one else posting about it. I'll probably come back for the last 2 episodes to talk about them.
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Feb 16, 2015 07:30
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