television

The Sopranos (1999 – 2007)

Not nearly as good as I’d hoped…

When we first subscribed to Amazon’s Instant Video (or whatever the official name is) service, I was immediately excited at the prospect of finally being able to catch some of the vaunted HBO shows that I’d always heard about, but never seen. For years my parents subscribed to both the Showtime/TMC package and the Starz/Encore bundle, yet there was no room for HBO for whatever reason.  And now here it is, right at my fingertips, years of, allegedly, the best that TV has to offer – True Blood, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Deadwood…and most importantly, The Sopranos.

Ever since the FBI made inroads into the mob back in the 70s and subsequently crippled them in the 80’s, we’ve been treated to a lot of insightful looks into the Mafia’s inner workings; Donnie Brasco, Casino, Goodfellas, The Godfather, and many more have all explored various angles of Italian-American organized crime.  Several have gone on to be among the most critically acclaimed films of all time, so it makes perfect sense that a gritty, serialized portrayal would be a hit on television.

I wouldn’t dream of calling something as ambitious and as intricate as The Sopranos a failure, though I’m not sure it would make it to my personal list of “best TV shows ever.”  I wonder if I’d feel any different had I actually watched it when it was newer; perhaps I’ve already been desensitized to this era of post-modern TV.  Harsh language and unsavory subject matter abounds in quality shows like Dexter, The Walking Dead, and Breaking Bad, and I can see how these may dilute the impact of The Sopranos.

It gets off to a very promising start.  The premise of a “depressed gangster” opens up all kinds of avenues and watching a powerful criminal balance day-to-day responsibilities with “professional” duties offers the viewer an unusual perspective.  Do we hope for his arrest and retribution?  Or do we silently cheer for his success?  Writers have a hard enough time creating characters that truly connect with the audience, yet on this show we have a main character who we can both loathe and empathize with, sometimes simultaneously.

There are a variety of factors that help us both relate to Tony and help set us apart.  For example, most of us are not engaged in criminal power struggles nor do we see murder as a viable solution to a problem.  We don’t operate under the deceitful mentality needed to stay out from under the law, and we have a strong moral compass that doesn’t at all align with Tony’s.  However, most of us can relate to his family life, whether it be marital troubles or children; we can understand the issues involved with aging parents; and we can certainly identify with Tony’s depression and his search for happiness.  So where did the show lose me?

I would say my interest waned significantly somewhere just beyond the halfway point, around the time Season 4 was rolling over into Season 5.  This was during the time that the marriage was falling apart and Tony’s power was leading him towards stupid decisions, not to mention Chris’ diminished role in the show and an overall shift in focus that sucked out a lot of the show’s momentum.  We only had vague story arcs, and by this point, it was clear that several of them were never going to go anywhere.  I was particularly perturbed that “nothing happened” between Tony and Dr. Melfi.  And I don’t mean that I wanted them to devolve into a sexual relationship, I just think that something different should’ve developed.

Did reasonably attractive 20 and 30 somethings really think Tony was sexy???

Seeing the lifestyle for a few years was all fine and well, but I began to crave some kind of overarching plot, and that’s where I think the show was ultimately lacking.  I wanted to see things unfold, but I never felt like I had to see the next episode.  The pace was a little too leisurely, and there was a bit too much repetitive behavior.  There were only so many episodes where “breaking balls,” “collections,” Tony having sex with women half his age and half his size, and Chris becoming a whiny degenerate could remain engaging.  Events like the murders of Ralphie and Adrianna and the arrest of Johnny Sack held the drama together, but other elements like Arty, Janice, and Junior’s dementia became increasingly intolerable.  By the end of it all, I was almost revolted by any scene with Carmella in it just because of her absolute weakness and stupidity.  The constant cycle of A.J.’s troubles as he grew older became tedious and distracting as well.

I guess I had hoped that The Sopranos would’ve packed more of a punch.  It had some excellent moments and it created a supremely intriguing environment, but it just couldn’t ever quite build up that narrative tension that I associated with great television.  More than a few episodes linger and languish without anything really happening.  We get our most heated moments right at the end of the series, but otherwise I feel like I’m sort of adrift in this half dysfunctional family show, and half mob show.

I think it was important to address Tony’s personal life and the lives of his family members, but I can’t be the only one that wishes we’d seen a little more grit and grime on the organized crime side of things.  The Sopranos always (or almost always) had a great deal of stuff bubbling under the surface – we just never got to witness a whole of it boil over.  Maybe this was intentional; maybe the creators and writers wanted a semi-realistic approach where crazy stuff isn’t happening every minute, but unfortunately that doesn’t always make for interesting TV.

Badassery on The Sopranos was simply too few and far between.

Was it a good show?  Most of the time.  But was it great?  Not in my book.  Some shows like Lost and Dexter and The X-Files are shows that I will and have watched again because they’re fun and entertaining.  I don’t doubt that I’d glean more out of The Sopranos if I sat through it again, the problem is that I don’t really want to watch it again.  I spent so much time waiting for stuff to happen instead of watching stuff happen.

Would you consider The Sopranos one of the best TV shows of all time?  Why or why not?  Let us know in the comments below!

Written by The Cubist