2008 Woodie Awards
'Sopranos': Letdown or building suspense?
Head-to-Head
Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: Opinion
Originally published: 4/12/07 at 3:58 PM EST
Last update: 4/12/07 at 4:24 PM EST
- Page 1 of 1
Fun while it lasted, it is time to whack 'Sopranos'
By Todd Costello
America loves gangsters.
Organized crime was, at one time, a way of life for a lot of people, but a taboo for others. It was only a matter of time before this way of life was bottled and put on the market.
Martin Scorsese can be considered the genius who brought the Mafia to living rooms across the world.
Who can blame him?
Organized crime had interesting and almost charismatic bosses, money, stories, drugs, a rise and a downfall.
Now, in its seventh season, "The Sopranos" is trying to cap off a run that had most of America tuning-in to see big T handle business.
After four incredible seasons, one mediocre season, and one terrible season, I was incredibly disappointed to turn on the season premier last Sunday to see the writers pick up where they left off.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one.
In the recent ratings, there were only 7.7 million viewers tuning in Sunday night. That's slightly lower than the 9.4 million for the season six premier and much lower than the 12.1 million that watched the season five premier.
Being a huge fan since day one, it's depressing to see this show end the way it is.
From classic scenes like Tony in his Cadillac, mowing down a dead-beat who owed him money, and the hit on Adriana when she was a threat to the family - now I have to sit through five episodes of heavy dialogue and artistic symbolism just to see Vito have an affair with "Johnny Cakes."
What happened?
Watching the sixth season was like watching your favorite athlete taking a dive in the big game.
After every episode, I would sit their with my roomies and say, "Don't worry, I'm sure they're just building up the suspense for next episode."
When the season finally ended the only thing that was left for me to say was, "Don't worry, I'm sure they're just building up the suspense for the last season."
It's time for "The Sopranos" to get whacked.
If you don't want to take my word, take James Gandolfini's - the actor who plays Tony Soprano.
In a Vanity Fair article he said it was time for him to do other things because he doesn't know what else he can do with his character.
I can't agree with him more.
He's taken the role of Tony Soprano to the level where viewers feel like they have an actual relation or something in common with the Jersey mobster.
But, as much as I love him, I can only watch Tony yell at A.J. and inhale chicken parmesans so much.
All the characters in the show have been fully developed, and characters like A.J. have changed from an innocent child to an obnoxious lowlife.
I used to look forward to next week's episode right after I watch the current week's episode.
Now, I find myself praying that the next week's episode will have some sort of action that hopefully makes it worth watching.
Letdown would be the most fitting word I can think of to describe last season and the start of this season.
People aren't tuning in to see character progression anymore.
Take a page out of Scoreless's book and start the downfall.As much as we love the characters, there comes a time where they have to go.
So, sorry Tone, it's time for you to sleep with the fishes.
OR
'Sopranos' has more left, continues to be interesting
By Sam Hollingsworth
It's the series finale for a reason - it all ends here.
Everyone knows it's ending. The viewers. The producers. The actors. But when it ends is nothing compared to how it ends.
Since 1999, a daunting number of television viewers have been committed to see what will unfold next in the New Jersey organized-crime circuit via Home Box Office, and a fraction of those viewers will follow through for what may be considered one of the lamest finales in premier network television history.
Fact is, you can't judge a program's quality until you watch it. And everybody wants to watch it because they don't know what to expect next.
Thus far, the building action of the "Sopranos" has been stellar. Creator David Chase, along with the show's actors and actresses, has clearly explored so many different angles and ideas that the only option left is to hang it up.
"For me, personally, it's time to go," James Gandolfini said in a recent Entertainment Weekly article.
Each actor on the show could say this. We've seen A.J. go from Nintendo and a bowl-cut to cocaine and a Puerto Rican baby-mamma. We saw Christopher grow from an irrational heroine addict to an irrational wanna-be-movie-producer, and who knows what could be next.
Yeah, it's time to hang it up, but just how does Chase plan on getting there? That's the question.
Chase has already said, "There'll be people who will like the finale, and people who won't."
He said this because the ending is not going to be an ending. There is not going to be absolute closure where Tony ends up dead or in jail and Christopher ends up taking over and carrying on the family tradition.
With all of this emphasis on the ending, it seems like Chase could have easily wrote a season or two of empty story angles, and many people claim he has. I disagree.
Personally, I still haven't lost a degree of interest in the show. I get a great deal of joy from just seeing the faces of the show's characters. The first time I saw Tony last Sunday, I couldn't hold back the ear-to-ear grin of insanity that illustrates all that he stands for.
Second to that, I consider the "Sopranos'" storylines to be outlandish as hell - but outlandish sells. Outlandish and deadly really sells.
Pussy's fatal boat ride in season two, Ralphy's body chopping in season four, Pauly's old lady pillow suffocation in season five and Vito's fireman lover in season six are all examples of this.
But other than that, the mafia-drama has presented unique storylines with unprecedented twists and turns, and without killing off the entire cast to ensure we're watching the same show each week. It's been a wild and crazy ride and it's not over yet.
Chase has consistently placed popular characters in peculiar situations at the least expected times and made it work.
Chase gets paid the big bucks because he knows what he's doing, and whatever the future holds for his mob scene will prove these claims.
Missing storylines, three-season-long questions, anticipation of open-ended possibilities - these factors burn in the minds of each devoted viewer.
It's the end of the series, where plots make a full circle and, in this instance, still don't make much sense.
I can't wait.
By Todd Costello
America loves gangsters.
Organized crime was, at one time, a way of life for a lot of people, but a taboo for others. It was only a matter of time before this way of life was bottled and put on the market.
Martin Scorsese can be considered the genius who brought the Mafia to living rooms across the world.
Who can blame him?
Organized crime had interesting and almost charismatic bosses, money, stories, drugs, a rise and a downfall.
Now, in its seventh season, "The Sopranos" is trying to cap off a run that had most of America tuning-in to see big T handle business.
After four incredible seasons, one mediocre season, and one terrible season, I was incredibly disappointed to turn on the season premier last Sunday to see the writers pick up where they left off.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one.
In the recent ratings, there were only 7.7 million viewers tuning in Sunday night. That's slightly lower than the 9.4 million for the season six premier and much lower than the 12.1 million that watched the season five premier.
Being a huge fan since day one, it's depressing to see this show end the way it is.
From classic scenes like Tony in his Cadillac, mowing down a dead-beat who owed him money, and the hit on Adriana when she was a threat to the family - now I have to sit through five episodes of heavy dialogue and artistic symbolism just to see Vito have an affair with "Johnny Cakes."
What happened?
Watching the sixth season was like watching your favorite athlete taking a dive in the big game.
After every episode, I would sit their with my roomies and say, "Don't worry, I'm sure they're just building up the suspense for next episode."
When the season finally ended the only thing that was left for me to say was, "Don't worry, I'm sure they're just building up the suspense for the last season."
It's time for "The Sopranos" to get whacked.
If you don't want to take my word, take James Gandolfini's - the actor who plays Tony Soprano.
In a Vanity Fair article he said it was time for him to do other things because he doesn't know what else he can do with his character.
I can't agree with him more.
He's taken the role of Tony Soprano to the level where viewers feel like they have an actual relation or something in common with the Jersey mobster.
But, as much as I love him, I can only watch Tony yell at A.J. and inhale chicken parmesans so much.
All the characters in the show have been fully developed, and characters like A.J. have changed from an innocent child to an obnoxious lowlife.
I used to look forward to next week's episode right after I watch the current week's episode.
Now, I find myself praying that the next week's episode will have some sort of action that hopefully makes it worth watching.
Letdown would be the most fitting word I can think of to describe last season and the start of this season.
People aren't tuning in to see character progression anymore.
Take a page out of Scoreless's book and start the downfall.As much as we love the characters, there comes a time where they have to go.
So, sorry Tone, it's time for you to sleep with the fishes.
OR
'Sopranos' has more left, continues to be interesting
By Sam Hollingsworth
It's the series finale for a reason - it all ends here.
Everyone knows it's ending. The viewers. The producers. The actors. But when it ends is nothing compared to how it ends.
Since 1999, a daunting number of television viewers have been committed to see what will unfold next in the New Jersey organized-crime circuit via Home Box Office, and a fraction of those viewers will follow through for what may be considered one of the lamest finales in premier network television history.
Fact is, you can't judge a program's quality until you watch it. And everybody wants to watch it because they don't know what to expect next.
Thus far, the building action of the "Sopranos" has been stellar. Creator David Chase, along with the show's actors and actresses, has clearly explored so many different angles and ideas that the only option left is to hang it up.
"For me, personally, it's time to go," James Gandolfini said in a recent Entertainment Weekly article.
Each actor on the show could say this. We've seen A.J. go from Nintendo and a bowl-cut to cocaine and a Puerto Rican baby-mamma. We saw Christopher grow from an irrational heroine addict to an irrational wanna-be-movie-producer, and who knows what could be next.
Yeah, it's time to hang it up, but just how does Chase plan on getting there? That's the question.
Chase has already said, "There'll be people who will like the finale, and people who won't."
He said this because the ending is not going to be an ending. There is not going to be absolute closure where Tony ends up dead or in jail and Christopher ends up taking over and carrying on the family tradition.
With all of this emphasis on the ending, it seems like Chase could have easily wrote a season or two of empty story angles, and many people claim he has. I disagree.
Personally, I still haven't lost a degree of interest in the show. I get a great deal of joy from just seeing the faces of the show's characters. The first time I saw Tony last Sunday, I couldn't hold back the ear-to-ear grin of insanity that illustrates all that he stands for.
Second to that, I consider the "Sopranos'" storylines to be outlandish as hell - but outlandish sells. Outlandish and deadly really sells.
Pussy's fatal boat ride in season two, Ralphy's body chopping in season four, Pauly's old lady pillow suffocation in season five and Vito's fireman lover in season six are all examples of this.
But other than that, the mafia-drama has presented unique storylines with unprecedented twists and turns, and without killing off the entire cast to ensure we're watching the same show each week. It's been a wild and crazy ride and it's not over yet.
Chase has consistently placed popular characters in peculiar situations at the least expected times and made it work.
Chase gets paid the big bucks because he knows what he's doing, and whatever the future holds for his mob scene will prove these claims.
Missing storylines, three-season-long questions, anticipation of open-ended possibilities - these factors burn in the minds of each devoted viewer.
It's the end of the series, where plots make a full circle and, in this instance, still don't make much sense.
I can't wait.
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