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I just started watching The Sopranos

KaushikKaushik 320 Posts
edited May 2006 in Strut Central
I know I'm like 5 seasons late in the game, and I can't search for earlier threads on the topic, but I have to say the The Sopranos season 6 is just killing it. I've been watching a couple of episodes per day on HBO on Demand and I'm hooked. How could I have missed this?? Too much time watching Curb Your Enthusiasm I guess. The Kevin Finnerty dream sequence with the Tibetan monks complaining about their heating system? That was some next level shit. The characters are so incredibly screwed up but I'm compelled to keep watching. Damn if they don't seem practically real like they could be my own neighbors -- brilliant acting. Oh and "Big Love" is some amazing shit too. HBO is doing it right. That is all.

  Comments

  • GenePontecorvoGenePontecorvo 5,612 Posts
    Awesome bro. Sopranos is some of my favorite shit ever.

    I just put OZ - Season 1 at the top of my Netflix queue. I saw like 4-6, but missed most of the first three (and surely best) seasons.

    Need to catch up on The Wire after that.....
  • SooksSooks 714 Posts
    haha you're like 5 years ahead of me, I just finished watching season 1! I liked it a lot, but it bothered me the way they would introduce characters just for one episode to make a point, then they're forgotten about... there's one episode where the daughter all of a sudden has this new best friend whom was never mentioned before, or again... maybe it's because I watched the Wire first, which seams more like a long movie broken down, but because of this the Sopranos still feels like 'TV'.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    haha you're like 5 years ahead of me, I just finished watching season 1! I liked it a lot, but it bothered me the way they would introduce characters just for one episode to make a point

    and sometimes they dont even make the point!

    i distinctly recall, in one of them seasons, carmella and adrianna taking tennis lessons from a female instructor who appeared to be hitting up on adrianna something FIERCE - giving her tennis tips (while neglecting carmella) and gently copping a feel all over ade's body like she OWNED it. she was so conspicuous that you expected some kind of followup, but it was just a moment that went away. the character never resurfaced, and the incident was never discussed, acknowledged, or hinted at.
  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    haha you're like 5 years ahead of me, I just finished watching season 1! I liked it a lot, but it bothered me the way they would introduce characters just for one episode to make a point, then they're forgotten about... there's one episode where the daughter all of a sudden has this new best friend whom was never mentioned before, or again... maybe it's because I watched the Wire first, which seams more like a long movie broken down, but because of this the Sopranos still feels like 'TV'.

    I've only seen the first two seasons of The Wire, so I can't say how it develops beyond that, but the worlds in The Wire seem more insular and there are less players.

    with The Sopranos, there are so many fellas and all the "associates", the businesses and the employees, all the family members and all their friends...so on. I like how people come and go and sometimes you never see them again...kinda like real life!
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    haha you're like 5 years ahead of me, I just finished watching season 1! I liked it a lot, but it bothered me the way they would introduce characters just for one episode to make a point, then they're forgotten about... there's one episode where the daughter all of a sudden has this new best friend whom was never mentioned before, or again... maybe it's because I watched the Wire first, which seams more like a long movie broken down, but because of this the Sopranos still feels like 'TV'.

    Give it some time. I mean, debating which is better "The Wire" vs. "The Sopranos" is like choosing between Rakim or Nas. Or, I guess, Lil Wayne or Young Jeezy. Whatever. They're both great in their own way, especially as the shows develop a sense of themselves.

    I've seen so-so episodes of both shows but I've never watched a bad SEASON of either.

    And while we'reon the HBO tip, "Entourage" comes back soon.
  • GenePontecorvoGenePontecorvo 5,612 Posts


    And while we'reon the HBO tip, "Entourage" comes back soon.

    Hell yeah. Can't fuggin wait. I wrote that show off at first. My mistake.

    Jeremy Piven rules all on that show.
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts


    And while we'reon the HBO tip, "Entourage" comes back soon.

    Hell yeah. Can't fuggin wait. I wrote that show off at first. My mistake.

    Jeremy Piven rules all on that show.

    all about the extras and location
  • SooksSooks 714 Posts
    haha you're like 5 years ahead of me, I just finished watching season 1! I liked it a lot, but it bothered me the way they would introduce characters just for one episode to make a point, then they're forgotten about... there's one episode where the daughter all of a sudden has this new best friend whom was never mentioned before, or again... maybe it's because I watched the Wire first, which seams more like a long movie broken down, but because of this the Sopranos still feels like 'TV'.

    Give it some time. I mean, debating which is better "The Wire" vs. "The Sopranos" is like choosing between Rakim or Nas. Or, I guess, Lil Wayne or Young Jeezy. Whatever. They're both great in their own way, especially as the shows develop a sense of themselves.

    I've seen so-so episodes of both shows but I've never watched a bad SEASON of either.

    Oh for sure, don't get me wrong, I still like it, and I'm still planning on watching more, it just bothers me for my own reasons - it just seems like lazy TV to me. The Wire seems like they planned the whole season arc, and then broke it down into episodes, where they all contribute to the whole, whereas the Sopranos seems much more like they think episode to episode - sure, there's still a season arc, but it's not as 'tight'. I'm hoping that as the series goes on they get a bit more confident and rely on this technique less and less.
  • karlophonekarlophone 1,697 Posts
    haha you're like 5 years ahead of me, I just finished watching season 1! I liked it a lot, but it bothered me the way they would introduce characters just for one episode to make a point, then they're forgotten about... there's one episode where the daughter all of a sudden has this new best friend whom was never mentioned before, or again... maybe it's because I watched the Wire first, which seams more like a long movie broken down, but because of this the Sopranos still feels like 'TV'.

    Give it some time. I mean, debating which is better "The Wire" vs. "The Sopranos" is like choosing between Rakim or Nas. Or, I guess, Lil Wayne or Young Jeezy. Whatever. They're both great in their own way, especially as the shows develop a sense of themselves.

    I've seen so-so episodes of both shows but I've never watched a bad SEASON of either.

    Oh for sure, don't get me wrong, I still like it, and I'm still planning on watching more, it just bothers me for my own reasons - it just seems like lazy TV to me. The Wire seems like they planned the whole season arc, and then broke it down into episodes, where they all contribute to the whole, whereas the Sopranos seems much more like they think episode to episode - sure, there's still a season arc, but it's not as 'tight'. I'm hoping that as the series goes on they get a bit more confident and rely on this technique less and less.


    Sopranos uses various directors, but the writing is all Chase + co., so its hard to say why this happens. I think what happens is a director is asked to do an episode, he absorbs the script, and has no idea what parts are going to be developed later (because Chase keeps everything way under wraps), so he treats all the parts of the script with equal weight. hence the emphasis on the tennis instructor etc. but i agree its actually more like real life that way - weird stuff just happens and we never have time to assess and analyze the days events. i really feel, after seeing all 70+ episodes multiple times, that this is part of david chases technique, rather than a design flaw.

    that having been said: season 2 is excellent, season 3 is amazing and seasons 4 and 5 are utterly unfuckwithable. if you are in season 1 or 2, just keep watching, and prepare to be...
  • DustbusterDustbuster 278 Posts
    While both shows are fantastic, I still prefer The Wire. The way they weave together so many charachters and stories while making a bigger point about society in general is just incredible.

    The Wire vs. The Sopranos
    I think this review is pretty good, and he makes a bold statement at the end:
    And (New York) Newsday called (The Wire) "the greatest dramatic series ever produced for television." New York Newsday, like its contemporaries, is a pile of timid pussywillows. "The Wire" is one of the greatest dramas ever produced in any medium, ever. Watch the first three episodes, and then see if any force known to humanity can keep you from watching the rest.
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