The Sopranos

[Don Wassall]

I've hardly watched any TV series in the past 35 years, so it's a bit of a surprise that I started watching The Sopranos, but it was late in the show's run before I did. I watched one here and one there, but nothing in chronological order except the last season of new shows.

HBO has been showing The Sopranos from the first episode through the last, Monday through Friday at 8:00 EST, Channel 503 on DirecTV. Watching it chronologically makes the show more enjoyable, as so many previous events are referenced and have to have been seen to fully understand what's taking place, though the show was also notorious for leaving many unresolved loose ends.

The Sopranos is also funny as hell, laugh out loud funny at times. I watched Pine Barrens today, probably the most famous individual show of any of them, which takes place late in Season Three (of six seasons; the show ran from 1999 to 2007).

The acting in The Sopranos for the most part is excellent, and James Gandolfini was brilliant as Tony Soprano, he's the reason for the show's incredible success.

Any other Sopranos fans here?

 

[scroat]

Yes. Its an excellent show. Being from New Jersey I'm contractually obligated to love it. I highly recommend watching them all from the beginning. If you have HBO you can set up HBOgo which is a streaming service and has their entire library of shows. Boardwalk Empire started off really good too but it has since gone downhill.

 

[GiovaniMarcon]

I've got the entire series on DVD but for Christmas but I haven't had a chance to really sit down and watch it. When I start a show I want to be on vacation so I can just marathon it.

Most of the shows I like are from the past, like Andy Griffith, Dragnet (old version mostly, new one is okay though), and a lot of The Three Stooges. The latter are all Jews but they're still good, clean fun.

 

[Westside]

hey Don, big fan here. Just finished watching the all time great "Pinebarrens" episode. The Russian who killed 16 Chechens and was an interior decorator. Really? his house look like sh*t". LOL. Or "put the remote on the docking station" LOL or "He is stocking us with his kock." LOL " You got breath mints? Give me some!, I am dying here. Then die already". LOL "You know those pricks(Russians/cubans) pointed nuclear warheads at us! Really, I thought that was a movie".LOL

 

[Westside]

Paulie and Chrissy pointing a gun at the big Russian in the cold snow and telling him how cold it was. He replies, "Cold! this is warm, I wash my balls in ice water!" LOL

 

[Don Wassall]

hey Don, big fan here. Just finished watching the all time great "Pinebarrens" episode. The Russian who killed 16 Chechens and was an interior decorator. Really? his house look like sh*t". LOL. Or "put the remote on the docking station" LOL or "He is stocking us with his kock." LOL " You got breath mints? Give me some!, I am dying here. Then die already". LOL "You know those pricks(Russians/cubans) pointed nuclear warheads at us! Really, I thought that was a movie".LOL

Paulie and Christopher were like Abbott and Costello in that episode, esp. Paulie, who was mad at everyone about that time in the show and who caused the fiasco by picking a fight with the Russian. :laugh: Paulie was neurotic as hell, a great character.

Tony Sirico, the actor who played Paulie was a real life mobster earlier in his life and did some prison time.

 

[Leonardfan]

Huge Sopranos fan here - great acting and writing. It's an interesting portrayal of not only the present day mafia but also present day America. It always stuck with me how Tony said he always felt like he was coming in at the end of things in the first episode. I also appreciated their views and the way they dealt and described other ethnic groups/races.

I watched through season 4 pretty religiously and caught episodes of seasons 5-7 here and there. I haven't watched the whole series all the way through though, I need to at some point.

 

[Don Wassall]

What strikes me is how current the show still is. Yeah, there are some things like bulky cell phones and computers that are obviously dated, but the show itself is still fresh. And some themes come through, like not only the decline of the mafia and its traditions but the country itself. There's a lot going on and the creator, David Chase, deliberately makes a lot of it ambiguous. But overall it's a pretty dark vision of America and of human nature.

 

[The Hock]

I started watching the Sopranos about its fourth season. I kept hearing about it and I thought it was about people in the opera or something and I didn't have HBO to know any better. When I moved into a place where I got HBO I started watching it and got hooked.

The show it at its best to me when the boys are at the Badda Bing or out and about doing their mafia thing like pulling rip-offs and whacking people. The studies of Tony's domestic life with everyone bickering in the kitchen I found rather tedious at times. And Tony sessions with his therapist I could do without. But overall a high quality series.

 

[Leonardfan]

What strikes me is how current the show still is. Yeah, there are some things like bulky cell phones and computers that are obviously dated, but the show itself is still fresh. And some themes come through, like not only the decline of the mafia and its traditions but the country itself. There's a lot going on and the creator, David Chase, deliberately makes a lot of it ambiguous. But overall it's a pretty dark vision of America and of human nature.

Yes, that is why I haven't seen that much of the last 3 seasons, as the series goes on it seems to get darker and more morbid or without hope. Uncle Junior's demise really displays mortality and the pains of getting old - cracked hip, cancer and then basically losing his mind.

Also the series got thinking as to why the FBI is still going after the Italian Mafia while letting the Chinese and Russian mafia's both grow and gain strength - not to mention groups like MS-13 who are infesting this country like roaches and are 10 times more dangerous to the average "civilian". Even the nationwide black gangs don't seem to get as much heat as the Italian mafia. It's almost like the FBI wants buys into the whole romanticized notion of busting Italian mafiosos because that is what gets the press and headlines. END RANT

 

[white is right]

Yes, that is why I haven't seen that much of the last 3 seasons, as the series goes on it seems to get darker and more morbid or without hope. Uncle Junior's demise really displays mortality and the pains of getting old - cracked hip, cancer and then basically losing his mind.

Also the series got thinking as to why the FBI is still going after the Italian Mafia while letting the Chinese and Russian mafia's both grow and gain strength - not to mention groups like MS-13 who are infesting this country like roaches and are 10 times more dangerous to the average "civilian". Even the nationwide black gangs don't seem to get as much heat as the Italian mafia. It's almost like the FBI wants buys into the whole romanticized notion of busting Italian mafiosos because that is what gets the press and headlines. END RANT

The more old world ethnic mob groups are harder to bust and virtually nobody rats out their fellow mobsters. I loved the show when it started. I actually got into the show through renting episodes at Block Buster. After getting up to speed through that I watched episodes weekly through the internet. I did miss the show when it ended but to me the series might have been slightly played out as it's better to end a show a season to early than a season too late. Ps there was talk about a Sopranos movie coming out, but with the a few years passing and the demise of Gandalfini that will never happen. If the shows creator was all about making money I think a movie could have had a chance to be another Mafia blockbuster.

 

[Westside]

Paulie and Christopher were like Abbott and Costello in that episode, esp. Paulie, who was mad at everyone about that time in the show and who caused the fiasco by picking a fight with the Russian. :laugh: Paulie was neurotic as hell, a great character.

Tony Sirico, the actor who played Paulie was a real life mobster earlier in his life and did some prison time.

When Gandalfini passed away I went to Youtube to look up great Sopranos scenes. While there I saw postings of his funeral. Tony Sirico was interviewed. He doesn't come out of character. Tony is Paulie and Paulie is Tony 24/7. Funny listening to him recount his days on the set with Gandalfini as civilian.

 

[Old Scratch]

I started watching the Sopranos about its fourth season. I kept hearing about it and I thought it was about people in the opera or something and I didn't have HBO to know any better. When I moved into a place where I got HBO I started watching it and got hooked.

The show it at its best to me when the boys are at the Badda Bing or out and about doing their mafia thing like pulling rip-offs and whacking people. The studies of Tony's domestic life with everyone bickering in the kitchen I found rather tedious at times. And Tony sessions with his therapist I could do without. But overall a high quality series.

I agree, I could have done without all the domestic squabbling and shrink visits. The show has a lot of high points and clever writing, but it drags on far too long like a soap opera. I guess Tony's daughter is a more or less realistic portrayal of a SWPL type but I didn't care to follow her story any more than I cared to follow Tony's whiny pussbag son. His daughter even dates and fornicates with a black Jew hybrid which Tony had a big problem with but did absolutely nothing about, and we were beaten over the head with how outdated Tony's ways and views were because the black Jew was portrayed as an incredibly brilliant student.

If they had told the story in two seasons it would have lost nothing.

 

[Leonardfan]

I agree, I could have done without all the domestic squabbling and shrink visits. The show has a lot of high points and clever writing, but it drags on far too long like a soap opera. I guess Tony's daughter is a more or less realistic portrayal of a SWPL type but I didn't care to follow her story any more than I cared to follow Tony's whiny pussbag son. His daughter even dates and fornicates with a black Jew hybrid which Tony had a big problem with but did absolutely nothing about, and we were beaten over the head with how outdated Tony's ways and views were because the black Jew was portrayed as an incredibly brilliant student.

If they had told the story in two seasons it would have lost nothing.

I know this is a TV show and I do not want to argue but Tony did speak up when his daughter brought home that half-black kid. Called him Charcoal Briquette and told him to stop seeing his daughter - I am sure if the storyline wanted to then the Tony character would of inflicted bodily harm on the guy. That whole exchange is nothing you will see on TV. Tony preached of sticking with your own kind which is exactly how I feel. Seriously though how many other shows would actually have the main character come out and say something like that on the topic of mixed dating.

 

[Old Scratch]

I know this is a TV show and I do not want to argue but Tony did speak up when his daughter brought home that half-black kid. Called him Charcoal Briquette and told him to stop seeing his daughter - I am sure if the storyline wanted to then the Tony character would of inflicted bodily harm on the guy. That whole exchange is nothing you will see on TV. Tony preached of sticking with your own kind which is exactly how I feel. Seriously though how many other shows would actually have the main character come out and say something like that on the topic of mixed dating.

Yeah, he shared some harsh words in a brief exchange so that the writers could show how backwards Tony's prejudice was. I personally think that they wrote in this tidbit because earlier seasons had some racist moments mostly in banter, they wanted to show that the writers weren't racist, just that Tony's character had some racist sentiments because of his culture and upbringing.

 

[Don Wassall]

The final show of Series 3 was shown tonight. Jackie Jr. was offed while A.J. was expelled from school. His parents wanted to enroll A. J. in a military school to give him some discipline, but he had a panic attack and fainted, just like Tony frequently does (that's the reason he began seeing Dr. Melfi the shrink), so that idea was squashed. The episode was called "The Army of One." This was the final show filmed before 9/11, and just as happened with the country after that devastating event, the show gets darker starting in Season 4.

 

[whiteathlete33]

I have watched a few shows of the Sopranos but never really got into it. Anway, a bit of topic, Don have you ever watched Oz? This was another HBO series from the late 90's early 2000s. It's about prison and it's very entertaining. I watched every single episode in order and loved it.

 

[werewolf]

Totally dissenting voice here. It's the jewish media romanticizing the Mafia criminal parasites - and why not, since the real "boss of bosses" was Jewish, Meyer Lansky who eventually fled to the gangster headquarters, Israel, to obtain sanctuary.

Mussolini locked the Mafiosi up, put the bosses in a big cage, there was a famous picture, but then the Americans came to "liberate" Italy, along with Lucky Lucciano and the Mafia, and they put them back into power, similar to what they did in Afghanistan when the Taliban shut down the lucrative cocaine business.

Meanwhile, the good people of Sicily free themselves from the criminal scum, just as the good people of Mexico are now doing with some more of Washington's good pals, the drug gangs.

"How Italy turned mafia food into a hit Christmas gift

A popular new present this year is a Christmas gift box full of food produced on government-confiscated mafia land."

http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set...y-turned-mafia-food-into-a-hit-Christmas-gift

 

[werewolf]

Since I don't watch tv, I turned on Youtube to see what Sopranos actually looked like. It just looked like actors acting to me, cursing a lot to simulate realism.

"Goodfellas" was, I think, the most realistic depiction of the bums on film. This from a guy who has been involved with them various ways, including family.

Here are the Americans "liberating" one thousand year old Monte Cassino:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00FTPcs74LQ


White man, kill your tv!!!

 

[Don Wassall]

I have watched a few shows of the Sopranos but never really got into it. Anway, a bit of topic, Don have you ever watched Oz? This was another HBO series from the late 90's early 2000s. It's about prison and it's very entertaining. I watched every single episode in order and loved it.

I watched Oz a few times but never got "hooked" on it. The last show I watched a lot of before The Sopranos was The Man Show with Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Corolla, it had some pretty funny stuff. I've been trying to watch Sons of Anarchy but forget a lot of times. It's basically The Sopranos on bikes.

I've noticed that the head Nazi from Oz (Sillinger?) is now the spokesman for State Farm commercials, while one of the other cast members is now "mayhem" on All State ads, the "bad guy" whose damage the deep-throated, virtuous Negro spokesman assures us All State will take care of.

 

[The Hock]

Some very keen obfuscations Werewolf. A counter-clockwise moral compass could indeed be derogatory to our cause. However, not all mafioso are uneducated thugs. I give you one Carmine Lupartizie Jr., one of my favorite characters on the show (and whack-proof I think because of his entertainment value).

http://youtu.be/vJggSqCftgA

 

[dwid]

Totally dissenting voice here. It's the jewish media romanticizing the Mafia criminal parasites - and why not, since the real "boss of bosses" was Jewish, Meyer Lansky who eventually fled to the gangster headquarters, Israel, to obtain sanctuary.

Mussolini locked the Mafiosi up, put the bosses in a big cage, there was a famous picture, but then the Americans came to "liberate" Italy, along with Lucky Lucciano and the Mafia, and they put them back into power, similar to what they did in Afghanistan when the Taliban shut down the lucrative cocaine business.

Meanwhile, the good people of Sicily free themselves from the criminal scum, just as the good people of Mexico are now doing with some more of Washington's good pals, the drug gangs.

"How Italy turned mafia food into a hit Christmas gift

A popular new present this year is a Christmas gift box full of food produced on government-confiscated mafia land."

http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set...y-turned-mafia-food-into-a-hit-Christmas-gift

Afghanistan actually produces opium derived things like heroin. 92 percent of the world's non pharmaceutical opiates come from there, and you are right, production has skyrocketed since US occupation. More land is used to grow poppy plants than what ia latin america uses to grow coca. Also the largest producer of cannabis but not a big deal like the opioid epidemic going on in this country. Heroin use has been on the rise, with the stigma being removed since most of these high schoolers and college kids were popping stuff like Vicodin and OxyContin, the government trying hard to remove these drugs off the street making docs scared to prescribe the to patients with real pain, the prices have went up. You'd be lucky to get two vicodens for 10 bucks but you can buy a 10 dollar bag of heroin which can be as potent as at least a dozen Vics depending on quality.
Not that the Taliban is innocent, they eventually got into the drug trade to try and fund things

yea things are really messed up with how things are going in this country

 

[Deus Vult]

I got into the Soprano's the same way, Don. Out of chronological order and censored by A&E. But I found the show well-written and laugh-out-loud funny at times, so I rented videos and eventually saw all the episodes.

The show definitely did not glamorize mafiosos. It humanized them to a point, in fact to the point of casting them as unglamorous, unhip, sociopathic lowlifes. Yet, you still didn't want the FBI to "get the goods" on Tony! And I hoped in every episode that Chris and his foul girlfriend would get whacked or overdose or meet some horrible end.

 

[Deus Vult]

Three short clips from the Sopranos, on the boys' view of homosexuality. Funny stuff, total of about 8 min for all 3 clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeIf-9jE2mE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdUaqY0fMaw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmY6oJmUT7s

 

[werewolf]

Dwid -

Ooops, you're right, I meant to say opium, not cocaine.

Afghan poppy fields back in full production since the USSA liberated them.

Was the Taliban getting into drugs too? If so, I didn't know about that. I'm under the impression that they pissed off the Washington "war against drugs" drug lords by shutting it down. But I don't like them either, anyway. They pissed me off when they blew up that giant 1,700 year old Buddha built into a mountain, just as the Amerikans did when they blew up Monte Cassino (not to mention blowing up the most beautiful city in Europe, Dresden, the worst massacre in European history - but they forget to make any Hollywood movies and docudramas and school courses on Dresden, don't they? - but they don't forget to take the pictures from the Dresden Holocaust - a real Holocaust! - and re-label them "Jews killed by Nazis"!)

White man, kill your tv!!!