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The Sopranos

wild_turkey

By wild_turkey
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wild_turkey

wild_turkey 3,159

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I feel like we need a thread on this one.

I'm extremely late to the game, currently watching for the first time, just finished season 1. I was in college when it first aired so I didn't watch much TV at the time, but I've finally decided it was time to rectify that and commit to watching all 7 seasons. So far I'm really enjoying it.

I probably won't check this thread much because I feel like spoilers should be allowed, but you guys can discuss and I'll catch up as I progress.

Much like The Wire threads, I'm curious how people would rank the seasons.

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qwertyu1234
qwertyu1234

Cooter Brown never had the makings of a varsity Sopranos watcher.

Jerry Callo
Jerry Callo

A bit hypocritical for you to making jokes about the size of a woman's ass.

Genco
Genco

You thought Little Carmine sucked?  You're at the precipice, BigDHornfan, of an enormous crossroad.

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qwertyu1234

qwertyu1234 496

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1,2,6b,3,4,6a,5

David Chase originally intended the Sopranos to be only 4 seasons so the 5th had a lot of new characters and almost felt like starting from scratch.

It's a show which is very re-watchable and you'll notice new things during the re-watch.

 

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lateshow

lateshow 1,304

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5 minutes ago, PilotsError said:

I hate the dream sequences, other than that it's phenomenal.  Went through the whole series again over the winter, thought it held up extremely well and still one of the best series over.   Gandolfini is incomparable.

See, I hated them on first watch. But during re-watching the series, I've gotten to like them and formed an appreciation to them. Gives a great insight into Tony's psyche. I think I've seen it all the way through probably 4 or 5 times, and I've found something new every time. 

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RTF Horn

RTF Horn 46

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Love this show.  One thing that really stood out on my rewatch was how fucking hilarious the show is.  Once you know the characters and their quirks everything just gets funnier.  The writing, both in terms of drama and comedy, is top notch.

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henrygandorf

henrygandorf 29,189

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1 minute ago, RTF Horn said:

The writing, both in terms of drama and comedy, is top notch.

the david chase coaching tree for this show is unmatched.  chase himself wrote 86 episodes.  terence winter wrote the 2nd most - 25.  matthew weiner wrote the 5th most - 12.

if you don't know what winter and weiner went on to create, then go look them up.

i've only rewatched this series once, and though i enjoyed it, there were a lot of characters i just didn't like very much the first time through, and even moreso the second time.

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RTF Horn

RTF Horn 46

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37 minutes ago, henrygandorf said:

the david chase coaching tree for this show is unmatched.  chase himself wrote 86 episodes.  terence winter wrote the 2nd most - 25.  matthew weiner wrote the 5th most - 12.

if you don't know what winter and weiner went on to create, then go look them up.

i've only rewatched this series once, and though i enjoyed it, there were a lot of characters i just didn't like very much the first time through, and even moreso the second time.

Yup.  Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire were great shows.  Vinyl..not so much.

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RD3

RD3 64

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Sopranos seasons 1 & 2 are some of the best tv ever.

But the series took a step back in season 3 when his mom on the show died.  The biggest thing that separates Sopranos from any other mob show/movie was the conflict between Tony and his mom. Corleone's mom in The Godfather; did she even speak english? She cooked and hugged them.  Tony's mom tried to have him killed and his uncle Junior was a part of it.  That family conflict is what drove him to need a shrink.

Ironically, the public caught on to the Sopranos after season 2; the show got more famous after it peaked.

And in real life she died before season 3 aired.  But when that conflict died, it wasn't the same.  It was still great tv and I wish we had tv like that.  But seasons 1 & 2 were the best.

p.s.  In real life, Tony's mom is based on David Chase's mom who was a sociopath.

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David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos, based Livia heavily on his own mother, Norma Chase. He described her as being paranoid, sharp-tongued, abusive, and disregarding her son's career achievements. Many of Livia's memorable lines, such as "Poor you" or "daughters are better at taking care of their mothers than sons," are what Norma Chase would say.

https://www.quora.com/Was-the-portrayal-of-Olivia-Soprano-Tonys-mother-that-of-a-malignant-narcissist-a-borderline-or-a-psychopathic-personality

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Bogeywon

Bogeywon 2,519

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39 minutes ago, RD3 said:

Sopranos seasons 1 & 2 are some of the best tv ever.

But the series took a step back in season 3 when his mom on the show died.  The biggest thing that separates Sopranos from any other mob show/movie was the conflict between Tony and his mom. Corleone's mom in The Godfather; did she even speak english? She cooked and hugged them.  Tony's mom tried to have him killed and his uncle Junior was a part of it.  That family conflict is what drove him to need a shrink.

Ironically, the public caught on to the Sopranos after season 2; the show got more famous after it peaked.

And in real life she died before season 3 aired.  But when that conflict died, it wasn't the same.  It was still great tv and I wish we had tv like that.  But seasons 1 & 2 were the best.

p.s.  In real life, Tony's mom is based on David Chase's mom who was a sociopath.

https://www.quora.com/Was-the-portrayal-of-Olivia-Soprano-Tonys-mother-that-of-a-malignant-narcissist-a-borderline-or-a-psychopathic-personality

Damn that would suck to have a mom like that 

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Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 47,009

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I was very late to it as well. I finished it up in January or February of 2016. Made a thread about it on the old board. Some real good discussion on it, especially about the controversial ending. Very good show. Need to re-watch sometime this year to soak it all in again.

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T’Boo Ted Marshall

T’Boo Ted Marshall 2,732

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the david chase coaching tree for this show is unmatched.  chase himself wrote 86 episodes.  terence winter wrote the 2nd most - 25.  matthew weiner wrote the 5th most - 12.
if you don't know what winter and weiner went on to create, then go look them up.
i've only rewatched this series once, and though i enjoyed it, there were a lot of characters i just didn't like very much the first time through, and even moreso the second time.

Not a fan of Janice eh?
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SizzleChest

SizzleChest 8,283

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Posted (edited)
17 hours ago, RD3 said:

Sopranos seasons 1 & 2 are some of the best tv ever.

But the series took a step back in season 3 when his mom on the show died.  The biggest thing that separates Sopranos from any other mob show/movie was the conflict between Tony and his mom. Corleone's mom in The Godfather; did she even speak english? She cooked and hugged them.  Tony's mom tried to have him killed and his uncle Junior was a part of it.  That family conflict is what drove him to need a shrink.

Ironically, the public caught on to the Sopranos after season 2; the show got more famous after it peaked.

And in real life she died before season 3 aired.  But when that conflict died, it wasn't the same.  It was still great tv and I wish we had tv like that.  But seasons 1 & 2 were the best.

p.s.  In real life, Tony's mom is based on David Chase's mom who was a sociopath.

https://www.quora.com/Was-the-portrayal-of-Olivia-Soprano-Tonys-mother-that-of-a-malignant-narcissist-a-borderline-or-a-psychopathic-personality

I disagree.  S2 was great, no contention there.  But Livia's death and that horrible digital concoction notwithstanding, the eps in season 3 laid substantial groundwork for successive seasons.  From the FBI wire plant to Tony's new GF (Annabella Sciorra was fantastic) to the inner crime family combat (culminating in Pine Barrens and Jackie Jr. getting wacked), so much happened in this season.  And I think whoever said the sho was supposed to be 4 seasons was right - at the time S3 was written to set up the close of the series for a final season.  Then the show got insanely popular, 9/11 happened (which add new dimensions to write about), and Chase had to pretty extensively extend the series arc.

Edited by SizzleChest
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Bogeywon

Bogeywon 2,519

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1 hour ago, SizzleChest said:

I disagree.  S2 was great, no contention there.  But Livia's death and that horrible digital concoction notwithstanding, the eps in season 3 laid substantial groundwork for successive seasons.  From the FBI wire plant to Tony's new GF (Annabella Sciorra was fantastic) to the inner crime family combat (culminating in Pine Barrens and Jackie Jr. getting wacked), so much happened in this season.  And I think whoever said the sho was supposed to be 4 seasons was right - at the time S3 was written to set up the close of the series for a final season.  Then the show got insanely popular, 9/11 happened (which add new dimensions to write about), and Chase had to pretty extensively extend the series arc.

your avatar is fucking awesome! lmao

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RD3

RD3 64

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2 hours ago, SizzleChest said:

I disagree.  S2 was great, no contention there.  But Livia's death and that horrible digital concoction notwithstanding, the eps in season 3 laid substantial groundwork for successive seasons.  From the FBI wire plant to Tony's new GF (Annabella Sciorra was fantastic) to the inner crime family combat (culminating in Pine Barrens and Jackie Jr. getting wacked), so much happened in this season.  And I think whoever said the sho was supposed to be 4 seasons was right - at the time S3 was written to set up the close of the series for a final season.  Then the show got insanely popular, 9/11 happened (which add new dimensions to write about), and Chase had to pretty extensively extend the series arc.

Don't get me wrong; the show was still great but I think it lost a big element when Livia died in real life...

Apparently S3 was going to have her testifying against Tony in court.

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lateshow

lateshow 1,304

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11 hours ago, dcbc said:

I have watched it 3 times at this point.  Best series ever.  The supposed low points I thought existed on my first viewing disappeared on repeat viewings.  Love it, and that includes the finale.

I was the same way with Uncle Junior. First viewing, I hated everything about the guy. Upon re-watching, and understanding him better, the guy and his one-liners are pure gold. I know he plots to kill Tony and eventually shoots him, but he was a great character. 

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wild_turkey

wild_turkey 3,159

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uh,  . . . yeah.  Stay tuned.  


That was excellent and very satisfying.

“We buried him. On a hill overlooking a river. With pine cones all around.
Come on! What the fuck do you care what we did with him?”

A lot of good shit happened at the end of season 2.
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bschoolprof

bschoolprof 6,252

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I loved the humor in this show.  Pine barrens and the Czechoslovakian interior decorator may be the best. One of my favorite comedic scenes in the series was this one about corporate chains and mob protection rackets.  "It's over for the little guy."  Greatness.  

 

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Tall Dark And Texan

Tall Dark And Texan 29

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I finished watching it recently for the first time, and completely recommend it. I wish I would've started sooner. Definitely a top five all time TV show, up there with The Wire and Breaking Bad.

Of all the scenes from that show that could've, and should've, stuck with me, the one that I remember with the most joy is this scene from one of the last episodes where Tony swears he has a hot gambling tip, and wants to bet Carm's money on it, but she won't let him because, of course, it's HER money, and then the next morning he's reading the newspaper, sees his inside info was accurate, and that he missed out on a lot of money, and he just yells out "GOD DAMN IT!!!!" in his robe in the kitchen with his coffee.

I don't remember the season or episode number, but it's the one where it becomes clear that Tony has a gambling problem. 

Also there's this scene in another episode where Tony's therapist is having a dinner party with her therapist colleagues, and they're gossiping about each other's patients, and Tony's visits become the topic of conversation....that made me not want to see a therapist. I eventually did, but I'm still certain they all talk about their patients like that.

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Hamttx

Hamttx 419

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Sorry guys. It was a good series, I will give it that. But top 5 or 10 all time? Not even close. Only if that particular genre is in your wheelhouse. AND you enjoy/allow the rehashing of the Italian Hollywood stereotype that has been beat to death since The Godfather came out was it anything but pretty good.

Now, Big G was the real deal. And we lost a fine actor when he passed. But as far as I’m concerned. It was him, and no one else that gave the show life.

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