The Sopranos: 25th Anniversary

[[classic swim]]

Started watching this show while the third season was still going on and have loved it a million times since.

Couldn’t tell you how many Sundays have been oddly peaceful with this always blaring on my television set.

A huge disservice to only refer to it as “prestigious drama” when it continues to be one of the funniest shows I’ve ever watched. The characters make it so I can jump into any episode and have a good time. Even when the show’s not at all episodic.


Of course the great Jimmy Gandolfini is missed, and sadly a lot of the talent from this show since have also passed. This is the second Sopranos anniversary without Tony Sirico; real life mob guy turned wonderful actor. I also still miss Frank Vincent dearly.

I don’t like hearing about how hard HBO tried screwing them over, but it’s always reassuring what Jim did to help keep the crew sticking together.


There’s that story David Chase has told about the end of the very first episode. Tony’s meant to slap Christopher upside the head in that one scene, and instead Gandolfini just lunges at his collar like a primate. Plenty other scenes just like that in the pilot alone (like having coffee!) where they take performance to the next level.

Endless things I could say about this body of work, and that’s a term I do not use lightly.

 

[Darklordavaitor]

I'm really enjoying going through my watch on my blog, currently on the third season and it's just as exciting my second time the whole way through as it was during my first watch a decade prior. As you mentioned, the show is more than just good drama, it's as funny as the best comedies and as exciting as any blockbuster. That's why The Sopranos became the phenomenon that few other "prestige" series came close to.

I'm glad to see the show continue to resonate and find new fans today. For better or worse, crime remains fascinating to audiences, but being another gangster epic isn't why The Sopranos endures. It has all the ingredients for quality entertainment, from beginning to end.