Here's hoping for a return to the quality of writing that established The Sopranos as quite possibly the best dramatic series ever produced for television. I'm still hurting from last season - in which the series jumped two or three sharks in my opinion - rendering consistently believable flesh and blood characters we had come to know like members of our own families into cartoonish sit-com take-offs of themselves and delivering half-baked storylines and dramatic themes that went nowhere - or if they did - nowhere good. I want The Sopranos to be great again - or at least good. I want it to die with dignity.

o.k. ;)

Nobody dies with dignity on this show.

And since when are hollow point bullets remotely an issue? They've been the standard self-defense round for decades. I can buy them over the counter, even here in Jersey.

Nobody dies with dignity on this show.

And since when are hollow point bullets remotely an issue? They've been the standard self-defense round for decades. I can buy them over the counter, even here in Jersey.

Weak plot device.

I thought last night's episode was good, not great. Favorite line of dialogue:

Bobby: "The Parker Brothers put a lot of time and thought into these rules. I think we should respect that."

Carmella: "BLEEP the Parker Brothers!"

They tried to explain the lost pistol / hollow point storyline. Here in TX, that doesn't make sence so I didn't really buy it either.

Another greaaaat episode though. Filled with things to provide many levels of thought. It's possible to make up hidden meanings to events and convince yourself there might be something to it. Such a smart show.

My favorite, Carm flicks the bloody Monoply house off Tonys cheek. Maybe her spec-house? Blood money? Wow. I could go on and on. Love this show. Thanks for starting the topic!

Uncle Jr's correspondence with Dick Cheney in tonight's episode was one of the better Sopranos moments in a long time, though the episode was pretty weak. I hope Paulie won't be leaving soon, he's always been one of my favorite characters.

My personal opinion, the last season has been pretty disapointing overall so far, unless it picks up real soon I'm afraid the end doesn't look very promising.

My personal opinion, the last season has been pretty disapointing overall so far, unless it picks up real soon I'm afraid the end doesn't look very promising.

Ditto.

I would wish the wind down to the end to be a little different too. There are major characters in this series though and each one deserves some screen time and a send off.

The sequence with Uncle Junior was overly long IMO but well done. I felt sad in a way. The proud man forced to take pills or wear a diaper. In the end, holding that cat. Very well done. I doubt he'll be back.

Of course, Paulie's weird. His behavior is leading to something, very quickly, I think.

Tony seems paranoid but he has every reason to be. I liked how he shut his wife down when she talked about the expresso maker!

The show down is coming. Phill is the true boss of NY and that dude is scary. I cant wait. 6 to go.

I want things to go in a different direction too. How can anyone argue about the quality of the program, though? I really care about these people. I hope it ends in a violent bloodbath. I'm wondering if Chase is going to end it with a "life goes on" kind of wimper. Still my favorite TV show of all time.

Still my favorite TV show of all time.

Ditto - all things considered.

Though it does irritate me that this show drags on for 10 years while Rome, Deadwood and Carnivale get whacked way too soon.

Though it does irritate me that this show drags on for 10 years while Rome, Deadwood and Carnivale get whacked way too soon.

Don't know about Carnivale, but I think we're going to see more of Deadwood and Rome.

Deadwood will return in the form of three two hour "movies" to wrap things up.

As for The Sopranos, I've always wanted to like this series more than I do. Clearly it's an excellent show, but for some reason I've just never been able to get with the program, as it were.

Maybe I'm just tired of Mafiosos.

I'm pretty much the same way, Rob. Never really could get in to it, tho wasn't disappointed by the two dozen or so episodes I've watched.

Id sure LIKE to know WHEN they are gonna get off their rear ends and get those deadwood segments out!! ..so far, no word

I think the first three seasons of The Sopranos were some of the best dramatic TV ever made, but it's been kinda hit & miss since then.

I think the first three seasons of The Sopranos were some of the best dramatic TV ever made, but it's been kinda hit & miss since then.

Totally agree. There oughta' be a law that there be no more than three seasons of any dramatic television series. I don't care how great the show is - it always goes downhill after the third season. Deadwood comes danged close to The Sopranos for me as the greatest dramatic series ever produced for television, but you can't get around the fact that there would be no Deadwood if The Sopranos hadn't paved the way.

Totally agree. There oughta' be a law that there be no more than three seasons of any dramatic television series. I don't care how great the show is - it always goes downhill after the third season. Deadwood comes danged close to The Sopranos for me as the greatest dramatic series ever produced for television, but you can't get around the fact that there would be no Deadwood if The Sopranos hadn't paved the way.


Not to mention they never found another villian as interesting as Tony's own mom, Livia.

It's not nearly as fun or funny when posters are more/less in agreement on a topic. You are right though. After season 3, Soprano's kind of turned into an in depth character study in some ways. Many fans were turned off.

I have been faithful and will be to the end. I can't imagine an ending that won't feel like a let down. That's the problem. Expectations are so high.

Maybe it will end with a war about to erupt between the New Jersey and New York mobs. Then we can all wait 10 freakin years for the movie version! (groan) :(

Not to mention they never found another villian as interesting as Tony's own mom, Livia.

If I had to place bets, I'd bet on a "like mother, like daughter" ending - with Janice in full manipulative control of the whole shebang. And if Tony has to go down hard in order for that to happen, then Janice will be the direct catalyst for his utter defeat.

Here's one of my small Sopranos nitpicks - Edie Falco's continual Emmy wins, during years when there were far more deserving nominees. Nothing against Edie, she's a wonderful actress. But what the hell does she do? It's not a really big role, and although she's had some truly outstanding moments, she didn't work nearly as hard as some actresses who were cranking out 22-episode drama series far more consistantly than Sopranos.

My main beef is that Edie took the best actress Emmy both years Joan of Arcadia was on the air, and Amber Tamblin was far, FAR more deserving of recognition than ANYone in that time frame. My god, that poor girl turned in some utterly astonishing performances while Edie Falco did the dishes and yelled at A.J. with maybe 1/10 of Amber's screen time.

'Tweren't fair.

Here's one of my small Sopranos nitpicks - Edie Falco's continual Emmy wins, during years when there were far more deserving nominees. Nothing against Edie, she's a wonderful actress. But what the hell does she do? It's not a really big role, and although she's had some truly outstanding moments, she didn't work nearly as hard as some actresses who were cranking out 22-episode drama series far more consistantly than Sopranos..

Huh? You mean besides standing up to Tony for five seasons, almost making the beast with two backs with her priest, getting Meadow into the college of choice with a ruthlessness that made Tony look like a wuss, and being the general's wife to the Sopranos extended family? I disagree, especially during the first three seaons, Carmen Soprano was one of the most memorable TV characters we've seen in awhile.

My main beef is that Edie took the best actress Emmy both years Joan of Arcadia was on the air, and Amber Tamblin was far, FAR more deserving of recognition than ANYone in that time frame. My god, that poor girl turned in some utterly astonishing performances while Edie Falco did the dishes and yelled at A.J. with maybe 1/10 of Amber's screen time.

'Tweren't fair.

I feel your pain, I used to hate how those frakkers on Hill Street Blues kept Tootie and the rest of the girls from winning richly deserved Emmys for Facts of Life. :cool:

I never understood why Chariots of Fire beat out E.T. for best movie. Awards shows our political.

Actually, it was GANDHI that beat E.T. (1983 Oscars (http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1983))

I never understood why Chariots of Fire beat out E.T. for best movie. Awards shows our political.

Actually, it was GANDHI that beat E.T. (1983 Oscars (http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1983))

I'd rather watch E.T. than Chariots of Fire.

I'd rather watch Gandhi than E.T.

Although, come to think of it, Gandhi and E.T. do bear a superficial resemblance.

http://www.drewstruzan.com/documents/img/gs0406011041304567.jpg

http://www.videodetective.com/photos/026/001108_14.jpg

I'm not saying Edie is a bad actress or Carm Soprano is a bad character at all. She's fantastic. I just don't think she deserved to hog the Emmy for several years while there were equal and/or better actresses being passed by, especially and specifically Amber Tamblin, who knocked my socks off consistently, week after week.

If I had to place bets, I'd bet on a "like mother, like daughter" ending - with Janice in full manipulative control of the whole shebang. And if Tony has to go down hard in order for that to happen, then Janice will be the direct catalyst for his utter defeat.

I dunno, Silvio has been real quiet the last couple of episodes. Almost too quiet, if you know what I mean. Plus being one of David Chase's oldest friends probably doesn't hurt his chances for figuring prominently in the finale.

You could be right, but I hope not. IMHO, Janice stopped being real interesting about the time she dumped the narcoleptic folk singer. And ditto for Bobby B, who used to be one of my favorite characters when he was Uncle Jr's helper, but who now I just find whiny and irritating.

Favorite Bobby B. line (second or third season). Tony makes a joke about Bobby's weight and drives off cackling.

(under his breath) "Take a look in the mirror sometime, ya' fat BLEEP!"

Favorite Bobby B. line (second or third season). Tony makes a joke about Bobby's weight and drives off cackling.

(under his breath) "Take a look in the mirror sometime, ya' fat BLEEP!"

Tony's line wasn't half bad either, "I think it's time for you to seriously start considering salads!"

Tony's line wasn't half bad either, "I think it's time for you to seriously start considering salads!"

From "The Pine Barrens" episode. Paulie's got a very bad cell phone connection:

Anthony 'Tony' Soprano Sr. (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001254/): Listen to me, this guy was a Russian green beret. He was in the ministry of the interior or something. He single-handedly killed 16 Chechen rebels. Be ****ing careful.
Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802831/): All right.
[hangs up]
Christopher Moltisanti (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0408284/): What did he say?
Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802831/): He said the guy killed 16 Czechoslovakians, and he was an interior decorator.
Christopher Moltisanti (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0408284/): Interior decorator? His appartment looked like ****!

From "The Pine Barrens" episode. Paulie's got a very bad cell phone connection:

Anthony 'Tony' Soprano Sr. (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001254/): Listen to me, this guy was a Russian green beret. He was in the ministry of the interior or something. He single-handedly killed 16 Chechen rebels. Be ****ing careful.
Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802831/): All right.
[hangs up]
Christopher Moltisanti (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0408284/): What did he say?
Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802831/): He said the guy killed 16 Czechoslovakians, and he was an interior decorator.
Christopher Moltisanti (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0408284/): Interior decorator? His appartment looked like ****!

My all time favorite line from The Sopranos is still from Boca:
"'Cunnilingus and Psychiatry Have Brought Us to This.'"

And then there's Paulie's "Hey Christopher! Remember your first blow***?"

I've used that one on a couple of good buddies in party situations and it always gets a howl.

I think Hankster is having a siezure about now... :freak:

Hopefully not. I don't have a problem with it when it's a quote so long as all of the "bad word" is asterisked out, leaving very little clue what the word is for sure. For instance, if you're saying "darn it!" completly replace the word darn with asterisks "**** it!".

If Hank gets upset, I'll take the heat, I guess.

However, that doesn't mean free reign to curse on your own or start quoting movies/TV Shows or famous people just abuse the system. Gratuitous use of such just to be a jerk ain't gonna set well with me, capiche?

'Preciate it. If I used all asterisks it completely loses it's meaning. I figure anybody who takes an interest in this thread is at least familiar with the show if not an outright fan - so probably won't be offended.

I'm no prude, trust me. However, Hank's rules are his rules. He wants folks of all ages to find this place as user friendly as possible. I don't see how most folks could get offended by replacing the bulk of a word with asterisks and leave the first and last letters in-place, but this is a wholly PC World these days, so to keep the peace I guess we have to further censor so as not to offend....

Again, I'm no prude, but I also don't have a real problem with minor censoring along these lines if it keeps everybody happy. Now, if folks go out of their way to find something offensive, that's another story.

Anyhow, carry on! While I'm not a big fan of The Soprano's, I still occasionally watch an episode and am enjoying the thread. :)

I don't see how most folks could get offended by replacing the bulk of a word with asterisks and leave the first and last letters in-place...

I didn't either, until Hank banned me and I had to plead for my life.

Boy! Tonight's episode was .... really not that good.

Boy! Tonight's episode was .... really not that good.

Yeah, it's not boding well for the finale....

Yeah, what the hell was all that!? :freak:

Suddenly Tony has a gambling addiction and is blowing all his money.

Suddenly Tony'd rather torture his old friend instead of paying his debts.

Suddenly AJ's girlfriend can't stay with him.

Suddenly Moe Green's girlfriend dies for no apparent reason.

Suddenly Dr. Melfi tells Tony she can't keep seeing him.

All this is out of left field, excpet maybe for AJ's GF, who's been registering discomfort with rich peoples' lifestyle all year.

Not very good continuity-writing.

Yeah, what the hell was all that!? :freak:

Suddenly Tony has a gambling addiction and is blowing all his money.

Suddenly Tony'd rather torture his old friend instead of paying his debts.

Suddenly AJ's girlfriend can't stay with him.

Suddenly Moe Green's girlfriend dies for no apparent reason.

Suddenly Dr. Melfi tells Tony she can't keep seeing him.

All this is out of left field, excpet maybe for AJ's GF, who's been registering discomfort with rich peoples' lifestyle all year.

Not very good continuity-writing.

I had exactly the same feeling, for five seasons they've established Hirsh is the one guy Tony can trust and depend on, and all of the sudden he's casually talking about killing him? And the dead girlfriend was a real "huh?" moment, are we supposed to think he thinks Tony was responsible? And what the hell did she die from? Tony's gambling problem came on so sudden and predictable they looked like they were lifted from "A very special" Lifetime's Tory Spelling movie.

All this is out of left field, excpet maybe for AJ's GF, who's been registering discomfort with rich peoples' lifestyle all year.

The whole AJ girlfriend thing plays totally false too, Tony and Carmela were horrified when Meadow dated a rich successful half-black college student, but they're ok with AJ marrying a poor unwed mother from the the 'hood?

Doubtful.

As I've said before, it's like they went out and hired a bunch of sit-com writers for this season and gave them the chance to write "drama". There is no continuity of character anymore, everything comes out of left field, and then it's basically forgotten by the next episode. This has nothing to do with "character development" (the series was always a great character study) and everything to do with bad, lazy writing. It's just sort of inexplicable and inexcusable.

Maybe you should get The Fellas together and whack the writing staff. :D

Maybe you should get The Fellas together and whack the writing staff. :D

That's about as plausible as any other plotline this season.

I'm just waiting for Tony's evil twin to show up this season.

And does anybody else NOT care about Vito's kid?
Especially after that shower scene?
:freak:

And does anybody else NOT care about Vito's kid?
Especially after that shower scene?
:freak:

The shower scene was "symbolic" of what the Sopranos writers and producers are doing to the fans of this once great series.

The shower scene was "symbolic" of what the Sopranos writers and producers are doing to the fans of this once great series.

Yeah, that was a scene I could have done without on many levels. And they didn't have to show it so graphically, or at all.

Nothing on this show is by accident. Its the smartest show on the television. Each episode is another little piece of a bigger puzzle and I've been waiting 10 years for the pay off.

The shower scene is symbolic. Not like I'm an expert but Tony is coming apart it seems. Vito Jr making a mess and stepping in it? Compare with Tony's behaviour. It makes sence to me.

I've been dissapointed at times with this show but DC is clearly in a league of his own. I'm in awe and can't wait for next week.

Something big is about to happen. You know it. I dare you to not watch the final 5.

The shower scene is symbolic. Not like I'm an expert but Tony is coming apart it seems. Vito Jr making a mess and stepping in it? Compare with Tony's behaviour. It makes sence to me.



Dude, put the bong down for awhile. :rolleyes:

Something big is about to happen. You know it. I dare you to not watch the final 5.

Oh, I'll watch it to the bitter end. But I won't like it. Season 6 is well past redemption at this point. Chase may be (or was) a great talent, but he's clearly lost the thread. And I don't think he gives a damn.